A very small, very local festival located in the Montclair area of Oakland!!…read more There was a wine tent, which was very crowded, along with some very talented young musicians performing. Plenty of vendors, along with all the businesses being open, so the food options here were plentiful. Montclair Village is very small, and this festival only took up a couple of blocks, so it was cool to check out for a few hours on a Saturday!!

Chimaek Festival had over 2000 visitors last year. This festival is on again, hosted by Dokkaebier,…read morecelebrating Fried Chicken & craft beers on May 18th, 12-7. FREE admission. Bigger space from Broadway to Webster, 3rd St. to 5th St. 4 blocks closed for this festival. Plenty of seating too. Dozens of vendors present repping Fried Chicken eats, Asian American food vendors, 7+ breweries. Most popular vendors were Chimmelier from L.A., Aburaya- Oaktown, Korner Store (S.F). Lines were up to a block long. Free Parking available past Broadway. I dislike lines, standing also. Seems some vendors only accepted $, not pre sold beer tickets..festival packed from the beginning. Lines may have lessen by mid afternoon. *May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

Hosted by the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America, the CA International Antiquarian…read moreBook Fair was a joy to attend this past weekend. Parking at Pier 27, on the Embarcadero, was free and easy on Saturday afternoon. There was no line to get in, and the event seemed to be well organized. It was spacious inside with plenty of visitors. But with two floors of vendor booths and displays, it never felt crowded. Exhibitors came from various countries including Argentina, Denmark, and the UK. Speaker sessions on the schedule offered ample seating in a separate space from the vendor booths. There was also a dining area on the first level selling food and drinks, with tables and seating available as well. Sure there were antique book collectors and researchers at this event. However, there were also visitors like me and my bf who probably couldn't afford to purchase anything on site and simply enjoyed exploring this museum of rare works, not just books, but maps, photographs, and various art pieces too. Some of the interesting items we came across were the book of Ancient and Oriental Music, the first american edition (second printing) of the diary of Anne Frank, On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin, 18th century Aesop's Fables in rich contemporary hand-color and engravings, old comic books like Weird Tales and Wonder Stories, Yoshitoshi's Dramatic Portraits of 47 Ronin (woodblock prints, Tokyo 1869), uncorrected proofs for the first three books in J.K Rowling's Harry Potter series, an 18th century playing card recycled as a funeral notice, elaborate vintage pop-up books, and one of my faves, 18th and 19th century paper peep shows (3D tunnel books), featuring unique and amazing artworks I found delightful.

Art Beat Salon is a new monthly business networking event that brings together arts and business…read moreprofessionals every First Thursday of the month. The kick-off event is Thursday April 5. May's Art Beat Salon will be held in conjunction with the kick-off for ArtsFest 2007 on May 3. I'm helping to produce this event, so take my five-stars for what it is. I hope other people will go tonight and review! :-) The April Art Beat Salon is at Gallery One in Embarcadero One from 6 PM to 9 PM tonight! Gallery One: http://www.yelp.com/biz/v3Og8vfGrws0NpblldGwXw This is the official write-up: "Launching this Thursday, the Art Beat Salon will provide an exciting new First Thursday alternative, in the downtown Financial District, where members of the arts and business communities can network against the backdrop of art, music, performance, visual art and creative expression. Featuring the acid jazz of "Resin", singer Nkechi, dancer Samantha Franklin and poet Clive Matson. First Thursdays will never be the same!"

Hosted by the SF italian athletic club this was a small festival with lots to offer. The cultural…read morecelebration only took up one and a half streets on a single block bordering Washington Square. But at least that allowed for space to stretch out and picnic in the grass at the park, as many took advantage of on Sunday afternoon while I was there. The Statuto race happening on this day too. Exhibitors and live entertainment during the 2-day event included pizza acrobatics by Tony Gemignani on Saturday (spinning and tossing pizza dough in the air) and a "That's Amore" sing-along on the day I attended. I also enjoyed the Wine Country Tenors performing classic italian numbers like O Sole Mio. My favorite part was the dueling accordians (actually three musicians instead of two), a drummer as well, entertaining the crowd with a combination of slower italian melodies and uptempo songs like Sway. There were even stilt walkers making their way through the festival grounds and dancing along to the musical performances, the three females with their striped shirts and fake mustaches adding to the fun and lighthearted atmosphere. Food vendors were selling a variety of items, including pizza, pasta, meatball subs, pork and eggs from the Porchetta food stand, cannolis, coffee, and gelato. I had some yummy arancini from Cucina Lettieri, topped off with marinara and parmesan. Options were somewhat limited in terms of variety, but they offered a little bit everything. And though the walking paths were crowded at times, the event as a whole wasn't too crazy. Plus the Festa Italiana was free to attend, so I can't really complain.

Festa Coloniale Italiana a Free Event sponsored by Walgreens. On August (19th) , they shut down a…read morelarge block section of Stockton St. for a Free Italian Feast Open to The Public. Located directly across from The San Francisco Italian Athletic Club @ 1630 Stockton St & diagonally across from Tony's Pizza in The North Beach section (Little Italy) of San Francisco. This event is pretty crowded with people for the Free Entertainment - Music & Pizza Tossing by World Champion Tony Gemignani & there are Free Samples & Delicious Food to Purchase as well all day long. Bring a blanket & Lay out on the grass in front of the church to enjoy your food & beverage & listen to the band. It used to be, you had to have mega bucks & be really rich to have the Good Life, not anymore. The Game has changed. You've been Upgraded. Now You Can Live Like a King on a Limited Budget!

This annual holiday celebration consists of three main parts -- a parade, festival, and fireworks…read more I attended the daytime event on July 4th and it was a laid back, family friendly affair, with everyone in good spirits. There were no massive crowds lining the streets for the parade, so it was easy to find a spot for viewing as well as parking nearby. Traffic was minimally disrupted, too. The parade was very casual and low key, no fancy floats or creative displays, mostly modestly decorated vehicles and members of local organizations walking the parade route holding signs and giving out free candy to kids. Groups included community emergency responders, Creative Play, Scouts, senior living homes, and pet adoption agencies like Contra Costa Animal Services (with a few dogs on leashes strolling the parade as well). The party in the park after the parade consisted of food vendors (including Back Forty Texas BBQ), kids activities like inflatable slides and jumphouses, and live music on stage. I enjoyed the sounds of the American Cheese band playing awesome songs for the crowd, the playlist including Santeria, Faith by George Michael, and Should I Stay or Should I Go. The watermelon eating contest was fun to see, both the kids competition (for contestants ages 12 and under) and the adults match. The festivities continued later in the evening with a fireworks show at College Park High School and of course more food vendors and live entertainment. A pretty well-organized community event, stress-free and admission free.

Coming to this Festival for the fist time I had no idea what to expect as in all honestly I only…read morereally came because I knew Japacurry Truck was going to be here! That said I am glad I did come because it was a nice way to spend the Sunday afternoon - Food stalls, Karate, Origami and Calligraphy demonstrations, Costume contest, J-Pop Dance, Taiko and merchandise stalls to name just some of what was going on. It was definitely an enlightening experience and only being it's 7th year I'm keen to come to more in future years. *Parking was super easy to find at the parking lot across the street. .

This is an annual event located in front of the San Leandro police Department. The event is free…read moreand family friendly. When I say Free, i mean 100%. Free games, free prizes AND free food.