The views are just unbeatable! Shout out to Paradiso for naming the festival after what it felt…read morelike. This wasn't my first rodeo for a festival so I could definitely appreciate the fact that compared to others, it was not crowed at all! There was a lot of food and drink options and of course the music was on point. Make sure to bring something to cover your nose though! There's a lot of dust that gets kicked up and you'll wake up the next morning with black boogies!

I bought my granddaughters ticket. She loved it. I would definitely let your kids go to it.read more

I'm not sure how to rate this event because my oh my, I've never been to anything like it in my…read morelife!! I've been to numerous festivals from Country music, to Jazz and a few odd ones in between but never in my life have I experienced a festival such as this!! It's GINORMOUS!! Absolutely epically GINORMOUS!! I loved every single minute of the music on both stages and the line-up was a great mix of old and new. The grounds are well maintained and the event staff were all very friendly and helpful. All in all, it's a great festival that I think everybody should attend at least once in their life. If nothing else, it will help you make a better decision when your 16 year old daughter asks if she can go with a bunch of her friends!! The camping is a bit crazy unless you get the Terrace camping. Even the Premier camping was a bit crazy but the general camping is absolutely NUTS! It's mostly all college students and teenagers and they are way out of hand with overturned garbage and even out houses knocked over. Don't bring very many clothes, you won't need them!! Most of the attendees wander around in next to nothing and there is quite a bit of flashing going on so not necessarily a family friendly festival! I'm only giving 4 stars because of the box seats. We paid nearly $1,000 for what we thought were going to be the best seats in the house. We got there, only to discover that the stage was blocked by a huge DJ tower that wasn't going to be moving. They "accommodated" those box seats affected by putting us in a little gated off area at the back of the "pit". Definitely NOT $1,000 seats!

Wow! Absolutely amazing event - I say that not only because the Gorge is a naturally gorgeous venue…read moreon its own, but because of how well the rest of the festival was run. It far exceeded my expectations and I felt like my only job was to have fun. All the staff was friendly and helpful - from the security to the vendors. We camped in Big Rig (recommended if you can get it) and our spaces were clean and grassy. Showers were available, they were provided in a trailer, but were clean and had warm water. The porta-potties were always close and somehow managed to stay clean for 4 days as well. There are also trucks that come through with water for your camper and sewer dumps, for a charge. Handy! The general store was stocked with everything you could have forgotten to bring, and prices weren't so high that I felt like I was being robbed. I expect to pay a bit more given the location and convenience, and it was all in line. The wristbands were handy as you can attach your credit card to them so you don't have to carry cash around all weekend. Definitely bring a bicycle to ride around and check out the other camps - well worth it. The whole weekend, I felt like everyone was there to make sure we had the best time for the money we all spent. A very well-run event - great job!

After moving here a few months ago we found the tamales were often a favorite when we went to…read moreMexican restaurants. As such, I made a comment one day that there should be a tamale Festival. To our great delight, we found that there had been 12 prior and that this year would be celebrating the 13th one! We mosied on down on a Saturday afternoon, with some friends in tow. We found an amazing meeting of some of the most delicious Mexican food we've had since time started. The event is held a long one of the main streets in downtown Wapato and encompassed about three blocks worth of real estate. The different stands where everything from local favorites, two food trucks, two people making tamales as part of fundraisers for different organizations. Many of the places also served street style tacos, Indian tacos and one guy was even roasting some boss looking chicken One of the stands with selling a number of different beverages including Horchata, strawberry lemonade and a number of different juices, each one of which we sampled was delicious. I'll food items range between a dollar and five dollars, with most of them being in $1.50 range. Everything we had here was good and it was really nice to be able to move around from stand to stand, sampling the different tamales. By the end of the afternoon we doll eaten roughly the Weight of one of our arms in tamales, and it was so good! The DJ that was in the center of the festival did a great job keeping things lightly, and while we didn't stay for the voting, I believe there was a best of show type event. The only thing that would make this better is if there were a king or queen of tamales crowned, and it included any and everyone from the community. Based on the offerings that were available, I would imagine that the stuff that people make at home in the area is absolutely mind blowing. Well worth checking out in something that we will be planning on going to on a yearly basis!

I woke up this morning to the alarm clock playing Walk by the Foo Fighters. Even though my body…read morestruggled to get out of bed, hearing the alarm was encouraging. My body was extremely sore in the morning even though I ingested a cocktail of natural pain management medications (which actually gave me nightmares) the night before. My body took a good four hours to adjust itself. It helped that I was entertained during the 6 hour drive to the Gorge, one of my top 5 venues to see live shows, with a Foo Fighters inspired playlist. I didn't do any camping this year, therefore, treated this as a camping adventure/rock show. I was feeling very sick on the way to the Gorge. Before the show we pulled over and went for a 20 minute jog (I did) around the campground. The high altitude combined with the 30 degree weather wasn't a good combination for my heart. My heart rate monitor was in the red but I smiled through it. Jogging in my Foo Fighters shirt earned a lot of cheers from the other passing cars. Thankfully I had my inhaler. I was insistent on finishing the jog before the show knowing that it was going to be the only and last real cardio before the show. Ever since Live Nation bought the Gorge the coordination into the camp grounds has been a disorganized clusterfuck. The traffic was so bad 'cause there was literally only one booth per lane which was for will call, scanning and purchases. I got so fucking fed up with the line that I got out of the car and joined some tailgate parties. Tailgate parties are illegal at events in Vancouver, therefore, any chance I get in the U.S. for shows I make sure I hit up a party. Every other camp lot was blasting a Foo Fighters song. The mashup of various tracks spanning many of their albums was a cool pre show energizer and ear candy experience as I walked around. While everyone was getting loaded before the show I decided to take advantage of the lush green grass that Vancouver went weeks without and did 30 minutes of Yoga. Live Nation clearly ignored the draught warning and watered the grounds. Premier camping got the green grass instead of itchy dessert grass that the economy section received. This time I was able to hear Gary Clark Jr. He brought some swagger to the music. There was no catwalk this time around, therefore, the show felt unique compared to Vancouver. Everyone had the same experience. There was a small stretch but no cat walk. There was no point aiming for front row as soon as we arrived. I was competing with 20k people whom arrived a day prior. I still managed to get a reasonable spot on the outside ring of the pit. It was the largest mosh pit that I've ever been in. For the record American pits are rougher than Canadian pits but it was all in healthy fun. An hour into the show I did manage to sneak into the VIP area by jumping the barricade. I had to conserve my energy 'cause the entire venue sold out of water 3 hours before show time. They did have a hydration station but some dickfuck stole my water bottle, therefore, was stirring it up in the mosh pit in 30 degrees heat on borderline dehydration. At the end of the day I would do anything for rock. The stage banter was the same as Vancouver, however, he managed to make it feel personalized for the audience. There was a moment near the end of the show in which he expressed unrehearsed sentiment toward the Gorge and the scenery. The set list was the same. The familiar order pre empted my excitement. The show was 15 minutes longer which included extended banter and the addition of I'll Stick Around. The energy by both the audience and the band was far more intense than in Vancouver. This doesn't surprise me considering that people drove as far as 10 hours for this show. I was fortunate to watch the sunset drop behind the stage and lucky to see the stars above without the pollution of the city lights. This raised the emotional value of the show for me.

Had a lot of fun at the festival yesterday. We were especially happy to see Big Dogs Grill! Thank…read moreyou for including a vendor that supplied both gluten free and vegan options. For my family with celiac and one vegan this was such a bonus!

Every year the Yakima Valley grows a super majority of the hops in the USA (about 77% to be exact)…read moreand more recently we took over as the top grower in the world! There are truly no truer words than "We grow your beer" when it comes to the area. The Fresh Hop Ale Festival pays homage to the fact that hops generally make beer better and with the growing varieties of hops, it's unlikely that the festivities will stop anytime soon. The festival is held downtown in Millenium park where you and a few thousand of your closest friends can sample beer from 40 breweries from all over the country. For you non beer drinkers (like my best half), they've got a number of wineries that join forces and provide alternative libations. Food trucks, concerts, long lines for port-o-potties and plenty of conversations are all at your disposal from 5-10 pm. Cost runs around $45 and includes 4 drink tokens and a glass to take home to the kids! For $75 you can hang in the VIP tent and grab both a bigger glass and more food! Those tickets go quick so it's worth buying if you're thinking about it. Rated as one of the top 10 beer festivals in the country, it's well worth the trip across town or across the country! Go Beer!

Christ the King's Sausage Fest is an annual, two-day Oktoberfest celebration that caters to all age…read moregroups. Its an annual staple of the Tri-Cities - and one of the very few specifically in Richland. It's claim to fame rests neatly in its consistancy, affordability, fun and frivolity. With hand-painted signs and storefronts from the early 1980's, a few pair of lederhosen, a killer Bierock recipe that hasn't seem to have changed in 30 years - this event will always please and fill you with nostolgia. Cheaper than a fair with all the benefits and more. The youngin's (and following adults) will get hours of entertainment from the parlor games like Scat Cat (shoes thrown at wooden cats on a fence line for a prize) and the Pop Toss (Mason Jar ring toss onto bottle necks to win a warm soda) and the wide variety of delicious, inexpensive grub. For the somewhat older kiddos, there is a middle school and high school dance and an appropriate level of adolescent walk-abouts, and some games geared to their skill levels. For the adults - an indoor and an outdoor beer garden allow for some elbow rubbing and enjoyment (the indoor garden has sausages available and stage entertainment). My recommendation: get a Bierock. Get a Sausage with Kraut. Get a Frito Bandito (Taco Salad). Get an ear of corn. Have a beer. Play some games and win some plastic toys. Watch a few of the stage shows. Sit next to a stranger and strike up a conversation and think back to a time when we didn't all take ourselves so seriously and had fun with our neighbors.

Inexpensive fun with the family. The kids always have a blast! The games usually cost $.50-$.75…read moreeach for the kids to play- very doable. It's a relaxing environment and all for a good cause. See ya next year!

I dunno, I guess it's not at that same park as it was before, and I heard that someone died at the…read morenew location two years ago. But I wouldn't recommend. Other ren faires in the state are much better. This one is all over the map and can't decide what kind of animal it is. Fantasy fair? Historical festival? Arts Venue? Who knows? The group that puts it on isn't historically accurate, or particularly professional. Which is too bad since they use an educational grant to put it on.