This is a local carnival held every year with some rides, lots of vendor booths, food trucks/tents,…read moreparades, and love music/events. it's exactly what you'd expect from a local carnival, and they have some nice big open park space for everything so it's all close together. As you can expect, carnival vendors are of mixed quality goods/foods, but it's nice to get a chance to check new things out. The event is also extremely packed, so you'll be pretty much back to back with people most of the time. It's worth checking out at least once though.

Fun in the sun! There's also a park & ride nearby! Lots of booths with different types of food to…read morechoose from! A great place to be outside and enjoy the sunshine today! It's going on until 9pm 07/15/23

The garden is beautiful and it's a nice activity to do end of fall/early winter. It used to be free…read morethen they started tickets and now they've increased the price just like anything else. But it's worth going around the holiday time each year. I suggest going on a week day of you can to avoid lines and parking craziness. The first slot 4:30 is less busy also.

Wonderful, festive and pretty affordable for the holidays. Ticket cost $10 per person over 11 years…read moreold. Kids 10 and your gets in for free. The lights were fun to look at and had many floral and crops themed ones. It was also larger than I thought cause from the outside you can see a portion of it. The cafe was also open and I wish I can try all their drinks. Their white hot chocolate with whip cream was so good for the cool weather. Also very glad it did not rain on that day.

The Aki Matsuri Japanese Fall Festival is held at Bellevue college. There are performances and…read morelots of booths with Japanese items, businesses, foods and even the Japanese Consulate has a booth. The event is spread out across the campus so make sure to pick up a program and a map that will explain where everything is and the times of performances. In Building G is the main stage and the exhibit booths. There are some t shirts for sale as well as other items. They had some sweet looking ties! In the R building are some more exhibits including Bonsei, Manga, Nomi-no-ichi and Taiko workshops. In the L building is the Wagasa Japanese traditional umbrella exhibition and the Ikkan-bari, Rou Shippo/Rouga booth. In the L/R Courtyard is Kingyo Sukui, RTG Seattle Taiko booth and Hyogo Business and Culture Center booth. In the C courtyard are the Japan Business Fair booths. In the C building are more exhibits and the food court, Edo Yuzen Kimonos, Tatami stage, Bonsei workshop and more. D building, workshop for K-12 teachers, shakuhachi demonstrations and lectures and puppet shows in English for the kids! E building, puppet shows in Japanese and martial arts demonstrations. There is so much to do and it is a great time if you are into Japanese culture! Have fun everyone!

I didn't know what to expect, but I know I wanted to go to a chocolate festival as soon as I saw…read morethe poster. Parking: there's paid parking in the convention center but if you go on a Sunday, you can find street parking a little further out from the center. Event: there were a ton of free samples from all the vendors that were there. I don't think they advertise the samples enough. I feel like I didn't even go in expecting a ton of samples, but there were a lot so get ready to eat a ton of chocolate. Even though all the pieces were cut into small bites, after so many samples, you will definitely get your fill of chocolate. I like that they had variety from different countries and type types of chocolates and beverages as well. I appreciate it that there was a lot of different talks in different rooms on both days. You can almost spend the entire time listening to the talks. You get to learn a lot about chocolates, where it comes from, how to make truffles, and how to use chocolates. Lots of different topics for everyone. The price tag is pretty high, but I was able to find a Groupon so I'm very happy with that. As with any of these two day festivals, the first day is very crowded but you will be able to buy things that are not sold out. Sunday was super chill, but many things were already sold out . I will be back next time for sure!

First time attending this festival and there was definitely a lot that I enjoyed about it and some…read morethings I would do differently next time. The other reviews are from many years ago and mentioned issues with the location but it's in Bellevue now (not sure how long it's been there) but had no issues with the location. Obviously if you live in Seattle, that would be a different story but it was super convenient right next to the light rail station. SO much chocolate to taste. I appreciate the tables that have self service tastings where you can grab your own. The ones where you have to ask for them to hand you samples, is not efficient at all. Some of them were too crowded that you couldn't even see what was on the table because of others tasting and chit chatting with the employees. The presentations are interesting but they don't necessarily make enough samples for everyone so everyone on our side of the rows didn't get anything and had to watch the rest of the room taste their samples. So get a seat near the front, in the middle. They are an hour long so they do take up a good chunk of time if you do more than one if you are doing general admission (which is 11am-5pm). You can bring your own water bottles, there are refill stations, or your own snacks. Just know that your taste buds will be shot after all those samples and you will need a chocolate break for a while after the event. Bring a reusable bag for all the chocolate bars you'll end up buying!

The 2025 Redmond Lights was spectacular! A vast array of lights, luminaries, musical performances,…read moremarching band, booths, games for children, delicious food, yummy ice cream, and so much more!! I love our community!! To the City of Redmond and all of the amazing City Lights volunteers, thank you and job well done!! We had so much fun...it was magnificent!!!

The lights are so pretty and beautiful and the lighting colors are amazing too look at and it makes…read morefor a great night out with the kids and our friends

Food trucks for days, stands and even more food! If you're a big foodie, want to sample awesome…read morelocal eats or just hungry then you've found yourself in the right place. Finding parking will probably take forever to find unless you come early or Uber over here. The lines get long fast so if you come anytime after 12, it might be too late (unless you don't mind waiting of course). The Wow Wow Hawaiian Lemonade line and a couple desserts trucks were the longest, gotta be that summer heat. So good if you're lucky to try it tho! Oh and there's a beer garden if you're just tryna chill out. Tacos = amazing! Sandwiches = amazing! Poke = amazing! Raclette = amazing! Mangonada = amazing! Basically everything I ate at the food festival was bomb! Come hungry, leave with a food coma and maybe a couple extra pounds.

The Seattle Street Food Festival is possibly the best street food gathering in the greater Seattle…read morearea. We were there from 3:30 to 5:30pm. The lines were mostly reasonable being in the middle of the day. There is a map set up in the intersections. Even though there are only 4 blocks of space, there are PLENTY to choose from. For reasons unknown, Block 1 is the most packed, side-by-side, with food tracks. Coincidentally, I also think this block easily had the best food. Based on the crowded foot traffic, others agreed. The organizers need to spread things out better considering there are space in the other blocks. For the food, we chose: 12 Spice or Indonesian Rendang The mushroom topping over turmeric rice was AMAZING!! For such a seemingly simple dish, the flavor is absolutely incredible. Highly recommend. Cost is $8 Alaska Weathervane Scallops We chose two options - mushroom sauce over rice pilaf and over coleslaw, their salad. They also have a taco option. Rice pilaf is the better option by far. Their coleslaw is not remotely refined enough. The scallops are amazing, though! The entrées at $14 are very reasonable. Taco Bahia We had the Nellie - Grilled Salmon tacos at $14. You can request grilled instead of fried. Definitely a better, healthier option. Took pictures but didn't buy Character Cotton Candy - a bunny! Many people paid $8 for the Instagram photo. I just asked to take the picture. LOL

Kirkland Summerfest is a neighborhood summer event. It has everything from kids events, beer…read moregarden and live band stage, booths for sales and information, booths for food and drinks. The Kirkland Summerfest is one of the prettiest festivals, aesthetically speaking. Incorporating the use of beach, park, Heritage Hall, and the streets, there is a lot to appreciate the natural beauty in this area. It's moderate in size. Over the years, they have changed how many streets they close for this event. This year (2019) is more modest in size. The good thing is that they are open from Friday to Sunday so you can choose the convenient time for you to attend. Be sure to study the map so you're not missing out! Parking is street only, or library or city hall.

I participated in the Kirkland Summerfest in conjunction with the Sip Kirkland wine tasting event…read more I had a really great time here and even though there were a lot of people at the event it wasn't overly crowded unlike other food / festival events that are overwhelmingly busy and the lines are really long. The weather was perfect and this year it was located at the downtown Kirkland Marina Park and it is an absolutely beautiful park especially to eat and drink and enjoy the scenery for a social event like this.

The Redmond Arts Festival is an annual festival that occurs in the Redmond Town Center during the…read moresummer season. If you're into art, especially finding local art, the Redmond Arts Festival is an event that was created with you in mind. I'm in Redmond a lot, and while I was at the Redmond Town Center for other business, I checked out the Redmond Arts Festival while it was going on. The Redmond Town Center has vendors lined up along the town center, selling their artwork and there is live music that plays in the main plaza, by the water fountain. The selection of artwork is small, especially compared to other art festivals that occur around the area. But it's cool that Redmond has their own community event. Also, this year, they've timed this festival during Redmond Derby Days where Microsoft shuttles can take you to and from both events for free. Smart thinking! It was nice to see what was offered this year, but if you're not already in Redmond, I wouldn't go out of my way to visit due to how small the festival is.

An annual three-day weekend arts festival that's a fun addition to the Redmond Derby Days (and…read moredon't forget the seasonal Redmond Saturday Market)! The town center becomes lined with booths of various handmade goods, including the usual set of paintings, crafts, pottery, jewelry, and sculptures. Other activities are present as well: live bands performing all day, kid-friendly activities, and a couple of food trucks. Of course, this is not a large city like Seattle, so come with expectations set to what a nice, small town like Redmond would offer!