Every year we attend both the Fall and Spring festival here off Ponce De Leon Ave. These festivals…read moreare pretty much the same, except for the weather. As my buddy Robin said, parking can be a tad bit difficult when coming here. Right off Ponce De Leon there is the Publix, if you park behind it off Blue Ridge Avenue you can walk just a few blocks to the festival. We have parked this way every year and never have any issue finding a place to park. Otherwise, you can always park near the festival in people's yards that charge for parking. This festival has quite a lot of artists from the south eastern park of the United States who sell paintings, steel art, wood work, jewelry, candles, clothing, health and wellness, fire pits and other types of art for the home. They have inflatable jumpy houses and slides for the kids, those things are purchased by the ticket and daily wrist bands are sold. Overall, it is a cool festival, but not one of Atlanta's best. My top favourites by far are the Inman Park Festival and Atlanta Dogwood Festival. [Review #403] (50th Review of 2016)

One of my local, walking distance festivals, this one set up in the two westernmost of the Olmsted…read moreLinear Parks (Springdale and Virgilee Parks). There's a festival here in the spring, too. The usual array of artists showing their wares. Good stuff, mostly. Weak food truck participation as compared to the larger festivals, such as Candler Park Fall Fest. This year on Sunday: Pup Truck, Williamson Bros BBQ, Mixemup Burgers and an Italian Ice vendor. King of Pops, of course. There's always large inflatable kid attractors set up on the green. Last year there was music, not sure what they had this year. Parking is always a challenge unless you're willing to walk several blocks. Street parking, although quite a few property owners rent out space in their yards for $15-$10.

Oktoberfest in Lilburn has always trumped this festival for me in the past (both are annually held…read morethe first Sat in October), but this year I managed to do BOTH. I think I may have started a new family tradition, we had so much fun. In 2013, the prices were $30 for general admission, $45 for VIP tickets. As a newbie, usually I would go economy class until I had a chance to "see how things go", but I knew I would want the shirt either way so it was a bargain price for me. Lots of VIP tables near the food and the bandstand, and event volunteers bringing your beer. Yep, the VIP tix are worth it... Admission allows for unlimited* tastings, and that's really what brings everyone out. I was expecting a lot more draft selections; most of the 120 beers available were in bottles. Also mostly absent were the owners/bottlers/distributors. The few that I did meet were very excited to talk about their line, and I love meeting people who enjoy what they do. The other tables were manned by volunteers, many of whom studied up on the beers they were pouring. I may have imagined it, but I think at *least* half of the attendees were volunteers. Which is an even more economical way to attend. A lot of them had either just ended their shift and were off to tasting, or had been tasting and were about to begin a shift. Food from local restaurants was good, too. Weather was perfect. Next year, the first Saturday in October is the 4th. Don't ask me to come to your your aunt's birthday party. No, I can't drive you home from getting your wisdom teeth out. So sorry, your wedding will just have to go on without me - I'm busy that day. (*Unlimited = drink as many as you want, there are rideshares available; but if you start to make an ass of yourself you will a) appear in your friend's youtube video and/or 2) be asked to leave - possibly while wearing some shiny new bracelets courtesy Gwinnett Co Police.)

This is a great event to go to to kick off spring season…read more Local artists and vendors come here to sell their arts, crafts, and artisanal-style food. This is a great event to buy your gifts for the rest of the year! They had a food area with a few food trucks and you're reliable festival food booth. If you're old enough to drink, you can purchase some local brewery beers while you stroll through the event. They also have porto-potties in quite a few places. If you're looking for parking, then you will have to find some place in the neighborhood. I highly suggest you arrive in the area 15-30 mins before the event starts. I also recommend bringing your own lawn chairs/picnic blanket and water to hang out for the live music. There are a few games and events for the kids to participate in. So, a great event for all ages!

The Bessie Branham park is a great place for a festival. It has plenty of field as well as trees…read morefor shade. (I would bring my picnic blanket next time!) The "spring fling" has enough tents set up to offer different foods, crafts, and art. There were standard fair food as well as unique items such as basil lemonade. There was a large stage where a band played. Music could be heard throughout the festival. There were tents lining 3 sides of a square. The park is big enough to host hundreds of people without feeling crowded. There were some picnic tables and a few benches. This was more of a family event as I saw many families with young children. Many of them took advantage of the children's playground at the park. Park in the neighborhood but be aware of congested streets. With cars lining both sides, in some areas, cars could only go in one direction.

Drawn and Disorderly is a lot of fun.. Great vibe, artist, music and of course beer.. Super stoked…read moreto have an event like this in Georgia.. If your looking for a great way to relax on a Saturday maybe do some local shopping and support your local artist, crafters and brewery's.. Then this is the event for you..

This festival is a two-day event that includes food, music, and activities. Coincides with the…read moreAtlanta BeltLine Lantern Parade. Car-less event; no on-site parking. Complimentary bike valet provided. Friday & Saturday: Food Truck Rally Live Music (Line-up to be announced soon) Full Bar featuring Sweetwater Brewing Co & Svedka Vodka Pet Zone Family Friendly Activities Complimentary Bike Valet Lantern Making Workshops (Fundraising event!) Saturday: 10am Yoga Hosted by King of Pops #kopyoga Sports Bar & Live College Football on TV Trailside standing-room-only parade viewing Official Lantern Parade Viewing Party (Fundraising event!) I just stopped by to listen to a bit of the music. I prefer craft festivals where I can walk around and "window shop" or purchase treasures.

THE EVENT Great way to spend a Saturday with my best buddy!…read moreThe Rock n' Rib Fest is a annual event held in the City of Lawrenceville Town Square, which are the four streets that surround the Historic Gwinnett Courthouse. Part rock concert and part foodie paradise, there is a little something for everyone. Aside from the event vendors, all restaurants located on the square are open for business. Several of them were also competing for the best ribs. $24 = 8 tickets and each ticket was good for two ribs or two sides. The ticket girls were ready with tickets... but not cash to make change (duh) and we had to wait a while for them to build up enough change. As a small reward for our patience, they gave us 2 additional tickets for the wait. Wanting to save room in our bellies, IF we didn't like the taste, we threw it away after just one bite. Here's how the BBQ stacked up: --------------- - - - - - THE VENDORS * LOCAL REPUBLIC - It's no secret I love this place! They don't serve ribs on their regular menu (although they should), so remember that if you decide to go for a visit. Scott who is Head Chef & brilliant Grill Master, took first prize last year and will likely do the same this year. His ribs hands down were the best of the competition. But if I'm being honest (which Scott appreciates), they were nowhere near as good as the ones I bragged about in my last review of Local Republic: http://www.yelp.com/user_details_review_search?userid=JjXuiru1_ONzDkYVrHN0aw&q=local+republic THOSE ribs were amazing, best ever, slap yo momma til she passes out then slap her back awake again GOOD! Today's ribs I would only rate about 3.5 stars. * PAPA CHUCK's - The only other ribs in this competition worthy of purchasing. However, that being said, they were only a 3 at best. I'd be willing to try them at their Lawrenceville location to see if the taste is any better there. * McCRAY's - Was 'meh' ok, but not a rib that would draw me into their doors. They were small baby backs and relied heavily on the BBQ sauce. They didn't deliver that good BBQ flavor we hoped. 2.5 stars. * SPICED RIGHT served a delicious looking Brunswick stew, but looks can be deceiving because the flavor was about 2 stars. Two bites and it went into the trash... not good! * OYSTER BAY - These ribs were our least favorite of the group @ 1 star. The conch fritter I managed to negotiate as part of my meal was more dough than conch. We vacation in the Caribbean Islands almost every year and conch is my favorite seafood while there. I eat it practically every meal, so I know conch. This was not good. Many of the competitors (I believe) used a brine to soak their ribs. If you don't brine properly you'll taste the salt water on the ribs, giving them a strange flavor. We sampled every competitor with the exception of three. The three we didn't sample looked like amateurs. The ribs had no char or spices visible and by the looks of their meat, it appeared to be boiled or maybe oven baked... so we took a pass! Other food vendors included Texas Roadhouse, Hawaiian shaved ice, a Cuban food truck, lemonade stand, beer, Mexican, chicken nuggets, fried potatoes, sweets and a few others. The Mango-Strawberry lemonade was very good. You got a huge cup for $5 +1 refill. Some of the sweets were very creative, like the cupcakesicles. There were also plenty of things to do for kids like jumpers and races. Courthouse grounds had picturesque large oaks for plenty of shaded seating. --------------- - - - - - THE VERDICT I love festivals and outdoor family events!!! I expected competition BBQ to be much better in flavor than I experienced, but it wouldn't stop me from coming back next year. Hopefully they will draw better competitors and make Scott work hard for a win. If you missed it this year, get here early next year. It was packed with people and will likely continue to gain popularity each year :-) In my humblest opinion, most of the BBQ we sampled was not worthy of being called competition BBQ, but we had a great time anyway. Excellent weather, music, beer, BBQ and friends... how could you not have a great day?

Atlanta Steampunk Expo is place where time and space cease to exist, where once a year normal…read morepeople from all over the States transform into a variety of retro-futuristic magical characters from the Victorian Era and Beyond. During the Atlanta Steampunk Expo, you will enjoy meeting beautiful, fun and outlandish people from all over the magical world of Steampunk. You will have the opportunity to share your creative ideas and enjoy one another's company in an unforgettable three-day fun filled event in the Atlanta area. If you would like to know more about the Atlanta Steampunk Expo you can messge me or visit their website ... https://www.yelp.com/biz_redir?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.atlantasteampunkexpo.com&website_link_type=website&src_bizid=9ufz0IIjtbycCXIPelG_iw&cachebuster=1577635502&s=fb878a1fe723a071ec679c3ea913d733817dfb7052cf3931c5a36a20262579c6

I have been to every Winter Beer Carnival in ATL…read more First Year - Art Gallery - AWESOME SAUCE. All I remember was "shutting the place down" while dancing to 80s classics (great DJ!) and finding a stash of prizes in my purse the next morning. Second Year - Random Lot in Midtown - loved the much bigger venue, lots more games, plenty of space to roam around. It helped it was beautiful weather that year. But I waited forever for food (almost 45 mins for a funnel cake!) and the lines were so long for the bathrooms that I walked over to Cheetah Lounge to use their facilities. BONUS - the location was super convenient to MARTA. And Midtown in general; I walked there and back that year. Third Year - Atlantic Station - The infamous freezing-my-butt-off year. I was so cold I couldn't drink enough to make myself forget about it. They were very poorly prepared for this situation. Also, the layout of the beer tents was super confusing, there were people everywhere, and the games weren't as fun/didn't have cool prizes anymore. Worst of all...we had a medical issue in our group, and I was absolutely floored that no one could tell me where the medical tent was. I had a guy who was literally gushing blood, and all the volunteers (even event staff) were clueless. We finally found "first aid" which was some volunteer with a first aid kit, and I was shocked that for a beer festival this large they didn't have an actual first aid stand... you know, for the idiots who drink way too much or, like my friend, injure themselves. So I resigned myself to not going this year, since last year was pretty awful and I'm supposed to be on a diet. But at the last minute my plans changed, and I was back for a fourth year. I still don't like this location. It's tough to get to without driving or taxi-ing. It's also CRAZY windy over there, so even if it's not too cold you'll get a wind chill. The layout is still confusing. And- either they sold too many tickets or the booths were just too close together, but the lines were out of control and impossible to get around even if you weren't in line for beer. Definitely the longest lines at a beer festival I've had to wait in. We got there around 4:30pm, an hour and a half into the festival, and almost every table was out of one or two of the beers they were offering. It's a little annoying to feel like you have to pay for the VIP ticket in order to, you know, drink the beers you were expecting to be able to try. The lines for games were also ridiculous, and I didn't really see any fun/interesting prizes. Many of the seemingly less-popular games didn't have any attendants either....I guess they didn't have a good handle on their volunteers. The keg racing thing that took up a huge amount of space ended up breaking down towards the end. As for beers. I didn't try anything particularly outstanding, or rare, or anything like that. Kind of a bummer. I'm trying to think of something positive to say. I loved the addition of Food Trucks to the event. The DJ was decent. The company was awesome. Oh, and Yelp! was there with some sexy volunteers! After this year's experience, I really don't see myself returning unless I get free tickets somehow. It seems like just another event where they don't care at all about crowd control or capping ticket sales.

Good assortment of beers but the event was not as appealing this year at Atlantic Station as before…read moreat the Masquerade. The vast expanse of asphalt/concrete doesn't do it for me. Still, a good event. Jopen rye ale = tasty.