It was ok, I was expecting it to be larger like more vendors. I still had a good time! A few place…read morehad some really good mixes, others were just bad. Bar Chuzo had the best favor to me. But the whole experience was nice i would go again.

Unacceptable Professional Behavior…read more My family and I came for the event on Saturday and was told the hours were changed. I did not receive an email regarding changed hours that the owner said she sent out. According to her they sent out emails three weeks ago. We purchased our tickets three weeks ago meaning the same timeframe. My question is (why did you allow us to purchase tickets for an event with the VIP 3-6 if those hours were changed. Being a business owner myself, I understand what a professional attitude should be and the owner did not show it. I also understand that mistakes are made, so I get that you allowed us to get tickets for a time that was no longer viable. Professional decorum would dictate that she should have offered us a refund and an apology. Yanni showed no care or concern for the lose of money, our time or for that matter for the business she has now lost. Instead she continuously stated that they sent out several emails. She doesn't have to worry about our business ever again.

This was my first time attending the Chile Pepper Festival and it ended up bring one of the best…read morelive music shows I've seen all summer! The festival occurring beforehand in the beautiful Brooklyn Botanical Gardens really made this one of the best festivals I've been to in years too. This year was different from events past in that they kept the garden open late, until 8pm. They also had four New Orleans legends of music play an incredible two hour set. We marched in second line fashion to the stage, led by costumed stilt walkers, where we got to see John Papa Gros, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Walter Wolfman Washington, and Irma Thomas. Any one of these performers on their own is a master, but together they were an amazing force of energy and talent and got the crowd up and moving. All ages too, it was so incredible to see little kids jamming out with their parents because Wolfman played the guitar with his tongue! Along with these main acts, the festival had at least three other live musical acts playing throughout the day: The Garvin Blake Ensemble (Trinidadian steel drummers), Buyu Ambroise & The Blues in Red Band (Haitian jazz), and the Plezi Rara Band. There were also live cooking demos from the chef at Lowerline, the phenomenal Cajun restaurant located nearby, a how to make your own hot sauce demo, a pepper tour of peppers from around the world in the herb garden, kid focused activities with free peppers to take home in the discovery garden, a pepper eating contest, farmers markets selling peppers, and cultural exchange booths to learn more about the communities represented in the neighborhood and at the festival. I think the only area that needed improvement were the lack of access to food and beer. I didn't eat or drink anything (besides some samples) because there was only one tent to get these things from and it was both overwhelmed with a long line and didn't have a great selection. I would have loved to see local restaurants serving up their own food instead! I would eat before coming, and bring a refillable water bottle (there are water refill stations). There was a LOT going on, and it was done extremely well, without being too crowded, on a beautiful day. Serious kudos to BBG for making this an amazing farewell to the summer season! Also, with seven musical acts to support, the price of the ticket was extremely reasonable at $30. For a nine hour event that managed to include epic live music acts not usually seen in this city, educational talks and tours, cultural exchanges, AND a ton of delicious hot sauce and condiment vendors - this was an amazing experience and well worth the price of admission.

it was my first time here, and I throughly enjoyed it! I loved that they separated the hot salty…read moreand sweet side into its individual section. I liked the different chocolate vendors they had which ranged from chili ice cream to Mexican hot sweets! My favorites were the chocolate bar vendors like Taza and Cacao Prieto. They were nice and informative about the chocolates they made and were generous with their samples. I also liked New Yorkina's offering which had a range of Mexican goodies. I eventually snagged a chili/sugar lollipop for $3. I was pretty satisfied with all of the samples I had so wasnt even deterred by the lack of food trucks or offerrings there. Def would recommend going! I also went through the garden which was a plus afterwards! so beautiful!

This was a cool event - I won a pair of tickets through an Instagram contest so any complaints I…read morecould possibly have would be and are minor. Hosted in Brooklyn Steel, this event was a great way to check out a lot of food vendors/restaurants at one place as well as revisit some old favorites. Every place had samples to try, some more significantly-sized than others, and many were also offering drinks as well. Archie's was a go-to late night order back when my boyfriend lived in Bushwick so I was glad to see they had a presence here.The samples from Guadalupe Inn were my personal favorite - I believe it was some sort of carnitas tostada (whatever it was, it was delicious). My sister and I also loved the little falafel bites with hummus that the Queen of Falafel was serving. Boars Head was popular due to the sheer size of their samples - they had full sausages with delicious mustard and kraut. Whatever brand was sampling the chocolates in the main hall was amazing too - I probably ate 50 of those bad boys. While the samples were abundant and the drinks were free-flowing, the place was a little too packed for my liking. It was, at times, difficult to move around. While lines were fairly manageable, the venue itself was a sardine can. Also, the event was supposed to go from 6:30 to 9 (my sister and I got there a little late, closer to 7:15), yet most vendors were running out/were out of food by 8:15-8:30 or so. Not a huge deal, we still felt like we would have gotten our money's worth had we paid for tickets, but for those who came late, it might not have been a good deal for the $60 ticket price. All in all, a really solid event and I'm really glad I went. Would consider going back next year.

What can I say? This was truly a great tasting event featuring so many awesome places in Bushwick…read more I was fortunate to win a pair of VIP tickets provided by Bruce Cost Ginger Ale, it did not disappoint! From the moment I checked in (VIP allowed us an extra hour prior to the general public & specialty drinks with a swag bag) the atmosphere was pleasant, inviting and tempting in so many aspects. Tasted so many delicious items paired so uniquely that I was quickly filling my belly until I couldn't breathe (below are some of the photos that my partner in crime and I had the pleasure to try). The array of options was magnificently displayed from cocktails, lite bites, heavier options and of course desserts! The space was just right, although it was an extremely HOT and Humid day, everyone was having a great time, mingling, tasting, dancing, exploring and taking it all in. Look forward in attending next year!

Many of the handmade lanterns were beautiful and impressive, some were 30 feet tall, others had…read morelimited animatronics, with a modicum of movement. The "lanterns" have some type of wire frame to shape the colored fabric around them. The illuminated effect at night is very nice (check out the pics). That said, there were several drawbacks: Visitors must follow a narrow walkway, which creates crowding, as many people want to take photos, but there is limited room to step aside. And if you want to walk back to see a specific lantern, you really can't without walking outside the path. We did not see any signs for rest rooms or changing stations for babies, both of which our party needed, resulting in two people aimlessly searching for facilities. The Winter Lantern Festival advertises concessions & food vendors, we only saw one lonely doughnut truck, and nothing else. It would be helpful if the organizers created viewing and photo areas, where people could stop and gawk, and take photos and selfies. Would I return next year to see one of these festivals? Not likely, as once seems more than enough from my perspective.

The lanterns were super cool to see up close, especially the more fantastical ones. I loved…read morelearning more about Chinese mythology and ogling at how the lights brought these creatures dramatically to life. Yes, I was that guy holding up the line. I do wish that the grounds was better laid out. It just seemed thematically haphazard. For example, not sure why one of the four cardinal guardians was separated from the other three. Also, parts of the designated path were needlessly restrictive. There was no reason for me to nudge 5 year-old Jesse out of the way just to get my shot. Okay, that didn't happen, but I do think there was a missed opportunity here to make the place more festive and promote more learning and fun. Because seriously, some of these lanterns are impressive. I'll let the pics speak for themselves. Personal favs: the Fuzhu (deer with four horns), the Vermillion (fire) Bird, and Wen Yao (winged silverfish).

I went to the Tastes of Brooklyn event along Franklin Ave. The festival offered ticket sales online…read moreand I appreciated that you could buy tickets without any service fee on top of the ticket price (~$10/taste). Ticket pickup in front of Cent'Anni was easy once I knew where to go, and I found it so helpful that there was a map and list of what each spot was offering. That list was useful in planning what I wanted to try. In the future, I'd recommend that the event hosts try to confirm these listings with participating restaurants a bit closer to the event date, because some of them were inaccurate. One place listed as offering "sliders" served only a single (scrumptious) slider, and another spot listed as offering a "choice of two tacos or a margarita" informed me when I arrived that they weren't offering the margarita after all. I thought the offerings were pretty fair, just wish the list had been a bit more accurate. While I wouldn't recommend Tastes of Brooklyn to someone looking for a "good deal", it wasn't a bad way to share a walk and various foods with a friend while supporting Seeds in the Middle.

I think it was fine, but probably overpriced. Sure, it was for a cause but a lot of the…read moreparticipating vendors were very inconsistent. Some places did food and booze as one stamp, while others made it two separate ones. Some portion sizes were gigantic, while others didn't even give a full slice of pizza. And a few closed up shop early because they were so popular (we ended up with extra tickets that we just spent on half slices of pizza because nothing else was left). The ticket pickup station at the Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club was also a bit of a hassle. Not the most centrally located, and their ticketing system was a mess. A lot of manual handwritten notes. That said, I appreciated all the businesses that participated (some of which I've never been to before!), but I wish it were better organized.

You had me at bagpipes…read more Through the years I have been to this festival many times, even when they were located in South Beach. It has definitely changed. Our last trip here was two years ago, it had rained heavily the day before so the fields were quite muddy. Today was a gorgeous day, bright and sunny. Maybe it was the luck of the Irish. There are two stages with entertainment performing simultaneously. We were able to catch the following: The Celtic Rebels, the Dawn Daniels Dancers, the Sashing and Mashed Pipe Bands ( they played God Bless America), Clan Erin Pipe Band and Robbie Doherty. Since it is never too early to Christmas shop, our first stop was the Tinker's Shopping Village. There are plenty of vendors selling everything Irish. There is not much celebrating the Irish on Staten Island. It is either this festival or the St. Patrick's Day Parade on Forest Ave in March. Which happens to be the third largest in the country. For lunch we tried The Irishman's Bar B Q. They are currently a catering business located in the vicinity. The ribs were delicious, fall off the bone with a slight kick. The smoked Mac and Cheese could have been warmer, but it didn't stop me from finishing it. Prices were very reasonable at all vendors. Looking forward to next year's Fair.

It was that time of year again. It was the 8th Annual Taste of the Village. Which is a Food Event…read moreto help raise funds to remodel and maintain the Village. I was in attendance once again this year. There was unlimited beer from Brooklyn Lager and wine all over. Numerous restos and places in the Village were apart of this event: Alma 33 Amber Argo Tea Brooklyn Brewery Centro Vinoteca Citarella 8th Street Wine Cellar Fizzy Lizy Gizzi's Gusto Ristorante Jack Bistro Knickerbocker Bar & Grill La Palapa Cocina Mexicana Le Pain Quotidien Murray's North Square One If By Land Otto Enoteca Pizzeria Paumanok Wines Pellegrini ineyards Rabbit In The Moon Sushi Samba 7 Sushi Yawa The Lion The Nutbox Wolffer Estate Vineyard Great food such as Braised Veal, Lamb Sliders, Caviar Pie, Numerous Desserts, Sushi, Cheese and Soups. A very fun event for a good cause.

when my friend first told me that it was $50... I was like HECK NO. I'm a poor student trying to…read morespread $50 over a week. However... it was one of the best uses of $50 of my life. So many restaurants featured their dishes here. I won't go through and list all of them here, but as soon as I walked in, the first bite was a curried scallop and it was perfect. The night just continued with so much great food and we also got a lot of free stuff. Some foods weren't that great; however, there were like 30 different restaurants so if you don't like a few that's fine. I would definitely go again. Make sure you go when you are hungry, because you will be stuffed.

This is an amazing event. Beautiful culture, people, food, music, and energy. Enjoy!read more

What an amazingly good time!! The party starts on the train because everyone is on their way to the…read moreparade. There is good music, friendly people and amazing Caribbean food. My only regret was being born with just one stomach. I wanted to keep eating. The first thing I had was some curried goat. My goodness, it was tasty. When I finished eating, the gentleman I bought it from saw me again and asked what I thought. When I said I loved it and commented on how good his jerk chicken looked, he grabbed a drum stick and handed it to me. There were people in costumes, people with snakes, great music and people dancing. I'm coming back next year, because this year was so much fun. I saw flags from all over the Caribbean, and the American flag too. Everyone was welcome.