Lots of missed opportunity. The water lantern festival could have been top notch with just a little…read moremore planning and minimal additional outlay. Promised food trucks did not show up--why? Shade was lacking--a couple of respite tents with fans or even a water mister would have been nice. Entertainment was also sparse, with only one very young singer/songwriter. There would have been time for two or three different acts. They could also have had other diversions like facepainting, group yoga, a photo booth, etc. And when it was time to launch the lanterns, there was no easy way to get them out far enough into the water to float away, at least not without getting wet and dirty. The wakes from water taxis and tourist boats also made launching difficult. The event should have had some temporary floats or other temporary structures to make it easier for all the young women in their white pants and white skirts to get their lanterns out into the water. Or even some help for people with physical disabilities to participate. On the upside, the location was terrific and the general atmosphere was great. I enjoyed being there with my friends and making my lantern. The craft vendors were good. Staff were friendly, helpful, and good overall. The lantern kits were good. Parking, signage, and access were all good. The portajohns and handwashing facilities were decent and well-kept. But I left with the key feeling that the overall event should have been and easily could have been far better.

I was so excited to attend this event, I brought my mom with me as it was on her bucket list as…read morewell. Even though it was a beautiful event, there were a couple of things that really impact our overall experience. 1. Some of the staff was SUPER RUDE and not really helpful when checking in, there were too many lines and not enough signage directing people where to go based on the ticket purchased. 2. With the book bag giveaway is there was no maps/ wayfinding to help guide people to food trucks and tents allocated to shops and specific food. 3. The pathway to seating on the hill was not accessible for everyone, and the path that was available was NOT blocked off for people to properly walk through. Even the area where we were to go to place the lanterns in the water was in some areas UNSAFE (rocks,boulders). 4. I know this doesn't fall on the event planners themselves but one specific food truck took over an hour for them to get us three items were ordered and still got our order wrong! Overall, I just wish it was better communication on placement maps, way finding signage, and staffing

I purchased these tickets through TravelZoo and paid $45 each instead of the advertised original…read moreprice of $79 each. I never got the complimentary wine glass lanyard and some other do-hickeys (not that I wanted that goofy looking thing anyway), but they were supposed to come with my ticket purchase and it would've been nice to get what was advertised and get my money's worth. A lot of people stuck to the initial main area by the entrance where the tastings for whiskey, cheap vodka, and some wine were available along with a handful of food trucks and a Bare Minerals booth for the women who wanted mini-makeovers. We skipped this area and went along our way to the tents by the piers to search for food, or the lack thereof as we quickly discovered. The "unlimited" samples and tastings were definitely deceiving. Besides a sliver of a beef sample, the actual "food" we ate we purchased -- the jerky, chocolate bark and truffles, and cinnamon almonds which was enough to hold us over just so we could even consume alcohol. I even glanced at the program post-event and couldn't believe there was only one cheese vendor - Kerrygold. After giving the stall a quick glance the line for a crumble of cheese was a mile long down the pier so we didn't even bother to try it. We rarely came across any beer/wine vendors who actually knew the product enough to sell it or answer any of our questions and that was probably due to the fact that they just hired a bunch of volunteers to simply pour. If anything, the food vendors were the only knowledgeable bunch about the products they were selling. After experiencing this lackluster event, I'm glad I didn't pay full price or waste my money for the VIP upgrade. From what I've read from other Yelpers' reviews, the issue lies with the event organizer.

Came here to National Harbor for the Wine and Food Festival. Nice event. We got VIP this year so…read morewe were granted access to the festival 2 hours before GA. The VIP area was located on a pier and you had to show a special VIP arm band to gain entrance. There were food, wine, beer and liquor vendors up and down both sides of the pier offering various tastings, which were included in your VIP ticket with one EXCEPTION.... The Stella Artois tent had comp beer and beverages, BUT they wanted you to pay $2 a glass, which I thought should have been included with the VIP admission....anywhoo...it was a nice event with plenty wine, liqouor, food and beer flowing. I will no doubt be going again next year!

Because I enjoyed the Chesapeake Crab and Beer Fest in Baltimore so much, when I saw the Groupon…read morefor the beer package for the one in National Harbor, I didn't hesitate to buy it. I will say that I got a good value paying $17 vs. $35 because I would have been upset paying $35. First of all, the location was hard to find. There was no signage to find the area from Waterfront St near the water. This location is much smaller so getting around the lines and vendor tents were harder. The space was limited and if your ticket didnt guarantee seating, you were pretty much out of luck. They also had much less drink vendors here. About 5 or 6 vendors were only open to premium ticket holders. So I buy beer package ticket and can't even access all the beer vendors??? That's BS. They had less liquor and wine vendors than the one in Baltimore and the beer vendors didn't know how to properly pour beer. Every time they filled our cups, it would be half full with foam. Warm foamy beer is gross. Also, the food trucks were limited as well. We didn't buy crabs this time because the price without an AYCE package was ridiculous. I gave 2 stars because I like that the sample cups were bigger this time and vendors that were good but they needed better people to pour beers. I don't mean to compare locations but if they are the same price tickets, the experience should be just as great. National Harbor is a wonderful area but I didn't enjoy this fest like the one in Baltimore.

We bought a friend here for the start of his bachelor party weekend. We did the VIP tickets so we…read moregot a tent to sit under with tables. We had unlimited beer and crabs. Nice. There were lots of beers, ciders, and even a few harder alcohols to try. There were some other vendors there for clothing and services also. Once we were in the area where the festival was, the staff was helpful about where to pick up tickets etc. Given that this is a festival vs a formal event I think it went well. Festivals by nature are not as choreographed as a sit down get together. Yes it can be crowded but that is the nature of the beast. I used what had to be the cleanest port o potty I have ever used. Impressive given that we went for the second session of the festival. I would have given it five stars except that actually finding the way to where the festival was from the parking areas was confusing. Some people thought it was taking place in the convention center etc. A few more signs stating that the festival was at the waterfront and pointing in the direction you needed to go would have helped especially since there were multiple events going on this weekend.

Plenty of art but beware steep prices! Only 2 port o potties for the whole festival. No music or…read morefood vendors- must eat elsewhere.

We're having fun in the sun at the Annual Alexandria Old Town Art Festival. This is our second…read moreyear, and we had a great time. Highly recommend!

Peruvian festival is a festival of happy and friendly Peruvians and friends of Peru that just…read morecelebrated its 30th anniversary. The parking was good, no entrance fee, a lot of free stuff (ice creams, water, bags, jello's, etc...), plenty of Peruvian food choices. Entertainment was rich and fun as you can tell by the pictures - they even had the horses do the tricks... I had food that I had never tried before: Anticuchos - marinated and grilled calf hearts, was delicious meal, with the taste and texture close to a calf liver. Picarones - Peruvian doughnuts were soft and sweet. I was expecting they will be soggy but they were perfect, melting in mouth. This festival is very colorful, and had all the colors under the sun, not just red and whites (their flag). The festival is family friendly and even had a NPS stand where kids can learn and touch objects. Only problem with that is the lack of alcohol (I would have loved a Peruvian beer) but that is a small price to pay for an excellent Peruvian experience.

VIP was not worth it, ya they had food tastings but was limited, and done by 2pm, the food card…read moregiven was only good for $15 at any vendor taking them and all plates started at $30. Good experience with the vendors. Except certain "individuals" were catered to more than others. Maybe a good time with general admission but definitely VIP was NOT worth it.

Overpriced, long hot lines, minimal samples, no parking. People throwing up everywhere was the…read morehighlight.

We visited Vine on the Waterfront this weekend and enjoyed the festival. Lots of great local…read morewineries pouring some delicious wines. I was a big fan of Rogers Ford and Arterra. We arrived at noon when the lines were pretty short, but the lines grew quite lengthy as the day wore on. We did buy the Groupon for the food tickets. I'm not sure it was the best move as several food vendors ran out of food by 4 pm. Other than that we had a great time. Looking forward to next year's event!

I would actually give this event 1.5 stars. I paid $35 for my husband and I each for literally a…read moretable spoon of wine. We were there for almost 2.5 hours and only were able to hit up 3 tents. Ridiculous. The idea and set up are fabulous. But the lines are ridiculously long and for a little tasting. For as many wine and beer tastings as I've done my share of, I've never actually got a TASTING! It was almost a nice pour to enjoy while walking around. I paid $35 for crappy tastings then I have to pay $8 for a glass, pass! If you do go, get a bottle of wine and just chill and eat and listen to music, you could tell who the newbies were (like us) vs. veterans who didn't want to waste their time in like! Would not recommend and definitely will not be going back!

I think the other posters have covered the major drawbacks of this festival, namely the lack of…read moretents/shade and the horrendously overpriced food. To call this event a half-assed attempt at putting on a "food and wine festival" would be a compliment. Let's see...where do I start? Well, the wine tent was overcrowded and disgusting. There were maybe a dozen wine vendors and actually getting a tasting was a chore. Not only were there huge crowds around each table, but some of the wine vendors were so rude that they caused half the trouble. One winery had a strict policy of only pouring wine if you were standing along one side of their front table (keep in mind there are tables on both sides with plenty of room to stand along, which all the other vendors made full use of). If you were let's say 6-inches to the left of their imaginary foul line, then you were not allowed to taste their wine. Period!! The woman working at this table was very rude, and appeared to take great pleasure in making up and imposing nonsensical rules like this just to frustrate customers. On the other hand their were a few vendors who actually had people who cared about good wine and wanted to talk about it. To my surprise I was even given some great descriptions and tasting notes on some of the wines. For these vendors who have gone far above and beyond, I rewarded them by purchasing a full glass of wine from them. They were so flattered by this gesture (heck the glasses of wine were often only $5.00) that they gave me some ridiculously generous pours. The wine was practically overflowing from my glass as other patrons looked on with envy. In fact, one guy waiting patiently in line for a tiny tasting told me that he was seriously rethinking his strategy as the economic cost of dealing with the almost skin-on-skin crowds standing in line was not worth the time or hassle versus paying $5.00 for a glass and actually enjoying your day.

Ok. It's there first year, with LOTS of room for improvement. 90 degrees... Sunny day, maybe a…read moreperfect day, but they need shade tents next time. The first two student bands tried their best, but Alass they needy practice or new lead singers. At 1 pm a good local band started. Better... Food lines quickly became extremely long, and initially folks could not serve until the health department said it was ok. ((( reminder next year - get that done by 11 am then open at Noon. Wineries. Toooo long of lines.... And move it away from directly in front of the stage and main speakers. Deafening.

Great event for Local DC & Alexandria, VA residents to enjoy the Armenian culture! The Festival has…read moremany vendors, including Armenian Food, Entertainment, and artifacts on display!

Awesome festivities, creative lights on boats, and community engagement at its best! Amazing…read moremusics venues, Pendry Hotel tables nicely designed outdoors with a fire pit, and a Santa photo op. Various treats and freebies offered, great concert - live music. Talk about clubbing on the pier! This evening of Jack Daniels partnership on a pier at the wharf was a full on Techno, old school, pop dance party! They did not spare much...DJ sounds, free tastings of Jack Daniels apple whisky and Jack Daniels rum and coke lasted from 6-9pm. The Boat parade was demonstrated how great a community we have on the the wharf. Followed by fireworks, this 30 year celebration of the holiday boat parade could not have been a better welcoming of the holidays! Kudos to the wharf for putting on an amazing event!

My husband and I love boats and sailing (and one of the things that drew us to each other). So it…read morewas pretty humorous that we had consistently missed the Parade of Lights for the entirety of our relationship...but quite honestly, isn't that the way it seems to always go? Well, this year, we put it on our calendars well in advance, and made a point to head down for the Parade of Lights. So, first of all - if you haven't heard of it before, the Parade of Lights is on the Potomac...as in, it's a parade of *boats*. The parade starts off in Old Town Alexandria (down by the Torpedo Factory), and ends up on the DC Wharf on Water Street, where all the boats dock, and there is a big awesome after party. We opted to watch from Alexandria, as we weren't really in the mood to deal with drunken revelers (I know, so unusual for me!), and I think we were ultimately glad we did. Although the docks were crowded (seriously, get there early and stake a spot!), the view was perfect. The boats were all decked out in lights, each boat with a different theme (although there should be a drinking game...whenever a boat's theme is "Christmas", you do a shot. You'll be drunk 15 minutes into this thing). So the good: The event started right on time. The kick off was supposed to be at 5:30, and the first boat pulled into view at 5:35. Awesome. Some of the boats are decked out incredibly creatively It's not your usual parade There was a professional radio DJ (I didn't catch which one...Tommy something?) that provided the commentary and filled up the time when the boats lagged behind The not so good: The DJ that was providing the commentary ran out of material about 1/3 of the way through and he started to read off tweets...which I pretty much loathe (even though I'm a huge fan of twitter) Some of the boats really lagged, so there were periods where you would just stand there in the cold waiting for another boat to pull into view It is COLD. It's the beginning of December, on the water, at night. OMG. SO. COLD. All that being said, it's a quirky, off the wall little event, and I love the creativity that the captains put into their boats. Definitely fun and weird.