I think the lesson learned here is: go early. Jamie and I trailed our way down to Wareham to…read morepartake in the quintessential "fall in New England" experience that is a cranberry festival. Unfortunately, arriving at just before 3:30PM is far too late to enjoy nearly any part of what A.D. Makepeace put together for the 2016 Cranberry Harvest Celebration. Admission was $10 a piece for adults, with the option to pay either with cash or debit/credit card. With no map or guide to show you what to do or where to go, you may end up wandering around quite awhile. Upon entrance, we happened to see a sign that said "last bus to the bog 3:30". Since we weren't quite sure what else was going on, we walked briskly to the bus location, hopped on, and took a short ride to the bogs. The scenery upon arrival was exactly what you'd picture: a flooded bog with cranberries floating aloft, fall colors highlighting the trees, people in waders running their hands through this year's harvest. I saw several festival-goers in said waders, tromping through a sectioned off part of the bog, and got super excited. Could this be my next profile photo?? (trying to be hip, here). We disembarked the school bus and were abruptly greeted with a sign, pricing activities. The cost of a stereotypical "basic" girl's new FB photo? $25 per person. Groups of 4 or more get in for $90, which I guess is a nod towards families. Outrageous. You're provided with waders; for $25 you get to play in bog water and snap your own photos on your iPhone. We decided to skip it, which ended up being a moot point, as they stopped this activity at 3:30PM. If they decided to offer this for $10, I think that'd be a fair price. You'd have a line the entire time. We walked around, snapping photos of the bog, before spotting a couple of food stands and treating ourselves to $3 corn dogs. Everything appeared to be packing up. I stopped by a beer stand (which had been giving out free samples), only to be told they were out of cups, and then, that they were no longer giving samples as it was after their cut off time. We did get to enjoy one fun activity: bog in a cup! Ocean Spray provides a little hands-on experience for festival goers to start their own cranberry bog (in a plastic cup), which they get to take home. It was a cute, somewhat kitschy doing, but at least we got to participate in something. Since everything was shuttering its doors out on the bogs, we got in line to head back to the main festival, hoping there would still be things to do and see there. Nope. Once again, everything was closing down: food vendors, crafts booths, historical/educational opportunities, recreational activities. This was around 4:15PM or thereabouts. Apparently, according to their FB site, the event is done around 4PM. If we arrived at a few minutes before 3:30, don't you think someone would mention that they're wrapping things up? I drowned my disappointment in a sticky, chewy caramel apple, and we walked down the road back to the truck. I'm sure that, had we gone at 10:00AM when the gates were opened, we would have been inundated with a surging crowd of New Englanders, all jockeying to get the best position to watch a bog's harvest, or queuing up to pick through cranberries, or any number of other fun, interesting, and educational activities that were offered here. So, the moral of the story is: go early, enjoy all the offerings, but expect crowds (apparently, "tens of thousands of people" descended upon Tihonet Pond this weekend).

When we made plans to do a week in New England, this was the main thing we wanted to do (besides…read moreeat lots of seafood). The festival is so well organized with tons of volunteers & helpers to guide you around. They have buses to take folks from the parking lot to the entrance, and buses to take you out to the cranberry bogs. Everything runs timely & smoothly. There were lots of vendors giving out samples & tastes, so that everyone who wants some freebies can get some. They also have food trucks, crafts, baked goods, and more booths than we could visit. We donned waders & got in the cranberry bog. It costs $25, but I figure how many chances will I ever have to be in a cranberry bog?! It's a weird sensation & you can feel the vines under your feet. Warning: if you do the bog, be careful of your footing. It's slippery & we saw three people fall over so that their waders filled with water. But it's still quite a sensation & a unique photo op. Tip: get the lobster rolls & chips-- a tasty lunch & a pretty good deal! Friendly staff makes this festival all the more fun.

So this is a spot that I was asked to come to to meet and decorate cars for a birthday parade for a…read morelittle girl. Her grandmother had put something on Facebook asking people if they would join the parade because their family is from other states. So I was happy to do it. Next week is my grandson's birthday parade and I know that he will have a lot of friends and family in the parade so it really hit home. I can't imagine being in this pandemic away from family almost completely. I have family in different parts of the country and some that I haven't seen in over a year and it's very hard so I was sympathetic. But this is also the place that has the Portuguese festival in August which is wonderful. They have a carnival with rides and games. Portuguese food that is homemade is served and it is wonderful. They also sell drinks and beer and have entertainment. Parking for the feast can be kind of tricky but there are back roads here that you can go and park on and walk down. They also have the traditional parade down Main Street and it's just a very nice old fashion traditional religious feast. Of course this past summer we did not attend because of the pandemic there was no feast. It was really disappointing but there were still people out with their Portuguese flags in front of their homes. They had their homes decorated and they really did their best to keep the spirit of the feast. I hope that we will be able to celebrate with them next year.

West Warwick boasts a large Portuguese community, with several social clubs. Over Labor Day…read moreWeekend, they hold a four-day extravaganza, led by the Portuguese Holy Ghost Society. I've heard or read many different names for this celebration - which includes a feast, carnival, concerts and parades - but for the sake of brevity, many locals simply call it the "Portuguese Lala" (I'm not Portuguese, so I have no idea what that means). The focal point of activity is the Portuguese Holy Ghost Society's complex, which, beginning Friday, Aug. 31, was the site of carnival rides, concerts and food concessions. Admission to the festival grounds and concert was free and open to the general public. On Saturday, my wife and I saw Dirty Deeds, an AC/DC tribute band, and they were awesome, both looking and sounding like the original band. My wife remarked that it was entertaining to see people of our generation acting like they were in their early 20s again. In order to buy food or beer, you purchase tickets, and then redeem them. Sunday's events included a parade (procession) in the morning, followed by an auction later in the day, and the Parade of Lights at night, with participants throwing candy from floats. My family watched the parade on East Main Street, near Providence Street, as Town Councilman Jay Messier recorded the event and pumped up the crowd. We later watched fireworks from a parking lot near the town's public works garage. All in all, it's a lot of entertainment for little or no money, and also an opportunity to sample some Portuguese food.

Great Food, Servers were attentive, Beer was cold. They have the pub open on Thursdays now. Many…read moredifferent things going on there for all ages.

First time visiting and absolutely plan to return. The members and guests we met were so welcoming,…read moreinteresting and friendly! Loved the venue, viewing pictures and learning about the start of the Center, the music and food but most definitely the people! We'll be back! Franny, Stoneham, MA

This was my first time attending the Annual Moon Festival. This is held on Hancock Street in Quincy…read moreCenter and celebrates the end of the harvest season. The festival is a community event filled with vendors, food trucks, games, and activities for children, and performances throughout the day. I thought there would be more asian inspired vendors and food, but the majority of the vendors were banks, reality and McDonalds? We went specifically for the the Lion Dance that started at 11am. It was very hot and sunny that day, it would have been nice to have covered seating, but we really enjoyed the performances. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What's the August Moon Festival? The August Moon Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most celebrated Chinese holidays. It is held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month. Chinese families celebrate the end of the harvest season with a big feast. Unlike the American Thanksgiving dinner, the Chinese have mooncakes, which are round pastries filled with lotus seed paste instead of grandma' apple pie. Friends and relatives also send mooncakes to each other as a way of giving thanks. Dragon and lion dances, whose origins also date back to ancient China, are wonderful dances done during festivals, especially exciting are the dragon and lion dances. Free Parking and Free Admission!

The staff there are super rude and extremely disrespectful. The management team sucks, they don't…read morecare about their costumers and continue to let staff bad behavior continue. They will try to scam you and DO NOT LET THEM!!!! A guy tried to make me pay over $50 just because he forced me to play his basketball beanbag toss game for my daughter. The staff will holler you down and make sure you don't leave until you pay them just for playing! We did not want their "prize" after they tried making us pay $50!!!!

Wonderful company, customer support was generous, rides were fun and my kids had SO much fun!read more

The reason we visited this fair for the first time was to see the Puppies of Penzance show and it…read moredid not disappoint. So adorable! Highly highly recommend. The rest of the day was fun too. I was pulled from the audience to be a part of the mime show. My 3.5 year old daughter got to see so many animals. The stunt show was a bit odd because a father was filling in for his son who was seriously injured on Wednesday night during a performance. We didn't know what happened though until we googled and were very thrown by this show must go on routine. Yikes. But overall, 3 generations all enjoyed the fair: granddaughter - grandparents

Rides are super good they make you so happy! But they didn't have the zipper which made me sad.read more

I love chocolate and I can't think of a better way to kick off the weekend in the middle of what I…read morefind a gloomy, harsh winter. With some light entertainment (music troupe) and chocolate, what more can you ask for at this 10th year of the festival? Line started forming around 12/12:15PM. We were lucky that today was warmer in comparison to weeks ago but it easily could have been frigid. I do suggest being prepared attire wise in case. By the time I left with a full plate of samples (fudge, ganache, chocolate dipped bacon, tiramisu, Starbucks brownies, Crema Cafe brownie/chocolate cake, JP Licks hazelnut ice cream and more), the line extended over 5 blocks long. I wish I was able to document all the goodies and vendors but it was too crowded to take pictures of every stand. As per the event website (http://harvardsquare.com/events/legendary-10th-taste-chocolate-festival-harvard-square), these are the vendors: Benedetto Cabot's Candy DAVIDs TEA Flour Bakery Freepoint Hotel Harvest Henrietta's Table JP Licks Parsnip Pressed Juicery Roseadela's Seacoast Sweets Starbucks Tatte Bakery & Cafe Toscano Zinneken's Suggestions for a more organized event though I could see how some of these may be difficult to execute: - Have previous registration - Use a fenced in area to ensure that those waiting in line can get a fair chance at getting samples - it seemed like anyone off the street could just join in at lightly crowded vendors instead of waiting in line for a plate that organizers hand out at the beginning; vendors are too busy to regulate who waits in line or not - Token/raffle ticket system - i.e. give a string of 12 tickets and each patron can use their tickets how they choose; in this way, there are more samples to go around Overall, I enjoyed the event, recommend it, and would definitely come again.

Who doesn't love free chocolate? The Harvard Square Chocolate Festival is an annual tradition (now…read morein its 8th year) and occurs over one weekend in late January. The festival culminates in a one-hour free chocolate tasting event that is held in Brattle Square, usually from 1-2pm on a Saturday. I attended the one-hour tasting today, and it was fantastic! The lines start to form around 12:30pm, so getting there early is a must. Also note that the event is outside, so dress warmly since you will probably be standing in line in the cold for 30 minutes to an hour. Once the line starts moving, it goes fast. The event features a lot of local businesses like J.P. Licks, Ben and Jerry's, Crema Cafe, and so on, and you basically pick up a plate and then move along the line to different tents in order to grab free samples. Some of the goodies that I got today were: - cup of hot chocolate from Shake Shack - scoop of chocolate ice cream from Ben and Jerry's - scoop of chocolate ice cream from J.P. Licks - mini chocolate covered cannoli from Toscano (delicious! My favorite item) - chili chocolate mini cupcake from Crema Cafe - Chocolate chip cookie from UNO's - Bite-sized portion of chocoalte cake from Wagamama - Chocolate square with a dab of honey from Follow the Honey - Sponge cake from El Jefe's - Fudge from Cabot Candy Most of the vendors also have free coupons and discounts that you can grab to encourage you to visit their stores. There was also a music group that was playing, and it contributed to the festive atmosphere of the event. Overall, I was very happy with the event - I just wish it could happen during the summer when it isn't so cold to stand outside!

Sadly, we only caught two of the nine days of this massively amazing (and FREE) festival, but boy…read morewere they good ones: - Saturday night (7/20) - 2-hour Mighty Mighty Bosstones concert in the Boston Common - Sunday afternoon (7/21) - Variety of musical acts and food/vendor tents at City Hall Plaza The vibe during the events was extremely vibrant and friendly, and there was incredible energy throughout both days, ESPECIALLY during the Bosstones concert on Saturday night. From the announcements and some Googling, this entire thing was carefully assembled (and funded) by Ted Cutler, and I have to say, this was one of the coolest things I've ever experienced in an already awesome city! I hope this festival returns next year, and if it lines up with a Yanks/Sox series at Fenway (as it did this year) we'll definitely be scheduling our next Beantown visit so we can enjoy it all! Thanks for an unbelievable time!

9 days of FREE ENTERTAINMENT? YES...at the Outside The Box…read moreFestival! In it's first year taking over the Boston Common, this festival was lightly attended by mostly locals. I predict next year, if there is one, to be HUGE. This event featured many types of artists, and something for every taste and age. I saw Dean and his touring band, of Jan and Dean fame, followed by The Dunwells, a young, English pop band. Also took in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," and "The Two Gentlemen of Verona" as well. THE DEAL: Plan your vacation to Boston next year to coincide with this fun festival. This is a family friendly way to spend the day... or even the entire week. I went back for more every day!