I really enjoyed this festival. Two big tents on Brown's Island were filled with beer, beer and…read moremore beer. There were microbreweries from all over the United States, lots of Belgian beers, German breweries, Scotland breweries and more. Your $40 ticket gets you a tasting cup and all the two-ounce beers you can drink. There was also a VIP ticket ($75) that got you access to an extra tent with snacks and a free T-shirt. I didn't think the added benefits were worth the cost. There were two sessions, one from 12-4 and one from 6-10. I went for the afternoon session. What I liked: it was surprisingly un-crowded. There was a very good ratio of breweries to people and I hardly ever had to wait in line. We arrived a few minutes before the event started and were very impress with the organization. While we waited people came by to check our IDs, give us armbands and programs so when it was time we could walk right on in. Some beers were poured by volunteers, but a lot were poured by actual employees of the breweries who could give educated information about what you were tasting and the brewery. I was also pretty pleased with the food selection. While many events like this just have fair food like nachos and funnel cakes, there were local restaurants with booths set up here. I chowed down on a spring roll and some tasty Asian chicken from Ginger Thai. India K'raja had a booth too. Some of my favorites were: 21st Amendment Brewery Brew Free! or Die IPA, Bluegrass Brewing Co. Bourbon Barrel Stout, Brooklyn Brewery Summer Ale and Williams Brothers Brewing Co. Joker IPA. I was also happy to see some local breweries like Legend, St. George, Old Dominion Brewing Co., Starr Hill and Blue Mountain Brewery. Some standard beers like Pabst Blue Ribbon, Newcastle and Bud Light Wheat were also being poured, which was kind of weird, but the more the merrier. My only complaint: all the beers were divided under two tents and it got HOT under them. I wish there were some fans or something to keep the air moving. It wasn't a huge deal, though, we just stepped outside when we needed to cool off. I'll definitely return to this event next year.

The best beer festival Richmond has hosted yet. Represented were some of the heavy hitters like…read moreBoston Beer, Dogfish Head, Chimay, and Sierra Nevada; local breweries like Legend, Star Hill, St. George, and Blue Mountain; and a wide variety of beers from around the world. We attended the second session (6-10pm) and enjoyed the cooler temps. The crowds weren't bad at all and I never had to wait more than a minute to try a sample. Some of the more interesting beers I had included the Von Steenberge Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour Ale and the Dogfish Head Forte, a raspberry beer with a 18.5% alcohol content. This wasn't as big as the versions down in Carolina but I hope it was well attended enough in its first year for them to bring it back next year!

The Burger Blast was...a blast! Great variety of burgers from the India K'raja awesome veggie…read moreburger to the massive Mosaic masterpiece, there was something for every palate. The beer selection was terrific. My personal favorite #sidamo coffee stout by Hardywood. Never made it to the wine tables because of super long lines. Next year the organizer should consider doubling up on the wine offerings. Music was provided by Griff's band and they were really fun. They took standard favorites like Elvis's hound dog and gave it a folk/bluegrass twist. Music was a nice addition to this year's event.

Super thanks to Yelp Richmond for running a FB contest to win tickets to this event beacuse I…read morewon!!! That's right two free tickets to the Virginia Wine Expo!!! I found out I won 24 hours before the event. Babe! !! Road trip! !! I didn't mind driving up from Chesapeake to attend this event in Richmond. This event is world renowned so heck yeah we're game to attend. Parking was a beast!! We arrived about 2pm and the event I believe started about 10am. So yeah we were super late and knew we would have to deal with ridiculous lines for the wine sampling. But no worries... We were blessed to run into a man that was coming out of one of the pay to park lots and he offered to give us his paid for parking voucher. A free voucher for 3 hours...yaWhoooooooo!!! So let's do the math...free tickets valued at $55 each and now free parking...Oh we are in store for an awesome Saturday! ! I didn't do my research on this event, but if we ever return again I'll be ready. They offered private samplings throughout the day and I believe I saw evening tastings too. These tastings included food sampling as well. Bummer...most we sold out too. I believe about 20 openings were available for each private sampling. I'm sure this made an awesome time for a day date or date night. I saw something about a burger blast not sure what that is, but mad we missed that too. I tell yeah it was a lot going on and I'm sorta disappointed we didn't get the full wine expo experience. So definitely do your research before you attend. But we're checked in and wristband ready!! I was able to get a free wine bag that holds up to 6 bottles of wine...ahmazing! !! We picked up our crystal wine glasses...they were beautiful!!! We didn't know where to start. Let's start where the lines are the shortest. As time went on no lines were short so be ready to wait. Patience indeed. All the wine and malt liquor you can stand...this is the event for you! Every 10 minutes it seemed you'd hear a loud roar or cheer even. I thought some kind of contest was going on but nope!! Wine glasses were being dropped left and right, therefore, cheers if you will! ! :) Amongst the wineries different vendors were present and my fav there was Yelp!!! Heyyyy Bevin! !! She was the Yelp ambassador present on Saturday afternoon. She was awesome at greeting guests and telling them more about Yelp. She also had some cool swag to pass out to those that expressed interest. But the highlight at the table, Yelp provided beads and stems to make wine jewelry!! Fun fun fun!! I'd definitely recommend this event. And wear comfy shoes and eat lite before arriving. Have fun :)

This annual event in Richmond is a nice way to celebrate compassion for animals and planet earth…read more Great selection of vendors, speakers, entertainment and food trucks. Shockingly good amount of folding tables & chairs. Parking was less daunting than I anticipated. I'm really impressed by how well organized and RVA Veg Fest is. Definitely worth the afternoon. Always a good time and a shortcut to meeting other vegans irl. YES: Vegan friendly YES: Family friendly

Richmond VegFest is always a great time. I've attended the last two years and have enjoyed browsing…read morethe shop and food vendors. It's fun to meet some of the animals in attendance, and there are great educational resources on reducing or eliminating meat/transitioning to veganism. While I'm not there yet, I am veg-curious and trying to add more plant-based items to my diet, so this fest is a great chance to learn more about implementation strategies. All in all, I'm a big fan and will look forward to next year's event.

Friends and drove out to check this out. It was our first time attending and after waiting to get…read moreon two 6-seater vans to be driven to the faire, we decided to walk there, which ended up being quicker. There were so many booths and food trucks to check out, but we were all surprised at the lack of strawberries available for purchase. We had envisioned being able to pick strawberries, but the only option was to buy baskets of strawberries that we didn't know where they came from, which was disappointing. We each tried some strawberry flavored food (frozen custard, shaved ice and even a croissant donut). It seemed like there were more booths selling services (like new windows) and dog related items, than anything related to strawberries. It was nice listening to a band playing music, and checking out Randolph Macon College, but it was very hot and crowded, so our overall experience was not that great.

It was nice and we really enjoyed it . It was nice vendors and lots of people there. Food was…read moredelicious and nice and hot.

Looking forward to this annual festival, which is taking place on July 24th from 11am to 4pm this…read moreyear. Two years ago, with the salmonella tomato scare, the festival was cancelled and I was CRUSHED. So I was super excited when it was on last year... After all, I'm a simple girl and until I moved to Richmond I never knew tomatoes came in all colors shapes and sizes... Like any good produce-based festival, there are some contests to identify the best tomatoes based on size, appearance, etc. But the real fun is in the eating. Vendors set up shop with their most innovative and tasty recipes using tomatoes... and then you can buy it all to taste! Plus, you can purchase fresh tomatoes of all varieties from the local farmers in attendance. This was were I first tasted zebra tomatoes, and where I saw Hanover tomatoes for the first time! While there is also the usual assortment of arts and crafts vendors, this festival is smaller and more intimate than the Watermelon Festival... Lines can be long at some of the more delicious looking stands, and I recommend getting cash before you go because last year I remember the ATM up the street being out of order, which was a major bummer. The good news is they have live entertainment, so you can tap along to the music while you wait in line for your fried tomato sandwich!

Super fun! I hope it returns next year; I'll come with a bigger appetite.read more

This was a lot of fun. The music was great.. It could be heard all the way down on the other end,…read moreand it made you want to dance in the street! there were really good food trucks there, and the crowd was big but not over powering. I really liked the location of this event because it was easy to get to and find a park. The one thing that I didn't care for was it was advertised as a free event, with all these things for kids but all the great things for kids required a bunch of tickets. (Thumbs down!!!) clearly the theme of the day was pumpkin because every food booth/truck had some sort of pumpkin flavored food item on the menu. The only thing I ate was a pumpkin pecan cupcake from Ukrops/Martins and let me tell you... It was dee-licious!!! I will be looking for those in martins for sure. I stopped at the crave-tini booth and got a mini-manicure for my daughter. She loved it... But she messed up 5 nails at the movin mania booth when she was jumping rope. There goes that $5 mani! We also stopped by a baptist church booth that had free halloween arts and crafts making pipe cleaner spiders and bat pencil toppers. We painted a face on a gord that supported refugees in the area. Overall.. This event was great, and a lot of fun. Honorable mention... We stopped by the yelp booth, checked in and got a prize by throwing darts at a board. Who doesnt love to throw darts, great event !

Richmond is no stranger to food festivals, but this is by far one of the best. Much less crowded…read morethan the Greek Festival, and in my opinion, the food is better, the people are friendlier, and there is more space to sit and enjoy yourself. Located in the back of St. Anthony's Maronite Church off Sadler Road, this annual event hosts an array of traditional Lebanese fare, dancing, and camaraderie. Some personal favorites of mine are the shawarma, the meat pies, and the zalabia. All the food is spectacular, so be sure to try what looks good. One tip, though - this festival is cash only, but they do have ATM services onsite. I look forward to coming back next year, and forever. Amazing food, awesome people, and an incredible showcase of food and culture. A+

This place is awesome! This is the first time I've been to this Fest in Richmond and I have to say,…read moreit's kind of amazing! The food was amazing and you get SO much of it. I was truly amazed and will be going back on a yearly basis. If you look at the pic I posted, I'd have to say the meat pie's were the best thing I had there! They were so flavorful and surprisingly light. I didn't feel as if I was super full after. I also tried the stuffed grape leaves, stuffed squash, the shawarma, and the spinach/feta pie. All were delicious beyond belief! The grape leaves were nice and rich; I don't think I could eat more than 1 or 2 but they were very tasty. The shawarma was tasty! I almost felt like I was with the Avengers (LOL). Seriously, the food there was SO good. I would highly recommend this place all day, every day.

Was not as big or as good as last year. But the new stage was great and the volunteers and staff…read morewere excellent. Looking forward to returning again next year. Thanks again Chester for this very nice free event.