Are you tired of swimming through sticky people to get to some skewers? Do hour long waits for…read moreoverpriced, mediocre foods make you sad? Well, come on down to TO Food Fest! Actually, you can't. It's over. But maybe next year! On a gorgeous Sunday morning, friends and I headed down to experience some exotic treats. Getting there early enough meant we got to park in the lot in front of the community centre. So refreshing to have room to move around and to actually try all the things we wanted to try. I'll try to keep my descriptions short and sweet: DaanGo (aka. Masterchef Baker Siu): Asian inspired macarons (delicious), tarts, and the most Instagramable dessert ever: agar fruit marbles in syrup. $15 for 6 macarons and $6 for a cup of the cool fruit bubbles. Fish'D (by EDO): Salmon sushi burrito is exactly what you'd expect. Pretty delicious but also tastes exactly as you'd think a big sushi roll would taste like. $12 for a full one and $7 for half. Yakikuza: They did one thing and one thing only: bacon and shrimp okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake). And they did it so well. Deliciously fried batter with sauces and two strips of bacon + small shrimps. Oko-NOM-iyaki indeed. ($8) Teppan Ice Cream: Cute guys with nice arms rolling ice cream? Uhhh yes, please. I thought these rolled ice cream things would be kinda gimmicky but that was actually delicious. I got the lychee (real lychee pieces chopped up into the cream), with condensed milk and peanuts. $7 for some creamy, creamy goodness. There were a ton of other fantastic stalls/food trucks that I didn't get to try like Chocollata Gourmet (beautiful Brazilian truffles), the pork belly bao, and the liquid nitrogen frozen popcorn. Great variety, fantastic quality, and I was pretty stuffed after 2.5 hours there. As a note, yes there is a donation amount of $2 requested. Yes, it's voluntary. Yes, there are some lovely ladies that sit at the entrance and ask you, in a very polite way, to donate. If the setup makes you uncomfortable because you feel like you're being "forced" to donate, that's your stingy attitude making you feel that way, not the people there (*cough* other review..). (68/100) - 2016

This was one of the first food festivals I visited this year and it stood out as better than ok…read more 6.5/10 marks. 1. Beware of the lines and many people butting, many new lines being formed, and wait time can take a while. But the people are friendly, just a lack of organization can make things frustrating. 2. Smoke from skewered meats EVERYWHERE. 3. There were 3-4 food trucks so not as many as I imagined. Tried Cluck Clucks (my chicken waffle go-to place) and Formocha (great wheel cake!), and Busters Sea Cove (never going back because of their highly disappointing tacos).

I have attended four different ribfests this summer. This one in Woodbridge was my least favourite…read moreout of the batch. All ribfests that I have attended this year have been in drive-thru format, including this one. I headed over here a couple of Sundays ago. This year, it was held at the highways 7-400 Power Centre. I pulled into the entrance where the Leon's is. You couldn't access the ribfest from there, so I had to pull out and around to the only entrance available. There were a few things that put a damper on my experience. The first was getting a QR code presented to me by a volunteer. I am growing to dislike QR codes. This one was circular with the Rotary Club of Woodbridge logo smack in the middle of it. My guess is that my phone is sensitive to any QR code. If this QR code is tweaked or customized in some way, it won't work. Frankly, I would like to see both the QR code and URL to the site presented. Instead, I got a paper menu. I'd rather have that than any QR code! I am all for donating to a worthy cause. The minimum donation was $2. All donations went to Mackenzie Health. I did not have any cash and hoped that I could do debit. The alternative was to text a number and donate $10. I didn't like the lack of flexibility in donation amount. The Scarborough ribfest had a $5 denomination using your debit card if you didn't have cash. I was not pleased, especially when we are in a pandemic and cash is often not high on the acceptable payment list. The next aspect that was odd was getting dessert vendors in my face during this ribfest. The other three had dessert, drinks, and corn at the end of the drive-thru experience. I had one woman present dessert items that she was offering. It turned me off. I was here for the ribs. I want to order my ribs first! The pylons marking the lanes to the three vendors weren't clearly placed. I actually had to ask a volunteer where to go. If I need to ask for that sort of help with where the lanes are, it says a lot. I typically don't pose that question. There were three rib vendors. I decided to go with Uncle Sam's. The man taking my order was great. I got a full rack dinner that comes with coleslaw and beans. I paid using a credit card. I wish that there were an option to tip, but it didn't appear on the machine. I got my food in a paper bag fairly quickly. I thanked the man and drove over to Home Depot to have a late lunch in the comfort of my car. The baked beans were delicious. They were rich and so flavourful. They were gone immediately. I appreciated getting plastic cutlery. The three other places didn't give me many. Luckily, I always have some in my car. The coleslaw was one of the better ones that I have had. It had flavour and a crunch that I thoroughly enjoyed. Yum! The ribs were amazing. They had a generous amount of sauce that was smokey and amazing. The ribs were meaty and done perfectly. They were by far the best ribs that I have had out of all four ribfests, which made up for the horrible start that I got here. I'm not sure if I'd come back. If it ends up being a walk-in ribfest next year, I may give it a try so I don't get dessert shoved in my face before I get some ribs. (366)

Rain Rain goes away…read more.. All these rain made the 6th Annual Woodbridge Ribfest such a muddy one. I should have wore my rain boots! This is one of the smallest Ribfest I been to with only 5 ribbers. But what makes this ribfest different from others are the local craft beers from smaller breweries, a pizza vendors that make wood oven pizza on site and a taco vendor that roasting a pig on site for pork taco! Tons of other vendors promoting their services from photography studio, insurances and home improvement. Woodbridge Ribfest is A-OK if you are in the area and want to have some ribs, but definitely not worth a special trip for the event!

Perfect afternoon to head to the park. Better yet, we headed to the King City Craft Beer Festival…read moreand Food Truck Festival. This is an annual event that's hosted on one Saturday at the start of summer. The entire town seemed to have shown up as the small festival ground was packed with families & groups of all ages (many with pets) to make for a lively atmosphere. Once inside we briefly roamed around the festival ground and craft beer tents, before settling on ordering Urban Smoke's $10 brisket poutine based on the healthy lineup. Fries were crisp but the gravy sort of overwhelmed the flavour of the BBQ brisket slices. Slabtown Cider quenched our thirst well, so we tried both their legendary cherry and founder's dry cider. However another craft beer (aptly named Psychedelic Sunday) tasted like watered down perfume so I'd chalk that as a recipe gone awry. The other food truck that peaked my interest was Buster's Sea Cove. Figured I'd save a trip to Boston by ordering their $15 Lobster Roll! Their roll turned out to be about the size of the accompanying pickle slice, though filled with decent portion of lobster. For dessert, my wife had to try Funnel Cake Express to reminisce of CNE. Their funnel cake was a solid option: crunchy and not overly sweet from the light chocolate, caramel and maple syrup dressings. Admission started at $10. Gate fare was $20 to sample drinks, with 3 tokens that redeemed basically half a cup each (additional tokens were $2). Since we came with family, the festival was not perhaps the best value for the limited itinerary plus live music. We were in-and-out within 1.5 hours before heading to the nearby playground to enjoy the beautiful day.

As of late, I have been entering contests and have had good luck on my side. Here's hoping that I…read morehave not jinxed it. On Instagram, I saw that Yelp GTA was giving away tickets to the King City Craft Beer and Food Truck Festival. I decided to give it a try, which required reposting Yelp GTA's pic, tagging a couple of sponsors, and declaring that you want to go. My dearest friend saw my post and sent me a direct message saying, "I was hoping that we could hang out on June 9. Were you really thinking of going to this festival or just going if you win tickets? If you aren't a winner, we can still hang out." We have known each other since grade 7. I like that she still will be my dear friend, whether I am a winner or loser. Guess what? I got the nod that I have won a pair of tickets. Go, me! I tagged my friend, saying that we're going. The plan was for her to drop by my place, park, and we'd go in my car. Perfect! Thanks to Amanda, Kris, and King City Parks and Recreation for having us at this festival. The catch was figuring out whether we wanted to pick up the tickets through a quick Yelp get-together, or simply pick up tickets at Memorial Park just before the festival starts. We went with the latter. My friend and I got to venue at around noon. I didn't know where to park and ask what seemed to be a volunteer in a purple shirt. She said that parking on the residential street that we were on was fine. The downside was that she was talking to us facing the park. We were looking at her back in my car. Weird. Anyway, I parked and we walked in. I was to look for Kris and a Yelp sign. I saw nothing. My friend needed a washroom and she left to investigate. I seem to be an easy target for Kris to find me. He yelled my name out, which is now customary, and walked over. He told me that he loves this festival and hoped that I would, too. He gave me my tickets. We chatted some more. He pointed out to stop by the Yelp stand to vote for the best beer and food, and we wished each other a great day. You also get free wifi to vote, which lasts for fifteen minutes. The volunteers were not all that prepared, which is the main reason why I am not giving a five-star review. First, we asked whether we were going to drink beer at the front makeshift gate. Um, yes. My guess was that the tickets come with drink tokens. You get a green-coloured wrist band. Second, we had to show ID. No one looked at our ID. Did we look like senile old women that we didn't need to flash our IDs chiselled on rocks? Third, we didn't know which lineup to go to. We chose the one on the left. The fourth point needs a new paragraph. I approached the table. There were two volunteers. One asked for my name. I gave mine to her. She looked at her list and then realized that I wouldn't be on it, as I was holding tickets. She proceeded to give me three drink tokens. I said that I have two tickets. I should be getting six tokens in total. Her sidekick agreed with me. She didn't give my friend three tokens. Um, I'm waiting. I literally had to tell her to provide three tokens into the palm of my friend's hand. OMG, kill me! Anyway, my friend had to use the portable potty. We walked over. We were the first folks to use them, so they were clean. There was a handwashing area to the right. Perfect! We sampled some beer and cider. We ended up chatting with a number of vendors. The two beers and cider that I tried were fantastic. The folks selling them were enthusiastic and nice. Everyone was nice. My friend took a photo of the BMO folks working the stand for them. We enjoyed the various musical bands and acts that were playing. We got food. I had to get a tornado potato with sea salt. It is essentially a spiralized potato on a stick that is deep fried and salted. So good! My friend and I liked it. I have such a weakness for empanadas. We raided the Chacha Churros truck. I got beef and my friend got vegan empanadas. They were so delicious and packed full of fresh, flavourful ingredients. We loved them so much that we came back to get churros. Both folks working the truck remember us. I told them that their food was amazing. The churros had the best cinnamon flavour I have had in a long time. Wow! We visited every stand. I liked visiting the York Region one. You answered trivia questions and you end up winning a cup made of recycled materials that comes with a straw and a lid. We both got one. You could also fill up your water bottles and even these cups at the free water fountain next door. Nice! Naturally, I stopped by the Yelp booth to get some swag and vote for my favourite beer and food vendors. I liked that one person there said that she has seen me around. I suppose that I have been to more Yelp-sponsored events this year than my four years being a Yelper combined that I am fairly easy to spot! I had a fabulous time at this event. I got to experience so much wonderful food and chat with friendly people. I would definitely give it a go again. (227)

This was my first time at this annual event and it was pretty nice…read more The Town of WS has basically taken a small field filled with some fun, food-trucks and music a couple hours before dusk and had a Victoria Day fireworks party. As I eluded to, it's a very short evening, with all the preparation and set up I almost felt bad for the organizers that the event didn't last longer. That said, locals seemed to know best and while it was rather empty at the beginning the crowds seemed to pile in just before the fireworks started - not great for the vendors, but great for the event. I wasn't expecting much given the smaller town size of WS and the smaller event set up but wow, the fireworks display they put on is one of the best in around. It last just as long as some of the big Canada Day shows but due to the smaller location size you felt as if you were really close to the action no matter what! The only downside with this location is the traffic to get out at the end of the night. There was little to no guidance from police or traffic volunteers and it felt like 5000 cars all tried to get out through 1 tiny exit. Best to carpool if coming with friends

Food, Music, Laugh & Fireworks! Who can say no to this ?!…read more Food- they have lots of food trucks - ice cream, popcorn, hot dog & fries, etc. The place was pretty spacious, even with the crowds of people you don't feel congested. We end up getting seated at a picnic table. Lots of activities for the kids - like balloon making and crown making (ALL FREE!). I especially love how they incorporate group dancing- cha cha slide & YMCA! A great way to burn off some calories. Fireworks- it was amazing ! Definitely surpass the expectations ! Thanks for the great night ! I had a great time ! :)

Didn't visit Markham ribfest this year as they charge $5 admission and the lines have become…read morecomically long. Instead, opted to visit ribfest on the last day in Stouffville. It turned out to be a much wiser decision imo. More available parking, free entry, much cozier space (held in Memorial Park) but also WAY smaller lines. You were able to get to the front of the food lines within 15 mins tops. My friends and I bought our bbq from Sticky Fingers as it had the largest line (isn't that usually the rule of thumb? Pick the vendor with the longest line lol). So a friend and I ordered: - a full rack of pork ribs - a full rack of beef ribs - a pound of brisket - mac n' cheese - baked beans Funnily enough, we unanimously agreed (along w/ our friends who tried some of it), that even though it was RIBfest, the brisket was the best. We got some fatty and lean brisket in our pound and it was glorious. The pork ribs were 2nd place. While the beef ribs were good they still weren't quite as tender as I think I've ever had. The pork ribs also had way more flavour. The seasoning didn't quite permeate the beef ribs all the way down to the bone. The sides were mediocre. While the mac noodles were al dente, the cheese sauce was bland. Overall 4 stars. Can't give 5 stars because those prices were getting kinda ridiculous ... holy hell. They raised the prices out the wazoo.

Stouffville Country Ribfest has been kicking around for years. Oddly, I had never dropped by until…read morelast Saturday. Since this pandemic, the format has changed from a large ribfest with lots of activities at Memorial Park to a drive-thru version at the same place. I decided to give the drive-thru a whirl. Drive-thru events in Stouffville are organized exceptionally well. If you are getting a COVID-19 vaccination shot at the drive-thru, you need to book through Eventbrite. The same holds true for this ribfest, which was painless and straightforward. I booked a timeslot to drop by between 5 pm and 6 pm. I got there just after 5:30 pm. It was easy to locate. A woman that I first met asked if I had checked in online. I did and showed her my confirmation. She was pleased. She then found my name on her list and asked me to drive up a few feet. A second woman handed me a menu. I thanked her and slowly drove over to the rib vendors. This ribfest is probably one of the smaller ones that I have been to. There were only two rib vendors: - Sticky Fingers - Fat Boys BBQ Since I had already got ribs from the former at Scarborough Ribfest the previous weekend, my choice was simple. Go with the latter! There was good music provided by Excellent Productions to keep us all entertained while lining up. Perhaps I'm the only weirdo who ended up taking a photo of the staff there as I waited in line. Everyone there waved at me! I love friendliness. The Fat Boys BBQ line moved fast. When it was my turn to place my order, I had a helpful and nice woman help me out. I got the following: - Full rib rack meal, which comes with coleslaw and baked beans - Cornbread (2) I love cornbread. I had a feeling that this place's cornbread would be yummy when I saw a sign there that it offered a fully loaded cornbread with pulled pork. I paid using a credit card. I provided a tip. The woman let her colleagues know that I had added a tip and they all said thanks in unison. It was so unexpected, but a lovely gesture. I pulled up next to where all the barbeque magic was happening. Another woman provided a bag with my name on it. I thanked her, placed my food safely in the car as if I were guarding it with my life, and drove home. The food was amazing. Let's start with the cornbread. I love cornbread a lot. It was fabulous. It was perfect. Soft and buttery. Yum! I'm so glad that I got two. I had the other one for breakfast and smeared peach jam on it, which I have never done before. Wow! If I see this place again at another ribfest, I'm getting the fully loaded cornbread. The ribs here are so good! The meat was tender and hearty. The sauce was flavourful and delicious. I loved the ribs so much. I couldn't eat them all in one sitting. I had the remaining half the following day and they tasted even better! The baked beans were the best batch that I have had in a while. It was smoky, full of flavour, and wasn't overly sweet or salty. Just right. So yummy! The only weakness was the coleslaw. Although it was fresh, it lacked flavour. I ended up adding rib meat and baked beans on top. The coleslaw was that bland. I had a great experience here. There were lots of clear signs around to indicate that you're driving in one direction, along with staff to help with any questions. The entrance was at Hoover Park and Park Drives, and I exited at Park Drive and Main Street. (320)

So good to be back!!!…read more After missing out on this festival last year due to the pandemic and other events we finally made it back this year to the Unionville Festival. This year it was held on June 4th and was a special event for us as it was my daughter's birthday as well. When I asked her what she wanted for her birthday this year, she said she wanted to go to the Unionville Festival, so off we went. The Unionville Festival is an annual event hosted by the Unionville BIA. For more info, you can look them up at https://unionvilleinfo.com. Almost all of the businesses on Main Street Unionville offer something for families to do. The stores and restaurants are open, and some companies have booths or offer street food. It's also attended by several other vendors from the Markham area. There is much for kids to do as some of the locations have children's activities. The Varley Gallery had art-related activities for the kids. For grown-ups, there is a beer tent, and of course, the restaurant, bars and patios are open if you're looking for an 'adult' drink. Many of the shops are open for shopping and there are street vendors too. This is only a one-day festival but there is enough for two days. We had a great time as we ran into many people we knew, had some street food, and the kids had fun at the Fred Varley Gallery, we had dinner at the Old Country Inn, which doubled as one of the beer tents. It was a good day for us, as we shopped, we ate, we ran into friends and had a great time. Check out this once-a-year event for yourself.

This was my first year attending the Unionville Festival and it definitely will not be my last! The…read moreevent is organized thoroughly with a variety of vendors. To my knowledge, the number of vendors are increasing dramatically every year. Happening at Main Street Unionville, this festival is good for everyone and anyone. From bars, to family friendly restaurants AND cute little patios, there is something to do for everyone. Main Street Unionville is closed off for this festival all weekend so you can literally walk around this beautiful section of Markham while getting to know/enjoy different local businesses. The Opening Parade was also awesome! There was a lot of different cultural representations alongside great music. After the Parade there were a few entertaining performances that occurred at Carlton and Main Street. The festival was a lot fun and I really enjoyed the street musicians jamming out. Will definitely come back next year :)

Great event and especially since I went first night it was nice and cool and the lines weren't that…read morebad at all

I have live in Markham for years! This is the first time I ever been to their Annual Ribfest!…read more Parking is plentiful! Free and less than 5 minute walk from the actual event site. Thanks for the surrounding office buildings open up their lots for event parking. Free admission..extra money for food and drinks? At the Main BBQ area there are 6 different food vendors smoking and flaming their ribs, chicken, pulled pork... Meat lovers heaven! There are also Beaver tails, Funnel Cakes, Corns and all the regular festivities food trucks. I am surprised to see even a stinky tofu stall too! Beers are limited to Mill Street: Organic and Stock Ale.. or maybe you prefer a cooler? Non stop entertainment at the bandstand while people enjoying their food and a nice July weekend! Tips: - come early... or in between meals? The lines get long at around 7:30 - Not all BBQ places are the same! Follow the crowd or go and smell the meat or see the open flames... (My friend ended up picked from one of the vendors that gave her cold, dried and chewy ribs!) Why are my friends eyeing my ribs with hungry looking eyes?!!!!!!!!!

I purchased tickets to the 2025 Newmarket Craft Beer Festival through Groupon. When we arrived, we…read moretold one of the event attendants we had Groupon tickets. Without any explanation, they just said, "You need to talk to that lady" -- clearly knowing we were about to be refused entry. It felt like they were passing the problem off instead of being upfront. The organizer, Kelly, told us Groupon was not authorized to sell tickets and ours were not valid. She pointed to a disclaimer buried at the bottom of the event website that said not to purchase through Groupon -- but there were no clear notices on social media, and the listing was still active on Groupon. We weren't allowed in unless we bought new tickets directly from her, which we declined. What surprised me most was the tone: we weren't angry or demanding to be allowed in, but Kelly was hostile from the start. There was no apology or professionalism -- just a firm "these are not accepted and you cannot come in", then a sales pitch. The whole thing felt uncomfortable and poorly managed. Groupon wasn't helpful either, but thankfully Visa approved a chargeback. I'm not sure what happened behind the scenes between the organizers and Groupon, but the lack of transparency and the way attendees were treated was unacceptable. If you're planning to attend in the future, be very careful where you buy your tickets and don't expect much grace if there's a problem.

Looking to get out of the house? Come down to Newmarket Riverwalk Commons. Dozens of beer, cider,…read moreand liquor vendors. A small kids area and pet friendly. Don't come hungry as there are not a lot of food options.