Absolutely one of the worst crab cakes I ever had. Seriously $20 for mush. Save yourself the entry…read morefee snd go to a local place for good food. i've been to county fairs that have better.

Hands down, the best local event I have been to in a while. The quality of vendors, in addition to…read moretheir pricing, was fantastic. True value for your money, specially if you took advantage of the VIP Mermaid tickets! I got to try samples from 6 different Florida distilleries, all which had at least 3-4 different samples to offer (some had many more) in addition to 1 (or 2!) full cocktails -- all included with your VIP ticket. Definitely snatching these next year again. Best yet? THE VENUE! I have been to too many local events that took place in locations not appropriate to fit the amount of patrons that attended. All the green spaces used for the event by the St Pete pier offered the right amount of space for everyone to spread out and enjoy the delicacies with fantastic views. 10/10!

Thanks to Yelp I won tickets. Otherwise, I am confused why one has to pay for admission, than all…read moreof their food at the food truck fest. I love this new venue since it is by the water. But seeing that it was scorching hot, there still wasn't too much shade to be found. I would suggest this be in the winter when it is cooler. I think it would be perfect in January/ February after all the holidays are over. I would also suggest there be areas for misting tents if it is going to be in the hot months of Florida. That would help people feel more refreshed, and more inclined to keep going through. It's hard for me to have an appetite if I can't refresh somewhere close by. I did get to try the Vietnamese coffee from the Pho truck. I loved it, but it was super small just because it was basically ice. I also has the lobster roll from Surf and Turf. It was okay, but I didn't love that it was mostly kale. My hubby had a burger from one of the trucks and loved it because he felt quite full from the fries and huge burger. I have now had my fair share of food truck fests, and I am glad I have checked this off my list twice. (I was also at the one in the Spring at the Florida State Fairgrounds.) This one definitely seemed to have more offerings. Some of my favorites that I also saw were Mmmbap, Mr. C'S Grilled Cheese, and Leanne's Cheesecakes. They also had bbq, Jamaican food, Filipino food, Portuguese, & German, just to name a few.

My family and I had fun at the rally. It was really too hot to stay that long, but we made the most…read moreof it while we were there. The number of food trucks here was insane! Too many choices and you couldn't try everything. Got food from Aloha to Go, Willy T's Crab Shack, and Jamaica Jamaica. And then we were too full to eat anymore lol. Wish there were sampler sized portions and prices available at the trucks so we could have tried more. Everything we had was delicious though! Will definitely have to visit Aloha to Go's restaurant soon. And that Jamaican patty/coconut bread..YUM. I believe they are based out of Orlando though. Event seemed very organized. We were able to get our passes quickly when we arrived (thanks Candy!). There were plenty of garbage bins along the road. Got to say hi to some fellow Yelpers while we were there and stopped by the Yelp tent of course lol. Couldn't stay for any of the performances unfortunately. Heard there will be another one sometime in spring of next year at this same location. Might have to check it out again.

We were in the area and I really wanted to check this out. I love art and this is a really…read moreinteresting medium. If you decide to go, just know that there is no admission fee and you are free to come and enjoy the beach and sculptures, but it will cost you $5 per hour to park plus a small convenience fee and parking is quite limited. I was disappointed to see that though sculptures made with sand from treasure Island. I assume there was a logistical reason, that it seemed a little strange to me. I was also a little surprised by the designs and styles of the sculptures. There were actually very few that had an ocean or sand theme, with many artists choosing things that work personal to them. It was a very interesting experience. Also they leave the statues up, so if you are unable to attend, you can come and see the statues for a few weeks after the event.

I am always blown away by the creativeness and skill set that the sand artists have. This is my…read morefirst time to experience Sanding Ovations. It is located on Teasure Island Beach in front of Sloppy Joes. If you get there early enough there is the beach parking you can use but also plenty of event parking throughout the area that you'd just have to walk a little from. The beach parking is hourly so if you plan on spending some time down in that area walking around or eating after you see the sculptures it may be worth your bang to get into one of the flat rate parking locations. This event had an opening weekend with all the works, vendors, music, etc but was open all week basically 24/7 because it is not in tents or a secured area like the Sugar Sand Festival in Clearwater is. I went during the week early to avoid as many people as I can for my photos. They were also having an encore weekend the following weekend that would also have all the vendors, etc. Each piece you could fully walking around to get different angles for photos and see just how much detail went into these temporary pieces of art. Just beautiful and though a little windy when I went, the weather was perfect. This is a free event but they did have a donation box out that noted to help keep this free, donations are welcomed.

What a fun way to spend your afternoon. I spent about an hour and a half, trolley included,…read moreexploring the festival and shops! I parked at Madeira fundamental and rode the trolley to John's pass. It's free fair and "admission" and perfect for a nice ride. You're dropped off and picked up under the bridge-- super convenient! When walking around it was packed, but definitely busy. I got the crab Rangoon cheese sticks and a strawberry lemonade. Both were good, but not outstanding. The food selection was unfortunately smaller than anticipated, but there was some great live music!

Overall **** This is a well put together street fair that is large enough to spend a few hours at…read morebut small enough to not be too crowded. It is free to enter and there are no gimmicks like buying tickets to get food. The crowd was very chill (mostly 50-70 years old), the music was good as was the shopping and it was a great way to spend 2-3 hours. We did choose to eat at a restaurant instead of the vendors because it was too hot to walk around eating a big meal out of plastic containers. Let's start with the parking. Personally I wouldn't even attempt to drive all the way to the festival, if you go early it is possible but you may have trouble getting back out. Using the free shuttle service was very easy to use. We used the free lot at Madeira Beach Fundamental School. The shuttle seems to run about every 10 minutes from there. It takes about 20 minutes to get from the lot to the festival. There is additional parking at City Hall but I don't suggest that. The trolley's load first at the school so if it's full there you aren't getting on at City Hall. When returning it stops at the school first so the trip is 10 minutes shorter than City Hall. Ok, enough about the parking let's get onto the festival itself. The trolley will drop you off and pick you up at the John's Pass parking at the foot of the bridge. You will walk under the bridge and up Boardwalk Place East. It will be obvious where to go from there or you can follow the music. If you are in need of a mixed drink I suggest you stop at the festival entrance where the Friendly Fisherman Restaurant has an outside bar/tent. The mixed drink lines grow dramatically the further in you go. If you are drinking beer or coolers those are everywhere and at only $4 a bargain. There is a large stage at Boardwalk and Village but if you prefer something quieter, a smaller stage is straight down the end of Boardwalk. Along Village Blvd is where most of the action is with plenty of food and other retail vendors. All the brick and mortar stores were open so there is plenty of shopping to do. As far as the food goes, while it is predominantly seafood there are other options as well. The one downside I felt is they were all selling essentially full meals and they are no bargain. We wanted more of small bites we could walk around with sampling different options. If you choose to go the full meal route there is a large covered eating area in the parking lot at Village Blvd and 129th where there is an even larger stage. This is already long enough so I will wrap it up with a few other highlights; -There is a kids zone on 129th. -Dogs are allowed. -The North end at Bamboo Beach Bar is more adult oriented.

Fun times at the Gulfport Geckofest! This cute town has been through it but it still has its vibe…read moreand quirky charm. Street was filled with vendors selling their goods. I was disappointed there were not more art available but the music was playing and people were mingling. A fun parade went through and everybody was enjoying the day. I love the cute wine bars in this town and hopefully Gulfport will continue to thrive as it rebuilds.

2025 was the 25th anniversary of the Gulfport Geckofest. The fest was held in the Historic…read moreWaterfront District area of town. Parking was free and easy to find throughout town. There were plenty of fun, unique vendors, food, and live entertainment. The fest has a "Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville" type vibe. It's a nice event to check out for a couple hours to eat, drink, and people watch.

The Gasparilla Piratefest is a must see event. Each year gets bigger & it's slated to have 300,000…read moreattendees. Check it off of your list in Tampa- even if you only try it once!! There's pirates invading the south portion & downtown area of the city & they're tossing "booty" a.k.a. beads, playing music, drinking/dancing while doing so. I've been an attendee on & off all of my life. (Most of my adult life). And in my experience now it's seems there are good times but also a "whole lotta" liquor going on more so than the actual parade. Simply put- try it for yourself & you be the judge!!

Gasparilla is the Tampa Bay party of the year. It's the designated day of the year for everyone to…read moreget together and party, hang out, and catch some beads. The parade is right off of Bayshore going towards downtown, a beautiful spot for a festival, though parking is always an issue. Be prepared for some walking or long waits for Ubers if you don't have a DD. The people watching is elite at this festival, and almost everyone is incredibly friendly and nice. Just be careful and look out for creeps, just like any festival they're out and about so be smart

We had planned that morning to go down and see the kite show and I am glad we did!…read more It was a gorgeous day for January so we grabbed our chairs, packed a cooler, and met up with some friends for a laid back day looking towards the sky. We could not have asked for a better day! When you walk towards the beach you could see them soaring in the blue sky. We walked out towards the center and sat for a few ours. There were several that were practicing for competitions. ( One of the flyers even described how he maneuvered the dual handle kites). They kind of had that jet fighter flight patterns. The large fluffy ones are my favorite! Floating like clouds above the beach... so relaxing. If you have never been before, I would definitely suggest going next year. I hope the weather is perfect! See u Soon!

Truly kites festival at the beach. The community welcome this venue at a good weather day at winter…read moreseason. The temperature is 70 degrees for mid January was great for this outdoor event. Many kites were flying high in the sky. We can spot it a mile away before we arrive. The event is packed with people at the beach which doesn't feel cramped. The kites can be watched in a distance at the beach. There are many shapes of kites. I like particular the snoopy and Charley Brown. There are at least 3 sting ray giant kites. I also like the performance kites. At least over 50 kites in the air. Not counting those smaller kites.

I was hoping for more but it was a fun evening. The music was great! The fireworks at the end of…read morethe end were much more than expected. When an event is call Taste of ..., you expect there to be great food with lots of choices. I was very underwhelmed by the choices. It would have been nice as if places offered small plates so that you could taste more than one place. I did try the pulled pork nachos from Jackies Bistro, they were yummy but nothing worth seeking out the restaurant. I was also sad because it was a fundraiser for All Children's but there wasn't even a table about the hospital. The venue was a little underwhelming as there wasn't much shade and the music could be clearly heard from outside the gates. There was many boats in the harbor that pulled up for the concerts. It was strange that the family area with the kids bounce houses were also outside the gates.

It was great in terms of the concert aspect! Pat Benatar was what I was excited for. There were…read morelots of restaurants that were showcased, but not many were impressive. I would say I was most impressed with Daiquiri Shak! It had tasty food for a reasonable price, unlike most of the other places. As well as the hooker tea company, which I did not know existed in St. Pete, so I will definitely be going there next time I am in St. Pete.