If the regular Carling/Carlsberg/Stella-style options at your local bar are boring your palette,…read moredon't hesitate to head to The Great Welsh Beer & Cider Festival, the Campaign For Real Ale's flagship annual three-day drinking fest in Wales. Always rolling out a list of barrelled British ales as long as your arm, with understandable emphasis on Welsh brewers, plus many German beers, every year brings a handful of comedic names - try ordering past example Pheasant Plucker after a couple of pints without accidentally insulting the serving staff. The cider and perry options are plentiful and strong, too. The festivalgoers vary from 14-pint-a-night rugby fan types to stereotypical beardy real ale enthusiasts and though admission is charged that does get you freebies (at the 2010 festival, for example, it was a fiver in with a free beer glass, and under 26s got complimentary beer tokens). The earlier you get there, the better the availability - arrive late on the last day and chances are stocks of most popular drinks will have been drained already. The downsides: the food choices could do with improving, although live entertainment/music will take your mind off any rumbling stomachs. And the venue, Cardiff International Arena, is somewhat grim and lit like a school assembly hall; you'll certainly be left wishing they had an outdoor beer garden. For anybody in doubt over the middling mark: the beer, ciders and perry ranges are as imaginative as such tipples come, it's just the venue makes it more likely that alcohol's depressing qualities will win out if you spend too much time there - and running for 12 hours every day, a serious drinking session is certainly on the cards for those who can last the pace.

Well! I'm getting really bloody excited! We are only a couple of weekends away from the pretty…read morespecial Fair Play Festival! This is a three day Music and Art festival that takes place at two great venues in Cardiff, and features a dizzying list of performers and artists. The most stunning thing about it is that it is only a tenner! Yes, you heard me right! A tenner! I shit you not! That's three days of live music and art for a tenner! Honest! Here's a few highlights: The Boiler House is hosting one of the stages throughout the festival, and has had a recent makeover by the SIN Cru, a graffiti collective that is comprised of street artists from all over the UK. (Canvas and prints will also be available at one of the stalls during the festival.) Rachel Taylor Beales will be performing on Saturday afternoon... if you haven't seen this musical alchemist with the hauntingly beautiful voice, you had better not miss this opportunity to understand why I think she is so utterly special! Dirty Revolution will be raising the rafters on Saturday night and Cakehole Presley will be putting in an illustrious performance. The very wonderful Whistling Buiscuits will have you dancing out of your skin with a big fat grin on your silly little faces and VJ Skulpt will be driving whacked out onlookers straight to rehab with his mind-bending visuals... There's early bird tickets on sale at the moment, but I reckon you're going to have to get clicking on that link pretty darned quick if you want to be one of the lucky ones to get one!

The Big weekend is an annual 3 day music festival in the city that encompasses a range of different…read moremusic types and aspects for families as well as the adults. Last year The Zutons and The Lightening Seeds were headlining and this year you can see Chaka Demus and Pliers (I'm excited about that!) as well as Welsh rockers The Blackout and Feeder. There's also a funfair, fireworks and the whole town comes to life.

The summer counterpart to the annual Winter Wonderland, Cardiff's Big Weekend is an event that…read morebrings the whole city to life. Sponsored by Admiral, the Weekend is an annual three day festival based in the heart of the city, completely swallowing up the civic centre and the museum area with its fairground rides, games stalls and massive stage. Every year, the festival puts on three nights of gigs from a selection of local talent, old stalwarts (such as this year's fantastic Chaka Demus and The Pliers) and major contemporary bands such as The Zutons or Athelete, all for free. The atmosphere is always loud, lairy and happy with most people being there just to have a good time. There are the occasional problems amongst the teenage crowd, loaded up on adrenaline and this can put a damper on small pockets of the area, but nothing that isn't resolved quickly. Everyone's too busy thinking of what to do next to stay mad for long.

The absolute highlight of summer in Cardiff to me is and always will be the Cardiff International…read moreFood & Drink Festival. If you're a foodie in Cardiff, attending the International Food & Drink Festival is an absolute MUST! -- TIPS: -- ~ Make sure you have plenty of cash on hand way before the event. Nearby ATMs will have a massive queue of people getting cash out. If you can get cash out somewhere else before attending, you can avoid the mad rush to the ATMs. ~ Bring your own bottled water / soft drinks. Drinks here are really expensive, and while meandering around the food stalls trying all the different things, I found myself getting really thirsty and forking out over £2 for a standard bottle of Diet Coke. -- ATMOSPHERE: -- I really enjoy the atmosphere here. You're surrounded by a bunch of other folks who love food as much as you do - what could be better? However, if you're not a crowd person, you might hate it. Try to get there extra early right around opening time, the crowds may be a bit less then. -- FOOD: -- There's a decent amount of variety of food here. The only thing is that I'm hesitant to say that the variety fits the name of it being 'international'. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely some international choices (I loved the paella stand!) the vast majority of places were definitely Welsh/British cuisine. However, there should still be something for everyone here. Again, go and get the paella - amaziiiiinnngg! Not only can you get hot foods here, but you can also check out the Producer's Fayre or Farmer's Market for goods to take home such as regional cheeses, chutneys, and chocolates. Well worth the browse. --- I'm really sad that I have to wait a whole year to come back to the Cardiff International Food & Drink Festival. Definitely a must-go if you're in South Wales for the summer!

If you're tearing your hair out trying to find yet another entertaining and engaging activity your…read moreout-of-school kiddies will enjoy, head over to Cardiff Bay's Harbour Festival, where I guarantee at least a few hours of sugar-high fun. Normally held every August Bank Holiday weekend, the Cardiff Harbour Festival offers a range of activities, live music, carnival rides, games, food and craft stalls the whole family will enjoy. Thankfully, this year saw a batch of fine weather, so visitors were able to make the most of the street and water entertainment on offer. Embarrassingly, I panicked yesterday as I looked out my window to see the Royal Artillery Parachute Team pulling a body out of the Bay - thankfully, it was just their teams performing high-speed rescues for the crowds packed along the shores. Phew. Typically, I peruse events like these to investigate the food stalls (I love cheese and cakes), and I'm here to tell you the Festival has enough grub from around the world that will ensure satisfaction any picky eater (try the coconut macaroons the size of your fist!).

August in Cardiff is packed with great summer festivals, and the Harbour Festival (usually held on…read morethe Bank Holiday Weekend) is just one of them. Hosted down in the Bay on Cardiff's redeveloped waterfront, every year organisers keeps their fingers crossed for good weather because it makes it so much more enjoyable when the water's sparkling and everyone can enjoy being outside. There are plenty of water-based attractions, including the Tall Ships, which you can hop on board and explore; a jump by the Royal Artillery Parachute team; and a high speed rescue demo by the RNLI. My favourite, however, is the rather cuddly Newfoundland Dog rescue team's display! Back on dry land, there's a continental market which is good for a browse but a lot of the produce is rather overpriced - and there's also the Welsh Oyster Opening Championships, and plenty of live music and street entertainment. All in all, it's a good day out - particularly if (like this year) the weather holds out!

Oh Yes! Oh Yes! It's big... so very big, and it's beautiful! It's The Great British Cheese…read moreFestival! And it's coming soon! "Where?... Where?" I hear you cry... Well, it's in the heart of our nations capital my dears... in the gorgeous grounds of cardiff castle no less! And did you know, this is the largest event of its kind in the UK? No? Well, now you do! Weather permitting (please God, don't let it rain!) there will be picnicing, samplings, tastings, and masterclasses and demonstrations, leaving you in no doubt about how cheese actually comes into being! Only the very best of the best will be covered... There will be no talk about how to get triangles from a cow here I promise you! Tickets are available from the website, or you can buy them on the gate. Dates: 25 Sep 2010 to 26 Sep 2010 http://www.greatbritishcheesefestival.co.uk/

YUM. Happiness is a…read moregood cheese board. As this festival is coming, I thought you ought to have these handy tips from the British Cheese Board on how to enjoy cheese: * Cheese is best enjoyed fresh, although it can be stored in a cool environment for anything from a couple of days to several months, depending on the type of cheese. * When storing cheese, either wrap tightly in foil or cling film or keep in an airtight container in the bottom part of the fridge. * To bring out its full flavour, cheese should always be served at room temperature. Remove from the fridge at least one hour before serving and keep loosely wrapped. * Liven up your cheeseboard with a natural garnish such as grapes, apples, tomatoes and celery. Or try some of the more unusual accompaniments, such as olives, pickled walnuts or pickled gherkins. Dates, figs, sultanas currants and other dried fruits also work well as an accompaniment to cheese. But remember, all pickles should be served in separate dishes. Don't be afraid to let your imagination go wild! * Alternatively serve with bread, crackers or water biscuits. Skip the margarine or butter if you are keeping an eye on the calories! * Have a number of knives to hand and always use separate knives to cut blue cheese and mould ripened cheeses such as Brie. * Wrap any unused cheese and keep in the refrigerator. If the remaining cheese is an odd shape, and can't be re-used on the cheese board, grate to use in cheese sauces, sandwiches or other cheesy dishes. [http://www.britishcheese.com/enjoy_cheese] Do you feel better informed now? Personally I just buy it, unwrap it, and devour it in one. Especially if it goes by the name Y Fenni. Lush. There will be over 450 amazing British cheeses to try at this festival. I may move in and turn into a mouse for real.

A boutique-ish three-dayer that began life in summer 2010 in countryside near the perimeter of…read moreCardiff International Airport, Watusi is an interesting additional to Wales's undersubscribed festival season, from a collective of the region's promoters. Small in scale but big on ideas, the musical policy is on the laidback side, DJs spinning sounds spanning Brazilian, funk, reggae and Afrobeat music, plus live performers dealing in whimsical folk, indie-rock and audio-visual sets. The atmosphere is similarly tranquil - midway between hippy jam and refined middle-class relaxation - albeit sporadically interrupted by its location directly under the flightpath of the nearby airport. It proves weirdly hypnotic, however, as everything from light planes to international commercial aircraft approach to land at regular interviews. You may not be so impressed should your mornings involve sleeping off the previous night's excesses, of course; compensation is a stunning sea view beyond the festival's fences. The drinks are heavy on local brewers, commendably reasonably priced for a festival (ordinarily carte blanche to charge extortionate money for generic drainwater), and the food, while not such fantastic value for money, is hearty with good vegetarian options. If you don't drive, the trip is only a minor inconvenience, less than 30 minutes walk from bus and rail links. Here's hoping Watusi becomes an annual fixture.

You thought opera was only for people who can afford to decorate their bodies like Chanel Christmas…read moretrees? Thought hill-billy was only for those who have pet names for their cousins? Reluctant to hit a Radiohead gig because you actually had a happy childhood? Followers of these genres don't know the meaning of exclusive like those trying to get to grips on the capitalised and allusive category of New Music. Compared to us, these Chanel-clad, incestuous whiners don't know the meaning of struggling to fit into a fan-base. They don't have to put up with a scene that, by definition, has to constantly slip through your fingers. This does make SWN seem mighty intimidating for one who doesn't spend their days tuned into Huw Stephens showcase for 'unsigned, underground and under the radar music', with their thick rimmed glasses pointed to the NME's website. Nevertheless, the festival really brings Cardiff's finest venues together and is a great way to find out which bands you should be spending your next year listening to. URBAN CHALLENGE: Volunteer. This is a great way to infiltrate the festival.

Swn started off as a music festival in 2007, promoting and celebrating new music coming in and out…read moreof Wales. It means 'Sound' and is pronounced 'soon'. Now, as well as the annual three day event, they also put on gigs all year round, predominantly in Wales and they also curate stages at other festivals and events. Based in Cardiff and set up by Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens and music promoter John Rostron with the aim of bringing some of the SXSW vibe to the city, AKA one city, lots of great bands, lots of venues, one wristband. Over 100 bands played in the first year of the multi-venue festival. My faves that year were Beirut, Sky Larkin, Two Gallants, Yeasayer, Those Dancing Days, The Duloks, Pagan Wanderer Lu, 9bach, Sam Isaac and Pony Up. Since then the event has got bigger and better, now including daytime seminars on the music industry and making it as a band, and art, film and literature events. I loves it, I do.

I love Christmas markets, and if you're lucky enough to be in Cardiff when it opens, I definitely…read morerecommend visiting. There are so many stalls with handmade products by local vendors, it's amazing. From craft foods to jewelry to clothing and home decorations, you can find a gift for just about anybody. Then there are the food options... so much food! The pancake house made amazing fresh crepes. We indulged in the Nutella, and the lemon and sugar. The sausages were huge and delicious. Definitely worth coming to!

My first experience of a traditional Christmas market is actually the one in Cardiff. Although I'm…read moresure this one is a bit smaller in comparison to the huge ones in massive cities in Europe, I still really enjoy Cardiff's. ~ Atmosphere: Who doesn't love Christmas lights and a brilliant atmosphere? On the night that lights came on, there was Father Christmas coming through the city on his sleigh, people selling glowsticks for children, and people rollerskating in Christmas bauble costumes. All makes for great fun for both adults and children. ~ Food / Drink: I adore mulled wine and they have a little bar set up with seats to enjoy a nice cup of it. Also, the smell of delicious German sausages really fill the air as you're walking along the street. I normally just opt for a roasted pork baguette with stuffing and crackling. You have to love traditional Christmas roasts! ~ Shops: There's quite a few independent shops selling all manner of things here whether it be things for gifts or treats such as cheese and fudge brownies. --- If you're in Cardiff, it definitely won't hurt to check out the yearly Christmas market. Great atmosphere, great food, worth a browse!