I'll be honest... my expectations for a food festival in Kingston really weren't that high…read more I was visiting the family and my mom had a printout of the map from the website. I looked it over, realized that half of the restaurants were chains (Coldstone, Pita Pit, Pizza Pizza, Dairy Queen, etc) and decided it would be worth attending for a laugh or two. How wrong I was.... Yes, the chains were chainy. However, the local restaurants all featured amazing menus by very talented chefs. My biggest surprise came from the Garrison Kingston culinary team. For $3, I was treated to an amazing plate of food with a relatively large portion of pork/chicken tenderloin, chipotle & candied beet coulis, fruit salsa, a potato croquette, and an unexpected but delicious shot glass of coconut cream pie. Other standouts included the tiny Chorizo sausage with pineapple salsa from Farm Boy, all of the various drinks offered by King Street Sizzle, and the Silly Yak pastries. They closed down a portion of Ontario Street to have lots of activities for the kids, too. My little one enjoyed the bouncy castles, and a personal tour of a fire truck by a real firefighter. Oh, and face painting too (she decided to be a "princess monster" and the very talented artist made it happen). I hope that I find myself back in Kingston to catch next year's Taste of Kingston!

This was the second year the Chinese lantern festival has been in Syracuse. This was my first time…read more Tickets are $16 at the door or $15.50 online. There are discounts for groups over 20 people. There are also senior discounts and children's prices. The event is best at night when the lights look prettiest. Inside the international building there's a show that takes place thrice a day. Come early to get seats. I loved the show. It included jugglers, hoop jumping, foot juggler, face changing act and a bowl balanced. I thoroughly thought the acrobats and entertainers were extremely talented and the show was entertaining from beginning to end. I had a wine slushee here that was $7 and was more like a wine snow cone. The ice wasn't blended with the liquid. They sold beer for $5, ice cream for $5 and flurries for $6 (like a McFlurry). Other food included gyros, baklava, Cajun fries and a few other options. My favorite lights display were the zodiac arches. Each arch was shaped like a zodiac animal and under the arch was a description of each sign as well as the years that correlated with it. Parking is free for this event. Overall the event was very fun but a little on the small side considering the price. I would still recommend that everyone check it out (and do not miss the show).

For 2018 the Cheese Festival was held on Saturday, July 14. You might want to put a reminder on…read moreyour calendar in early July of any future year to get the date for that year's festival. The festival was 5 blocks long with over 60 tents set up by vendors. In addition to various craft cheeses there were condiments, baked goods, dairy products, wines, and some talented musical performers spread out over the blocks. Little Falls was once known as the Cheese Capital of the entire USA. The Little Falls Historical Society has outlined in the festival brochure a 3 stage Cheese History Trail that you can walk as you learn all about Little Falls' contribution to cheese making and its influence on the cost of cheese even as far away as Europe. I suggest you bring along a cooler with an ice pack or two to transport your purchases. The purchase opportunities here are delicious. Tip: Keep your brochure so you can remember to always look up these vendors to visit again as you travel throughout the Hudson/Mohawk valley, the Catskills, the Adirondacks, the Finger Lakes and the Southern Tier.

While on our mini trip in the upstate of New York we visited the museum that dedicated to the…read morehistory and background of all things of oz including the location being in the city of the man who created it all. Walking in your surroundings by souvenir shop with all kinds of cool things to take home and be able to enjoy for a lifetime. The staff was phenomenal and gave us the opportunity to do a self guided tour or tour guide where they come along same price for both it was about $12 each we did the self guided tour. We able to see the original first edition book that Frank Baum had published and is worth a fortune now and she mentioned to us his grandson was the one that gave it to them. She did also mention to us about how he created other books and history of his life. That was a good introduction to understanding the creation behind all the other versions that came out. We also managed to see some classic like the wiz the return of oz and some other versions that was actually an independent film like "After the wizard which they had the original cast members costume they wore on the set and seeing the version of oz old and new was eye open and exciting and at the end we able to see more of the cast members items like wicked 2024 costumes from the first movie and also they have 3 pieces of the 1939 scarecrow straw from the costume and she mentioned that there's only 200 that were given out and they managed to have that in there museum. Overall a fun experience was able to learn some things as well as go back in to memory land and they did mention that during their Oz extravaganza festival that one of the wicked cast members will be in town stopping by and that festival is during June and the beginning of June and you could always check on their website for more information and we will definitely be back for more events and try to come out during the festival as well. This a place I would highly recommend to visit if you are in town this place is a one of kind experience.

On our way home to CT from Western NY, we took a pit stop at the All Things Oz Museum, and we're so…read moreglad that we did! My family loves the original movie, especially my mom (who also read some of the books). We did the guided tour, which was super informative and very interesting! The girl who took us around was super friendly, and we enjoyed chatting with her. We were impressed at the memorabilia they had, and it was cool getting to learn more about L. Frank Baum in his hometown. They even had a cute photo op at the end. Definitely worth the stop if you're in the area!

The fireworks were great but I wish they brought bck the laser We enjoyed the laser show last year…read moreand was looking forward to see it again this year plus we were happy to see the shuttle this yr but Very Upset that we had to wait over an hr to get on a shuttle bck to the race track that has discouraged us for coming bck next year

Always amazing fireworks! Lots of great music all across the festivities. The trolley (D bus) is…read morewell worth the 3 bucks for all you can ride. It especially came in handy this past weekend with the downpour. Wine court has lots of free samples. Don't forget to pick up a bottle and enjoy it with live music and fireworks show! I would like to see more food trucks to better support local businesses. Also, there were no recycling bins available and hope to see that improved for next year!

Me & my fiance attended the Winter Carnival a few weekends ago and really enjoyed the ice castle…read more That was spectacular and it's amazing what the volunteers are able to build. The carnival was supposed to be the highlight of our weekend so we were a bit disappointed when we showed up around 3 and all the activities were all done and there wasn't much to do other than the castle. Nearly every business in town was either closed or operating with a very limited menu so we were pretty disappointed because we didn't have anything to do other than walk around the ice castle for the short time we did. We did stay for the fireworks but they started nearly a half hour late so we decided to leave because we were bored and tired at that point and sure enough as soon as we started heading home the fireworks started. That was disappointing. They had started setting up the fireworks when we arrived at the castle around 5 so I'm not sure what delayed the start of them. Overall, the castle was incredible and very impressive but the carnival itself was underwhelming at night. I can't say the same for the day time as we missed that portion.

Come experience this very special tradition held since 1897 and make memories that will last a…read morelifetime. The highlight of the 10-day Saranac Lake Winter Carnival is the unforgettable Ice Palace harvested from Lake Flower to culminate in an unbelievable structure made of ice and decorated with dazzling lights and creative carvings. All ages will enjoy this world-famous celebration with many fun, family-friendly events including three fireworks displays, parades, traditional winter sports, as well as quirky events that can only be found in Saranac Lake. The Saranac Lake Winter Carnival is recognized by National Geographic, Fodor's Travel, Travel Channel and many more, as a must-see destination. Visit www.saranaclakewintercarnival.com for more information.

This year marked the 64th annual Polish Festival! I've gone to the Polish Festival twice so far. It…read moreis a 3-day festival that takes place in the summer in Clinton Square. They have live music, performances, awards (or scholarships that were given to high school students who also performed), Polish beer, pierogis, kielbasa, ice cream, face painting, hot dogs, shopping and much more. The first year I was here, I got pierogis. The 2nd year I came, I got a bunch of different desserts from Eva's European Sweets, ice cream, and pierogi. The ice cream didn't taste that great but but the other foods were good. It is a great outdoor event for families, kids and dogs. There are only ~6 food stands. I would love for there to be more. The festival itself is pretty small but I am guessing the Polish community here is also small. The crowd this year was smaller than last year's. I've never been to any other Polish festival before in any other town, so as far as I know, this one is great.

So I have decided to go through and review some of the festivals that we have here and Polish Fest…read moreis definitely on the list. So I am going to come right out and say that I was extremely disappointed this year when I went. I could almost rate it a 1 or 2 star. So here is the skinny on why I was so bummed. The food was just not what I expected. Now don't get me wrong, I love Eva's with a passion. They pretty much made this review a 3. What I was upset about was the utter lack of variety there. I remember there being Eva's, a pastry place that was meh, the fair style Philly cheesteak place, and maybe one more place. I honestly came here because I thought I would find a variety of delicious Polish food. I dragged my wife down there with the promise of a yummy cultural adventure. What we got was just Eva's. Again...love it there, but I don't need Polish fest to have them. We go there all the time. I wanted to see multiple restaurants/vendors/people selling delicious food and try new things. Instead we ate Eva's on a picnic table and watched dancing. I hope they improve this next year.

I look forward to this annual festival every year. It is usually held the second to last weekend in…read moreAugust on Saturday on the Clinton Green. It is free to attend and there is plenty of parking at the school or arena. This festival is home to many craft vendors, food vendors, and live music all day. Many of the adjacent shops have sidewalk sales and specials during the festival, so make sure to venture out around the rest of the village to see what everyone has to offer. There is usually an Adirondack chair auction of some sort and this year they added a cornhole tournament! This event is not just for the adults, as they have some fun activities for the kids as well! This is the perfect way to spend a late summer Saturday afternoon!

The inaugural Cooperstown Field Day - a cozy mix of music, cornhole, kids activities, a farmer's…read moremarket, crafts, and food & beer (Ommegang!) pairings - was marred by some afternoon rain, but all in all, we had a great time strolling through! Three blocks of Main Street were closed off, between the iconic Hall of Fame and Chestnut street, making for plenty of room to peruse the tents. The precipitation kept most people seeking shelter by hopping from tent to tent, leaving some of the smaller vendors on the sidewalk out to dry (pun intended) but you certainly can't fault the organizers for mother nature's temper. They had "nine innings of food & beer," providing samples from, you guessed it, nine different restaurants, each paired with a taste of some suds. Tickets were an attractive $20, but we ended up eating in one of the Main Street restaurants, because unfortunately, they didn't have that tasting set to kick off until 2pm. All in all, a good time - I hope they continue this tradition so next time I'm planning to head up to see the new HOF inductees, I can add this to the list of to-do's :)