I'm what you might call a festival-phile. As my friend said when he ran into me at yet another…read morefestival for three weeks in a row "if there is a festival in Philly Melissa P. is there!" True story. This was my second year at Bloktoberfest and it was once again a good time despite the little fall of rain and some intense lines. $15 presale online (with a few dollars processing fee) gets you 3 beer tickets and a sweet wristband, they're $20 the day of. You can get a 5 beer ticket for $25 or additional beer tickets for $5. There are some fancy strong beers, some ciders, and a lot of pumpkin ales and Oktoberfests. I would recommend going with 3 tickets and taking it from there in case it rains/gets too loud/crowded/your lame friend wants to leave/your awesome friend gets too drunk and needs to leave, etc. Lots of food trucks are out and places like Jamaican Jerk Hut, Sawatdee, and Magpie have food for sale. Lots of live music and even activities/performances for the kiddies (but ya know 26 year olds like to paint pumpkins too!) Some freebies from State Farm, City Fitness and even free on site eyebrow wax! Also love the print your own instagram table. It gets really crowded though so if you're not into things like night market... I would not recommend. I'm really not sure what my weekends will look like without all these fall fests, probably a lot of crying and moping around the house.

Had I had even considered reviewing Bloktoberfest before I would have done so 5 years ago when it…read morewas Graduate Hospital's event of the year! But since that time I've have seen it grow into a big time festival that showcases everything that's awesome about my favorite side of South Street. Deep down I'm happy to say that I was at the first 2 Bloktoberfest's that took up 2 to 3 blocks of the Graduate Hospital hood just south of Sidecar. And even though they were smaller scale, had fewer food trucks and brews, and the 2nd one suffered a huge hit by a considerable rain storm; it was a solid event that showcased the best of a South Philly community. And even when it expanded onto the best of South West South Street, teamed up with Bella Vista Beer Distributors to bring in even MORE beer, added in even more food truck and restaurant involvement, and utilized even bigger musical acts; it maintains the central organic theme that it was based on. This years fest gave me the chance to catch up with bad ass Philly bands like Swift Technique, West Philadelphia Orchestra, and Jason Jefferies & Tall Trees. While it was great to catch up with old food truck standbys like Say Cheese, Koja, and Sugar Philly Truck; I was blown away by new trucks like Mom Mom's Polish Food Cart. Grabbing familiar brews from the likes of DuClaw and Clown Shoes was definitely a winning combo. But I enjoyed new brews from Horny Goat, and the fact thar Neshiminy Creek brewed Bloktoberfest's own fest beer. Add in some suitable previews of restaurants I've been meaning to try like Rex 1516 and Cambridge; and this year's festival might have been the best one yet!

We all have gone to a block party here and there in our times. You haven't done a block party like…read morea Philly one where they block off 4 blocks. This will make for some good times. Does your block party have a live band? Maybe some do, but not like this one. Does your block party have multiple food stations where you can go into a food coma? Again I'll go with maybe, but I will bet Barclay , Butcher , Alma De Cuba, Rouge, Oyster House, and so forth aren't catering to it. The food I could go on with the countless racks of ribs being layed out by different places, the burgers from Rouge or Lobster Rolls from Oyster House that was a taste of perfection. Lamb Burgers, and Underdogs doing their thing. Everyone trying to be better than the rest. I love a healthy, stuff your face with this mouthwatering dish kinda competition. Drinks you say? Every block had a section designated so you could enjoy a libation or two , or three in honor of Spring coming into full swing. I'm sure you've been to a block party with a keg or two, but this one simply blew out whatever you experienced. A great flow of people(more like an endless sea of people) becoming one giant, over fed , well hydrated, party going family. Besides the endless amounts of food to be consumed, or drinks to satisfy your thirst, ice cream to cool you down, there is more. Vendors selling house things, trinkets, cloths, you name it they sold it. A great day in the city of Brotherly Love to be enjoyed. Plus the after party to keep things going are at the bars and restaurants right at your feet. Can't wait for next years festivities and another Mojito !

I'm what you would call a festival connoisseur. This weekend alone I was at the Night Market, the…read moreRittenhouse Row Festival AND the Italian Market Festival. I'm addicted. PROS This festival had A LOT of freebies/spin the wheel/enter this raffle/cornhole/beer pong: My friends and I came home with beach balls, hand sanitizer, tote bags, pens, a bag of hamburger rolls, a measuring cup, hand cream, Helium comedy club passes, yogurt, mints, etc. Let's just say I'm going to have to unsubscribe from a few hundred emails next week. All the fancy Rittenhouse restaurants were out-Le Bec Fin, Oyster House, Butcher and Singer, and some of the not so fancy ones-Dunkin Donuts, 500 Degrees, etc. CONS Some of the food was kind of pricey for small samples coming out of a tent (Il Pitorre, no one wants to pay $7 for 1 shrimp). Lines for alcohol were lonnngg (but hey some of the drink samples were free). I'm a big street jewelry/craft fair display person-there was a lack of that here. VERY crowded at some parts. Overall great festival, but it did conflict with the Italian Market Festival, and I am aggressive and did both (we stuck to a strict schedule), but if I had to choose I'd go for the Italian Market Festival.

What an unforgettable festival! Dino's Ice Cream, Bussin'…read moreTacos, Taco Frys and Birria Wings to Corn Lovers, Nephews Taqueria and Grubaholics, I'm Just Wingin' it, Rosie's Taco Kitchen, Cantina La Martina, Bussin' Taco and Corn Lovers!! I wish I could comment individually however let's just say this festival was a food lover's delight. Every bite was a delight, I'm already counting down to the next one... #FoodieHeaven #FestivalVibes #TacoLove #FestivalFun #Yum #TasteAdventure #FoodFest #DeliciousEats #GoodTimes

Definitely a must for everyone at least once…read more This Taco Festival Philadelphia is amazing Tickets was 60 but included 5 taco vouchers and 3 margaritas vouchers I will be back every year

I had no plans for the weekend and last minute decided to go to this festival with my family. We…read morearrived around 3:30 and after 10 minutes of looking for parking we decided on the parking deck which was a great decision considering how packed the festival was. We had a ball, we walked the entire festival area, heard some good live music, ate delicious food (including tacos and street corn), and had some good beer and cocktails. We are beat and that is a sign we had a great time!

A lot of fun in great weather. Lots of food options…read more Make sure to get the Bavarian pretzel from Brauhaus. Don't forget to look for freebies and food samples too.

I am ashamed to admit that despite that elite badge, I am a fraud. I have never eaten dinner at an…read moreEast Passyunk restaurant and I don't even deserve to call myself a foodie. I'm sorry I let you down, Yelp world. I've been trying though! A few weeks ago I went to the party at the Singing Fountain for East Passyunk Ave being named a Top 10 Foodie Street in America. I was awed and overwhelmed. Today, at the Flavors of the Avenue Event, I was even more awed, more overwhelmed, more sated, more tipsy, and yearning more than ever to accept my inevitable fate as a fat, broke, happy person who has tried every restaurant on this street. I went with the early bird regular price ticket ($25) and my friend and I agreed that it was money very well spent and totally worth it. See you next year Flavors of the Ave. We rushed from table to table like crazed adult trick or treaters grabbing cups of meatballs, plates (and more plates) of Pâté (Fond), cups of cold green soup (Izumi, Will BYOB, Fuel), rabbit terrine and sesame ginger macarons (the clear winners, courtesy of Stateside), hefty helpings of pasta (Mamma Maria's), delicious tacos (El Zarape), risotto balls and watermelon feta salad (close second place, by Noir), mussels, short rib ravioli (Birra). Drinks were flowing too, with wine, beer, and margaritas (peach and plain-from Cantina). Lines were not too long with the exception of margaritas and tacos, and even those weren't bad at all. Next year, my only suggestion would be maybe make sure to leave lots of room for lines and avoid placing popular spots in the corners? It was a gorgeous day, great festival, and it was great to stand outside sampling (at times surprisingly large) portions of some of the best restaurants in the city not to mention generously poured drinks. One of the best parts was how everyone was super friendly about sharing tables and tips!

When I saw the line-up for Flavors of the Avenue, I knew I had to attend. Why? Well. Mostly because…read moreI had never been to ANY of the places before. This South Jersian has neglected South Philly terribly. It had to be fixed. The comped VIP tickets thanks to Yelp were amazing to have, too, as they gave us an extra hour to try everything before it got *really* crowded, plus I got to use Uber for the first time -- for free, thanks to the event's promo code. Birra and Lucky 13 especially wowed me with their offerings. Birra had a sweet pork rib and a bread pudding. Both were delicious! As for Lucky 13? Well, they served up my favorite spirit, and in the most random but fantastic way: tarragon black pepper gin fizz. What in the heck. Perfection. Oh, and who can forget Ms. Goody's tequila and kahlua cupcakes? Or Cantina's margaritas? In the VIP drink tent: Pinnacle's peach vodka cocktail was the standout. Also liked Sly Fox's offerings. --- Aside: Yes, that was a lot of midday mixing! But so worth the potential headache -- which did not occur, phewf! --- An event of this caliber must take so much work to pull off, and it was just great. I'm so glad to say I've been able to TRY places along East Passyunk now, even if I can't say that I know the correct way to pronounce the street name just yet. (Y or no Y?!) I *will* be back in the area to try full meals at these places. And to get more cupcakes and gins. Thanks for a fun time, organizers!

My fiance and I were working with Hanna to cater our wedding reception/family gathering. It was…read morevery important for us to have soul food type of food at our wedding and this is one of the few (if not the only?) business located in the OC area. Although she had to cancel for understandable personal reasons, working with her up to that point was great. We were able to get in touch quickly, make a menu, and given suggestions about the food options. We also got a refund very quickly. It's unfortunate we weren't able to taste the food, but I would still recommend working with this business.

We used this company to cater the first day of our expo this past August. She created so many…read moredifferent options and prepared vegan options as requested as well. People LOVED the food. So much so, that one of the organizations at the event, recently reached out and asked for their info. We will definitely be using them again.

I was that kid who was voted "Quietest/Shyest" as an apparent accolade in the eighth-grade…read moreyearbook. The one who posted MySpace bulletins about how cool it was to be an introvert, and updated my subprofile with dark, emo lyrics. It's a true miracle that I've grown into a person who, while yes, is still on the reserved side, is in her element at any festival. The crowds! All the food and beer! And the vendors! Live music! Happy, happy. This year's Midtown Village Fall Festival was exceptional. Around every corner, there were even more vendors offering up food/drinks from great Center City businesses. I was getting over an illness and on antibiotics at the time, but that didn't stop me from making my way downtown for a couple hours. It did stop me from partaking in the beer tents, though! They did sure look like fun. Vendors had a wide range of goods for sale, which was nice. I especially liked the fingerless gloves from By Hand. I hear they were selling fast, too. Also a plus was Smak Parlour's fashion truck. People were handing out little maps of the festival area to make it easier to find the artisans/live music/food/etc. That was really nice! An added perk: Great weather. A perfect FALL day!

Blocked off streets...food...beer...concessions...food...beer...local business…read morevendors...food...beer...sumo wrestling...food...beer...mechanical bull...food...beer...Zumba...food...beer...music...food...beer...people having a great time. Plus, there was plenty of food and beer! Yeah, that was awesome.

We had a great stay in the Fitler Suite. The suite was nicely decorated, spacious and came with…read moremany complimentary snacks. We had a problem finding the parking garage and entrance because it was late a night when we checked in. The kind front desk attendant came outside to greet us in the dark. My sons are competitive swimmers and the Fitler pool with lanes was a great facility to get a workout before checkout.

What a gorgeous space this is! They have a huge library area, office spaces and the food is…read moreincredible! We stopped in for drinks and appetizers after dinner for a family gathering and really enjoyed the roof top and espresso martinis!