Finally got to check out the MN Ren Faire and for the most part I enjoyed the festivities. Many…read morepeople as well as I was in full medieval, fantasy, or cosplay in this fun gathering of all sorts of people. While many people complain out the prices I personally did a few things to help with that. First is the entry fee. Normally you'd spend $31 for adults in addition to a $30 parking fee which would be $61 just to get in, but instead Costco sells 2 tickets + 2 turkey legs for $47 which is $23.50 per person. 2nd of all, MVTA offers $6 round trip rides from Eagle Creek, Burnsville Transit centers that take you on buses that get your right to the entrance. Those buses run every 15 to 30 minutes and basically cut the price of getting in to only $29 instead of $61. Inside there's tons of food and drink options. First thing to do was actually get the food before noon and the afternoon crowd swamps the place. I've had tb the mead, bacon waffles, turkey leg, Cheesecake on a stick, Pad Thai, Cheese curds, and they were not too expensive ranging from $5-$10. Personally they are all between 3 to 4 stars, none mindblowing but none that were bad. I think I like the Nefertari Mead the most near the stall of the West gate entrance, just slightly north of that. The events that happen at the faire are pretty fun to participate in. Events that involve prizes are free, joined a meatball eating completion and got 2nd. Carnival games typically cost $5 like throwing axes, archery, rock climbing, etc. My biggest complaint is that this faire still uses Elephant rides. Just seems so unethical making money off of tamed animals misery. The crowds also get significantly worse after 1pm. Best to arrive right at opening between 8-9am so you can get all your food and drinks ordered and done. Come to the ren faire on an empty stomach. Other than those two gripes, I did enjoy my time with the friends here.

Visited the Renaissance Festival on September 1, and as always, it was an absolute blast! Huge…read morethanks to Yelp for the free tickets -- what an awesome surprise! This was my 7th Renaissance Festival, and I still love everything about it -- the energy, the costumes, the music, the laughter, and of course, that legendary turkey leg! It's smoky, juicy, and hands-down my favorite tradition every year. Parking is definitely a hike -- you park and then walk about a mile to the entrance -- but honestly, that's part of the fun and charm. It's the perfect way to burn a few calories before adding them right back with all the food and drinks inside! The whole experience is just magical -- fun for all ages, full of character, and always worth the trip. Can't wait for next year already -- it never gets old!

I love music festivals. I love them even more when you have perfect weather like we had on…read moreSaturday. Thanks Mother Nature. So, I am giving 4 stars instead of 5 simply because there was a lack of signage/information regarding where to park and where to enter Canterbury as well as food/drinks and wristbands. We ended up wandering a bit, but eventually found our way. So quick tips for newbies to save you some time and frustration next year: 1. Park anywhere you can find a spot, VIP parking is separate and gated off 2. Enter the main gate 3. Get your 21+ wristband immediately to your left when you enter 4. Drinks and food are inside, food trucks are just outside, and even more food/drink on the festival grounds 5. Drinks and food outside of the main building are ticketed, and yes you will have to buy more tickets than you need or have extra tickets leftover after you get what you want 6. Check out all the food/drink vendors before you make a decision on how many tickets to buy 7. Check out the non-food/drink vendors, some pretty cool stuff 8. VIP has some pretty sweet digs, I recommend getting it if you can spend the extra money 9. Bring cash 10. Backpacks and towels/blankets to sit on are allowed in the venue Even if you don't know the acts it is quite easy to be sucked into the fun everyone else is having, so if you are wavering, just go! Perhaps you will have some fun nature happenings like we did...the amazing pink/orange sunset during Dr. Dog and the flock of geese the flew directly overhead the sage just as they ended a song (and the crowd erupted into cheers, it was so hilarious and wonderful). The people watching is wonderful, young and old alike having a great time together. Everyone is there for the same reason, a love of music and fun, and it was awesome to watch the small children dance it out along with their parents (and everyone else). Shout out to Blue Goose Photo Booth, a cool photo booth with props that is in an old van. So. Awesome. They were offering free photos (4 on a strip) for everyone at the festival. It even printed two copies. The booth with the cigar box guitars was pretty rad, too. If I had more disposable income I would've purchased one to hang on the wall (because I can't play guitar). Side note - If anyone can remember the name of the vendor with the "Hooray" MN shirts, please let me know, I want to get one. So, all-in-all, a great festival that I would totally go back to year after year.

For the record, I am a HUGE Trampled by Turtles fan. Trampled is my favorite band. I go to pretty…read moremuch any show I can get to and travel routinely just to see them play. So obviously, a Trampled by Turtles-organized festival less than an hour from home is a no-brainer for me. So, while it may be tough for me to be completely objective, I shall try my best. This was year two for Festival Palomino, and I've attended both years, so I guess I have an educated opinion at this point. Here's what I liked: -The music. Duh. Not only did my favorite fellas headline, closing the night with bagpipes on the stage, but the lineup of other acts kept the action moving and introduced me to some new music, which is always a good thing. -The side-by-side stage setup. Last year, there were two stages, but they were situated opposite each other. The dual stages allowed for music to continue throughout the day without much break between sets for breaking down and setting up of gear. But last year, you had to do a kind of sprint to the opposite stage for the next act. This time around, the side-by-side setup allowed you to either migrate more leisurely or just pick a prime spot further back with a view of both stages and stay put. -The branding. Maybe it's the communications professional in me, but I thought the branding was much better this year. The Palomino banners on top of the stages and of course the Palomino sign were good visual cues that this is going to become a big branded event over the next few iterations. Plus dammit, I love the Palomino owl and think it should be on more stuff. -The inclusion of more merchants. Was delighted to see the Duluth Pack folks this year and hope to see this area of the festival grow. -The people: Not only great people watching but also just a general relaxed and positive vibe all day despite being packed on a field with 9,000 of your closest friends. -The festival T-shirt. Props to whoever designed it! -The VIP bathroom. Gift from heaven. To the girl who clearly dropped an entire pack of smokes in the toilet: Damn, that sucks, dude. Here's what I didn't like: -The food. There was more food than last year. That was good. It was more logically centralized on the field than last year. That was good too. Several of my friends and my husband and I all ate from the Mexican stand. The food did not taste good and we ALL got ill after the show. Like a few of my friends left in the middle of the Trampled set because they weren't going to make it through. We're pretty sure it was the burritos. Food safety, people! Taco mix should not be served cold, like ever. -The ticket system for food and beverage. I'm not sure why but both years now, you've had to purchase tickets in sets of 10 for $1 apiece and then use those to buy drinks and food. Seems like an extra step and extra work to get beer and food. Also, I hate that you can't buy anything other than 10 tickets at a time. You always end up with extra tickets you paid for but didn't use, or you wind up wanting one more beer but not willing to pay for a new set of $10 tickets. Why can't the stands just take cash??? -The prices. I have to say... $7 for a 12 oz beer seemed a bit much. And I know there was a deal with Summit, but the beer options were underwhelming both years. -Speaking of... This is a really cash-intensive festival. My husband and I were only there for half the day and dropped a good amount of money on just food and drink. If you are coming for the full day, come packing some real cash. Things to know: -Yeah, it's at a racetrack so the layout can be kind of confusing. When you park, come in the entrance and then immediately turn to the left to get wristbanded. Then you walk right through the building and out to the racetrack. -Wear comfortable shoes suitable for tromping around in a field. Ladies, I'd leave cute heels and wedges at home. Maybe flipflops or sandals but more practically? Sneakers or hikers wouldn't be out of place. -There are also options inside the casino for food and drink. We discovered that the draft beers in the casino were bigger and better-priced. Also a good place for refuge if it rains, as we learned in year one. -The VIP tickets were $140. If you have the cash, it would be a nice perk. There are exclusive beer stands = no waiting. The bathrooms, as mentioned above. You get drink tickets and some other swag and access to the VIP area, which was pretty cool. If you can afford it, splurge. So here's where I get all biased again... I think this was an incredibly adventurous project and one that only a few bands could have pulled off this well in just two years. I was encouraged that this year there were many improvements made and good thoughtful changes. I am confident this event will continue to grow and improve each year. Looking forward to year three and maintaining my perfect attendance record!

What a bummer to see low ratings for such a fun place!! I have been coming to Severs since I was a…read morekid, and have always enjoyed it! The parking is free and I highly recommend doing no the cheaper presale tickets or get the online core you go! You get a discount and don't have to wait in line. When you get there, they do have a free program booklet/map. There are apples, honey and pumpkins for purchase and plenty of spots for you to take your fall photos. There is a north and south food area! Highly recommend the roasted corn! There are also classics like kettle corn, beer, alcoholic ciders, mini doughnuts and more! This year they added a BMX bike show and my boys REALLY like that! (Free) The maze is free and takes just under an hour for us to normally complete it. The petting zoo is also free unless you want to feed the animals. Then it's a few bucks for a cup of food. There is a giant slide, little train ride that goes around the grounds,hayride, pumpkin blaster, pony rides, and more that all have a small extra fee to them. I suspect this is why the ratings are lower. There are also large jumping pillows (adults can go on these too), shows, pig races, picture opportunities, small play ground areas, a large tire climbing area, zip line, hay maze, corn pit and more that are free. So plenty to do without having to shell out more money if you do not want to! This is a fall staple in my house! And we enjoy it every year!

If you're frugal family, I can NOT recommend this place at all. Don't get too excited by the…read morepictures and do your research before coming on how much everything cost. You pay 25 plus something dollars per person over 3 yrs to get in the door and a majority of the stuff inside still has an extra charge. That's $100+ for a family of four to just walk into the place!? Did I miss discounted tickets somewhere? - just make sure you digest all of the website so nothing gives your wallet a shock when you get there. BUT, however, if you have the extra expendable income - you should have a okay time and a extra price tags for most extras doesn't faze you for extras - it should be a decent time had by you and your little one's. Note: NO dogs. There is ample parking and you'll need it on the weekend as it for crowded VERY quick. It does have some cute gimmicky things instagram photo moments - that were luckily free. Everything on the grounds likes cash. Make sure you bring plenty of small bills to make vendors happy. It's a meh from me and I'll gamble on somewhere else next time.

I love this art fair! It happens every fall in early…read moreSeptember. If you know where Centennial Lakes is (think mini golf, bocce ball, paddle boats) then you know where this art fair is. Even though it is located in upper class Edina it is filled with dozens upon dozens of fairly priced vendors. Let's just say I rarely buy a thing at the Uptown Art Fair but I sure as heck buy several goodies every year at this art fair. It is over for this year (boo) but please be sure to mark your calendar for next year. Buy a corn dog (and some cheese curds!), wander the booths and be glad you read this review!

We were invited as guests of members to golf and have dinner and we loved it…read more The course is in amazing shape, especially considering how dry our summer has been. Not a dry spot on the course. We golfed after a heavy morning rain and no issues with driving on the fairways which helps speed up play. It's not an easy course so if you are looking to better your handicap, this isn't the course to do it. We played 18 holes in less than 4 hours. The staff is great. Very welcoming and helpful. Dinner in the club was also very good. I opted for a Sauvignon Blanc and a burger with chips. Everything was very tasty. So glad our friends invited us to join them.

I was here for an evening gala in November. I loved wearing a gown. As you walk in there's a…read morebeautiful wide staircase. The occasion was an auction for military spouses and recognizing them. Local celebrity Adam Carter of WCCO and his wife were at my table. The ballroom is beautiful. The steak and fish dinner was very good. I loved the champagne. I even got to be a tester for the photographer.

Last time I went to Soundset was in 2008 at the Metrodome parking lot. From humble beginnings of…read morebarely 10,000 to where on May 26 2013, over 28,000 Hip Hop fans gathered at Canterbury Park. Back in 2008, we got to see Eyedea & Abilities, Aesop Rock, Slug, Brother Ali and P.O.S. In 2013, all were there except for Eyedea. Prof performed instead of Busta Rymes, The Rugged Man was present, The Reminders were poetic and Tech N9ne killed it. Worst Part: The event organizers and those clueless parents who let their 12 year old kids run wild at an event where most are freely drinking, smoking and at a function where you have the tragicomic Juicy J telling the young females in the crowd to show their breasts and not in those words, yes, somebody's gotta realize of the unintended consequences. Than again, most of the blame lies with those dopey parents. Best Part: Snoop Dogg is a legend in Hip Hop and it was great hearing ol' classics like, California Love, Paper'd Up and Gin & Juice after not seeing him live since moving from Cali. I am a fan of Conscientious Rap and Political Rap, so I was pleased with the mixture of having The Reminders. But the best moment of Soundset 2013 belonged to Brother Ali paying a tribute to Eyedea - We miss you Mikey.

It's 2022..and 'Open Streets Lyndale' returns in full form; first time since pandemic started and…read moreit was back BIG! So much entertainment, fun and activities for the whole family it's a great community celebration! Welcome back!