My friend and I had a great time here yesterday! There's nothing like a good beerfest to make you…read morehappy to be alive. And especially outside in perfect weather with the ocean for a backdrop, what else could you want out of life? The venue was perfect for the event. I was also so grateful that the event wasn't jam packed and you didn't have to fight for every beer you tasted. There were lots of little smaller, local breweries at this event. My favorite beer I tasted all day was s blueberry beer from Garden State brewery, which I don't think I would have tasted if it wasn't for beer fest. Everyone was so cool yesterday too. From the staff, to my fellow beer enthusiasts and reps from breweries, everyone was super friendly and I made lots of new friends yesterday, some of whom I even remember today! I will definitely be in attendance at Boardwalk beer festivals in the years to come. Thank you Yelp for hooking me up with tickets!!!

From the owner: 2 Sessions Featuring over 50 breweries…read moreLive Music Live Beer Seminars Cigar Lounge Beer Games Food

Is it insanely busy? Yes Is it worth going to? Absolutely,…read morebut there are a few caveats First of all, chowderfest has been around forever. Yours truly was one of the goofy volunteers working it when they were in high school. Now im the goofy chowder-eater/ beer drinker who gets to enjoy the day instead. Think of Chowderfest like a mini music festival with local bands, overpriced beer, and an absurd amount of chowder from all the restaurants you've known for years (and a few new ones). Each of the restaurants brings 400 gallons minimum, but I suspect some bring much more to make it through the day, which sounds like an absurd amount of soup until you realize just how many seafood-loving beachgoers are here to go to town on the offerings. walking in you're handed three chips to vote with at the end of the day; best white, best red, and most unique. The New England style (aka the best kind) is on the left side, the Manhattan-style is on the right. For me, K2 (Kubel's Too) was the winner this year, but the Chegg ran away with first place. As for the red, The Black whale stole the show in my opinion, though Lefty's (the winner) was pretty solid as well. As for unique, Woo Hoo did an icecream that blew my mind, but alas, they didn't win*. So remember how I told you the place was packed, and that there would be a caveat? Here it is. 15$ more gets you VIP tickets, letting you in an hour before the hoards can, in which time you can leisurely try all the chowder you want while simultaneously knowing deep down you're better than everyone paywalled outside the gates. For real though, this upgrade is absolutely worth it (even for access to the exclusive beer tent alone - the beer isn't any cheaper but you can get it faster). ______________ Either this contest is rigged, or I'm a bad judge....ok I'm a bad judge, but hey I still had fun.

This was my first year coming down to celebrate Chowderfest. Previously, I always was stuck working…read morethe weekend (#hospitallife). Once October hits, a lot of the usual tourists aren't around. The traffic lights flash red and yellow instead of their usual red yellow green. There are way less people taking up the tables at the OC and Mainland. But then you drive toward Chowderfest. The lights are up, the puttputt courses and mini fairground rides are teeming with kids and adults. You simply cannot find parking anywhere in a 5 block radius. We visited both the merch-mart on saturday and chowderfest on sunday. Both days were crowded but really fun. You get a beer mug for $3 to use all weekend. Beer, wine and vodka soda cans are $7 but you ideally purchase tickets and just hand them over instead of waiting on the pay line each time. There are bands playing while folks dance and sing along. Sunday is clearly the star of the show. Vendors set up with hundreds of gallons of chowder for the people to judge. You are handed three token when you walk in, a white, blue and red. Once you've made your rounds, you go to the voting tent and can vote on your favorite New England chowder, manhattan chowder and most unique. We had to hit up the new england section first. There were so many delicious vendors slinging rich, creamy cups of chowder. You make your way through, sampling as you go. Many people have cup holders but I was enjoying the sip and walk so none would get cold before enjoying them. Next we made our way through the unique category. There were clam chowder ice cream, poblano pepper chowder, lobster bisque. All were super delicious. Lastly, we hit up the lighter tomato based chowders. They had such delicious tomato vegetable bases. All of the categories were so difficult to choose from. I had such an incredible time. You don't realize how much variation people can put into specific food items until you try them all in a row. I am so happy that I finally had a chance to experience Chowderfest weekend! And I am SURE the restaurants flew through their hundreds of gallons of chowders.

So much fun! Lots of variety of food and arts! Must go ... add it to your calendar! Glad I wentread more

We love going to the Manayunk Arts Festival. We had a great time, but unfortunately it was too hot…read moreto walk around for any length of time. Hopefully next year the weather will be cooler.

I bought VIP tickets for $80 a piece which was for all you can eat seafood and drinks and a total…read moremistake. The "VIP" area was sectioned off from the rest of the vendors. The only seafood left at lunchtime when we got there was fried shrimp and rice. There was a long line for drinks. We ended up going to other vendors and paying for better food. The general admission was $11 and I would have done that in a heartbeat and then paid for better food rather than doing the VIP thing. Completely overpriced and the food was not even close to what I expected. We also got tickets for the hot air balloon rides and were told they wouldn't be doing the rides that day due to the wind. We had to go find someone to get our $50 back. Overall a very disappointing experience and I would never go back.

Good food for the price. Lobster was not freshly cooked. Seemed frozen. Nice atmosphere. Overall…read moregood. Wish there was more fruit. Watermelon went fast, and it was not replenished.

Very nice place great views great people. Food truck was ok. Service was excellent. Music was very…read morenice

We hadn't heard of this and were very impressed! The atmosphere is beautiful, the service was very…read morehelpful despite how busy it was, they had live music and it was just a great time. On top of that, their dry wines were actually quite good, which is usually the weakness in the area. Will be back!

The Witches Ball is one of the many reasons why Halloween is my favorite holiday. Once a year the…read moretown of Mount Holly transforms into a Halloween wonderland of sorts. There are crafters, vendors, food, and definitely plenty of drinks. The cornerstone of this event in my opinion is the costume contest. People go all out for this and it's really a sight to see! Every year it seems to attract more and more visitors. For this reason, I hope they get better at accommodating more visitors as it took an inordinate amount of time this year to get a drink. But it is still a blast and shouldn't be missed by the Halloween enthusiasts in the greater Philadelphia area!

I've been to the Witches Ball twice now -- once on a date-date (last year) and once on a…read morefriend-date (this year). If you're on a date, you'll probably want to make a reservation at the spooky Robin's Nest Restaurant at the opening of the outdoor festival, before meandering through the creepy, dark streets brimming with interesting characters. If you're on a friend date, you may want to avoid the intimate restaurant and head straight to the beer garden, the creepy teddy bear shop, or the ghost hunter store. Or, of course, the VooDoo Bar. Like the others have said, do NOT bring your kids here. You're ruining it for everyone when you do that crap. Two downfalls (aside from the kid infestation) of the event: -Lack of bathrooms -Lack of food vendors I stood in a line for some beautiful porta potties for what felt like a really-really long time. The guy behind me in line kept drunkenly yelling at the people in the stalls... as if they really wanted to take their time and enjoy themselves in there or something. After finally relieving myself, I then spent an absurd amount of time waiting for some chicken tenders. Get some more food vendors and bathroom options, Witches Ball, and you're golden. See you next year!