Had an opportunity to attend the Atlanta Night Market at North Point Mall in Alpharetta. The dates…read moreand time are Friday & Saturday 5pm-12am Sunday 3pm-9pm We paid $10 at the door but you can purchase tickets earlier and pay a few bucks less... Parking: Free but the catch is you have to find a free space...With an estimated 58,000 people expected to attend over 3 days you can imagine parking spots are competitive but this is where being at North Point Mall has its advantages...We parked over by the multi level parking garage by JCPenny and just walked over. The festivities took place near the American Girl Doll's store front. This year with over 200 vendors there is a little of everything from funnel cake to boba tea to Jamaican jerk chicken to Korean BBQ. The only country I thought missing was Taiwanese xiao long bao but that's okay I can eat those any day of the week. There are plenty of security and if you see someone eating something that looks good you can just go up and ask them they'll point you to it... If you have young kids you will appreciate all the games and activities that they have specifically for kids....We had a great time and hope you can make it too....

When I heard Atlanta was shooting for a Night Market maybe reminiscent to those in Asia. I was…read morepretty stoked. Wasn't going to hold my breath as with anything new and interesting there was most likely going to be massive crowds and tons of curious people. After thinking about it... I think for such a huge event and soooo many people slamming it packed. I feel like it was a success. Was it like any night market I've went to overseas? Not particularly, but in some ways a little bit. The event didn't just take place at night, but also during most of the day and over the course of a weekend. Having it during the day made it so hot while being stuck in an open parking lot. By the time night arrived a good many vendors were sold out of food. Some places you had to wait in line for hours to get anything from them. Honestly, lines are what made this such a pain. There were just too many people. If the night market was a nightly thing or something similar then I doubt lines like this would be an issue, but I really don't think it could retain the same feel and momentum either. On the bright side, got to sample a variety of great food and wished I was able to grab more. Was super disappointed in a pineapple drink I got.. I was expecting it to be cold and it was grossly lukewarm. Otherwise, food was great! Had a good evening with friends and chilled around the area until later into the night. Would probably do this again if they decide to do another.

Great festival to share the Korean culture and a wonderful way to celebrate the Korean community in…read moreAtlanta. There were delicious foods and booths that recognized Korean small businesses and restaurants in the city. We got the lamb kebab and cotton candy for our kids and they both were enjoyed though we felt the cotton candy priced at $5 was a bit high. It was nice to be in the midst of fellow Korean Americans and seeing people from all cultures come to recognize Korean culture and the positive contributions the Korean community has bestowed on Atlanta. Price per ticket is $10 and food ranged from $5 and up. There were performances inside the building and a few outside as well. We got there a little later in the day after the festivities had started so we missed the raffle and some of the outdoor performances. Parking can fill up pretty quickly but it was nice to see Victory church of Atlanta allow patrons of the festival to park in their lot which is where we parked. 4 solid stars for the Atlanta Korean Festival and a high five to the organizers who put on this gathering every year. Dae han mingook!

I attended the 4th Annual Atlanta Koreal Festival at Suwanee Town Center Park this past weekend and…read morehad a good time. There isn't much information available online about this event, especially in English. The only reason I found out this event even existed is because of Angela H's event posting here on Yelp (http://www.yelp.com/events/suwanee-4th-annual-korean-festival-october-20-21-2012). If you're into or have an appreciation for Korean or just Asian culture in general, the Korean Festival is definitely worth checking out at least once. The venue (Suwanee Town Center Park) is nice and the event is very family and pet-friendly. Suwanee Town Center is a nice little outdoor mall with park, playground, and fountain. Suwanee City Hall is also located here. The park is big and clean and there's a stage in the center where all of the festival's performances are held. I went on Saturday afternoon and quite a bit of people showed up. It was busy, but not packed or outrageous. It was a good, manageable crowd size and there were hardly any lines. Several tents were set up around the park. My favorite and the most popular tents were the "food court" tents. A variety of restaurants and vendors sold food and drinks here including sundae (Korean blood sausage) and odeng (Korean fish cake on a stick). There were also several outdoor grills where chefs were making galbi (Korean BBQ short ribs) in large quantities. The smoky smell of the cooked meat was absolutely mouth-watering. I tried the sundae and the odeng. IIRC, prices were $6 (or was it $8? cash only) for each. Both were delicious. The sundae was sliced on the spot by an old Korean lady. The staff recommended I season the sundae with the pre-packaged salt packets, but I think I overseaoned it. You should try it first without seasoning. The odeng was great. One order came with three sticks of fish cake in a large Styrofoam cupful of steaming broth. The portions were big and the fish cake was savory. I also tried some of the $3.50 iced coffee from Kopiara, presumably a Korean coffee roasting company. It was very good and refreshing for an afternoon outdoors. Other tents around the park included an assortment of vendors such as Morning Glory, Mega Mart, White Windmill Bakery and Cafe, and H Mart. H Mart was handing out coupon books. There was even one tent that was playing the Gangnam Style music video non-stop and selling t-shirts that said: "Keep Calm and Gangnam Style." I wonder how many t-shirts they sold. I also wonder if the trio manning that booth went insane from listening to Gangnam Style all day. Center stage played host to many performances including traditional Korean dancing, taekwondo exhibitions, samul nori (traditional Korean drum performance), singing and K-pop performances, and more. Everything was surprisingly entertaining to watch (I typically get bored with some of these performances). My favorite were the K-pop covers performed by different musicians from males to females. Some bands were complete with guitar, keyboard, and/or choreographed dancing. The day was capped off by two or three renditions of Gangnam Style, to which the entire audience in the park danced along, from little kids to the elderly. It was like a Gangnam Style flashmob! The weather was beautiful, which really increased everyone's enjoyment of the festival. Parking was a little hard to come by, but you *should* be able to find a spot. Parking was free and there were several lots located in and around Suwanee Town Center. Just be sure to obey all the signs.

"It's very hard to focus on how charming you are when your breath smells like a festival toilet."…read more-- Castle: Season 8 | Episode 18 I'm both a fan of music festivals and I also hate them in a way. I love being outdoors (when the weather in nice) and the access to so many different bands and the ability to spend all day immersed in the music. What I dislike is the absolute disregard others have for the environment and other people - throwing cups, cans, and other trash all over the ground when there are trash and recycle bins all over the place - absolutely lazy. And then the need to smoke in the sea of people - be is cigarettes/cigars or illegal substances... think of other people for once. Okay, rant complete. As for Sweetwater - they did an amazing job being organized this year. Despite rain, they kept us up to date on twitter about the lack of mud, our wristbands were mailed out well in advance for registration and getting in and out of the fest was super easy and painless. Re-entry was allowed with the 3-day pass (not the 1-days, apparently). They provide the RFID wristbands - once on, you can't really get them off again. But they work at the Sweetwater booths for drinks - awesome. The line-up was pretty great and they schedule the bands so that you can see pretty much everything - they post the schedule around the venue so you can find it easily at any time. There are water fountains so you can refill water bottles and are not required to buy water. Also, tons of food trucks and stands so you can eat all day and never have the same thing twice. Marta is the best bet for travel to and from the festival - there are 2 stations close by - one on the north-south line and one on the east-west. This makes it very convenient and eliminates the need for paying $20-$25 for parking. You can also Uber, but odds are that surge pricing will get you when you want to leave (mostly due to demand from other events in the area. Over all - it was an amazing weekend and I will most likely continue to attend.

Unreasonable prices to enter... unbelievable prices to park, price gouging once inside…read more Too many other interesting things to do today to attend this.....

The Taste of Taiwan Food Festival was a lively event that my family and one of our best friends who…read morehappen to be visiting out of country truly enjoyed last Saturday. There was a lot of diversity within the crowd, which was so nice to see others getting to learn about a really cool culture, they had different shows performed on stage throughout the day from a big selection of different types of dancers, to live cooking demonstrations by acclaimed Taiwanese chefs to Tibetan Buddhist monks chanting from the Drepung Loseling Monastery. They had an excellent selection of food, all which was exceptionally delicious and was really affordable (the majority was $2 to $5) and was served in good portion sizes. There were also kid activities in the tents as well as a playground and water fountain where kids were cooling off in. In some of the tents they were selling really cool custom art pieces, some of which were custom and handmade, like the Buddhist bracelets from the Drepung Loseling Monastery that I purchased two of, they were beautifully made. I definitely look forward to the next Taste of Taiwan International Food Festival. [Review #205]

Love the concerts, love the venue. The event execution, not so much…read more Went to the Eagles on 10/15. Excellent show. However the organization of the event could leave a bit to be desired of. 1. No trash / recycling receptacles in the seating areas? I sure hope the clean up crew was sorting. The meadow was a mess when the crowd left. 2. Take a tip from Screen on the Green - Chalk aisles where no one can sit. People were constantly walking over us. 3. LEAVE YOUR HEATHEN CHILDRENS AT HOME (or maybe the adults with heathen children should get a baby sitter or stay at home themselves). Mommy and Daddy next door bought their brat this light wand that blinked and blinked and blinked every time the kid moved it. The wand was fluttering like a hummingbird. Who in their right mind let someone sell circus trinkets? I felt like I was at a Ringling Brothers Circus. 4. Bathrooms - Plentiful but a hike away. 5. Have you talked with other Class A event planners? 6. Beer - 24 ounce beers promote over intoxication and warm up quickly. Please tell the beer hawkers to STFU when the group is singing. 7. The Shows - of the three shows this one was truly the best. Please don't bring the Who, if you recall in the 2010 Superbowl, they can't sing any more. 8. Unsure why, but there were large panels on each side of the stage. Made it very difficult to see the LED Show on the screen behind stage. Although I could see it from the bathrooms - which was a plentiful hike away. Smaller beers would make fewer trips to the bathroom. 9. Don't invite Wells Fargo back if they want to use their little Karioke trailer again. It was brutal on Pride weekend and made waiting in line painful. 10. Will I be back? Yes depending on the talent. The Eagles and the Conservancy get a 5 Star Rating. The company running the ground operation - 2 stars.

The atlanta pride fest is one of the biggest if not the biggest in the southeast. It's a weekend…read morefull of excellent music, vendors that support pride and of course a fantastic parade to top off on Sunday morning. I went by the vip tents and though it was a private space it did not have a front view or the stage, more or a side view. The drinks lines were way too long and at one point they ran out of cups???? We didn't stay there longer than needed, refreshed and left to join the crowds. Definitely plan to visit Atl during the next pride fest

Pride... This was my 2nd year going. Last year my friends and I sort of stumbled upon it, but it…read morewas definitely planned out this year. What really attracted me to going this year was Meagan Trainor and Colbie C. The muddy ground definitely did not deter people from hanging around the Coca Cola stage to see these artists. Of course there are the typical promotional and food vendors around. Some booths will have games for you to play and definitely the freebies. I didn't see the Yelp table this year so that made me sad. Although I think last year had a lot more vendors and festival goers, there was a pretty good crowd this year as well. But it seems like this year there were less tables around. And walking through the crowd, well, it was easier to maneuver since last year's event was a tad more difficult because of the sheer number of folks all around. Parking... Hmmm... Always an issue for anything that's in this area. The local high school across the street does have parking, but it was priced at $20. Yeah. Really. I remember last year this one open lot cost about $30. Yup. Parking does get pricey. Once upon a time you could park in the neighborhoods that's a few blocks away, but I think parking enforcement has gotten stricter. There is the usual free Piedmont Park parking area, but I hear this area gets filled super quick.

Good lord, momocon was awful this year…read more The lacking crowd control, especially throughout coryxkenshins event this weekend. There were vendors selling very obvious stolen art and Ai slop. The only good things were the artist alley and Mr. Haradas appearance. The crowds this year was shockingly rude. The rudeness you'd get in new england. It used to be a safe and cozy place where you were within friends. Now it's cold, corporate and hostile. Never again.

What a fantastic place to people watch…read more People put hundreds of hours into their costumes!! See photos. This is really an Anime convention... there was a small section of Star Wars but truly it was all built around Anime. Really didn't matter though... we had a great time, we walked the whole thing, and we took pics every chance I got. It was a lot of fun worth every min we were there!

This year was the 1st Annual Atlanta BBQ Festival held in the green parking lot at Turner Field…read more Although it was a bit warm outside, it smelled really good if you were standing on what I call BBQ Row - a row of competition BBQ teams that had set up for the BBQ tasting contest. I sampled several different teams, and my favorites were Lazy Bear and Fox Bros. For both teams the flavor of the meat without sauce was perfect - just the right amount of smokiness and tenderness. Fox Bros served a rib that was so well cooked I actually licked the bone. There were several other vendors on site - including Yelp! Some vendors had games or would take your photo with their wares. There were a couple of festival standards - a jewelry maker, t-shirt vendor, a vendor with aprons and BBQ mitts emblazoned with sports team logos, and of course, Sweetwater Beer. There was also live music. I was able to hear two acts - Running Wild Band (country/rock) and Antonia Lawrence (reggae gospel). I enjoyed both acts, and I especially loved one of the lyrics from a Running Wild song "I'll just drink until the memory of her is gone." Gotta love country! There was a face painting and temporary tattoo table for kids. There was also an area with inflatable kids games, but since I don't have kids and didn't borrow one for the event, I can't speak to any of these things. But they were busy, so I'm guessing the kids were enjoying the games. Overall, I think it was a great event. I think they had a good turnout but it will be more crowded next year as word gets around. And free BBQ can't be beat!

For the most part, it's alright. It looks like most of the meat was gone by Saturday afternoon, so…read moreI ended up going with one of the vendors. That said, it's a terrific event for this transplant (who never been to a BBQ festival before). I hope they will have it again next year - and by then, I am sure they'll get the issues straighten out.