This was my first year experiencing the Houston Hot Sauce festival. I had heard about it in the…read morepast but never came out well because I'm a big WUSS! I don't like spicy things, even though growing up I ate them all the time and can handle my spice, just prefer flavor over spice! However, that's where I was set straight. Even though there are some that will make you cry, this festival is more than that. It has lots of flavors that are not hot at all, with fruit inspirations to those that are only mildly spicy. I ended up walking away with a couple of bottles of hot sauce. My favorite being Bravado, I got their bottle once at another festival of sorts and gave it as a gift and it was a huge hit! So when I saw them I got another bottle of their pineapple habenaro. The vendors were great, allowing you to taste as many as you wanted as long as you were willing to wait. The price tag on admission was very affordable, and FREE parking with a quick walk inside. I'll be back next year, hopefully the weather will be more kind.

The Houston Hot Sauce Festival held their 9th annual event this weekend at the Stafford Centre. The…read morefestival was well organized with plenty of vendors giving out free samples of hot sauce, barbecue sauce & rubs, jams, crackers, seasonings, jewelry, art and crafts. There were also several food and drink vendors. Live entertainment on Saturday was provided by Cattle Prod a 3 piece country and classic rock band which got our blood pumping. The Zydeco Dots took the stage over infusing everyone with the perfect festival music, I found myself walking to the beat of their music with a silly smile on my face. Some of the booths we hit and what we purchased: Chile Beach Jams - Jerk Habanero Jam; Jac's Tailgaters- Louisiana Swamp Sauce, Bayou Blaze Habanero BBQ Sauce; Mama Nat's - Slammin' BBQ Sauce; Capt Tom's - Bite My Barnacles Wing Sauce, BBQ Finishin' Sauce; Austin Slow Burn - Salsa Verde. The two booths that stood out for us: Silverleaf International, the creator of Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce and my personal favorite Savory Hot Sauce Co., the creator of Habanero Punch T.K.O. the hottest, yet flavourful sauce I've ever tried (and I have the badge to prove it). What a great way to spend the day sampling a variety of hot sauces (and other products), chat with the vendors, listen to good music and drink a couple of brews. Houston Hot Sauce Festival, I heart you!

I have been to the Bayou City Art Festival Memorial Park twice. About a decade or so apart. Both…read moreexperiences have been awesome at this unique event. To start things off, I will say that I have a deep appreciation for the arts. I've been to many museums of fine arts and museums of modern art in one day. This is one way to show appreciation to local and less well known artists who are quite talented. On my most recent visit, I stopped by on a Sunday afternoon around 4 p.m. with my former boss. He found out that parking is far enough from the festival that they have a shuttle to take you there. We opted to Uber instead. Tickets are $20 per person for adults if you pay cash (and a few dollars extra if you pay by card). From there, there are 100, if not more, artists who have booths set up. They are there selling their art, and you'll see a great variety of different styles and painting techniques. Beyond painting, you'll also see sculptures, photography, furniture, and various knick-knacks. The price range can be anywhere from thousands of dollars to quite affordable. Many of the artists are quite friendly and will tell their stories to you. Once you need a break from the art, there's a good variety of food trucks and food stands to choose from. BBQ, Mexican, Indian, pizza, popular food trucks like The Waffle Bus, and more. I had a brisket quesadilla from the BBQ spot. There are also many beverage options, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, to quench your thirst. I had a cherry limeade. We spent about 2.5 hours at the festival and I didn't go home empty-handed. I found an artists who does drawings of famous Houston landmarks, restaurants and bars. He was selling three drawings for $50 and I had my choice from 40-50 or so different options. I went with the Houston Rodeo, River Oaks Theatre, and Buc-ee's. I love the opportunity to support local. Bayou City Art Festival takes place over multiple days. Whether you're in the market to buy some art, or you'd just like to appreciate the talent of a collective group of artists, you'll have a great time either way.

Love the Bayou City Art Festival! So many artists and their beautiful art. The had a live band,…read moreplenty of food trucks, activities for the kids and so much more.

Huge disappointment.. food was no good and a handful of options only with big lines…read more They had lots of vendors selling stuff though

Llegamos al festival y muy decepcionados las muestras de Sake las dan las compañías gratis pero, te…read moreexigen una entrada general de $50 dólares para entrar, la comida no está incluida si quieres ir por comida este no es un buen lugar básicamente tienes que pagar la entrada y quizás otros $70 por persona para comer, no recomendado dejo mucho que apreciar.

Plus one's company sponsors a tent each year so we have been attending this event for 3 plus years…read more We found that booking a hotel near the Metro is the best way to travel to from the event. Rookie mistake our first year using ride share. Leaving the event it's a good 20 minute walk to the ride share area and then it can be up to 2 hours to obtain a ride. This year the tent was smaller as compared to previous years but it was a 5-star event. The open bar was flowing with good pours. There was a large iced tub for water, soda, and fizzy drinks. As usual, the BBQ was excellent and we liked that it was available the entire time. The tender pork and sides were a Fav at our table. There was live music a solo CW artist first then the Kings of Neon were the headliners. They were fun and played upbeat covers that got the crowd dancing. This is a fun event and it is cool to check out all the tents, rides , and food options. I swear they are frying everything now at these events!

It's always great to get wristbands to awesome tents. I had three different wristbands for three…read moredifferent tents and every single one had a different atmosphere different music but the food is all good and the same. Can never go wrong with barbecue. And how can you not talk about the free alcohol in every tent. If you get the opportunity make sure you at least go once in your life to D's barbecue cook off

Wow this was so much more impressive than I expected! We went on the 29th of Dec near the last…read moreday. Parking was easy,volunteers help usher you in and out of the parking area. It is free but they accept donations and we gladly obliged for the experience we enjoyed. We took my 8 year old autistic niece who just loved it! The displays are quite creative and they cast beautiful reflections in the bayou. There were a couple of snack huts, one was a cookie decorating place. Porta potties around and benches along the trail its well suited for littles up to the elderly. We really enjoyed this to end our holiday season.

Apparently this has been a tradition in Dickinson for more than a decade. It all started off when…read moretwo neighbors teamed up and began creating steel designs adorned with lights. Now, this winding trail of lights encompasses most of Paul Hopkins Park. I like this particular Festival Of Lights because you go by foot, and everyone in the family is invited - even the dog. (I saw quite a few on leashes.) And get ready for a beautifully lit park with all types of figures you can imagine: mariachis, Longhorn and Texas A&M signs, alligators (to represent those Dickinson Gators!), a NASA space shuttle and the like. Most of the time, signs request that you stay on the trail, but there are photo opps where you're permitted to stand side by side with figures for pictures - like the giant Santa sleigh with reindeer and a glistening palace with larger than life drummer boys. Also on site is a "cookie house" baking up holiday treats, a souvenir shop to purchase glowing tchotchkes, a concession stand selling popcorn, hot dogs, hot chocolate and more, and a seating area with picnic tables. You can also bring along you own coffee and snacks in tow, as I did (I bought those across the street at the convenience store before I knew about the vendors). And I love that it's all set in Paul Hopkins Park. You have wooden bridges to cross with a lovely view and the peaceful water below ... and even a few ducks and geese attempting to grab the attention of patrons. They joined us along for the trail walk! And as a special treat, it's completely free, but donations are accepted. If you go on a slow night, park in the lot (handicap permits can always park here). Busier nights, which require the help of traffic controllers, you're asked to park at the nearby church, True Cross, where they have free shuttles running to and fro. ...Or do as we did and find a spot across the street in the neighborhood and just walk on over. I recommend checking out their website for more information on the history of this community event and how you can also get involved. Volunteers always needed! Hurry and check this out before January 2, when it closes for the year.

This was my first time coming to the Greek Festival. I was excited to try it when I saw all the…read morebanners attached to the gates promoting it as I drove along Montrose the past few weeks. I paid $10 at the entrance and got a wristband. Not everyone was given one. My friend came a few minutes after me and didn't have one. You can pay there in cash or card or do a $20 dinner plate, pastry box and ticket combo online. It was very crowded, but the lines for food like the dinner plate, souvlaki, and pastries moved quickly. The same for beverages like the Greek coffee, wine, water, tea and lemonade. Honestly, the food was just ok, and it was overpriced. For $15, you get one large skewer with meat and onions. It's $2 for one pita bread that was dry and had no flavor. It was another $2 for a small container of tzatziki sauce. I thought the beef wasn't marinated as well as other Mediterranean chains like Niko Nikos or restaurants. It was mostly tender but lacked flavor. The tiropita and spanakopita were $3 each. I thought the tiropita (puff cheese pastry) tasted bitter. I ate half of it. My favorite was the spanakopita. For desserts, it was also $3 each, and I got the baklava and kourambiedes. Both were good but not worth $3 for one tiny piece. The kourambiedes is similar to the snowball cookies or Italian wedding cookies. That was my favorite pastry. My friend had the $20 plate that included the pastitsio, a tiny keftedes (Greek meatball) cut in half, one dolmades that was more meat forward than rice, and kind of soggy tiropita and spanakopita because it was enclosed in a styrofoam container while hot. Bummer. There's a lot of tall standing tables, tables and chairs along the closed streets, and some covered table and chair areas. Some people chose to sit in the grass or steps, wherever they could find a space. We found a space at the end of one of the tables. People seemed happy and were with friends or family. We missed the shows but saw people dressed in traditional attire. The gift shop was fairly big with religious Greek Orthodox imagery, handmade rugs, handmade pottery, jewelry, olive oil, and other Greek herbs, figs and knickknacks from Agora. There were a ton of olive trees for $35, and I saw many people walking around with one. I wanted one and was on the fence, but my friend convinced me, so I took the time to look for a nice one. I like how they gave paper instructions on olive tree care. Now I'm in search for a rustic pot. I'm glad I finally got to check out the festival but wish the food was better and not overpriced. I would come back with friends but probably eat before and just order a few things like the spanakopita and kourambiedes and see a show.

They had all the classics but ran out of tzatziki sauce. The pita bread was terrible. Not sure…read morewhere they sourced that from but don't waste your money. Having all the shopping in one room was way too crowded and not enjoyable. I did not buy anything because you cannot really look at the items with time and receive help from the vendor if you have any questions. I won't be attending this function again.

I've been to 2017, 2018, 2019, no events during Covid and now 2023. Great annual competition raises…read moremoney to support BPSOS' efforts. Congrats to Boat People SOS-Houston for the 7th Annual Banh Mi Cookoff Fundraiser. Great banh mi sandwich samples provided by Blood Bros BBQ, AtCha on Bellaire Blvd, Kau Ba in Montrose area, Saigon Hustle in the Garden Oaks community, The Pho Fix, Vina Deli in Spring, Kim Son Restaurant, Wokker HTX and Xin Chao Restaurant (a modern Vietnamese restaurant by Christine Ha & Tony J Nguyen). I remember it used to elbow to elbow during the 2nd hour of Banh Mi Cookoff event at Chapman & Kirby previously. This year is a lot more room to roam around. Much better and comfortable. Me and my foodie friend went around to sample every banh mi one time. Then, went back to try those we want to vote on. After some sweet teas, we were stuffed. Another great improvement was the ticketing process. Signed up on CauseVox and paying $40 with no upfront fees. I received the eTicket via email. I bought 2 tickets, my friend got her email, too. Traffic from Chinatown was usual busy around this area and I parked at an empty lot across the street for $20 plus tax. Overall, it was a great event. We vowed to come back next year.

An amazing way to taste the best bánh mis !!! Every year there's something different and delicious…read more Lots of fun with a group of friends and foodies.

I like immersive museums a lot and we decided to check this place out. Everything we saw there was…read morestunningly beautiful and I loved how they had bean bags there for us to sit down and really enjoy the art. We went on a Monday and many times we had the space all to ourselves which was a bonus. For the admission price I'd expect just a bit more to see. But everything they have there was amazing. Great way to stay cool in a hot day as well. I recommend making an online reservation for a smooth check in/entry process!

My review and video is regarding the March Yelp Elite Event premiere of the new exhibition: This…read moreevent was executed perfectly with a complimentary drink and light bites. My favorite part was the red laser beam instillation followed by the interactive AI clay portion. We had free easy parking and friendly service by the staff. This is great for date night, solo exploration and for family fun. Apologies for posting here instead of the event page that I could not find.