A time was had while in Cleveland for work. My colleague took me down and I was not disappointed. I…read morejust wish I could have stayed longer than I did. There was so much going on. An area for food, merchandise, community information as well as businesses inside were open. So much to try and explore. I got a noodle and rice dish and tea from vendors. All of it was really good. I definitely enjoyed my time and will be back next year if possible.

Another great year at the Asian festival it's progressively gotten bigger every year this year in…read morefact it was so big that it got shut down early due to the extremely large crowds on Sunday we went early and still had an amazing time and ate all the good food. Asian town Square is a gem for the city of Cleveland so many great restaurants, and shops.

An afternoon of beers, food, and friends in Lincoln Park ? What could go wrong ?…read more My first beer festival and I was a bit disappointed. Note, this isn't a beer tasting. It's a beerfest where most people were getting drunk. You likely won't have the chance to chat with the rep. pouring the beer, there was a line of 5+ people behind you waiting for their beer. I was in VIP [thanks brother-in-law!] which for some amount (I think he paid a discounted $60/ticket, through a groupon), offered a private VIP area with a food station, our own port-o-potties, food from BRGR9, and 2 additional beer stations (of Goose Island), a covered tent, and seats (thanks to the Lincoln Park). Excellent food by BRGR9 ! They had the complimentary food (burgers, homemade corn dogs - the first corn dog that I've ever liked - the breading was homemade and light, salad, mac and cheese with sundried tomatoes and bacon - awesome]. Now, water for us ? A staffer told us water should be available but promised it was on the way and it came around 2-3p. For the proletariat non-VIPs, there were 5-6 food vendors, and water for $2. Besides the food and booze, there was a volleyball net and a handful of vendors in Lincoln Park. Next time, they should use a larger portion of the park because people were crowding around each other and near the beer lines. Although the Scene promotes other events around town town, they could have promoted their own event better. Their website, their facebook event, the latest copy of their paper magazine and the ticket itself didn't even include information like whether there was a rain date, whether any seating available (the only seating was on the grass unless you were in VIP), whether there was reentry [there was not], and what was exactly included in the VIP package. The beer selection ? Decent. They promoted the event as featuring 100+ brews, and I thought they were likely just right around that number, a little under it maybe. Many from local microbreweries, a few big 'micro' ones (new castle, sam adams, yuengling), don't think any of them were from Europe besides Delirium and New Castle. None of the brews as far as I know were exclusive or limited editions, but there still many of them that I didn't have yet. On the positive side, they had enough porta-potties, the volunteers and beer reps were nice. The lines to get the beer weren't bad, I usually waited 3-5 minutes each time but they could also improve on that. Unfortunately by 4:45 PM, with over an hour left of the event, nearly all but 1 or 2 stations were out of beer. We left about 45 minutes before it ended, all of the places were out of beer. Did I have a good time ? Yes. Would I pay that much again ? Nope. I'll try brewzilla or krusty's next time instead, hopefully they wouldn't run of beer there. If you're interested in going next year, bring your own water, get there early, and bring chairs if you want to sit.

I haven't gone to any other beer fests in the NEO region but this was pretty good at a reasonable…read morecost. It rained a bit this year, but it was still an enjoyable event. There were about 30 beer vendors at the event, each with a few varieties of their brews. Some local brews were present such as Brew Kettle, Portside, and Cellar Rats to name a few. You'll certainly find your favorite type of ale here. There was also a Tito's booth that was serving cocktails. Although they were a bit on the weaker side, its nice having another drink choice other than beer. Yelp was also present. My friends and I made pretzel necklaces which we snacked during the fest. I was told that pretzel necklaces are a tradition at this event. There were people who brought their own necklaces with large pretzels! Reading the reviews from previous years, it seems like running out of beer was the main concern, it wasn't an issue this year. The admission included 10 tickets for samples, some vendors didn't even ask/take the tickets. I had 4 tickets left at the end of the day and I couldn't drink anymore. My only complaint was that the booths should have signs ABOVE the vendors and not on the tables. It was a bit difficult finding the vendors within each booth/area. Looking forward to it next year and hopefully it'll be dry and sunny!

Held every year since 1969 (with a 10 year hiatus from 84-95), Hessler is a Cleveland institution…read moreand the mark of the festival season. Come hungry, with sunscreen and cash. Vendors sell ethnic eats, ice cream, and hand crafted items like tie died clothing, jewelry, and pottery. The neighborhood is leafy, eclectic, and brick lined. Hessler should be experienced at least one time in your Cleveland career. Check out my pics from 2010's festival. Follow the signs for the children's play area where you can find a drum circle.

Smaller street fair, but with plenty of vendors selling interesting items. (Posted some pics) The…read morereason behind the start of the fair was even more unique. Check it out if your in the area.

This event was a lot of fun! Lots of delicious food and it was a beautiful atmosphere. I loved the…read moreChristmas music and the huge tree in the center of the lobby. It really got you in the Christmas spirit. There was a ton of gourmet food to go around all night long. 20 drink tickets was plenty since they were giving pretty good pours on the wine and beer. My only con would be that there was no coat check so we were stuck carrying around our winter jackets. Who knew since the day before it was 75 degrees, only in Ohio right?! Other than that, I had a great time!

I've been looking at all of the drink and food festivals happening around town the next few months…read moreso it was awesome to score tickets for this event. And to be hosted in the State Theatre at Playhouse Square, classy! My friend and I were dropped off and picked up so we didn't have to worry about drinking and driving especially since the snow hit that night, but how fitting for the Winter Fest! Tickets are $55 plus a $6 something fee. You get 20 alcohol samples and no restriction on food samples. Crowd seemed to be in the 30 and up club. Pros: -Lots of food samples and generous portion sizes for most. -Got to try drink and food samples from places I had not been to before. -Generous alcohol samples, they always filled my glass to the top. -Love the huge Christmas tree and other holiday decorations (I'm looking at you Mr. Reindeer man!) Cons: -Music kept getting shut off then turned off completely. Killed the mood a little as all you heard then was the loud humming of everyone talking. -No coat check so you had to hold onto your coat or secretly stuff it behind the Christmas tree and hope no one steals it. -Pretty crowded, lots of people sitting on the steps so you had to be careful squeezing past them. -Not enough high top tables to set your cup and plate on so you could enjoy things. Having to hold everything, try to consume it, and not bump into people was a little rough and awkward. I know for me, this caused some clumsy food spills a couple of times. -Would have preferred more wine options. I think there were only three wine tables? We only used 10 drink tickets because there wasn't much we wanted to try or keep going back to. All in all, glad I got the opportunity to check this event out! But, we ended up leaving before it was over, and unfortunately I would probably check out a different holiday food and drink event next year.

Nice, intimate theatre space. Saw an independent company perform here, and really enjoyed the…read moreexperience.

Our family just attended the wonderful Clague Playhouse production of Neil Simons' "Lost in…read moreYonkers". The performance was outstanding. Comedic timing was perfection. Sad, happy, laugh out loud funny are some of the emotions felt as we were drawn into this incredible storyline. Elaine Feagler portrayed Bella to absolute perfection. Her performance brought us to great bursts of laughter, and, yes, even tears. Local thespian, Elliot Lockshine (Arty), literally stole the show with his wonderful protrayal of the spunky little brother with the great comedic timing. Such a talented young lad! Meg Parish (Grandma Kurniz) was totally wonderful in her protrayal of a 1930s' Jewish grandmother. She brought to life a lost generation. Chris Bizub (Uncle Louie), Jake Ingrassia (Jay) and Lisa Margevicius (Gert) all gave great performances, as well. Clague Playhouse is a small, initimate theatre, but, this afternoon it became a grand playhouse with a production worthy of Clevelands' Palace Theatre. So, if you want to see an outstanding performance and be totally entertained you need to get to "Lost in Yonkers" at Clague Playhouse for their very next performance.

We are visiting from SoCal. Teachers have great Latin and American ballroom training. They do dance…read morewith students @ party. Great floor, just right, and safe for any knees. Friendly and attentive staff. People of all ages and dancing skills. We will be back!

Last night I dealt at the Nautica Charity Poker Festival Pavilion. Basically it's the old party…read moreroom of McCarthy's in the Flats, but painted up and with some cool looking old church windows in it and some quilts. Plus...LOTS of poker tables. Coming in there is the constant click of people playing with their chips and there is some confusion because there is always a new charity hosting. The charity supplies the door person, the main floor manager and dealers for all the tables. The full time staff are the cashier and the floating manager/dealer coordinator who helps train the charity staff. The people who go to Nautica are the same people, night after night. For some of them, it's their job. For others, it's just a good way to spend an evening. Lose, win...and hopefully win some more? The charity's assigned usually run the shop for two days. Considering most of the dealers are poorly trained and rather clueless about poker (ahem...me!), it's a good thing that the tables are understanding and instructive. Apparently you can't become a professional trainer after a 20 minute class...weird, huh!? So to keep this legal, the charity takes a rake after each game. Also many of the tables have set limits to minimize betting. Overall, it's an excellent charity benefit so long as you are SURE that you have enough volunteers. With the particular charity I was working for, there were a lot of desperate last minute calls for people because there were plenty of people to start another table or two but no more volunteer dealers. For real poker players: A lot of these guys (and gals) are regular tourny players. Some of them aren't. It all depends on your table. There is a snack/drink cart moving around and at least the tournament tables are nice and clean. Like I said though, your dealer may not be the most experienced because they're an unpaid volunteer so please be understanding. I fold.

I enjoyed a nice stroll through after visiting the USS COD next door (highly recommended!).read more

The International Women's Air & Space Museum in Cleveland is a must-visit. Walking through exhibits…read morefilled with stories of women trailblazers in aviation and space left me inspired. I can't wait to visit again!