It's a small fair that comes to the town of Malvern every July to benefit the local fire…read moredepartment. I've gone every year for the last 10 years. They have fun rides for the kids and some more exciting rides for adults. Mind you it's not Hersheypark or what Walt Disney World, the rides are small and a bit rickety, but it is a fun time for a small-town. The zipper, roundabout, swings, etc. The fair usually starts midweek and runs through Saturday night. On Friday each year they have a good fireworks display at about 9 PM. Like most small fairs, you can buy single tickets, books of tickets or a wristband that's good for the night. Although it's quite expensive to buy the wristband, you'll go broke trying to ride rides with tickets so just pony up for the wristband and have a good time. Plenty of food, but rides on an antique firetruck, and more. Note that this is really a kid centric event. Of course as an adult you could go and do the bigger rides, but there's no alcohol served and you will be surrounded by mobs of teenagers.

A great yearly event that hasn't been reviewed much lately. Judging by the crowd it appears to be a…read morevery popular event. There is live music, a craft, beer, garden, food trucks and crab fenders. There's a bunch of things to do for the kids. What I thought was cute was that you can kiss a pet for a dollar I believe it's the first weekend of every October.

Take a trip back 300 years to a date when we were still a colony in the British Empire, when many…read moreestablished towns grew as trading posts and became horse feeding stops between large city designations. Such is the humble beginnings of Allentown New Jersey, halfway between New York & Philadelphia. This was all before Snookie & MTV trashed all things Jersey and created late night TV fodder for all those talking heads, despite the fact that those Jersey Shore invaders were not Jerzee natives. In 1706 Nathan Allen bought much of the farmland and built 3 mills and the area was known as Allen's Town, and morphed into today's Allentown. George Washington slept here on his way to Crossing the Delaware. That building is still on Main St. So many historical little goodies for you history buffs. Now, for the fest right on Main St. The 2nd weekend of October every year. The weather makes all the difference, ... get a nice sunny day and you can take in all the charm of this lively little town and enjoy and stuff your face with your favorite Jersey tasty treat. Pork roll-n-cheese, sausage-n-peppers, sweet local corn, Fried clams/clam rolls, Zeppoles (Jersey's fried dough with powdered sugar, so bad and soooo good) and then every local restaurant sets up shop to show off their signature dishes. When you're done prepare to roll out smiling with a satisfied pallet! The Civil War reenactment in the adjacent park is very well done and Nerdvana for us History geeks :-) Definitely a cool stop on fall day!

My SO came as a child every year, so he really wanted to bring our daughter this year over Labor…read moreDay weekend. I really liked that you pay admission but that includes unlimited carnival rides. It was sooooo hot! Lots of beverage stations were open. Lots of authentic clothing,crafts,dolls, ceramics,etc. Loved the polish sausages and potato pancakes too!

Nothing says Labor Day Weekend like this festival. They've been holding it for many years and now…read moreit's a great holiday weekend staple. Thinking about it gives me nostalgia for the late summer. You pay an entrance fee (I forget the exact amount, somewhere between $10-$15) but it includes all the rides and some games. This is great if you are taking kids, so you won't have to worry about tickets, tokens or any other methods of payment. The food is phenomenal for being festival food (but then again I love Polish food). For fair prices you can get potato pancakes, pierogies and imported beer. They have musicians and dancing for entertainment, though I suggest if you're interested in that kind of thing going later on, since that's when the bulk of it happens. Overall this is a fun event and worth checking out.

Great juried artists and a fun place to visit. Excellent food that is all home made and anyone can…read morepurchase. Jams, jellies, bread, pastries, you name it! Delish!

It's a fun day even though you have to pay to get in. 8$ on line, 10$ at the door. When you think…read moreabout it it's more reasonable than museum admission. Some items are very expensive, others are very reasonable. This was my third time at Sugar Loaf but it won't be my last. Art, jewelry, pottery, glass are all available. If you love to tantalize your tastebuds, there are Gourmet cheeses, wine, fudge, balsamic vinegars, jerky, cookies, fabulous dips, complete w samples are available to name a few. I strongly recommend eating BEFORE you go. The food offerings aren't that great and they are way overpriced. Lines are very long as well. Bring your own water with you, I paid 3$ for a bottle of water. You'll be walking a lot. There are places to sit and enjoy live music. Lots to see! We saw a glass blowing demonstration yesterday which was interesting. They visit the Oaks Expo center in November & March.

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.

Always a great time with great food I go every year with my mom she's from that area so it's a…read moregreat time for her

I once had the pleasure of a one day trip with good close friends to Philadelphia, PA during the…read moreItalian Market Festival. We had a foodie day of Italian staples including sweets. Italian Market Festival is an outdoor market on 9th Street that complete me... Italian sausage, Italian staples as freshly handmade pasta, and all genres of sweets imaginable. Eat, walk a little, walk some more on Philadelphia's historic 9th Street! Foodie galore in the City of Brotherly Love!

Firebird Festival has been on my radar for years (tickets in the past sold out too quickly), but I…read morefinally made it this year, which luckily was the first year it was open to all / free to all! If you want to do the Firebird Festival, here are some tips from my experience. First, get on their email list. All the info will be emailed, including updates on building the bird, ways you can help, and volunteer opportunities. When they say they light the bird at 8pm, YES IT WILL BE LIT AT 8pm, AND IT WILL HAVE BURNED DOWN TO ITS FEET BY 8:15pm!!!! My last photo was taken at 8:13pm, as I walked away, and the structure had burned, collapsed, and was just a big bonfire + phoenix claws. And SO MANY PEOPLE were still descending on the park, thinking "it's only 8:15, I've got plenty of time" ummm, no. I passed at least 300 people wondering if any of them understood that all that was left was good live music and some drunk hook-up options. But the party continues until 11pm, so for the childless crowd, there you go. If you do care to see the bird, be there at least a half hour before 8pm. The drum procession into the field happens at 7:30, and is very cool to see, plus is a part of the ceremony and theatrics of it all. Then, dancing, chant music, fire dancers, etc. all circle 'round the bird. You can really see all they've developed over the years in the choreography, creativity, and attention to details. There were a lot of kids there, babies to teens, all ages. I was worried about my preschooler being afraid of the fire, or the idea of burning an animal figure. I made sure to show some kid-friendly YouTube videos ahead of time, and educate about this mythological creature, and it's meaning. I stressed that a new young bird rises from the ashes, according to legend, and that this bird was pretend, made of wood by volunteers. They ask for people to bring lunches to the volunteers in the months (yes, building starts in SEPTEMBER) leading up to the festival, and if I'd had time I would have done that and taken my kid to see that process. It's my plan for next year. Anyway, it went over pretty well. No kids were crying. Mine was a little sad at first, but then pretty fascinated by the fire. I don't recommend positioning yourself close to the fire with kids; it's scary and overwhelming for them. My preschooler was a little nervous when we were somewhat close, but did better from afar, where we saw a lot more kids as we walked out. The show really is something worth checking out at least once. They make a different style of bird each year (always a phoenix, but in different poses and styles). The bird is always about 25' high, made of wood. This year the bird had rainbow lights as eyes, and a mechanical beak that opened and closed. It also had a plume of branches sticking out its head. It looked partridge-y, but still I could distinctly see a phoenix. It was beautiful! As you can see in my photos, they projected a colorful light show into the body of the bird, which was equally beautiful. In addition to the phoenix, there are vendors, food options, and live music. A Boy Scout troop was selling hot chocolate ($3/cup) and offering apple bread and brownies but asking for donations on those. Sadly, a lot of people just took the baked goods and gave nothing, which was totally despicable. Those kids were working so hard, and giving up their own leisure time to enjoy the festival so these greedy drunk-high jerks could rob their baked goods. Ew! The live music was really very quiet. I had a hard time hearing it 50' away. There are residences all around Veterans Memorial Park, where it's held, so I guess noise had to be kept down. Stinks. Speaking of, there were a row of port-a-potties available, and the scent of weed every 3 square feet, with a cop every 10 square feet. Multiple fire engines were right nearby and ready. Everything was extremely well organized. There were police officers controlling traffic, guarding blocked off roads, and there to assist in the crowds. Shuttle busses ran from three different municipal lots (all full very early), and walking was possible from the downtown area, if you were up for a 1.5mi journey. We had best luck parking by a church in a nearby residential neighborhood, and walking from there with a stroller. I definitely recommend the Firebird Festival! But make it your focus of the evening. Everyone who thought they'd have a nice dinner downtown and then catch the shuttle or walk over to the festival was sorely disappointed to arrive when there was nothing left to see.

I love fire, it can be very theatrical…read more Generous volunteers make this awesome free event happen each year. It's the family-friendly, East Coast mini-version of Burning Man. OK, maybe not but still a great time. Fire dancers? Check. Live music? Check. Local artisans? Check. Happy friendly hippies? Check Comfort food? Check Large wooden object burned to the ground while revelers clap and cheer with joy? Check.

Lambertville, NJ celebrates the return of the shad which come from the ocean and travel up the…read moreDelaware River each year to their spawning areas. Local artists and businesses host thousands of visitors who come to Shad Fest. This year it was held on April 29 and 30. Locals catch the shad mostly with hooks and line but a historically accurate demonstration with a long net spread by row boat and hauled to shore by arm power is reenacted. The Shad are a nasty tasting fish but many vendors are preparing them blackened or smoked. If you don't care for the taste, move on to the scores of outside concessions on Bridge Street and South Union serving all kinds of great food or one of the fabulous local restaurants. There is entertainment all over town so you should check out www.shadfest.com to see with band is at which venue. We mostly listened to the bands playing on the outdoor stages on North Union Street. While there you can check out the shops as well as the tents on the streets for crafts and fashions. There are a couple of Beer gardens and the town has some super Taverns and pubs. Shad Fest is one of the nicer small town festivals and I recommend that you mark your calendars now for next years event.

Shad Fest is a annual festival in Lambertville. It's a pretty fun experience. It's literally right…read moreover the bridge from New Hope. There are a bunch of vendors on the streets selling food, ice cream, popcorn, clothes, antiques, and more. We came across some very rude ignorant racist people who were mocking us to "march military style" (referring to us as North Koreans which we're not btw) but aside from that, the festival itself was a good time and I'll still give it 5 stars because I won't let some ignorant low life ruin my time in public. My wife and I explored around town, took plenty of pictures, and had plenty of food and alcohol. Verdict - Shad Fest or no Shad Fest, you should come and visit this part of NJ and New Hope, PA. Food and drinks are all moderately priced and most of all, the food was pretty darn good. There are a lot antique shops and eateries in these 2 towns, you can spend the entire afternoon in New Hope and walk into Lambertville for a visit. The streets are clean, the weather was amazing, and there are some areas that have a very beautiful scenery. And for those who remain prejudice in this country, please broaden your horizons a little bit and perhaps educate yourself during that process. Not every Asian you see in your small town is a brainwashed military nut from the North.

I've wanted to visit the Chinese Lantern Festival for a few years now, and finally made my first…read moretrip this summer. Getting in was easy enough despite the crowds, with plenty of staff on hand to keep the line moving and tickets scanned quickly. The real draw, of course, is the lantern displays. They're beautifully crafted and surprisingly diverse, ranging from insects and flowers to more Philadelphia-themed exhibits tied to the city's 250th anniversary and major sporting events. There are well over a dozen displays spread throughout Franklin Square, and each one feels distinct enough to keep you moving through the park. Timing matters. While the lanterns are interesting during daylight, they really come alive once darkness sets in. If you're planning a visit, aim for dusk or later to get the full effect. As expected, there were plenty of families in attendance, along with food and drink options throughout the venue. The atmosphere was relaxed and festive without feeling overwhelming. Overall, I came away glad I finally went. The displays are impressive, the event is well organized, and it's easy to see why it has become a popular Philadelphia summer tradition. While I'm not sure it's something I'd need to do every year, it's absolutely worth experiencing at least once.

Planned trip here to see the Chinese Lantern Festival in Philly while in town during opening…read moreweekend. Perfect timing as it aligned with other activities planned - easy to purchase tickets online. Easy to get here by train - Franklin Square PATCO Station leaves you right here by the entrance literally or one can take car service or walk depending where you are coming from. Go through security and scan your ticket based on timed ticket entry and you are in. Tada! Overall it was good with interactive spots in the park. Even though earliest entry starts at 6pm, needed to wait til sunsets when the lights start coming on. The map was helpful though there wasn't really a course that took you from one section to another... it was just all open to find everything. The jellyfish mirror room was really cool but it was very warm. Lanterns were colorful. If you wish to eat in the park, there are food stands to purchase from. Have fun and take pics for memories.