This was a pretty neat festival. The day was quite warm, so I could sympathize with the animals…read moretrapped in the tar. Ok, it wasn't quite that bad, but you get the idea. There were things to keep children and adults of all ages entertained. Live musical entertainment, food trucks, a bar/lounge area, booths, and of course, the tar pits! Hot stuff!

Well I rode my bike then walked around this lovely gathering and found it a bit breezy and cool! In…read morefact, at first I was concerned my bike would be challenging to ditch and perhaps merit an evil eye by Security. Well, maybe next year. Right now, it's the perfect time to experience Tarfest. I got there about 3pm. First, I must thank Merry Karnowsky Gallery. http://www.yelp.com/biz/merry-karnowsky-gallery-los-angeles Due to their postings I learned about this Event. They also had a fun promotion that afforded an exclusive signed poster of Tarfest (by Mel Kadel), plus a drink ticket. I'm sure others were getting the word out there, but they're the reason this was on my radar. Once there, it was easy to hang around awhile. Fun to be by LACMA and right near the Tar Pits. Entering from 6th Street, I got to see the giant rock and the newly graveled path. So what was so good here? *Busy but not swarming crazy hey-move-it crowded. *Music is rockin' without competing with those who wish to converse a hundred or two yards away. (The band, SOFT SELLS was fun to listen to -- with Blondfire, Steelwells, So Many Wizards, et al on the bill.) *No entrance fee *Some nice lookin' Food Trucks! *A Bar! with some wine but also MicroBrewery grog from Lagunitas Brewery. Good Pils! *Awesome individual Live Art (painting) by: Greg Simkins, Johnny Rodriguez, Codak Smith and Van Saro. *Hoola Hoops for everyone to shake it. *Lots of cool sponsors including Yelp, KCRW, and Launch L.A. Also some Health Conscious organizations got their messages out, too, in a pleasant, permission marketing kinda way. Hats, shirts, magazines and more were among things you could either walk with or donate towards. This is the type of Event I believe will be too crowded and too chaotic in a few years. Here's hoping I'm waayyy off on that estimation. I'm glad to have been there today. It was simply delightful and inspiring and fun!

Come down today.. 10/18/14 ... From 2pm till 7pm and you will will enjoy a unique October…read moretradition in the heart of Burbank.. Between Olive and Angelino on San Fernando Blvd.. Stretching 2 blocks .. Beer tasting galore.. Beer beer and more beer .. Over 30 breweries.. Booths and people.. The admission includes lots of goodies.. Free tastings of beer and the obligatory small beer glass (which is the legal pour amount of 4oz).. Safe and sane fun.. And who doesn't love day drinking.. Parking is available all around the area.. The value for the money is good.. 5 stars.. Come down and support the wonderful work being done in Burbank.. And grab a beer.. See you there.. Biscuits and Gravey..

Awesome time great beer ! And yelp girl is awesome ! Food at wild carvery is phenomenal ! Worth…read morecoming down for sure!

"Hey Harmonie, what did you do this weekend?" "Um....I spent…read moreSaturday evening in Beverly Hills! No big deal" ;D First off, major thanks to Andrea V. and Erin V. who each won a pair of tickets to this event via Yelp. They were so kind to invite me out and experience the 90210 without the drama of Kelly, Donna, and Brenda. So what is Simply DiVine? It's an event benefitting The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center and featuring local restaurants, wineries, and such. Festivities took place outdoors at Two Rodeo Drive and general tickets are priced at $150 each. Yes, you read that right. One hundred and fifty dollar tickets. Don't freak out...remember, It's for a good cause! My favorites of the evening: - Ventura Limoncello. Specifically, their Orangecello liquor and their Cranberry-Limoncello cocktail - Edamame Salad from Street - Watermelon Gazpacho from Porta Via - Israeli Cous Cous from The Tripel - Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes from The Village Bakery http://su.pr/1S8jY7 I was extremely surprised to find so many vegan friendly options at this event. I will also be on the hunt for those vegan cupcakes next time I'm in Atwater Village! SO good! Auctions raised additional funds for the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center. If I wasn't unemployed, I probably would have bid on some of the vacation packages or yoga classes. Settled in the cobblestoned walkway of Two Rodeo Drive, the beautiful atmosphere and this bougie event turned out to be a super awesome, very classy and surprisingly vegan-friendly evening! ;D Beverly Hills, that's where I want to be...! http://youtu.be/M4iTyHItFwg

This fundraiser for the LA Gay and Lesbian Center was quite divine! Bites of food, free flowing…read moredrinks, entertainment and auctions made the night fun, while raising money for a good cause. The $150 tickets as well as the proceeds from the live and silent auctions raised money for the Center, while providing us all with the opportunity to sample and enjoy some new restaurants. The food and drinks: Vegetarian and vegan options were limited, but sufficient and satisfying, while meat eaters had an ample selection ranging from sliders to ceviche. Susan Fenigers Street featured a delicious and refreshing edamame salad, which provided a healthy contrast for my next favorite. The Village Bakery featured my favorite desserts of the night, a decadent and rich vegan chocolate cupcake: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/7Td2vaRiiU7HU5BqSoQBMg?select=rkff63Xw9WK1e3e_wNpPeA and the best colored/decorated item, a rainbow cake: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/7Td2vaRiiU7HU5BqSoQBMg?select=CUufSS8Rlc8e3FspgJbDNw. There was a great variety of drinks available, with numerous wine selections, as well as some liqueurs, margaritas, beers, and even champagne. Non-alcoholic options and bottles of water were also available, but didnt seem to be as popular! You probably wont get $150 worth of food if you bought a ticket, but the money is going to a good cause, which is why almost everyone was here to begin with! I was lucky enough to win tickets, but I couldnt help but bid on at least half a dozen items, so I know that my money went to an organization I am happy to support! Regarding the event organization: Some great things I appreciated: -Plate + Wine holder combo made it so much easier to navigate the crowd by freeing up my drink-holding hand.. Every event should have these: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/7Td2vaRiiU7HU5BqSoQBMg?select=fVCYu2JB0R24aHj-985QDg -The silent auction set-up was great! Ive seen good, great, and bad silent auctions and this was a great one. After signing up and giving my credit card info, I was given a sheet of bar code stickers to place on the bidding sheets. All the bidding sheets already had increments listed on them. No writing name, phone number, amount, etc. necessary! So easy and fast that it made it so easy to bid on so many, I just put my sticker next to my max bid amount. The items were also well organized based on type, such as restaurants, beauty/spa, travel, etc. A few days after the event, I received an email notifying me that I was a winner, and a few days later my card was charged and I got my certificates in my mailbox! Area of improvement: Compared to other similar events I have been to in the past, this one was crowded. While the lines were usually short and the items I was interested in trying didnt run out until the end of the evening, maneuvering from one area to the next was difficult at times. The space the event was held in was great for an event like this, but not for the amount of people. Everything considered, especially the purpose of the evening made this event worthy of 5 stars!

Aloha! Thank you Yelp! If it weren't for you, the boyfriend family and I wouldn't have checked this…read moreplace out. Family outing is always fun for us. He loves spending time with his family whenever he can so here we were. The event was held at Belmont Shore on the pier. Parking was a bit hard to find towards the end of the day but we still managed to find one. Tiki Beach reminded us our Hawaii trip last winter (we miss it so much). Being here was a close as we can get to Hawaii that day. We bought a pineapple pina colada drink. $8 dollars for one and for a refill, it's a dollar off, so $7. There were booths serving Hawaiian food and shaved ice. Being here was a close as we can get to Hawaii that day. We bought a pineapple pina colada drink. $8 dollars for one and for a refill, it's a dollar off, so $7. There were booths serving Hawaiian food and shaved ice. Pineapple - perfect for the hot weather and near the beach http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/annual-tiki-beach-festival-long-beach?select=9uPSQuqA7gdH9GSLJcMtcQ#5AZn80QLdmSLat4veRyEhA Performance - stage on the beach near the pier http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/annual-tiki-beach-festival-long-beach?select=9uPSQuqA7gdH9GSLJcMtcQ#g1W4iCWa-4SuqA3QgMTVKg There were performances, food and some booth selling hawaiian looking bracelets and clothes. Good day to be out with your love ones. Make sure you put on some sun screen!

To the L.B. Tiki Beach Festival, big Mahalo! for being a free admission event, filled with island…read moregrooves, food and entertainment. This Beach festival was going on during a weekend in August and it's located on the beach of Belmont Shore. It's a smaller event compared to other Island festivals that promote Independent music artists, but mainly we were able to squeeze out some fun out of it. There were a few decent food vendors there that participated. Some of the grub stands are pretty similar to the ones you find typically at a county fair, but it's best to go with Hawaiian food to compliment the experience. There is a beer garden, and in that area there are tables and chairs for seating. I did went with the "Kahlua Pork Sliders" from the Island Style Poke stand and KianaKai's "Shaved Ice". I was disappointed that my local favorite, Dough Dough's Hawaiian Cafe was present, but they closed. The downside of the festival as I mentioned earlier is smaller, there wasn't a lot that was offered to display the culture onsite during the day, because there was not a lot of vendors. But when coming in, I suggest to take your time and soak in the beach environment while live Hawaiian Reggae is playing. The MC who hosted the event was pleasant and gave good intros for the performers on stage. There was a good turn out of people on the sand sitting on their beach towels, who were glued to the music and entertainment. When the sun was setting, going into the evening the DJ played the song "Summertime in LBC" everyone there was on their feet dancing to the "G funk" even the kids! The exciting part of the evening was the Hawaiian fire dance show toward the very end of the event. The rhythmic and skill display from the performances really got me pumped up. You will be amazed by the hula dancers representing the complex art form. Overall, organized and secured event. I would go again with my family and reconnect with some of my island roots and Aloha spirit.

I went to the Grand Avenue Festival by chance this year and it was such a great time. I heard about…read moreit somewhere and thought it would be pretty interesting and you can go watch some performances for free at the Walt Disney Concert Hall (which I've always wanted to go into since I've moved back). And admission to MOCA was free as well. Plus all the other things going on. I didn't get there till about 2:30pm...just took the metro and exited Civic Center and it was just a block away. Very convienent. I'm really starting to love the Metro. But once we got there we grabbed the free ticket for a hip hop orchestra called "Da KAH", which would be in the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The group was very entertaining, and I love the fusion with hip hop and classical. Great energy, great music, wonderful acoustics, beautiful environment. The food they had there were from all the local restaurants out there, and it was very yummy food. Not your average street food. We had a hazelnut kit kat pastry from Kendell's and that was delicious. YUM. You can also enjoy some vendors and great activities for kids. I was able to catch some live performances, one by a Jessica Fichot which I ended up buying her CD, cause Ithought her music was fun and she's so cute. It's mostly in french, so I don't understand much...but then again, there's a lot of english songs out there that I don't understand, but still love. Overall, it was a great time. Saved gas by taking the metro...admission free...music...free....MOCA free...can't go wrong with FREE.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people complain about getting things for free…read more The Grand Avenue Festival is unfortunately full of these types. Free admission to MOCA and REDCAT. Free shows in the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Free opera performances in the Dorothy Chandler. Free drum circles. Free culture everywhere you look. And yet, you'll still be stuck behind the old couple who were irked the chamber music concert featured Mozart's string quartet in G major Köchel 387 instead of something more obscure that the philistines wouldn't know. The Grand Avenue Festival gives people who otherwise wouldn't have the means a window into culture with which Los Angeles is armed to the teeth, and yet you get the privileged who swoop down from on high to scoff. The festival is a wonderful event, with so many different performers and artists to be found along the street. You can listen to someone sing a piece from "Tosca," then watch a demonstration on how to play a Celtic Bronze Age horn using circular breathing, stroll into one of the museums, tour the concert hall garden with the China rose fountain, sample some of the local fare, watch a dance recital, play in a drum circle, and watch a performance in the Concert Hall ... all in the SAME HOUR. I look forward with great enthusiasm to the festival's return. FYI, shows in the Concert Hall are ticketed (but the tickets are free), so just stop by the booth in front when they start distributing them. Everything else is pretty much fair game.

I love this event, came here last year and had a blast. Came again this year and still had a blast…read more I think the prettiest people in Los Angeles come here and drink (Or is this the wine talking? ) Again, this year they had it at Majestic Halls. Yes that place. The same place where Usher shot his video of " DJ Got us falling in Love" http://www.majestichalls.com/EventVideos.html Great central venue. Because I had something to compare to last year, this is why I would give it 4 stars this year instead of 5. There seemed to be less vendors than last year-Sure I couldn't have drank "over 250 wines" in any given day but I loved the selection last year, including the place in redlands that did the ice slushies. It was refreshing, different, and was much needed to cleanse the pallet. I did wish we had something similar this year. There also seemed to be less "real food" for purchase than last year. This year, the grilled cheese truck was present as well as a "gourmet hot dog" inside the place. I'm wasn't a fan of either one so I opted to walk half mile to Nabeeya (Thanks James for the rec.) for a quick bite. I came back in time to have some sparkling that was in the front. The lines seemed more unorganized this year. Sure most people wait behind the booths but this year, for some reason it felt like people were "driving on the opposite side of the road". If there were lines on the left, I saw people coming from the right. This wasn't too bad because the lines moved rather quickly. The only time it mattered was when the people over the booth were edumacating the public , thus taking time away. The instagram #wineriot was a nice touch. But for private accounts and changing it to public just for a picture, it doesn't work as we waited over 2 hours for our picture. I saw some familiar faces here like Tara Taylor who was over at our favorite Spanish Wines. I saw Erica Nagashima over at #madriasangria . Of course got to chat with James a bit and met his friend Joy. Stopped by the Yelp booth to say HI. (BTW, thanks again @KTB! ) To Morgan, @Morgan1st, I saw you hustling around and I think you guys did a wonderful job.

Definitely the BEST Yelp Elite event I've attended so far (as of 7/22/14). Yes, the event took…read moreplace in May 2014, so it's a review long overdue. Better late than never ;) Brought my lovely +1 from San Diego, and we had a fucking blast. Unlimited wine for 4 hours? With amazing goat cheese (which I usually hate) on the house?! And to mention, short seminars on sake/wine? Met some great people, me and the girlfriend ended up having hot pot dinner with strangers turned friends. What better way to make friends than over unlimited wine & good vibes? Yeee. Plus, I LOVE the fact they had an app called "Second Glass" where you could rate the wine you just had based on stall#, so you won't forget what you enjoyed. I don't know too much about wines, so this was the perfect way for me to remember exactly what I liked, and what I didn't like. Thanks a bunch to Katie B. & Yelp for this AMAZING event! Hopefully I can go again next year :)

THEY JUST CANCELLED THE 2017 Event which is a shame because I really liked the 2016 event…read more No word on refunds but let's hope for all those who bought tickets they will be coming soon.

I attended LA Weekly's Sips & Sweets for the first time this year at the Petersen Auto Museum, and…read morehad an amazing time. This event was very well planned and executed. The party was spread out over all 4 floors and there was a slammin' DJ on each floor keeping the atmosphere lively. The best part?! NO LINES!! Okay...maybe a couple of booths had lines but you could count them on one hand. The rest of the booths had no lines or lines that were a minute or two long. Signage was great too! Even the cleaning staff that was making sure everything stayed clean, were dancing while sweeping. Everything was free except for the savory food items - it is Sips & Sweets, after all, (desserts and cocktails) not a food festival. The savory items were on the top floor which was perfect after eating and drinking your way through 3 floors of desserts and cocktails. There was a wide variety of cocktails to sample - and they were decent size pours, too! The beautiful cars were works of art - they added to the cool awesomeness of the night. I attend plenty of food and wine festivals and this one ranks at the top of my list. I will definitely make this an annual tradition.

The best part of the City of Calabasas is definitely The Commons. The actual city is located in a…read moreperfect spot just past Los Angeles proper and nestled in the mountains away from the smog of the Valley and the over population that is LA. Away from all of the hustle and bustle... If you have the money in southern CA, it's an ideal place to live. Overall, Calabasas is home to King's Fish House which has the BEST BBQ Shrimp appetizer and worth the time and drive just to experience it.

Do your best to avoid any pulling of permits! They WILL hold…read moreup your project for months.