This fair is awesome!…read more It's got art of all kinds. Paintings, pottery, jewelry, that awesome photography on metal so the colors stand out, etc. I remember a stall with thin pieces of wood that were carved into things like trees and mountains. They were layered into a beautiful scene, then framed as if it were a painting. Very unique! Something else that I find to be a really charming detail is that each walkway is labeled with a road sign that is named after famous artists. For example, you can tell someone to walk down "Van Gogh" to find a specific stall. It's free admission. There are food trucks, a playground, a beer garden, live music, outdoor AND indoor art displays (it's fun exploring the building)... truly a fun day for art lovers.

This years art festival was fantastic! I've been going to the EAF for years and years and frankly…read moresome years are better than others. This one, 2019, was one of the best. It had so many different types of art and everything was professionally rendered by extremely talented artists who are at the top of their art form. I love paintings, sketchings, artfully taken photography and jewelry, and this festival didn't disappoint. It was a challenge controlling myself, but I think I did, however, this is a place that I could easily and happily lose control There was a lot more than wall art. There was; ceramics, clothing, footwear, sculpture in several mediums, yard art, musical instruments and music for sale. It's a cornucopia of juried, diverse, fine art. This isn't a street fair and I'm happy that they got the street fair type vendors out of there. Every year I go and every year I find multiple items that I'd like to take home, this year would've broken the bank if I had just let myself go, but still, I'm happy with my purchases and I'll be back next year.

What a wonderful annual event celebrating an era and ethnicity! Poulsbo is normally a small yet…read moreadorable "Norwegian themed" town that has deep roots in this culture and is doing everything it can to keep the traditions tied to it alive. This VikingFest occurs yearly in May and involves the entire town. The people are kind and the foods are fabulous. We tried 4 different meat pies and can't tell you which we liked best! It was set up perfectly with the carnival and rides set away from the entertainment, craft, and food vendors that were located near the marina, which kept the lines down. We even attended the Lion's fundraiser Pancake Breakfast on Sunday! It was great. Yummy pancakes, eggs, sausage, etc.! All breakfast funds are going towards the Lion's scholarship. (I was a recipient back when I attended college in the Dark Ages, so please help out this group if/when you can!) Highly recommend this festival that runs Friday afternoon through Sunday.

I love Viking Fest! The weekend is a fun time and no matter whatever day you go, you'll likely…read moreenjoy yourself. Not only do you get to explore all the little shops in downtown Poulsbo, there are many little vendors set up along the waterfront. They range from the same old people that show up at every festival in Kitsap to people specializing in things like drinking horns. They have a carnival ride area that runs throughout the weekend. On Saturday during the festival there is a parade that is a lot of fun to watch. The "vikings" may not be the most authentic, but it is a lot of fun. There is a viking village where you can learn from the people that staff it and are set up in tents and wearing traditional clothing. The stage is filled with all sorts of entertainment throughout the weekend.

I had a BLAST at bacon, eggs, & kegs. They give you plenty of drink tickets and there are numerous…read morefood options available for purchase. My favorite drink was the boozy root beer float. One tip is to buy your tickets for Sunday because it is less crowded. I didn't have to wait in any lines!

If you want to experience an event where hordes of Seattle's finest younger hipster folk meet…read morewhile you try some yummy beer, during which they proceed to get white girl wasted and bump into you unknowingly (& constantly), this is the place for you. I did appreciate how everyone was literally dressed out of a Pinterest ad. But mostly what i liked out of this HUGE event was the truly diverse selection of drinks to try. That and they give you a crapton of tickets to redeem! There are also games to play, like giant Jenga, and photo opps where you and your friends dress as bacon and eggs and flop around on a giant inflatable skillet. Even though everyone got hot messy towards the end, it's definitely an event to see!

From information on their website, this is the first year for the Monroe Oktoberfest and they…read morecertainly did a nice job. The festival is held at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds. Parking is free, but there is an admission fee. The activities are held indoors, so bad weather (like today) is not a problem. However, the building is a long walk from the parking area and there was no signage to guide fair goers to the entrance or venue. The ticket booths are at the entrance of the building. Inside, there is plenty of room and several long rows of banquet tables. The food offerings were not extensive and there was not much to choose from in the way of authentic German fare (ie: German "gyros", corn dogs, curly fries, etc...) which was disappointing. We finally found a booth that offered pork schnitzel and bratwurst which were both okay. (In looking at other Oktoberfests in the area, the names of the same restaurants appear...thinking this is a "pre-packaged" Oktoberfest that just travels to various venues....seen one, seen 'em all.) The entertainment was pleasant: a German band replete with lederhosen-wearing musicians, dancers, and bell ringers. There is plenty to do for the children, pumpkin painting, games, and the band even lets them join in the bell ringing. And the addition of Seattle actress/comedienne, Manuala Horn http://manuelahorn.com/ was fun...a little surreal performance art amid the traditional entertainment. There were also a few booths of German knickknacks and cookies to buy. This was a good start to a new event. I hope that as time goes on, organizers will consider having more homemade fare (ie, getting more community members, churches, German clubs, etc. involved) and increase the signage for newcomers. There was plenty of parking right next to the building, but it was fenced off and locked....puzzling...

The Poulsbo Heritage Museum moved into the house next door to the Maritime Museum in 2022 - 19020…read moreFront Street. More than Scandinavian - the museum tells the story of Poulsbo's settling and development. Downstairs tells the story of Heart and Home, Tending to Business, Almo Theater, North Kitsap Schools, and its Scandinavian heritage. Upstairs recently opened telling the story of Poulsbo from 1930-1980, the years when WWII changed the demographics of Poulsbo dramatically. The museum also offers research assistance and monthly children's activities. With both museums (Maritime and History) there is always something new and entertaining to keep the family busy.

This has moved into the red building right next to the Maritime Museum…read more It's especially worth a visit if you're of Scandinavian heritage.

Two things that I love: supporting local breweries and supporting my community. Both are…read moreaccomplished here. Every October tickets can be purchased (all proceeds donated to the Snohomish Senior Center) between $10-$50. Discover is an accepted form of payment. For $30+tax I receive my choice of 5 brew tastings, a souvenir glass and a $5 lunch coupon. Additional tokens be purchased for 3/$5. Credit and debit cards are accepted.This year there were about 18 local breweries on site. Some breweries sell their logo-ed t-shirts as well as their bottled brew. Bottle brew must be purchased as one is walking out the door. I applied my lunch coupon towards a spicy bratwurst topped with spicy mustard. There were three food options to choose from this year. Last year only one food option was available. While enjoying the tastings it's fun to rate the local breweries and enter the raffles. All the staff are volunteers so treat them with the respect that they deserve. I look forward to next years Brewfest. Love my brew and love my elders.

Fantastic time of year! Are you a dark beer fan? This is the event for you! Great breweries and…read moreawesome beer choices. Icicle Creek knocks it out of the park usually.

To end the year of beer festivals, Winter Beer Festival is a great event put on by Washington Beer…read moreCommission hosted by Hale's Ale in Fremont. This year was a showcase of winter seasonals from 32 Washington breweries. This year's lineup include dark malty stouts, robust winter warmers, barrel-aged gems and many more. In addition, there will be chocolate pairings courtesy of Theo Chocolate, fine pub cuisine by Hales Brewpub, fresh oysters from Taylor Shellfish Farms. It is a great event with some phenomenal beer. My only complaint is that the Palladium is to small for the size event that Winter Beer Festival has become. At the peak of the day you can barely move to even get your next beer. This is the only reason not to give this event five stars.

Although this is a bacon and beer festival, I don't think I was truly prepared for the volume of…read morebacon and beer at this event. There's a big variety of beer and food vendors that incorporate bacon in their dishes. There were even vendors who would pile straight bacon up for you. Eating beforehand was a mistake because there was so much food to try! While this was a beer event, Hochstadter's Slow & Low whiskey was there giving out generous (strong) cocktail samples, which was probably my favorite. Lines: I heard from someone who had attended last year that there's tons of lines. While this was true, the lines moved relatively quickly. Walking up to Safeco Field, the line was massive and intimidating! While it was very long with people excited to pig out and drink on, it only took about 15 minutes to get through. Once you're in, there's lines at almost every table (though the longest line we were in only took about 5 minutes to get through). There's certainly an advantage to upgrading your ticket to get in the doors before everyone and bypass the line at the gate. Overall, I had a good experience and enjoyed the event! I do recommend the VIP or power hour passes more to bypass the lines and get access to the field in the future if you have the extra spending money.

We spent most of our afternoon at this today and it sucked. I had paid extra for "VIP" tickets that…read morewere supposed to come with a whole bunch of perks, none of which we received except for t-shirts that won't fit either one of us (because the t-shirt booth was near the end of the course and most sizes were gone by the time we got there) and some coupons for some sort of freezer section thing at the grocery store. If you enjoy standing in line in the sun all day long with hardly any shade or seating, and literally not a single water station to be found at an event dedicated to sampling alcohol and salty foods, then this is the event for you. Also, some of the food vendors didn't have enough food prepared - there were 2 that had wait times of about 45 mins while they made more food and huge bottleneck situations were created that ultimately caused longer wait times at every booth after them. You only have but so long to make your way through the course, so this definitely creates a barrier to receiving the full value of your ticket, and the tickets aren't cheap. Full disclosure: I had bought the tickets pre-pandemic and we were supposed to go for my birthday in April 2020. Obviously, it got canceled, but they wouldn't issue a refund because they said they were going to be rescheduling. A year and a half later here we are, and I had a feeling it was going to suck now due to changes they had to make in both venue and various logistics, but since they wouldn't give me my money back we felt kind of obligated to go. Sometimes it sucks to be right. This was an expensive mistake we won't be repeating.