Isle of Hope Art and Music Fest (IOHAAMF) is a yearly festival that takes place in the beautiful…read moreIsle of Hope Historic District which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. We were initially planning to do a few activities downtown, but decided against it when I saw just how many events were taking place this weekend and seeing all the road closures, we decided to head to the fest since it was far from the main festivities. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise! - Parking - Since it's a small community, roads are 1 lane in each direction and a bit chaotic as the attendance seemed quite large. This year, parking was available at: Isle of Hope Baptist Church The Isle of Hope Methodist Church St. Thomas Episcopal Church Isle of Hope Elementary School I would imagine the parking situation is the same for future years, but I would check their website. - Fest - The fest is free admission. The hours were 10am to 5pm, rain or shine and takes place at the Isle of Hope Marina pavilion, Bluff Drive (between Rose Avenue and Rosenbrook Avenue), Rose Avenue and Paxton Park. According to their Instagram bio, they said there were 120+ vendors and I tried to see a list of exactly who was going to be there, but their website just indicates to stay tuned. When we got to the festival grounds, we walked right up to the back part of the mini food truck area. I remember seeing Pie Society, The Big Cheese Food Truck, Prowl, The Magic Food Truck, Little Diddle Sweetery and Kona Ice and several 6 ft foldable tables and chair were set up for festival goers to sit, which I thought was nice. I also saw this adorable Lemon Cake Flowers VW truck and we couldn't pass up the face painting tent. It was courtesy of Southern Bank, but Glitterboxx Studios provided the service and the 2 ladies there were absolutely amazing! Everyone who saw our kids on our many stops back home all commented on how amazing the face painting was! We walked up and down the streets and the fest was a jam packed event for both vendors and attendees! When you get to the marina area, there is a beer tent with more food trucks and there were tables and chairs set up there as well. I remember seeing Chazito's, Bayou Cafe, more Kona Ice and a couple of other trucks but unfortunately our time was cut short due to the rain. It started to sprinkle and having waited a little bit to get 2 kids' faces painted, which don't get me wrong, the wait was worth it, but we just decided to leave the fest all together to get some lunch indoors. - Kid Friendly - The kids section was right by where we walked up initially, by one of the food truck areas and the Southern Bank face painting tent, where they were also handing out balloons. It has a playground and they had big chess pieces set up as well as a jumbo Connect Four. The fest is well organized and so well attended and with good reason. I just wish the weather would have cooperated during our time, so that we could have walked around and took our time. There was so much talent crammed into a few blocks, but this is Savannah, so am I surprised! Just bummed that I couldn't check them all out! The scenery for this fest is also absolutely breathtaking. I had seen Isle of Hope on a map, but never knew this area looked like this. I just marveled at the charm of the homes and their little picket fences with their private docks, live oaks and Spanish moss draping everything. I'm definitely going to do my research and explore more of this historic area! If you love all things local, art, music and food, then you need to check this fest out! Can't wait to check it out again next year, and hopefully, the weather will cooperate! Fingers crossed!

Five stars for a family fun outing, and for young and old alike! The Great Ogeechee Seafood…read moreFestival is in its 21st year, and is always the third weekend in October. Event features are local seafood/dessert/bbq vendors, live entertainment, Carnival Midway rides, arts and craft booths, non profit organization booths, business booths, playground and picnic areas. Highlights of the Festival: -website GoSeafoodFestival.com. You may purchase advance tickets on this site and find general information -2019 admission prices: Ages 5 & under free all three days Friday $8 advance - 10 day of. Saturday $15 advance - $20 day of and $25 after 5:00 p.m. Children 6-13 $8 advance - $10 day of Sunday $5 all day -Carnival Midway Rides -Seafood vendors celebrating our local seafood -21 food vendors offering a variety of options from seafood, desserts to bbq -Food trucks parked on band stage side of food hall -Friday 5-11, Saturday 10-11, Sunday 11-5 -Beer may be purchased, but bring ID as everyone is carded. There are no beer sales on Sunday. -Complimentary shuttle buses will pick up at designated festival parking lots. -Handicap Parking available and directed by police officers. -Live entertainment Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Past featured entertainers have included Allman Brothers, Marshall Tucker Band, Charlie Daniels to name a few.

Growing up going to the Texas State Fair, it is very hard to review a small town fair. There is a…read moredecent size midway with various rides, games and oddities. Your normal run of the mill carnival food. (I just came for a corn dog and funnel cake. ) It was extremely slow due to a cold front had just moved through earlier in the day which seemed to have kept the masses at home. There is a small livestock building but no animals in sight. No musical entertainment. All in all, I got my fried foods and skedaddled. Oh yeah....parking was free! BONUS STAR

We were planning to take a trip to Savannah and this popped up as an event so we planned our trip…read morearound the festival. They offered some good package deals for different events; however, none of them fit our needs. They had multiple events over the course of a few days. We opted for the Friday night BBQ event and the VIP tickets for the main event - the Food and Wine Festival. This was the first time for the BBQ event benefiting the Veterans. It was held at a brew pub owned by a local Veteran which was a nice touch. It was odd that the event started at 8pm which seemed a little late; however, I think there was another event earlier that people could stagger over from. The BBQ night had some good eats with my favorite as the smoked oysters. There were a few booths for food and liquor but it wasn't a huge event. For a first time it was well attended and the vendors kept up with the volume. Inside the brew pub they had a local band and sold some cute t-shirts, etc. The only negative is that we were thinking about walking home from the event and the neighborhood around us signaled "call an UBER". The main event was more aptly titled the Booze and Wine Festival. I swear every major spirit vendor was at this event. From tequila to aged bourbons you were covered on every front. Tastings were generous and the lines weren't horribly long. The local vendors/farm area was very intriguing and I purchased some gifts to take back home. I really liked this particular part of the event to view local wares and interact with the merchants. Now for the food...the lines were long after the VIP early entry ended. We got in one hour early and I have to say that there were many perks that were worth the extra cost. The food was average and in a couple of cases outstanding. The two BBQ places served up some mean BBQ. The Asian inspired dish that one vendor served with what looked like spaghetti noodles was a complete pan. I honestly wished there were many more food vendors because they were sparse. Two more changes/additions I would consider for the event are more recycling cans and garbage cans. I think they are going for the eco festival so I would make all of the cups compostable. The other addition is to involve the local amazing SCAD. Why wouldn't you add a small art section with a premiere art institution? Now for VIP, we had a special area with our own food, open bar, restrooms, entertainment and seating area. They did sell out VIP so purchase early next year if you are interested. The VIP section had an ice sculpture that was constantly replenished with shrimp. The cocktails were flowing as well as the Stella Artois booth that was giving away free glassware. Some of the food did run out but we got our taste and weren't disappointed. The highlight was meeting some of the local people. We chatted with of the organizers of the event and her lovely mother who is the "unofficial ambassador of Savannah". They represented the community and the hospitality that this charming city exudes. It is a small town with a big heart and we hope to return soon.

This was my first time at the Savannah Food and Wine Festival and overall, the event was extremely…read moreenjoyable. We went to the River Street Stroll on Friday night and the main festival on Saturday at the Georgia Rail Museum so this review is based on those experiences. I'll start with the River Street Stroll. We bought our tickets on Living Social (side note: the start times listed were the end times of both events - luckily we double checked) and got there early. There was a sizable line to get in, but once the event was open, everyone got in quickly. The layout of vendors was very well planned. There was no specific order you had to go in, but there was enough space that it never felt like wall to wall people. The vendors were made up of vineyards, wine distributors, liquor distributors, distilleries, and a Stella Artois booth that was giving out chalices with the beer. It was quickly apparent that this was an alcohol only event with the exception of 2 Publix booths serving crostini, cheese, carrots, grapes, and "petit fours." It was obvious we were not the only ones surprised by the absence of food. The longest lines in the whole venue were for the food stations. Nevertheless, it was a blast! We had lots of great mixed drinks, a few very respectable shots, and tasted well over 50 different bottles of wine. Despite our best efforts, we left the event - in the words of my partner - "inurburbated." But there was time for dinner and reminiscing afterward. Good lighting. Good conversation. At least 10 different bottles I would purchase including a top rate prosecco, an impressive New Zealand Sauvignon blanc, a savory Zinfandel/Pinot Noir blend, and a bizarrely delicious sake. On to day 2. The rail museum was an equally excellent setting to River Street and the weather - while not spectacular - cooperated for the weekend. Again, the spacing and layout was ideal. Clusters of tents adorned each section of the open air facility. White tents with signs indicating their wares intermixed with titanic mothballed train cars and the smells of herbs, exotic dishes, and wine filled the air like a French kitchen. Only one section felt too crowded. Most vendors were terribly friendly and made the atmosphere festive. A couple seemed like they didn't want to be there, but that's bound to happen with that many booths and that many patrons. There were 3 general types of vendors: alcohol of some variety, local restaurants showing off their best dishes, and farms/food purveyors. The alcohol format was the same as the previous day - we received a complementary glass for tasting. Many of the same vendors were present on both days but it was nice to try the drinks with eats. The restaurants operated on a wooden token system ($1=1 token). They were serving small plates ranging from 1 to 6 tokens - most were 2 to 4. We had a fantastic crab hush puppy from Belford's, discovered Pie Society with some steak and mushroom pie, and devoured the best butter chicken we've ever tasted. I think my favorite booths were the local farms and food/beverage makers. From cheeses to teas to soaps and lots in between, every vendor had tempting samples to try without costing a wooden shekel. We got a bottle of muscadine grape juice just for liking a GA muscadine farm on Facebook. We also purchased locally sourced pickles, orange blossom honey, and 3 jars of jams (the pineapple pepper is my favorite!). We didn't partake in the cooking classes. None of the dishes were challenging or interested us enough to sit and watch. It was more fun to walk around and check everything out. It was a great weekend and I would definitely do it again - awesome crowd, awesome vendors, and great settings. So many superior flavors: it was a feast of a thousand bites... or sips... whatever. I liked it. Only drawbacks: some restaurants wanted too much for a small plate, one section on day 2 was too crowded, and a few more trash cans and recycling cans would be nice. All minor in the scheme of things. I'll return next year if I can.

1000x yes. We were…read moreSO lucky to be in town during Savannah Food & Wine Fest. There were lots of great events happening throughout the course of the weekend. We were debating between a few and decided to go with the Q-Masters event. 80 bucks for 2 hours of unlimited BBQ + beer + wine + cocktails. Sign. Me. UP. This was totally worth the 80 and then some. There were a ton of vendors and we barely had to wait on a line for any. Sure, the festival was crowded. But because there were so many vendors and so much space (the event was held at the old train museum) it was impossible for it to feel packed out. What I loved most about the event was the variety of food. When you hear bbq you think the basics (ribs, pulled pork). Sure, they had plenty of that. But they also had unique dishes like salted brick chicken, mussels topped with meat, several different takes on meaty tacos and even gyros. The only thing we were a bit disapointed about was the lack of sides. The event really was about the meats. Drinks were free flowing and plentiful. Various vendors (some big names, some smaller local names) were serving up a variety of cocktails, spiked seltzers, wines and beers. There was something for every boozy palate to enjoy. At first 80 dollars seemed a bit hefty, but after attending it was easy to justify the cost. After all, you could spend 80 bucks alone drinking that much during one night out, and this included an epic amount of meats. If you are thinking about a weekend in Savannah might as well check to see if you could align your trip with this event. I'm super happy that I did.

"Taste of Savannah" - highly recommend. Definitely one of the better festivals I've ever been too…read more Alcohol and atmosphere is spectacular! Everyone was extremely friendly and we ended making friends along the way. Pro Tips: 1.) Use Uber. Don't Drive 2.) Arrive hydrated and eat breakfast 3.) Alcohol is the main event, food is secondary. You'll need to purchase many small plates at $3-6 to get a meal. 4.) Arrive 30 minutes early to check in and get a spot in line (it will be around the block) There are also several other things going on during the event such as cooking classes, auctions, and store vendors. I definitely am happy with the purchase price.. it's more than fair!

The Second Saturday Art Walk is like the amazing race for art lovers (although much less intense…read moreand with wine involved). But, I was surprised how nicely organized and planned out the Art Walk is! They have a great system in place where patrons of the art walk have to visit ten or more galleries between the hours of 4-8pm to be entered into a raffle prize drawing, and believe me, there are a plethora of prizes! You can RSVP for the evening online, but no one ever checked us off or verified us during the evening, I think this is more a way for them to keep up with attendees post-event. The evening starts at 4pm at the Bohemian Riverfront Hotel, located right on Bay Street, an easy walk from anywhere downtown. You'll enjoy views of the river the hotels own lovely collection while you sip on a glass of complimentary wine and are introduced to several "spotlight" artists and galleries of the night. The reception takes place in the Rocks on the River restaurant during the winter months and the Rocks on the Roof bar during the summer months. Make sure you grab a map at this first stop and head over to the Tiffani Taylor Gallery at 5pm. Here you'll grab your first artist signature, remember, you have tasks to complete along this art-walk!! Having to get signatures from the artists was quite fun, because it allowed us to interact and learn about each artist in a way that was unique and very interactive. Once you finish at the Tiffani Taylor Gallery, you are invited to visit any of the 32 participating galleries. We headed back to River Street next and hit up Gallery 209, with it's impressive history as well as extensive collection (if you're looking to add some excitement to your night, grab a Wet Willie's to drink while you walk!) From there we headed towards City Market and checked out A.T. Hun Art Gallery, Gullah Living and many more. If you're looking for get those ten signatures, City Market Art Center is an easy way to get them all and it's a great time to visit as almost all the galleries were open (plus you can grab pizza to go at Vinnie Van Go-Go's!) When the clock strikes 8pm, make sure you're at the closing reception located at in a back room in the Andaz Hotel. Here you'll be entered into a raffle drawing where it's next to impossible to loose and be able to chat with fellow gallery racers and grab another glass of wine if it suites you. The art walk is a perfect way to meet locals, see a huge assortment of galleries in one night, take the evening at your own pace and appreciate local artists. I highly recommend adding this event to your Second Saturday bucket list!