Right! You don't have to be Irish to attend or enjoy the Irish Festival. There are enough…read moreactivities and entertainment on various stages for three days to amuse all. Loads of Irish style dancing. (Note the similarity to American Square Dancing). A favorite of mine is the sheep herding by well trained dogs who won't let one sheep step out of line. There are food choices and brews in the area. Just another note, food and beverage are on the pricey side sometimes outrageous. Cool clothes and items. Tickets can be purchased in advance on line for express check in. Check their web site for parking info on Harriet Island. There are other business that open their lots for parking for fee.

Irish Fair Minnesota is back! Not only great music & craic, sports, Irish dancing...there is…read moreCOMEDY! New food trucks (including Red Savoys Pizza & Chef Shawn's BBQ). There is a cost of admission $20 at the door. Be sure to experience it before it's finished on Sunday!

One of the many things I love about the state fair is that you can either go and have the same…read moreexact experience or each time can be completely new. From the food to performances, you can stick with the staples or mix things up entirely. I'm forever in awe of the logistics of the fair. Starting with the park and rides. One of my drivers lives in Missouri and comes to Minnesota ever August for two weeks to work the fair. To the different buildings, like the creative arts competitions. To all the animals and the logistics of keeping both the FFA/4Hers and animals feed and happy is no small feat. Through the rain to blazing temperatures. I absolutely love the fair and all the grandstand, roast corn, and new food vendors have to offer.

My first time at the State Fair and it did not disappoint…read more Things we did that helped our group have a great time: Attend during the week if possible. The crowd is much smaller than the weekends. Very few long lines for food or rides. We parked across the street at a school and paid a small parking fee. It was a short walk to the entrance and at the end of the day, you want a short walk back to the car. We brought water, lots of water. It's hot and food and beverages can be expensive. Dress cool. Denim is not your friend with the heat and humidity. We wrote down new food options we wanted to try ahead of time as there are hundreds of food and beverage stands throughout the fair. We only found one of the new food options which was disappointing but we still ate all kinds of yummy treats. We rode the skyway to the other side of the fairgrounds snd worked our way back to the front. There are an abundance of alcoholic beverage buildings throughout the fair and they don't care if you walk around the fair with alcohol. All of the animal exhibits were wonderful. Beautiful animals. Especially the birthing building. How lucky were we to view a live birth! There are so many craft and food exhibitions. However, all of the buildings are hot. No air conditioning. It was difficult to spend too much time in any one building which was disappointing. If you are with a larger group such as us, we only bought a couple of food items and shared amongst the group so we could try more items. The rides and carnival games were meh. I could skip this entire section next year. Loved that there were plenty of security guards throughout the fair. I think this helped quite a bit with crowd control. Especially the evening. A variety of shopping available with deals including pontoons, clothes, docks, RV's etc. There were various music venues scattered through the fairgrounds. All the bands were heard were excellent. Especially in the international section. All the staff we interacted with were very nice. Overall we had a nice time. Would definitely attend in the future.

Beautiful fall evening to enjoy vendors showcasing their craft beer and wines. Roseville has a…read morebeautiful park system very well manicured and clean. A nice sized crowd turned out and people seemed to be enjoying themselves chatting and mingling. There was a huge band playing some 70's musics with a full horn section. Giant Jenga and the game where you pound a nail into a slab of wood not sure what it is called Hammicker Slamicker or something like that...hahaha by the time I played I had already indulged so forgive my memory. There was a breathalizer on display so you could test how inebriated you may be. I thought this was a great idea. They should be in every drinking establishment out there. He explained that it does not cost the bar a thing to put in and it is affordable for people to use 2.00. Me thinks much better than a DUI. The boys in uniform were right there when you left wishing you a good evening as this was held in a parking lot adjacent to the police station. I got an opportunity to try some beers I would not normally sampled and leaned about some local breweries and wineries. Some I can remember are Lucid, Summit, Big Wood, Barley Johns, Rush River, Burning Brothers, Tin Whiskers, Bent, Mankato Brewing, Insight, Brau Brothers, Sidhe and Granite City. They were all very generous with the pours and happy to speak with you about the product. The wineries that showed up were slim and a bit stingy with the sample amount. So was not a good evening for wine but no shortage of beer. It was a great event with proceeds supporting the local community by providing clean, safe, park facilities for the residents.

For the past 3-6 weeks, my wife has been trying to convince me that we should buy a home in…read moreRoseville, where she works, instead of staying in downtown St Paul. Events like 'Tapped and Uncorked' work in her favor. Tapped and Uncorked was a great way for a couple of Twin City Transplants like ourselves to get up to speed on local microbreweries, wineries, and distilleries. It didn't take us long to discover new, local favorites such as the pumpkin ale created by Tin Whiskers (the secret is in their blend of spices). It was like drinking fall on tap. Everything we tried from Northern Vinyards Winery, in Stillwater, was a hit. This included the house red, house white, and house rose. We also fell in love with Yellow Belly Cider from Sapsucker Farms because its neither too sweet nor too dry. The secret? Minnesota apples? Hmm. Food at the event was provided by food trucks. Our favorite was A Cupcake Social, which made two special cupcakes for the event. I was disappointed when I saw that the Tot Boss food truck was there, but that we didn't see it. Perhaps they didn't make it? The event was well organized. The music was excellent and there was plenty of space to mill around. Had there been seating, more than six tables, and more than two fire pits, we probably would have stayed all night. Instead, we found ourselves wandering home shortly after dark with a bright smile and wine-warmed bellies. Next year, I definitely plan to bring folding chairs and a jacket (based on weather) so that we can spend more time enjoying the samples, the music, and the company. The location of the event is ideal because there is plenty of parking, party area, and access to clean public bathrooms. As a transplant to the Twin Cities from Wisconsin, it might not surprise you that I'd give an event like 'Tapped and Uncorked' five stars. On the other hand, I know how beer tastings should be done... and that this event surpassed my expectations. Given that this is only the event's 2nd year, I expect that it'll only get better in 2016.

Very very small. Limited food options and booths. I know the fair has been non existent for…read moreseveral years, unfortunately disappointing re-launch.

It's a fun little fair that grows a bit every year. Admission is free, and there is plenty of free…read moreparking nearby. Or pay in the main lot for $2 per car. There are two building with commercial exhibits - similar to the modern living building at the Minnesota State Fair. There's a stage with live entertainment playing all day long. There are the typical fair foods and vendors selling all the typical things, even with the headsets and entertaining demonstrations! The main "barn" also features local 4-H exhibits as well as agricultural stuff. There's a small petting zoo as well. It's a fun little local fair. Not too big and not too small. Great for an afternoon with a friend!

"There are no strangers here, only friends we haven't met yet" -William Butler Yeats…read moreCeltic culture on tap here! Music, Irish dancing, history! I love great music and this is an awesome venue! Eileen Ivers (musician extraordinaire) performed here and it was superb! The tickets were a mere $25 presale and $30 at the door-for a performance that was worth 20 times more! So come to a performance here sometime!

We go here often for Irish music, often put on by local artists. This last time we were there for…read moreEileen Ivers from NYC. It was a great show and it was fun to talk with Eileen after the show. Looking forward to seeing more shows here.

Oh my. This was truly the best night of 2016 so far. And…read moreit's going to be tough to top. How does one convey in words such high levels of epicness? I will press on. If you have a deep appreciation for heritage pork, then you should be at this venue. If you don't, then you clearly do not belong in such a place with this kind of zeal and squeal. Nothing less than 5-stars, my friends; nothing less. First, I have history with pigs (aren't reviews really just a way to tell the stories of our lives?). I grew up loving pigs. Miss Piggy was my favorite. In 6th grade, I begged my parents to get a pot-bellied pig (one day I'll give them the kudos for sticking to their guns on not letting that happen). Also in 6th grade, I ate too much candy and started to resemble a pig, so I decided to stay quiet about my love of pigs until I got my waistline under control about a decade later (phew). While loving pigs, pork did nothing for me...until I learned of heritage breeds back in 2008. The color! The flavor! The texture! There was no going back. And just to show off ('cause that's fun to do from time-to-time), I discovered & tried, at a fundraiser dinner back in 2011 for the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund, Mangalitsa pork belly for my first time, and knew right then there could be no other. And this is where the Cochon555 story begins... My sweet Mangalitsa was here in many culinary creations (and other breeds, too). And many of its dear relatives were here. It was a big family reunion and I was on cloud nine. Out of sheer randomness (& a reminder from God that He loves me), I won 2 VIP tickets from Yelp to this event! I wasn't even aware of what Cochon555 until I saw the contest (HOW did I MISS THIS?). When I read up on it, I realized that this evening was scripted for me and soon enough I found that I won! The joy! The rapture! The tears! Thank you, Yelp! The machine bots that chose my name were Divinely guided! I will write reviews for you until I perish from this earth. I invited a foodie friend that gets as excited about sustainably raised heritage piggies, from our beloved local farmers, as I do. Our tickets were thoroughly redeemed with every delicious, lovingly prepared, & creatively presented piece of pork. People talk about how drugs have altered their mind and enhanced their experience. I can't speak to that. But I can speak to what THIS pork did to me. There were top notch, sustainably & creatively-based restaurants, competing & representing at this event, including: Travail Kitchen & Amusements Spoon & Stable Chef Shack Ranch Surly Brewing (who won the MN Pork King title) Zen Box My favorite food delivery mode was a man, from Travail Kitchen, scuffing around the room on his knees in a sombrero. The sombrero contained a delicious & subtly sweet pate in the center of the hat and the rim of the hat contained chicharrones broken up from a large hide they fried late the night before. The server was on his knees so that people could just grab from his hat at standing height...it was brilliant. There was prociutto-like bacon (I know, it's either one or the other...but in this case, it wasn't!) "skewered" in waves on a thin crispy bread stick (no, it wasn't a pretzel ;-). There were also sweet lard-filled chocolates (I could have eaten those all night!). I was blown away by Spoon & Stable's creation of marshmallows made out of pork blood (same whipping properties as egg whites; who knew?!) and so much more. There was also the whole hog butchery going on right after the votes were taken. This is something IMPORTANT! We're a society that is detached from where our food comes from. Majority of us aren't going to be able to tell others what portion of an animal that a particular cut comes from, so this was valuable, precious, AND educational. All parts of the animal were put out for sale! Loved that feature, too! For as much gushing as I'm doing, I will say there were a few items that I thought were boring and uncreative for it being at an event like this: wonton-type items (wrapping pork in pasta is most likely what all of us would have thought of doing...just wasn't a "wow" (not that it has to be). Another item is that this is NOT a gluten-free friendly event. Considering the focus on sustainability and that wheat is an overcropped item (which is overshadowed by those who have gluten allergies & sensitivities). While I CAN consume wheat, I choose not to, because of past wheat sensitivities. I was truly surprised that at this day and age how many chefs went with the bland wheat berry. There was even a separate pie outfit that came in as a pop-up towards the end that didn't offer gluten-free options. Wha? Yes, one can consume the filling if they must, but one can also create a stellar gluten-free pie crust. Regardless, I would go to this event again & again. Oh, and ladies, 3 out of 4 attendees (or more) are men. If you're looking for a piggy-partner-in-crime, you may find your match here ;-)

I had never been to an event like this so I knew very little about what to expect. It ended up…read morebeing awesome! There is a wide selection of local wine and other beverages to try. It was a great opportunity to learn more about some of Minnesota's local food and wine producers! There were many different variations of pork as well as other dishes to try. The seafood bar was phenomenal! Overall, great experience. I highly recommend d for those who love pork or are just looking for a unique food experience!

Great idea! Fortunately I was gifted tickets to the 2025 GLOW Festival and it's the group you go…read morewith that will make this fun. Like all events, it's all about perspective. I'm local to Saint Paul and I love a quiet St. Paul activity. We went on a Friday evening which I believe was opening night and it was dead!! Contrary, I liked it. We took an Uber which relieved us of any parking stresses and because this was a quiet event the uber prices were on point. I don't think this experience is worth the normal ticket of $27 but if you're looking for something to do, go for it. This event would start to be spendy with kids as each activity inside costs money. For example, the marshmallow fire roasting station is $6, the slide with the tubes is $3.75, carousel is $5, hot chocolate is $6, the zip line is $15, etc. Contrary, Santa was onsite most of our evening and the visit has no cost. The entire CHS field is lit up with lights ranging from Christmas trees, polar bears, moose, and varying little stables for the kiddos to pop in and out of. There are basic concession stands, a warming house with a bar a couple of local vendors, a giant slide and zip line. There is holiday music playing and attendees roam the arena. Tons of photo opportunities! The night we went it was pretty warm with no snow so I do believe that snow would make this a very different experience. Fun fact: My group was able to witness a couple get engaged. Congratulations to those two!!

TLDR: Great for families with younger kids, lots of things for them to look at, run around and do;…read moreparking is limited and expensive. I had no idea this holiday festival was a thing! I wasn't sure what to expect and brought my adult daughter with me to see what it was all about. If you have young children or a person who loves looking at holiday lights, this is the place to stop by. Luckily, the night we went, it wasn't too cold, but there really wasn't much for us to do other than walk around and look at the light displays. Neither of us was drinking cocktails that night, so we didn't take advantage of the cocktail lounge, but did get our picture with Santa Claus. The little houses all around the field are super cute. They had great music playing and a "fireplace" image displayed on the Jumbotron. In the same area as the cocktail lounge, there was a makers market. I saw people who purchased concessions from the normal concession stand areas, but we didn't get anything from there either. We parked on the street using the app, and it was ridiculously expensive for being a Friday night and I booked a few hours, not knowing how long we would be in the festival. Turns out it only took us about 45 minutes to walk around. Not sure if I would pay to go back. I think it's a kind of thing that I'm not sure the experience changes much year to year.

Pretty cool brewery! Lots of open seating and bartender was very friendly. He let us taste a few…read moreoptions to help us decide which beer we wanted. Very clean and spacious seating. No complaints, decent beer selection.

Came to Inbound for the first time for a lord of the rings themed event and it was so so fun! I had…read moreno idea what to expect but they did a great job of engaging with the community by having a costume contest, bringing in various vendors, and having a band play live music. They also had LOTR themed drink items which was super fun. Their menu is vast with lots of different alcoholic options besides beer as well as some N/A options. They also had a food truck parked outside which was really nice. There is mostly street parking nearby so be prepared to parallel park but we had no problems finding a spot despite it being a busy event and a twins game happening the same day! Definitely worth checking out for good vibes.