Great summer food option at Great America! We were very lucky that we got to come here when our day…read moreunder the sun with rollercoasters and the water park coincided with Taste of Orleans. Since everything here looked way more delicious than the regular food park (and we confirmed they're much better!), here's my review of each offering. We paid to get a badge with little tabs that you rip off for each dish that you take. They're small bites, and the nice thing is that between the 3 of us, we got to share and sample each dish. These were what they offered at each lettered station: A) Chicken & Sausage Gumbo over rice A) Cajun Brownie B) Crawfish Fritters with Creole dipping sauce B) Muffuletta Slider C) Fried Oyster Po' Boy C) Boudin Sausage with Peppers D) Creole Shrimp and Crab Cheesecake D) Crawfish Boil E) Blackened Chicken Pizza E) Peach Cobbler F) Beignets F) Praline Bread Pudding These were some standouts: 1) Boudin Sausage with peppers--this was the first one I ate, soooooo good! It consisted of sausage stuffed with rice and peppers. Wish there was more sausage. 2) Cajun brownie--it looked like an ordinary though tasty brownie. Once you bite into it, you realize there's a spicy kick! 3) Crawfish Fritters with Creole dipping sauce--fritters were small, and they give you waaayyyy too much sauce, more than you need. 4) Muffuletta sliders--I took a bite, sliders aren't my thing 5) Fried Oyster Po'Boy--not a whole lot of oysters, to be honest. I would have liked more of them. 6) Gumbo--nice and hearty 7) Creole shrimp and crab cheesecake--one of my faves! It's a savory cheesecake, very unique! Save the creole sauce from the crawfish fritters (if you get them), because the dipping sauce goes so well with this cheesecake! 8) Blackened chicken pizza--mmm, good pizza! It was funny to receive this and marvel over how much better than looked compared to the basic pizzas that were being served to those getting standard food 9) Peach Cobbler--it was fantastic to see my boyfriend enjoying this. So nice and sweet! 10) Beignets--sweet, with an explosion of powdered sugar everywhere. I looked like a cocaine addict Great America should definitely do more of these food events!

The Taste Of Orleans Festival premiered at California's Great America for the first time this year…read moreand I must say that I was very impressed. This seems to be the new thing with various amusement parks having food and wine festivals and I think it's a great idea because it allows the guests to try different foods and beverages outside of the normal amusement park fare. The festival took place in the Orleans Square section of the park and this are was really brought to life with various New Orleans style decorations, the huge Taste Of Orleans billboard/postcard and of course the zydeco music blasting throughout the area. This festival was held for two week on weekends only from 12-10. They had various creole/cajun food items that were available during this festival such as shrimp po'boys, Muffulettas, beignets, Crawfish Étouffée and so on. You could purchase the items seperately or purchase the tasting card. The tasting card listed 6 items to sample for $25 they included the beignets, creole meatballs, bourbon grilled chicken wings, Crawfish Étouffée, chicken and andouille gumbo and red beans & rice. I tried everything on the tasting card except the red beans & rice and I must say that I was really impressed with the food. The portion size was very generous and 2 people could probably split the tasting card and get full. The bourbon grilled chicken wings were really good they had a sweet and spicy flavor and were cooked to perfection. The creole meatballs came with three huge meatballs that were tender and not overcooked and topped with this unique sweet sauce (probably my favorite item). The crawfish etouffee was very good, it was my first time trying it and I was not disappointed. It was very spicy and full of flavor and served over rice. The gumbo I was skeptical to try because I don't eat gumbo, actually haven't had it in over 10 years but it was pretty good it had nice chunks of chicken and spicy andouille sausage but I wish it was served with rice or at least a piece of french bread. And lastly the beignets, these I was not too impressed with because I felt they were too heavy and tasted too much like a donut. I've had real beignets and while these were a step in the right direction they didn't really make the mark for me. I wanted to try the special bananas foster funnel cake but was too full. They also had a beer & wine tasting room and you could purchase a tasting card for that as well and from what I was told the pourings were very generous as well. Aside from the food there was lots to see and lots of entertainment throughout the area. There were two stages where a couple different bands played the traditional Zydeco music and they were good bands might I add. It really added to the festival and it was nice to see everyone dancing and enjoying themselves. There were about 6-7 artists making chalk art and it was amazing, they endured that heat and messed up concrete to draw this lovely artwork. Then every hour or so there was another band and singer that had the little second line thing going on, they would come from the middle of the park playing music all the way to Orleans Place. All of the staff working the festival had their nice Mardi Gras colors and outfits on, the girls on stilts were a hit with everybody. They would be dancing and throwing beads to the crowds of people while the band played. Then to end the night after the festival they had Cajun themed fireworks, these were by far the best fireworks I've ever seen at Great America although they were a bit on the short side. I see they have taken a page out of Disneyland's book because this was just amazing, when it starts all of the lights go out and the Zydeco music starts playing but the fireworks are timed to the music. They had fireworks and fire shooting from the buildings and everything. They really outdid themselves and I was very impressed. I absolutely loved the festival and was told that it will be back next year but bigger and better and I think it's definitely work checking out!

Love all Los Altos festivals and fairs. The more the merrier. Arts & Wine, seasonal, Earth Day,…read moreFine Art in the Park, Pet Parade, Third Street Green, First Fridays, Farmers Market weekly, too many to list but not nearly enough fun. It's all good. The 25th Annual Los Altos Fall Festival took place on Saturday and Sunday, October 1-2, 2016 in downtown Los Altos. I visited both days. The Classic Car Show was a highlight. Amazing antique and vintage sportsters, sedans, and trucks. Also, Little Explorers Petting Zoo. Absolutely adorable little pig the size of a rabbit. Your usual arts and crafts booths, live entertainment, fine wines and micro-breweries, food, children's corner with games and activities, all of it present. This one is a lower key event. The antique and vintage cars on display are much fun to check out, perhaps to chat with the owners. My wife was smitten by the 1967 Porsche Slate Grey 912 (pun intended). TheSlateGrey (Der Graue Fuchs) was ordered by its original owner, George, in the summer of '67 at a cost of $4.5K, and arrived from Germany to San Francisco on the Madam Butterfly - a ship used for Porsches only. 49 years is no joke, all of it happily lived in the Bay Area, has never been restored. All the original parts and interior, paint and engine, can you imagine! The Grey Fox is as good as new and very handsome.

Our friends turned us on to this event and it was so darn cute! It will probably make our go-to…read morelist next year! One end cap seemed to be where the bulk of the handmade vendors were, which I appreciated. I'm usually not a big food or Win A Vacation tent goer, so having all the things I was there for at one end was marvelous! We loved the bow vendor Min, who had fabulous prices at $1 for the smaller non-matched bows. Super cute! Another favorite was the beautiful die cut card vendor. I purchased one for my mother and the honey one just for our living room! Topping off the awesome vendors were the handmade coasters at $5 each and Macarons A Go Go with their Yoda themed tasties, a favorite of mine when I lived back in the South Bay! This was a great way to start out or Craft Fair season! Yay Los Altos Fall Festival!

They say when you go to one art and wine festival, you have gone to them all because the suppliers…read morein those festivals are similarand the same. However, I still have fun at this year's festival. I love the chalk arts, the artists are talented! I also love the "cake candle" supplier this year. Cute stuff for you to explore the For you to explore the artsy side of you. As for food, I didn't try the food truck as most of the time, you couldn't find a place to sit down to enjoy your food. I hate holding the food and tying to find a curbside or a bench somewhere to eat. So awkward, you know? LOL. Will I come back next year? Probably not but this is still fun do if you don't have a plan that weekend.

First time to this Festival and initially felt a little claustrophobic walking the first two blocks…read morewhen we arrived around 12:15 pm on a Saturday. However, after walking the first two blocks and for whatever reason there seemed to be more space to walk without bumping into other folks. Weather temperature was perfect and it's nice that Castro street is lined on either side of the street with trees which shaded the sun. I actually ended up buying a piece of sale cloth stainless steel bracelet from one of the vendors.

Another great yearly event. This is one of the events that starts out the spring season. It's…read moremainly for the Japanese culture,but it's also a time to raise money for local non profits. There's plenty of free parking across the street at DeAnza college. There's also a huge section for kids, plenty of jumpers and crafts. I like how they have a food truck area and a separate area for food vendors. The crowds were smaller than usual due to the weather.

I always enjoyed myself here. They always have something to do for all ages…read more Love seeing some of the interesting vendors. On the other side of the park you can see some koi fish. Going inside the building near the koi fish area they have some activities and art even a stage with a show. Outside they have a big stage with different shows. My favorite show is the Taiko Drums. The restrooms are very clean. Parking in De Anza College garage is less hectic and more space if you want to park away from people.

Finally decided to attend Enchant with some friends. For the price, it was mediocre especially when…read moreyou add on parking and any snacks/ ice skating/treats. We've attended some other holiday light events and this was probably the least exciting and most expensive of them all. The parking attendants were not very friendly nor were they directing traffic very well. One told me to keep pulling forward and not block the crosswalk until I was almost touching the car in front of me and then when that car moved one person said keep going and the other said stop. Very disorganized. The maze was a cute idea and finding the different statues was fun. If you complete the maze or scratch off all the boxes you get one piece of chocolate at the end. The lights were ok, they're all white and gold so nothing too exciting. Colored lights with move able statues were better at previous light/lantern events we've been to. It was crowded and if you wanted any pictures you had to wait in line. If you want to buy drinks go to one in the back, the one in front was so slow just to make a hot cider. Ice skating is extra and it's a small rink. The market is cute with different local vendors but paying to go inside to shop is not an ideal place to have a Christmas market. This was definitely a once and done kind of event. Luckily it was close by and I didn't drive far to attend.

I've been seeing so many ads for Enchant on Facebook and we saw the display last year but didn't…read moreget to go. This year I checked it out and told my husband we should go this year. The pictures looked so cool. The prices of admission are pretty expensive but we figured we would just try it. The parking was kind of insane. If you wanted to get a close parking space, you could've paid online for $60 for a VIP kind of stall. Not sure how far the parking was from the exhibit but it was a totally different entrance. There weren't any signs for parking for those non VIP people so all of us went down that one street. There was one guy out there telling us to turn around and go down to the next street to the next lot. Parking in that lot was still $35 which was insane. And you had to pay to a person as soon as you entered. $35 wasn't even that close to the exhibit but it was way better than paying $60 for parking. Along the way there were a lot of vendors selling all kinds of street foods so it made it a quick walk because we were observing and smelling all the yummy treats. Enchant is in the PayPal arena when the Quakes soccer team plays. It was nicely decorated and the whole arena was decorated in a whole wintry theme. They had bars and snack items and they even had a skating rink. My daughter wanted to go skating but I just couldn't. I don't think the enchant ticket covers the expense of the skating. I think it's an extra fee. Soon we reach the exhibit. It's beautiful inside. The lights and colors make it so magical. They hand out these scratch cards. If you want to participate, you have to locate all the winter animals listed on the card. Once you find them, you scratch off that portion of the card. We had fun taking pictures and doing our scavenger hunt for the animals. It was a great time. It was kind of pricey but it was definitely a memorable experience for all of us.

They really delivered on the art at this event. Beautiful and creative paintings, pottery, and…read morestained glass, one of my favorite vendor booths being Richard Curtner's Collage Art. There was no shortage of wine tents either, including Naumann Vineyards and Shunyi Cellars. The festival took place near State Street Market, so I opted to grab some snacks there rather than from the various food vendors on site. But the offerings were pretty decent, ranging from asian street food to paella. Of course, ice cream and funnel cakes too. I enjoyed the live music, with rotating bands on multiple stages. Caught a performance by the Jazz Connexion at the Veterans Community Plaza and the Wanderers in the early afternoon on the main stage, with a playlist including Walk Like an Egyptian by the Bangles, Bruno Mars' Treasure, and Everybody Wants to Rule the World. The sound system was pretty bad, but the musicians were good as usual... I've actually seen them perform at other local events before and have been a fan for years. There were tables and seating provided as well, though most people squeezed into the shaded area while I was there. All in all, I had a good time, and I appreciate that it was free admission.

This was an amazing art and wine festival. It was easily a city block worth of booths and a…read morewonderful array of vendors. We purchased a really cool print from a so cal artist. Prices of wine were reasonable, I got a solid cup of white for $8 (4 tickets.)

First time here. There is paid parking $15-20. Place was pretty busy during my visit. Quite a few…read morevendors, saw art but didnt really see where the wine stalls were.

Went for a run at Central Park this past weekend and ended up staying a while to appreciate the…read morescenery and entertainment at the Santa Clara Art & Wine Festival, which included live music, games for kids, art and merchandise booths, and beer and wine for sale. Everyone was in good spirits, a carefree and joyous atmosphere. Not to mention the good eats being offered in the Food Alley, much of it being run by high schoolers. After working up an appetite, I grabbed a funnel cake at the event, but it wasn't like your typical fair food offerings. These funnel cakes were mini-sized, covered in cocoa powdered sugar (optional), and cost only three bucks. Nothing too fancy and not the best quality, but good enough for a snack. Didn't stay long, but I had a good time soaking up the sun and enjoying the musical performances on stage even though the sound quality wasn't ideal. By the way, I don't think the on-site parking is worth the $10 fee. Skip it and park in the neighborhood for free (if you don't mind walking).

Took our GS Troop here for the Taylor Swift night--so fun!…read more I've also been for the Daft Punk night with my husband. Always a fun experience, and I love that they have cool themed shows. Would love an emo night! Easy to find, lots of parking.

I came here for the Taylor Swift laser show and it was a fun way to spend an hour. It was just fun…read moremusic, lots of screaming kids singing the lyrics, and some cool lasers to look at. I did have to close my eyes a few times to give them a break from all the colorful lights. You can choose where to sit when you come into the planetarium room. The presenter did a good job. The visuals were a bit older, but it was still fun and the ticket prices were pretty reasonable/affordable. There were lots of parking available in I think Lot E.