I purchased these tickets through TravelZoo and paid $45 each instead of the advertised original…read moreprice of $79 each. I never got the complimentary wine glass lanyard and some other do-hickeys (not that I wanted that goofy looking thing anyway), but they were supposed to come with my ticket purchase and it would've been nice to get what was advertised and get my money's worth. A lot of people stuck to the initial main area by the entrance where the tastings for whiskey, cheap vodka, and some wine were available along with a handful of food trucks and a Bare Minerals booth for the women who wanted mini-makeovers. We skipped this area and went along our way to the tents by the piers to search for food, or the lack thereof as we quickly discovered. The "unlimited" samples and tastings were definitely deceiving. Besides a sliver of a beef sample, the actual "food" we ate we purchased -- the jerky, chocolate bark and truffles, and cinnamon almonds which was enough to hold us over just so we could even consume alcohol. I even glanced at the program post-event and couldn't believe there was only one cheese vendor - Kerrygold. After giving the stall a quick glance the line for a crumble of cheese was a mile long down the pier so we didn't even bother to try it. We rarely came across any beer/wine vendors who actually knew the product enough to sell it or answer any of our questions and that was probably due to the fact that they just hired a bunch of volunteers to simply pour. If anything, the food vendors were the only knowledgeable bunch about the products they were selling. After experiencing this lackluster event, I'm glad I didn't pay full price or waste my money for the VIP upgrade. From what I've read from other Yelpers' reviews, the issue lies with the event organizer.

Came here to National Harbor for the Wine and Food Festival. Nice event. We got VIP this year so…read morewe were granted access to the festival 2 hours before GA. The VIP area was located on a pier and you had to show a special VIP arm band to gain entrance. There were food, wine, beer and liquor vendors up and down both sides of the pier offering various tastings, which were included in your VIP ticket with one EXCEPTION.... The Stella Artois tent had comp beer and beverages, BUT they wanted you to pay $2 a glass, which I thought should have been included with the VIP admission....anywhoo...it was a nice event with plenty wine, liqouor, food and beer flowing. I will no doubt be going again next year!

Because I enjoyed the Chesapeake Crab and Beer Fest in Baltimore so much, when I saw the Groupon…read morefor the beer package for the one in National Harbor, I didn't hesitate to buy it. I will say that I got a good value paying $17 vs. $35 because I would have been upset paying $35. First of all, the location was hard to find. There was no signage to find the area from Waterfront St near the water. This location is much smaller so getting around the lines and vendor tents were harder. The space was limited and if your ticket didnt guarantee seating, you were pretty much out of luck. They also had much less drink vendors here. About 5 or 6 vendors were only open to premium ticket holders. So I buy beer package ticket and can't even access all the beer vendors??? That's BS. They had less liquor and wine vendors than the one in Baltimore and the beer vendors didn't know how to properly pour beer. Every time they filled our cups, it would be half full with foam. Warm foamy beer is gross. Also, the food trucks were limited as well. We didn't buy crabs this time because the price without an AYCE package was ridiculous. I gave 2 stars because I like that the sample cups were bigger this time and vendors that were good but they needed better people to pour beers. I don't mean to compare locations but if they are the same price tickets, the experience should be just as great. National Harbor is a wonderful area but I didn't enjoy this fest like the one in Baltimore.

We bought a friend here for the start of his bachelor party weekend. We did the VIP tickets so we…read moregot a tent to sit under with tables. We had unlimited beer and crabs. Nice. There were lots of beers, ciders, and even a few harder alcohols to try. There were some other vendors there for clothing and services also. Once we were in the area where the festival was, the staff was helpful about where to pick up tickets etc. Given that this is a festival vs a formal event I think it went well. Festivals by nature are not as choreographed as a sit down get together. Yes it can be crowded but that is the nature of the beast. I used what had to be the cleanest port o potty I have ever used. Impressive given that we went for the second session of the festival. I would have given it five stars except that actually finding the way to where the festival was from the parking areas was confusing. Some people thought it was taking place in the convention center etc. A few more signs stating that the festival was at the waterfront and pointing in the direction you needed to go would have helped especially since there were multiple events going on this weekend.

Plenty of art but beware steep prices! Only 2 port o potties for the whole festival. No music or…read morefood vendors- must eat elsewhere.

We're having fun in the sun at the Annual Alexandria Old Town Art Festival. This is our second…read moreyear, and we had a great time. Highly recommend!

Peruvian festival is a festival of happy and friendly Peruvians and friends of Peru that just…read morecelebrated its 30th anniversary. The parking was good, no entrance fee, a lot of free stuff (ice creams, water, bags, jello's, etc...), plenty of Peruvian food choices. Entertainment was rich and fun as you can tell by the pictures - they even had the horses do the tricks... I had food that I had never tried before: Anticuchos - marinated and grilled calf hearts, was delicious meal, with the taste and texture close to a calf liver. Picarones - Peruvian doughnuts were soft and sweet. I was expecting they will be soggy but they were perfect, melting in mouth. This festival is very colorful, and had all the colors under the sun, not just red and whites (their flag). The festival is family friendly and even had a NPS stand where kids can learn and touch objects. Only problem with that is the lack of alcohol (I would have loved a Peruvian beer) but that is a small price to pay for an excellent Peruvian experience.

VIP was not worth it, ya they had food tastings but was limited, and done by 2pm, the food card…read moregiven was only good for $15 at any vendor taking them and all plates started at $30. Good experience with the vendors. Except certain "individuals" were catered to more than others. Maybe a good time with general admission but definitely VIP was NOT worth it.

Overpriced, long hot lines, minimal samples, no parking. People throwing up everywhere was the…read morehighlight.

We visited Vine on the Waterfront this weekend and enjoyed the festival. Lots of great local…read morewineries pouring some delicious wines. I was a big fan of Rogers Ford and Arterra. We arrived at noon when the lines were pretty short, but the lines grew quite lengthy as the day wore on. We did buy the Groupon for the food tickets. I'm not sure it was the best move as several food vendors ran out of food by 4 pm. Other than that we had a great time. Looking forward to next year's event!

I would actually give this event 1.5 stars. I paid $35 for my husband and I each for literally a…read moretable spoon of wine. We were there for almost 2.5 hours and only were able to hit up 3 tents. Ridiculous. The idea and set up are fabulous. But the lines are ridiculously long and for a little tasting. For as many wine and beer tastings as I've done my share of, I've never actually got a TASTING! It was almost a nice pour to enjoy while walking around. I paid $35 for crappy tastings then I have to pay $8 for a glass, pass! If you do go, get a bottle of wine and just chill and eat and listen to music, you could tell who the newbies were (like us) vs. veterans who didn't want to waste their time in like! Would not recommend and definitely will not be going back!

I saw a Groupon deal for Sunday Fun Day $25 for VIP tickets for unlimited drinks. Bonuses were…read morethat we got a free bottle opener,souvenir stein to carry our drinks in, free pickles, speck and sausage in the VIP tent and a pretzel necklace to munch on while you try all the beers and liquors you want. Plus a good variety of German food. I totally recommend the potato pancakes I think it was 2 for $5.00 it's like a steal because they are so good and so crispy they have apple sauce or sour cream if want. The brautwarst sandwich was just as good as when I had it in Austria. Perfect snap when you bite into in. Only negative I have is that they did run out of a few beers mainly the pumpkin beers which bummed me and my friend out but we made due and since Sunday was the last day they rushed us out of the venue as quickly as possible. Major buzzkill.But another bonus they gave us soft pretzels on the way out lol.Other then that I had a positive experience and will probably have to go again.

This event needs to be held at a much bigger venue, or they need to limit ticket sales more. There…read morewas a line out the door to bathrooms at all times, to the point where bathroom attendants had tip jars out (and in exchange they stayed right there cleaning constantly. Not bad!) The indoor part of the festival was packed shoulder to shoulder. Getting anywhere meant ducking through gaps when you could, and otherwise shuffling along with a crowd so dense I could feel the texture of people's clothing on my arms. I had to take my contact lenses out, because of the smoke from the indoor BBQ, and with people smoking the cigars that were for sale, my eyes started burning. It got better once the plastic was out though so for people who don't wear contact lenses it probably wasn't an issue. I noticed that the stage was a bit too close to the indoor merchant area; the crowd was backed up into the building, blocking about 20 booths as well as one of the bathrooms. There was a literal wall of people all the way up to the Yelp.com booth. On the PLUS side: For a beer festival I was impressed with the low level of drunkenness. I was there all day and only saw 2 people leaning on each other. I didn't see a single fight. No one who talked to me was slurring their speech. I did see a group of young men playing a hand slapping game; if anyone spilled beer, everyone in their group took turns slapping their hand as hard as they could for the sacrilegious act of shame. Any time anyone broke a glass, a group "Ohh!!" would sound through the entire crowd. It was hilarious. I brought a huge stein with me, and in hindsight it wasn't very nice of me. People who had paid $35 for the 4 oz tasting tumbler who saw my stein were a little saddened. I felt bad. One guy held his tumbler up to my big 24 oz glass and took a picture. The food smelled amazing and was typical faire-fare price; about $6 for BBQ or a turkey leg. Lots of German meats. The aroma was great. Overall, fun and silly. There were people in costume and all crowding aside people were generally having a good time. Oh: To the guy selling $12 candied apples: try offering samples of that particular item. Otherwise they seem far too expensive. I understand that you're a gourmet candy shop but for customers who don't seek your business out for it's gourmet reputation the price was daunting and samples would have helped. Not for general consumption; but for anyone who asked about the apples. You wouldn't even need to advertise that you were sampling; just offer if it looks like you're going to lose the sale otherwise. It might turn them around. These festivals are all about advertising, getting the name out there, right?

I think the other posters have covered the major drawbacks of this festival, namely the lack of…read moretents/shade and the horrendously overpriced food. To call this event a half-assed attempt at putting on a "food and wine festival" would be a compliment. Let's see...where do I start? Well, the wine tent was overcrowded and disgusting. There were maybe a dozen wine vendors and actually getting a tasting was a chore. Not only were there huge crowds around each table, but some of the wine vendors were so rude that they caused half the trouble. One winery had a strict policy of only pouring wine if you were standing along one side of their front table (keep in mind there are tables on both sides with plenty of room to stand along, which all the other vendors made full use of). If you were let's say 6-inches to the left of their imaginary foul line, then you were not allowed to taste their wine. Period!! The woman working at this table was very rude, and appeared to take great pleasure in making up and imposing nonsensical rules like this just to frustrate customers. On the other hand their were a few vendors who actually had people who cared about good wine and wanted to talk about it. To my surprise I was even given some great descriptions and tasting notes on some of the wines. For these vendors who have gone far above and beyond, I rewarded them by purchasing a full glass of wine from them. They were so flattered by this gesture (heck the glasses of wine were often only $5.00) that they gave me some ridiculously generous pours. The wine was practically overflowing from my glass as other patrons looked on with envy. In fact, one guy waiting patiently in line for a tiny tasting told me that he was seriously rethinking his strategy as the economic cost of dealing with the almost skin-on-skin crowds standing in line was not worth the time or hassle versus paying $5.00 for a glass and actually enjoying your day.

Ok. It's there first year, with LOTS of room for improvement. 90 degrees... Sunny day, maybe a…read moreperfect day, but they need shade tents next time. The first two student bands tried their best, but Alass they needy practice or new lead singers. At 1 pm a good local band started. Better... Food lines quickly became extremely long, and initially folks could not serve until the health department said it was ok. ((( reminder next year - get that done by 11 am then open at Noon. Wineries. Toooo long of lines.... And move it away from directly in front of the stage and main speakers. Deafening.