Coffee, Beer, & Donuts is one of Indy's best festivals, whether you're a beer lover, sugar fiend,…read morecoffee addict, or a combination of the three. It's also the best festival to bring a DD along, as they can still enjoy the donuts and coffee. Some of my favorite vendors in 2018: -Tinker Coffee -Rebellion Doughnuts -Four Day Ray Brewing -Coat Check Coffee -Four Birds Bakery -Bee Coffee Roasters -Black Acre Brewing Pro Tip: devour some nachos after the event. You'll need them to get through the rest of the day.

Amazing event - such a fun way to kick off your Saturday!!! Great selection of coffee, fall themed…read morebeers, donuts,!and other sweets. I couldn't believe how many different vendors were there, everything from Four Day Ray to Tinker Coffee. They even had a non profit booths set up so I was able to register for the Teachers Treasures Donut Dash 5k. I tried Quack Daddy's maple bacon donut and it was to die for.

What better way to spend an Independence Day than with friends, family and great music? I was…read moresurprised by several friends congratulation notifications that I won 2 tickets to this event that I'd already planned on attending. With family in town, we were seeking something that would provide entertainment for all ages. FSMF seemed to have us covered. After checking in with a friend who was already there, we were told there was no food or drinks for the kids, so we packed a cooler and picnic basket and headed out. Parking was easy, the same free lot that I always scope out. We made it over in time to see Kansas Bible Company representing local with each donned in a United States of Indiana shirt. The sound guy made it very uncomfortable to be under the tent to watch the show and pushed many away from the stage with the ear piercing volume that could have been easily managed. No I'm NOT too old - but it was too loud. A friend loaned the grandparents some chairs and we made our way through the crowds to say hello to all. There was a nice selection of local brews from New Day Meadery, Upland and Fountain Square Brewing Company. I saw some little ones running around with face paint, but they had packed up before we got there. The photo booth was a nice all ages addition to the event. Despite the overcast weather, the temps were perfect and the band line up kept the crowd happy. The kids had a blast splashing in the water out front and my teen found an amazing vintage swimsuit at Lux & Ivy who were set up next to United States of Indiana, who sold out of most of their merchandise. I'm sure the FSMF tees would have also sold out if they had been sold. I finally got to see Modoc, a band Elvis Mires has been raving about for ages, and was blown away. Needless to say, they have several new fans in my home. We left before the last band, thanking all responsible for a wonderful day. With this being their inaugural event, I hope the upcoming years may bring some of Ft. Square's best bites such as La Rev (tacos please) or B's Po Boys, or a little Red Lion fish & chips basket, if nothing else some local food trucks. Great job - thank you for a fun Fourth! Yet another reason to be proud to live in Indianapolis.

If I'm being honest, FSMF isn't really my scene. Despite that, I can recognize that it's a solid…read morelocal music festival for those that it caters to (20 somethings, hipster/artsy/eclectic). A real diverse mix of folks attend. Expect skateboarders, breakdancers, wacky costumes, graffiti artists - that kind of vibe. FMSF used to be on 4th of July weekend but moved up earlier in the calendar to target a music-centric population instead of patriotic partygoers. I think it worked in their favor that it was a beautiful spring weekend. A day pass is $37 ($50 for VIP), but I don't think you have to pay if you just want to stroll around Fountain Square while it's happening - only if you want to see a show (which there are lots of). Pros: -Free parking is easy to find in Fountain Square -So many great local places to eat and drink in Fountain Square! Check 'em out! -50% of all net proceeds benefit Musical Family Tree and Girls Rock Inc. - yay for supporting nonprofits! Note that you must be 21 to buy a pass and attend any shows.

Let's get the complaints out of the way:…read more Early entry in to the building was at 10am. We did not get inside till 10:15am. It took 5 guys to put up the enter / exit sign. Post and emails said the building was heated. It may have been heated but it wasn't very warm. Music should have been turned off and a mic used to give instructions to people waiting. One young lady about 5 ft tall was not adequate to project over the crowd of mostly adults that weren't taught how to form lines. One last complaint WHY WAS UNIQUE HOME SOLUTIONS THERE?!?!? Out of place and not fitting with the event. No T-shirtso over xl. It's a carb lovers event. Next year do some 2 - 4 xl shirts. The good: Event space was bigger. Lines went much faster with the 4 stop stations. Whomever thought of that GOOD JOB! The flow was actually flowing. Lots more seating and tall tables. Great selections even from as far as Kokomo. Nada and Joella were the two best and most cheesy macs. Excellent event! Can't wait till next year. It's a nice break for the winter blahs.

Nice event but a little chaotic until the crowds died down around 2:00. Signage would have been…read morehelpful as it was difficult to see which line led to each vendor. My favorites were the creations from NADA and Wildcat. I hadn't visited either of those restaurants yet so now both are on my list. Will visit soon! Some of the vendors ran out of food before I could get to their area, which was disappointing. Fat Dan's, Clustertruck, and Sangrita were three that I really wanted to try but were out by the time I made it to their areas. It was difficult to state which was the true favorite when we hadn't sampled them all. I would suggest a larger area for next year, with separation between the tables for a more orderly event. The lines were so long and wide that it was difficult to tell which vendor's line you were in until you progressed to the table. Separation between the tables, signs above the tables, and a larger area would make this a five star event.

This summer, I went to RoofTop Thursdays about 3 times, close toward the end of the season. I…read morealways enjoyed myself and its an great view of the downtown area. There is usually a DJ and drinks for purchase. There sometimes is a host of the night such as the alumni chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha one night I attended. One time, there was free shots from a liquor company. I think as the weather is warmer and university classes are not in session, there are more people in attendance. I liked it and will be there next year, God willing. Entry was free. Just take the elevator to the 5th floor on top the Regions Building.

Rooftop Thursdays is aight. Not a bad place to hang to wind down the day. This event has gotten…read morebigger and somewhat better over time, as word got out and more people started showing up. The added features/amenities helped, such as DJs/musicians and additional bars and seating areas. The crowd is fairly diverse which is part of the appeal. You have older professionals hanging out and younger folks that don't look old enough to drink. You don't always see that around town so it's cool to have a mixed vibe. The people there may not be super friendly. Think people you would come across at a club. It's all good though if you are just there to hang out w/ friends and co-workers. As far as food/drinks, they can pretty much make whatever mixed drink/specialty cocktail you want ($7-$9). Beer and wine are also available ($6). There is not much in terms of food. They have a grill for burgers/hot dogs and some snacks. You are better off grabbing dinner somewhere else then head over to Rooftop. There is not a dress code but some folks do dress quite nicely for this event. Business casual or whatever you wore to work should be just fine. They tend to have a late-arriving crowd so plan accordingly. If you want a more lively atmosphere, then go later to see what Rooftop Thursdays is all about.

First time experiencing this brunch event. I was not able to get there right at general admission…read moreopen time but was only a half hour late and several locations were already sold out. I feel that with the admission price and the event not close to being done that you should be prepared as a business to bring your A game and be able to provide samples for a longer period of time. But I guess I can assume that also means they know how to do brunch right and were really popular. I appreciated that they had bottled water available. I enjoyed trying multiple different local restaurants that I have not been able to try. I would recommend it to friends and family but we have to wait another year!! Great experience to support local and a great charity to support the community.

The only thing I hate about this event was that it only happens once a year in Indy!…read more What a fun morning of brunching and drinking and celebrating everything about breakfast time! Tips for going: wear good walking shoes, have a fun crew, and bring an empty belly! This was the perfect opportunity to try restaurants that I have long wanted to but just hadn't had the opportunity to do yet. They all came to this one event and shared their best bites! DJ was awesome music was perfect! They kept the drinks coming and there was definitely enough food to go around!

I have been to a few of of these including the first one. It grows every year and is great…read more There are great meads and ciders from all over. It used to be outside but with the CCIC indoor area and the time of year it makes sense to bring it in with the unpredictable weather. Get there early as the good stuff goes fast. this is a little different than a giant beer festival, they bring limited quantities here. The festival staff that are working/volunteering are amazing!! they do such a great job, lots of the vendors use the festival staff to pour the drinks and they are great. If you like meads/ciders I highly recommend coming to this festival.

This is my favorite "festival" that is based on alcohol! I have attended the first festival and the…read morethird annual festival. It has improved greatly since it's inception with the increase in the number of food vendors and the variety of cideries and meaderies represented. The venue is great as it accommodates the vendor booths perfectly. The vendor booths line roofed area in an L shape with food vendors lined along the brewery walkway creating a courtyard where there is a tent with tables. The courtyard is a perfect place to relax when you need a break from the chaos of people queueing for free alcohol samples. I suggest that attendees Uber, Lyft or have a designated driver to/from the venue as the samples are unlimited (at least, until they are gone). Choose your companions to the event wisely...because it's unlimited samples!

The inaugural Indianapolis Wine Festival exceeded expectations. Even though the event was new to…read moreIndy, the organizers have planned similar events in other cities. The IWF appeared well-run and it made for a good experience. The IWF was a two day event, with separate tickets for each night. Because of inclement weather, Friday night was cancelled and tickets were honored for Saturday. I wasn't sure what to expect since it's a new event, and they ended up having a big turnout on Saturday afternoon. The wine tasting went for a full five hours, and people arrived on a staggered basis. Lines for check-ins lasted no longer than a few minutes. Kudos for hosting the event for a long duration and allowing people to come back. As far as the wine tasting, there were 30+ booths to choose from. Most featured several reds and whites with a few dessert wines thrown in. I concentrated on the reds and they were fairly solid. Most of the selections were middle tier so don't expect a lot of high-priced vino. The lines weren't bad at all, at least toward the second part of the event. I just asked for a couple of samples (moving out of the way in between), then hit the next booth. There were some nice features of IWF I did not expect. There was a mini beer garden and admission included a pint of beer. That's a nice change of pace especially on a hot day. Free water was also included, and one of the sponsors offered free flavored water which really come in handy. There were a few food trucks on-site, and Maple Leaf Farms offered free samples of duck. There was also free popcorn and I certainly took advantage of it. Since the food options were fairly limited, I recommend eating somewhere else beforehand. Indianapolis Wine Festival was pretty good especially since it was new. The price point was on par with other events, though technically you don't get unlimited tasting (you get 20 sampling tickets but it didn't matter anymore toward the end). There were some nice perks, decent wines, and you didn't spend most of your time waiting in line.

First time going and it was planned very well. Staff and guests were all friendly and in a good…read moremood. Held at the Pan Am pavilion this year, saying they could set up for rain or shine. Weather was great Friday evening. Lucky us because if this was held earlier, it would've been uncomfortably sweltering. Event was offered two days, Friday from 5p to 10p and Saturday 3p to 8p. Alcohol serving ended 30 minutes to closing time. You could have bought tickets for one night or both. There's an upcharge if you wanted food or the VIP wines. A few weeks before the event, the FB page listed a $5 off coupon code and a $15 discount if you bought the ticket at Big Red liquor store. I wish I waited to buy my ticket to get the discounts but I wasn't sure if it was going to sell out. We walked in, was wristbanded, received our cute wine glasses, 20 tasting tickets, and a free beer sample ticket. There were food trucks on-site that you could pay out of pocket. We had a dinner reso later so i didn't get to try the food but it certainly smelled good. There was seating near the stage. Plenty of porter potties with hand washing station. Informal lines and walking around to sample wines. You could clean your glass at most tables with a water bottle and then dump into the bucket. Total of 1 oz pours and they're not allowed to put more than that at one time but you can resample with another ticket. At first i was disappointed with the pour size but by golly! 20 samples plus some freebies really was enough. If it weren't for our reso we could've easily spent 3-4 hours here. I started with whites but quickly switched to the reds because i prefer dry, oak, and whiskey. My favourites included Suite Michelle riesling and reds; Cooper Hawks almond, moscato, and cab; St. James peach; Constellation 7 moons and Cooper & Thief bourbon wine; and 520 bourbon and chocolate wine (tastes like a tootsie roll!). Thank you for such a great time!!

Such a great experience! There were so many people here, but surprisingly, it didn't feel super…read morecrowded, and I never had to wait in line more than a minute to get a food sample or refill my wine glass. That's a testament to the people who were running the show and the restaurant staff who were manning the booths. Bravo to everyone involved in this event! I can't even tell you how many restaurants were represented here, but there were lots. And I loved getting unlimited samples! My favorites were the chocolate pot de cremes from Gallery Pastry Shop and the apple pies from Pots + Pans ... are you sensing that I like dessert? Because I do. When you walk into this event, you grab a wine glass and a wearable badge-type-thing, and every time you get an alcoholic beverage, the people at the booth put a check on your badge. You are only allowed like 12 wine or beer samples, but the pours are generous here, so 12 is more than enough. The dress code seems to be all over the board. I saw dresses and heels and also jean shorts and flip flops. It's kind of like just wear what you want.

Y'all if you missed this event.... I'm so sorry! It was incredible! I won tickets thru Yelp and…read morehave been looking forward to it for WEEKS! Sooooo much amazing food, wine, and beer! I took one of my best girlfriends with me and we both agreed. This will now become an annual event for us. Be prepared to enter the food coma stage before leaving. UNLIMITED tastings y'all!!! You are limited to 12 beer/wine tastings but that's more than plenty. I suggest arriving early. We were first in line but got there about 35 minutes early. The line quickly grew. Like Indy Vintage Wine Festival type long. If you come at 1 be prepared to wait a while. We never had to wait long for a tasting though which says a lot for the crowd! The vendors were ON IT and so friendly. Some of my favorites were; Dan Dan Duck - Oakley's Bistro and Maple Leaf Farms Veal Osso Bucco Ravioli - Ruth's Chris Country Style Pork Rib with Chipotle Lime Slaw - Meridian Restaurant Chocolate Pot de Cremes - Gallery Pastry Shop (I might've gone back for seconds....maybe thirds don't judge.... They were THAT good) Hummingbird Cake with Cream Cheese frosting (from the heavens) - Bier Brewery (YES they have cake! I was shocked too...again went back forseconds :)