Richmond's Pride may not be comparable to celebrations in San Francisco or D.C., but that's okay…read more VA PrideFest is a low-key, inclusive, family-friendly event celebrating love and openness that the whole community can enjoy. It's a breath of fresh air to have an event where everyone is so friendly and you know that you are accepted and that you belong. There's something incredibly powerful being surrounded by crowds of happy people who may not know you, but support you and who you are. Past Prides have included live music, drag and dance performances, awards presentations, speeches from local activists and community leaders, food trucks, full bars, vendors, and activities for kids and kids at heart. You can come just to enjoy the atmosphere and a bite to eat, as well as learn about the local LGBTQ scene and resources available to the community, from health services and STD testing, counseling and safe spaces, to social clubs and organizations to meet like-minded people. The one downside with holding the event in the city is that parking can be a nightmare, and it's not always the most accessible for those with mobility challenges. I strongly recommend carpooling or using a ride sharing service that can drop you off at the entrance (with the added bonus of having a designated driver!).

When your 17-year-old daughter requests your presence at an event, you must go, right?…read more Not that it's a burden. I'm a screaming liberal and believe in equality across the board. My empathy kicks in and I want everyone to feel welcomed, included and valued. I hadn't thought about going to PrideFest. I feel like id be a heterosexual crashing the party, but that wasn't my experience at all. I felt completely comfortable and welcomed. Thank you Richmond for being so inclusive. As a child of the 80s, I feel like we were on the verge of being really open and inclusive, but we weren't quite there. Thanks to my daughter's generation for taking it across the finish line. PrideFest was a wonderful celebration of humanity and acceptance. Thank you for being you and for allowing me to being me. Love and acceptance is what matters in this messed up world. Keep loving and fighting for each other, Richmond. That will make us the most proud in the long run. If you haven't gone to PrideFest, go. #noregrets #loveisbiggerthananythinginthisworld.

Great event. Lots of food, fun for the kids, culture and great music. We go every year. This…read moreyear was really great. Old fashioned cars, EU was excellent. Nice opportunity to be exposed to the Jackson Ward area which was once known as the Harlem of the South. Jackson Ward comes alive this weekend. Make sure you attend next year to check out the culture, food and family fun. Loved it!

This event for 2010 is Saturday-Sunday, October 2-3 The…read morefestival is open on Saturday Noon to 10 p.m. and on Sunday 1 to 6 p.m and is located on 2nd Street in Jackson Ward (North of Broad Street). This is another great free event open to everyone in Richmond. 2nd Street was the heart and soul of Richmond's African-American community. This is a celebration of what used to be known as "The Harlem of the South" where the performers who played on what was called "The Chitterling Circuit" earned a living playing jazz, rhythm and blues, and other types of music in the Jim Crow South. I have been several times and there is always great "soul food", people watching and some Jazz, Blues and Fusion bands that will knock your socks off. Jackson Ward is also known for amazing turn of the century architecture and iron work second only to Savannah and New Orleans. It is one of Richmond's most historic neighborhoods and was developed around the same time as the early parts of the Fan. Each year thousands of people come to Richmond's historic Jackson Ward to hear live music on four stages, enjoy children's activities, eat some great food, shop, and dance in the streets

The Burger Blast was...a blast! Great variety of burgers from the India K'raja awesome veggie…read moreburger to the massive Mosaic masterpiece, there was something for every palate. The beer selection was terrific. My personal favorite #sidamo coffee stout by Hardywood. Never made it to the wine tables because of super long lines. Next year the organizer should consider doubling up on the wine offerings. Music was provided by Griff's band and they were really fun. They took standard favorites like Elvis's hound dog and gave it a folk/bluegrass twist. Music was a nice addition to this year's event.

Super thanks to Yelp Richmond for running a FB contest to win tickets to this event beacuse I…read morewon!!! That's right two free tickets to the Virginia Wine Expo!!! I found out I won 24 hours before the event. Babe! !! Road trip! !! I didn't mind driving up from Chesapeake to attend this event in Richmond. This event is world renowned so heck yeah we're game to attend. Parking was a beast!! We arrived about 2pm and the event I believe started about 10am. So yeah we were super late and knew we would have to deal with ridiculous lines for the wine sampling. But no worries... We were blessed to run into a man that was coming out of one of the pay to park lots and he offered to give us his paid for parking voucher. A free voucher for 3 hours...yaWhoooooooo!!! So let's do the math...free tickets valued at $55 each and now free parking...Oh we are in store for an awesome Saturday! ! I didn't do my research on this event, but if we ever return again I'll be ready. They offered private samplings throughout the day and I believe I saw evening tastings too. These tastings included food sampling as well. Bummer...most we sold out too. I believe about 20 openings were available for each private sampling. I'm sure this made an awesome time for a day date or date night. I saw something about a burger blast not sure what that is, but mad we missed that too. I tell yeah it was a lot going on and I'm sorta disappointed we didn't get the full wine expo experience. So definitely do your research before you attend. But we're checked in and wristband ready!! I was able to get a free wine bag that holds up to 6 bottles of wine...ahmazing! !! We picked up our crystal wine glasses...they were beautiful!!! We didn't know where to start. Let's start where the lines are the shortest. As time went on no lines were short so be ready to wait. Patience indeed. All the wine and malt liquor you can stand...this is the event for you! Every 10 minutes it seemed you'd hear a loud roar or cheer even. I thought some kind of contest was going on but nope!! Wine glasses were being dropped left and right, therefore, cheers if you will! ! :) Amongst the wineries different vendors were present and my fav there was Yelp!!! Heyyyy Bevin! !! She was the Yelp ambassador present on Saturday afternoon. She was awesome at greeting guests and telling them more about Yelp. She also had some cool swag to pass out to those that expressed interest. But the highlight at the table, Yelp provided beads and stems to make wine jewelry!! Fun fun fun!! I'd definitely recommend this event. And wear comfy shoes and eat lite before arriving. Have fun :)

My best friend is a HUGE Masego fan. The moment she saw he was going to perform at the Richmond…read moreJazz and Music Festival she got really excited. She got us two VIP tickets which were amazing because we were able to watch the show from a snack and drink catered tent. The weather was absolutely gorgeous for this event. It's located in Maymont and was such a vibe. There was a map online that made it easier to figure out the layout and their website was really helpful for any questions we had. I loved how laid-back this festival was, guests could bring in wagons with blankets and lawn chairs. There were plenty of food tents as well as goods for sale tents. There were lots of talented artists in attendance too. I highly recommend checking out this festival.

The Jazz Festival was awesome! Great musicians and a beautiful setting at Maymont. A nice mix of…read morelocal and national talent. It's always SO HOT in August, though. I wish it was earlier or later in the year. So if in August again, be prepared to melt! You can bring your own chairs, coolers and food. No glass containers or outside alcohol. There are food and merchandise vendors on site and plenty of portable bathrooms Parking is a little tough. A lot of streets near Maymont are closed. They were running shuttles from Dogwood Dells There's a lot of people, though security is present, and everyone was respectful of others This year, I was lucky and attended in a corporate tent, so at least there was shade

The first time I tried to attend the Church Hill Irish Festival, a few years ago, I walked in and…read morewalked out. It was so packed I couldn't breathe. This year I was able to handle the crowds a touch better but not by much. They really need to expand their footprint to make for a nicer festival experience. The festival happenings -- bands, drinks, food, etc. -- are all great fun. It'd just be nice to have perhaps some more seating and shade options. I feel like if they even just expanded two or three blocks, it'd be way better.

A fun annual event in churchill. The last time my husband and I went was about 2 years ago, but…read morethis was the first place I tried a "Mrs. Yoder's Donut". That was when I realized the meaning of a True Love's first bite. haha Unfortunately, Mrs. Yoder's was not at this event this year (or at least on the Saturday I showed up - haha). Beer selection is great as always - I was the DD so I partied hard first and then spent the rest of the time sobering up. As always, my husband and I order a beef Proper Pie "sandwich" to split, and then we finished the rest of the late afternoon with some Alamo BBQ! Both were delicious and the place was very crowded. Def be sure to wash your feet when you get home...mine was filthy and I wore some flip flops. There are a whole lot of other food trucks around the area and lots of local shops to shop if you're walking around. I tend to come for the social gathering with friends and (of course) the food!!! haha P.S. - a VERY helpful tip. Since it's soooo crowded here, I ended up wearing a fedora, because whenever my husband and I would lose each other, I would actually just hop up and down. He would then be able to find me. Just a suggestion - haha.

The Armenian Food Festival is an annual fall festival hosted by St. James Armenian Church, just…read morewest of the city. There is no dedicated parking, so you'll need to find parking in the surrounding quiet neighborhood. Prices for food and drinks are reasonable, and they have entertainment and some goods to purchase too. It's like a mini version of the Greek festival. I personally love the meat pie - that is my go-to. The festival is known for their hye burger though, which is a mix of beef and lamb (and I don't eat lamb). All in all, I'm a fan and look forward to attending again next year.

The first time I was actually here was back in 2010. I actually use to volunteer here and the…read morepeople that are in charge of this festival are really great people. The last time I was here (besides yesterday) was 2013 because I had always have something going on during those weekends. Anyways, the hue burgers are ALWAYS an amazing choice (you can get those right at the entrance on the left side). I got the combo with the pita bread, sautéed onions, stewed tomato green beans and pilaf. (I got full off of half of it and saved the rest for my hubby.) not only did I not finish my food, I went through the buffet line and got a to go box with the cheese and spinach boreg (sp?), meat pie, and the dessert. Let's say that once I walked through the doors, the leftover food and to go food was gone within 10-15 mins. Haha. The boregs were crispy and filling, the meatpie was REALLY good (I honestly thought the meat in a wrap was gonna be alright, but it ended up being my favorite to go). The dessert of the baklava and others (sorry! I don't know the names) ended up being the perfect touch in ending the Armenian meal. Festival is great, the people who run it are fun and wonderful, food is amaze-balls and these festivals are serious the reasons I love so much about Richmond. Def go and enjoy the experience!

This is nice little fundraising event for the church and I'm happy to do my part! They went…read morecashless this year so we got beer tickets ($8 each), bought bottled water ($1 each...thanks for not price gouging!) and we shared a wurst platter and an extra side of sauerkraut. The potato salad was the best thing on the plate! We checked out the vendors but the booths were crowded and small. Also when we got food, they had the cashiers so crowded at the table that it was impossible to get to the cashiers to pay, even though they had their hands up to show they were free. You had to wait for space. Spread out the cashiers next time!

I've been living in RVA on a work assignment for about a month and a half, so I only know a handful…read moreof people. Still, I want to do social things in my time off even when no one else is available. So that's how I landed on attending this year's Oktoberfest solo. I'm pretty sure it's the first time I've ever attended any festival on my own, so I referred to it as "taking myself on a date." And I'm glad I pushed myself to attend for a bit! I'm sure if I was with a group I would've stuck around longer, but as it was, I purchased a cute tasting glass and four pours (first pour came with the glass purchase) for $12 and made my way over to the beer tent. It was really relaxing to just sip some local fall beers and listen to the jovial live music. I even joined in some random conversations briefly -- because people are generally quite friendly in this city! After I was done all my tasters, I walked around the vendor area before heading out. I was in Munich last year for Oktoberfest, but this festival was actually much more my speed. For the Sunday session at least, there were ample seats available inside the tent, and it never took more than 30 seconds to get a new beer pour. They even offered wine tastings and plenty of food. I heard great things about the food, but I had eaten in advance. I'll definitely try that next year if I'm still around!

Maybe this year's festival was literally and figuratively dampened by the rain, but it was just…read moreokay. Many vendors all serving tacos, empanadas, beer and margaritas. Many grocery-type vendors with candy and drinks. Two "stages" of performances, one with a particularly bad sound system that made it difficult to hear anything that was being said. Okay crowd, but I'm sure the weather and cool temperatures kept people away this year.

Considering that I'm from New York, multicultural events in Richmond are hard to come by. My…read morefriends and I thoroughly enjoyed this festival especially the empanadas from Happy Empanadas.