Dear Fringe Festival- you never do disappoint... especially this year.. Cirque Du Fringe Claws Up…read morewas a laugh fest full of Oooh's and Ahh's - I mean first the Spiegeltent is such a wonderful venue, second Dawn's Spiegelgarden has great selection of drinks and the vibe is always chill and creative.. I look forward to the Rochester Fringe Fest every year!!! Till next year... Claws Up!!!!

This festival truly has something for everyone! The performance art ranges from music, to plays,…read moreart exhibits, dance, acrobatics, and comedy. These events can take place all across the city of Rochester, as there are many different experiences over the course of the festival. I've seen impressive large scale performances at the fringe festival such as a performance by Bandaloop on the side of five star city bank. I've also seen modernized Shakespeare as well as Drunk Shakespeare (Shotspeare). All of these experiences were top notch. I'd highly recommend attending at least one event each year! Check out the festival schedule early to grab your tickets for headliners before they sell out!

Great Festival!!! Friday night is great music this year by ZBTB. Amazing food truck vendors as well…read moreas the bars, ice cream and restaurants that are open. On Saturday and Sunday they add on more great music, more great food trucks. Then you have your craft vendors of sorts and random events like the duck race on Sunday.

This was so fun!!! So many vendors! There were a wide variety of vendors, and it was all well…read moreorganized. Interesting things to look at and good food, too. It was fun to watch the Duck Race- they dumped rubber duckies from the bridge!! There was live music over in one section (by the B-side) and you could sit at a table in the shade. Looking forward to next year's Canal Days!

The Roc Holiday village serves up the coziest vibes. Both evenings I visited it was freezing but…read morethere are various warming stations and fire pits for you to warm up around. The Roc Holiday Village offers plentiful food and shopping options. I enjoyed a tasty hot chocolate from laughing gull chocolates while browsing the shops. I stopped into The Lodge Bar on both visits and got to hear live music! It really put me in a festive and fun mood, having a drink while watching the musicians play Christmas songs. They have games and plenty of seating available in the lodge bar. We also tried out the free ice skating. You have to wait in line to get your free skates. The line moved quickly and we were skating in no time. They have skate mates available which helps to makes the rink accessible to all experience levels. I needed some help and used a skate mate. The city backdrop just added to the overall experience. The Roc Holiday Village was beaming with holiday magic and warmth. How lucky we are to have this attraction in our city. I felt like I was in a Christmas movie.

What a spectacular holiday winter wonderland experience! It runs Dec 1-23 Wednesday through…read moreSundays. This was my first year attending. Parking all around the event, a few garages or if lucky street parking.. read the meters and signs. So many free activities to do, family friendly. Free ice skating, at the MLK outdoor ice rink. Free skate rental too. Great overlook area to people watch. Visit Santa Claus, free picture and a cookie. Crafts and other kid stuff in the gingerbread house. You will need a ticket ahead time for story time w Anna and Elsa. A few rows to shop local vendors and find some treasures. Very unique and hand made items. Some food and beverage options around the shopping village too. Chai, hot cocoa, pizza and donuts to name a few. Lodge bar is huge and open to the public. Grab a table or seat fast. Inside stage with live music and karaoke. A bunch of free games to play as you enjoy a tasty drink at the bar. Cash and credit taken. There are a few bar tastings events.. check their website. My favorite area is the outdoor seating area, scattered with fire pits, chairs and stumps to sit on and enjoy the atmosphere. Nothing beats watching the snow come down with a beverage in hand by a warm fire. They have igloo inns to rent, they seem to sell out way ahead of time. Cozy igloos sit 6-8 people, for 90 minutes. You can preorder food and drinks. You get a server that will bring you drinks and food too. Larger igloos available for 30 or 40 people. All igloos are heated. I was super excited to see one of the monorail cars from midtown mall on display. A great throwback to so many of our childhoods. It wasn't the holidays until you visited magic mountain, sibleys and took a ride on the monorail with your kazoo!

One of if not the best Beer Festival in Rochester! You do need a ticket for this event, ** tip** go…read morefor the VIP ticket.. you get in early before the crowds and so no waits for those tasty samples! So worth it!! With so many breweries represented it can be overweening, take your time sampling... there are dump buckets throughout if you don't like something. Always a great event to sample so new beers or seasonal ones. This is where I was first introduced to the beers of Moreals and a wine slushy. There are also food vendors, make sure to grab some food too. Some of the brewery highlights for me: Brooklyn ROC Galaxy Singlecut Troegs Jack Abbys Threeheads Stoneyard K2 BigDitch Other Half Always a great event!

Wow, my new favorite Rochester festival! The Expo is the highlight of Rochester Real Beer Week and…read moreis hosted all along Gregory Street in the South Wedge. I attended their third annual event this past Saturday and I'm so glad I didn't miss it again. First off, you get unlimited tastings from a selection of 80+ craft beers. Lots of local breweries and some imports, too. My favorites were Oskar Blues Chardonnay Barrel Aged Pilsner, Stillwater Artisanal Cellar Door Wheat Ale brewed with White Sage, and the Petrus Aged Red (tart cherry beer from Belgium). I only started tasting at 8:30 though (it runs 6-10pm) and some that came highly recommended by friends were already sold out. The crowd was very different from the average free festival crowd (this one costs $45-$65/ticket or $10 for DDs). Lots of hipsters in their 20s-30s and only a few staggering drunks. I saw a lot of people I knew from different areas of life. Beer can be a uniting beverage. Besides the beer tastings they had several food trucks, lots of cigars (not my thing), merchandise, live music, and street performers. I followed the soul band Shine to Tap and Mallet after the festival and danced/ate there for the remainder of the night. Tips: take your time, don't finish something you don't like (they have buckets for this), and come hungry/thirsty. Beer is filling and the food trucks are plentiful. Also go early to get the best selection.

What a secret gem located in Highland Park, I'm embarrassed to say this was my first visit. Limited…read morestreet parking, very busy when people are sledding on the area hills too. Named after Alexander B Lamberton who was the president of the parks board from 1902-1915. Constructed I 1911. Lovely warm escape.. especially In our cold winters. The humidity is perfect for growing and maintaining plants and cactus.. loved the flowering cactus! Poinsettias are beautiful, and set up like a tree. Keep your eyes open for the animals throughout, careful where you step! Turtles and quails. Prices are so low, $4 for adults. Kids under 5 I believe are free... seasons passes available. Ipen 7 days a week, closed some holidays.

Such an amazing time that exceeded my expectations…read more Again this was a random activity that I thought would be fun and warm and would pass time during my trip to Rochester. There is a $4 admission fee to enter and they take card and cash. I love turtles and was so happy to be greeted by 2 aquariums at the entrance with turtles in them. I was definitely surprised as we walked through the conservatory and saw both turtles and tortoises. It was a great surprise. The traffic of visitors seemed to ebb and flow but there's no guide and it's not timed so you can go at your own pace and even circle back as we did. There are also other small animals such as quail and chipmunks that you'll see walking through as well. It was a good reminder for me to find the beauty even in the midst of chaos, you just have to stop and look. If you just need a soft place to clear your mind and reset, this would be a great start.

Roc the taste is a free festival blending the best of what Rochester has to offer - great food,…read moremusic and fun. Local restaurants, shops, vendors and food trucks will offer a variety of food, merchandise and everything in between. There are over 20 food vendors that offer a dollar sample item (these are hearty portion sizes) along with regular priced menu items. Festival goers really can get a good taste of everything Rochester has to offer this way. There is also live music through out the venue and A main stage providing all types of music genera. This event is put on by the Summit Federal credit union and Tops Friendly market. The event is to raise awareness and funds for the Villa of Hope and Center for Youth! This was a fantastic event! Delicious food samples - my favorite being the bang bang shrimp from Bonefish Grill. Also some great music with my favorite artist being a 5/6 year old rapper. Anyone who likes food as much as I do should definitely attend next year!

There's always room for Jell-o!! Who hasn't had the flavorful light easy to make dessert? Just…read moredidn't realize this treat was created in Leroy NY. Super cute but a bit small museum showcases the history and culture behind its famous jiggle treat. Invented in 1897, super popular with their original flavors.. strawberry, raspberry, orange and lemon. I prefer lime myself! Lots of memorable though out the place. Huge spoons that were in NYC. Loved all the different marking campaigns over the years. From jell-o they moved on to pudding, and even Jell -o shots ! Something for everyone!

Small but packed, and totally worth the trip! We visited yesterday and were greeted right away by…read morethe friendly staff. They're doing contact tracing for COVID and asked for our phone number. We were then offered a verbal history of Jell-O, which was entertaining and informative. The displays are very interesting to look at for both kids and adults. There's flavors, artwork from the ads, molds, factory artifacts, a giraffe, and much more! It took us 20 minutes to get through. There's also a small gift shop. When you're done, definitely go downstairs to check out the exhibit by the Le Roy Historical Society. Details: - Admission is $4.50 for adults - Parking: look for the sign at the driveway. Pull in and you'll find parking right next to the building. - The Jell-O museum is part of the Le Roy historical society. They also maintain the lower floor which featured an interesting transportation visit while we were there.

I've been going to the Strasenburgh since early childhood. It's an incredible local gem of interest…read morethat's been around for ages, a wonderful spot for those so inclined towards space, science and the stars. Great shows, a wonderful experience. If ever you are at the museum this is a great place to visit. It's a time capsule of knowledge, and a wonderfully nostalgic generational experience that has somehow both stayed fresh, even as it stays as it has been since I was six.

We arrived about 30-40 minutes early for the show. There were several displays located in the…read morebuilding, some were interactive and they also had very interesting information in each one. It took us around 20-25 minutes to walk around then it was time to get on line for the show. We had purchased our tickets ahead of time. They have senior and military discounts with ID. The "Night Sky" show lasted about 45 minutes, it was extremely interesting and well narrated live by one of the employees. There were several children there of all ages but they were so quiet and totally absorbed with the show. I would definitely visit again and see another show. Parking was right next to the building and was free.