Pig and Whiskey is a great time-beers, BBQ, and great music. The festival takes place every year in…read moreFerndale in mid-July. The stage for music is located right next to WAB and beer and whiskey tents are set up in the parking lot behind WAB, The Emory and surrounding restaurants. Admission is free and you can bring your own bottled water with you. It's also a dog friendly event and lots of people walk their dogs around the fest. You purchase tickets at designated tents similar to Arts Bears and Eats. Tickets are $2 a piece. Most beers are about 3 tickets and whiskeys are between 4-7 tickets. I usually start with a sheet of tickets for $20 but you can buy as few or many tickets as you like but they are non-refundable. Food vendors for the BBQ portion were located further down, past the whiskey and beer vendors this year. Surprisingly BBQ/food vendors only accepted cash or credit this year and didn't accept tickets which was kind of annoying because last year they only took tickets and wouldn't take cash and I wish they had posted that somewhere before I had bought extra tickets. The food is good. I had BBQ ribs from Bad Brad's BBQ with a Mexican style watermelon salad with cojita cheese and cilantro which was light and refreshing. Their Pig Candy-candied bacon is delicious! There were lots off BBQ vendors with pulled pork sliders and tacos, ribs, mac and cheese, jalapeño cornbread, and Cheeto covered street corn. Picnic tables were all the way at the other end of the festival this year and it would be nice if there was seating near the food tents. Lots of great beers too from Dogfish Head, Griffin Claw, Shorts, B. Nektar and more. They have whiskey from Jack Daniels, Jameson, Old Forster, Four Roses, Woodsford Reserve, and more. Last year they had some tents that mixed craft cocktails with whiskey and bourbon. I had a Woodsford Reserve mint julep that was amazing and a pineapple upside down cake cocktail with brown sugar bourbon mixed with pineapple juice that was delicious. This year I didn't see many cocktails, just strait whiskey or bourbon or you could add a a mixer but mixers were only limited to lemonade or Faygo soda. The main reason I go every year is for the music. A friend and I love Electric Six and we attend to see them perform every year. Electric Six has closed out the festival on Sunday night for the last six or seven years. They always put on an awesome show. Last year there were torrential downpours and they had to call the festival due to rain, so lots of people got stuck with drink tickets which were non-refundable. However they didn't cancel the music and moved Electric Six's set down to The Loving Touch and it was a really great show. This year we also saw Ann Arbor band Joe Hertler and the Rainbow Seekers who are a lot of fun to see. Verve Pipe also played on Friday night. The festival runs Friday through Sunday. It starts at 6 pm on Friday and around noon on Saturday and Sunday and goes until midnight with music ending at around 9:00 on Sunday. I always have a blast and I'll definitely be back next year.

Fun times had at the 2016 edition. First time doing it big and was finally able to catch the yearly…read moreThe Blueflowers performance. Nice to catch the show or just hear the music in the near distance. Everything was laid out well, though I didn't realize at first there was a whole another grilling section. I really enjoyed @smokeringdet's burnt ends. Their sauce was unique and addictive. Wanted to try more. Rub's ribs were just okay, but liked that they were grilling corn and buttered it well. I'm familar with Woodpile so passed them by, but they are the real deal. Rockefeller's (Jai Lee Dearing) had some great bbq going: ribs, outstanding chicken wings, sausages, grilled corn, and 1lb burgers! Union Woodshop or was it Vinsetta? had a nicely priced slider Macon Bacon sandwich that was so damn good. Lots of whiskey choices but I didn't partake. Liked the beer tent choices esp. Lagunitas. Pricey but they have good strong beer. Definitely dog friendly as there were quite a few. Seating can get dicey. Expect to communal share a table. Which can be nice brief meetings amongst strangers. And can offer insights into what others are or have tasted. Fun times. Great yearly summer event. Not too massive.

This last weekend was the second, of what will hopefully become the annual, BRU - Burgers, Wings…read moreand Beer Festival held at the Royal Oak Farmer's Market benefitting the Children's Leukemia Fund. The event was hosted by Bagger Dave's, Buffalo Wild Wings and Bell's Brewery and for $40 you got around 12 beer tokens and 5 food tickets to use sampling all different forms of instant gratification. Beginning at 7 pm and running until 11 on June 16th, I can only imagine what a huge success this was for CLF and the ROFM. Last year, on its first run, the event ran well but not nearly as well as this year. With a more organized 4 sided Bell's beer tent offering several brews unavailable outside of the actual brewery like Deb's Red, a Smoked Ale and a Sparkling Ale, patrons had more choices to sample and more taps to keep the lines ultra ultra short! There was plenty of bell's swag to go around and everyone got a gift bag at the end of the evening including a Bagger's pint glass and some killer Oberon posters. To top it off, our very own Yelp Ambassador, Annette, was there serving up some great Yelp swag too. Food this year was great again and provided by Bagger's and BW3's on a ticket per item basis. The food tables were on the second half of the venue so that you could just walk up and order what you liked from their menus, and hi-top tables were arranged in the center of the room to eat and mingle at. Whereas last year, servers had to carry trays while walking through the crowd, this year was so well organized that it should insure its return next year!! Live music played all night and two sets of Bell's bean bag toss were free for guests who felt like some sporting fun. Raffle tickets were sold throughout the night and the drawing was held at 10 pm to round out the festivities. All in all this was a great evening that benefitted an amazing cause and ran even better than last years event!! My only suggestion would be to add about 24 of those hi-top tables around the venue so more people had a place to stand and eat. Great Job CLF and ROFM!! Looking forward to the 2013 BRU Fest.

This is a really great festival, and the location at the Royal Oak Farmer's Market is great! It is…read morewell-organized. The food was okay - the burgers from Bagger Dave's were not hot. Also - the band was a little annoying - they played some strange (old) music that might have been better for an older crowd. A lot of the people at BRU seemed to be in their mid-20's to late-30's.

Pros: Well organized and well laid out throughout downtown…read moreRO. Tons of food and beverage vendors. On Friday night, entrance lines were not too long, Incredible live music - we loved the lineup of bands. Sound and sight lines were good. Cons: VIP area was pretty underwhelming - long drink lines, staff was kind of rude, and food offering was boxes of cold pizza.

Very very very shit on every level. Food is wildly overpriced and the music is.... I don't want to…read morebe too mean but they definitely cheaped out on the artists. you essentially pay money to get into an experience that is nothing more than a place to spend more money for mediocre overpriced food. and god forbid you happen to live within the festival limits. your whole life is screwed for an entire week. royal oak does not gaf about their local residents during the festival.

What a beautiful surprise. They have. Market most Sundays. You can hunt til your hearts desire is…read moresatisfied. Vendors like to deal and are fair. Food is available but there are also lots of conveniently located places nearby as well.

My review is about this venue as an event space…read more I attended a networking event at the RO Farmers Market on last week. I was first pleased with the parking. There's parking surrounding the building as it shares lot space with the municipal offices of the city. It's quite a large space, great for expos, fairs, etc. I could even see it as a wedding venue; which it likely is. The are food services spaces and bathrooms inside of the building, and a nice outdoor sitting/dining space.

Motor City Pride is an annual gay pride celebration in the Detroit suburb of Ferndale. Typically…read morethe celebration takes place on a blocked-off 9 Mile Road west of Woodward Avenue. 9 Mile Road is filled with vendors including food, LGBT services and organizations, and LGBT friendly businesses and services in the local area. The different booths and vendors have many different offerings to the festival goers. There are usually two stages, one main and one secondary located at different ends of 9 Mile Road. The stages have different acts from local to national musical acts, to drag queens, and even a doggy drag show. There are bleachers set up to watch the stages. Generally, there is one "headlining" act that wraps up the festival around 7 or 8pm. This last year the local cover band "Killer Flamingos" were the headlining act. In addition, the festival features a dance tent, usually sponsored by Necto where the Necto Pride DJs take turn spinning music to a crowded dancefloor. In addition to the temporary booths and stages, the local businesses are all open. There are local stores, restaurants, bars and other businesses open along Woodward. A beer tent is generally set up where one can purchase tickets to purchase beer to drink outdoors all afternoon within the confines of the tent. Normally this is pretty busy and I just avoid it. Normally, Pride is hot and busy. There are a lot of people from all walks of life and they're all walking around in the hot summer sun in humid Michigan. This is one of the biggest Pride festivals in Michigan. Motor City Pride is the first Sunday in June.

While I didn't come to downtown Ferndale today with the intent of participating in Pride, I am glad…read moreI did. I love festivals; ethnic festivals, music festivals, etc, but this is the first time I had been to a Pride festival. What what really struck me here were the number of participants from all walks of life and all orientations that were here and having a good time (except for the literature distributors, and even they were well behaved). Lots of folks and families wandering around after the Rainbow Run as well. The atmosphere is welcoming, relaxed and fun, no matter your orientation. Come with an open mind mind and it is really hard not to enjoy the crowds, the music, the welcoming businesses, and the overall atmosphere. My son is very involved as a rights advocate at his college and I was able to pick him up some support shirts to take back to school with him as well.

This place is legit and totally magical. If you are SERIOUS about your spiritual side, go here!read more

Casper was very knowledgeable and helpful! Always love to support a PoC business. Highly recommend!read more

This is a fantastic event. Burgers, beer, ice cream, chocolate, corn hole, music, voting, shopping…read moreand photo booths. What's not to like? Upon entry, you get a tasting glass (giving drunk people glassware was not a great idea) beer sample tickets and voting cards. I was very thankful for the rinsing stations and proper indoor bathrooms. VIP entry was an hour earlier than general admission and thanks for that! It was very crowded an hour after main doors. When handed a flier, we were excited at the prospect of a couple sour beers and assortment of mac n cheese, fries and other sides. Unfortunately, the flier or the vendors were mistaken - no sour beers to be had, only one mac n cheese, and only two burger spots had fries. Which made the voting for best fries and best mac n cheese a bit puzzling. There were turkey burgers, Asian-fusion flavors, and traditional patties with minimal toppings. Something for every burger-lover. Our favorite came down to Mt. Chalet. The burger was cooked perfectly, minimal toppings but so flavorful. Their mac n cheese was excellent too though the only one there. I think the secret ingredient is pork. Shredded pork in the mac n cheese and fried pieces of ham on the burger, but just a tiny bit to compliment the flavor. Bfree had my vote for best desserts and gluten free items. The Guernsey ice cream was pretty rich and perfect on the little cones. There was also a chocolate company that was on point, but cannot recall their name. If you are on the fence about going - the icing on cake for this event was NO KIDS!

I had the BEST time here! Thanks so much to Annette, Chelcie and Yelp for the opportunity to…read moreattend! The burger bash was a belly busting adventure in all things burger, mac and cheese, fries, beer and cider. What is not to like about that? It was an embarrassment of riches and even the veriest glutton wouldn't have been able to sample every item. My husband and I quickly determined even the slider sizes were too much and the only whole burgers we ate were Red Crown and Lazybones Smokehouse (which were the two clear best), the rest we split in half or each just took a big bite. Lazybones, which won best overall, was the hub's fave. I quite liked it too. Pulled pork, cheese and Better Made chips on a burger? Delicious. Red Crown won my heart though, as well as winning most flavorful according to the other attendees, with the crispy pork belly, kimchee and avocado mousse. It was sooooo good. I voted it best burger. Other favorites were the Novi Chophouse burger which featured excellent bacon and paper thin long slivers of grilled onion and the burger with the coney on top of it (I cannot be sure whose this was but kudos all the same). As for mac and cheese, Onyx took the prize and it was good but I preferred the Red Crown version myself. We had quite a few misses on mac. These two were the standouts. The seasoned fries from Blackfinn were awesome, thanks so much to the woman in line behind me who let me sample some of hers, I was not tempted at all but she insisted and they were amazing. I also liked the garlic dip that accompanied the perfectly thin and crispy fries from Lucky Strike myself. The beer was fun. I am not much of a beer person myself but if you were it was right up your alley. I had a suprising maple concoction from Tommy Knockers that held my interest. I was most into cider though, which I have had before but really discovered a love for here. I liked the blueberry apple varietal (Blue Gold) from Vander Mills Cider but I fell in absolute love with Woodchuck's Belgian White. Like a marriage and kids type love. The clear winner of desserts for me and the rest of the crowd was Serendipity Cakery of Wyandotte. They had huge variety and it was seriously tasty. Cake balls? That is some triple yum stuff; good cake, excellent frosting and fun decorations. The chocolate banana and the creamsicle versions made James and I extremely happy. Desserts though were a huge disappointment because many vendors were out so quickly. Poor planning as there was no more Peteet's (I love them though and have sampled plenty before and will again), Cacao Tree or Slice of Heaven (which I was DYING to try). This was relatively early in the night too, at nine-ish. The event ended at 11. Sad. The Detroit Mini Donut people were awesome though, sweet people and fresh tasty donuts. We all know I am a doughnut snob and I really liked them. The Chez Chloe lava cake was so sinfully good, not for my husband who gets dark chocolate headaches but for me. I could have eaten it all day long. The crowd was so friendly and fun. So many people just talked to us, gave recommendations and opinions, welcomed us to seating areas, even shared some food. I mean I was not expecting that at all. Despite the lines and waits it was just peaceful and happy. Well done to the farmer's market, the organizers and the participating businesses for making it so easy and well organized. If you bought additional beverages it was reasonably priced and all, no silly gouging. They even had a smoking area so my husband did not have to leave or feel uncomfy. Overall it was just a great night. I rolled home fat and happy. We will definitely return next year! I also have a new list of local places to patronize, so more reviews to come. Win/win.

I attended an event at Eloise last fall during the Halloween season and it was amazing! I look…read moreforward to some day doing both the escape rooms and historical tour of the building, but the event I went to was 100 out of 10. The ambiance was sooo cool and spooky inside Eloise, I met a ton of new people and got to explore part of the building, but I was too nervous for the haunted attraction. The actors and their costumes in it were the most realistic I've ever seen. Very cool experience all around. I hope to do the escape room this fall!

Wow this place- Eloise- we finally got to check it out. I'm glad we went for the haunted houses!!…read moreIt was amazing- they were the longest and coolest ones I've ever walked through. They utilized the hospital in most of the attraction, which made the whole experience even more creepy! I went for a private event, but it opened this weekend. I recommend everyone to go check out this historical site. So much has happened here in the past, you can feel the grounds energy as you pull into the parking lot. Looking up at those old windows, you can just feel someone or something peering from one! Go check out Eloise Asylum! The best haunted attraction in the state of Michigan!

This shop offers every kind of crystal you can dream of along with books, wall art, tarot cards…read moreetc. There are so many options of items it's fun to spend some time browsing their wares. I've been here a number of times for card and psychic readings. And have always been impressed. Today my daughter and I picked up a few gems. It's always a pleasure to visit here.

We came here for a Witch Fair. When we got here I recognized this was a store we had been to but a…read morenew location. We really enjoyed the new location. Everyone here was really friendly. We liked the fairy and took some pictures. I got some crystal candy from a vendor, it was so delicious. I also bought a fun witch oven mitt from the Tea Room store, I love it, it works really well. You would not think so, but not all oven mitts are equal, some are not effective when you actually need it. We will be back and also look forward to their future fairs.