This was Jax's second Lantern Parade and it's still learning & growing. Vystar did a great job of…read moregetting the word out this year and there was a large crowd of folks participating! I was glad to see a group this size downtown & loved that many had taken the time to decorate a special lantern! My hope was that I would see a long line of beautiful lanterns winding its was along the river to downtown - the lights from the Riverwalk kinda drowned out the lanterns. But it was awesome seeing so many families exercising & enjoying downtown Jax! There was a band at RAM & another as you approached the train bridge - very cool and really added to the nite! There was even a small fireworks show to round out the night. A couple of downsides - I'm not sure everyone knew why they were there & I never knew what the parade route was. Hopefully there will be a little more info next year as this event continues to Grow!

An absolutely beautiful evening supporting the the most deserving charity....The Childrens Home…read moreSociety! A wonderful organization helping the families and children in Duval County. The local chefs and restaurants that participated were so kind and generous with their food and drink offerings. Beyond thankful to see some of my favorites participating! Everything was so well organized and went seamlessly. The board of CHS was so kind as they walked around thanking the volunteers and participating restaurants. one man really stood out in my mind as he went table to table thanking each chef and shaking their hand. it really touched my heart to see that! I was just a volunteer for the evening and was honored to do just a small part in helping the children we all care about so much!!

OMG Food paradise! I had read the previous review below so I felt that I was pretty prepared for…read morethis event. The tickets were $70 dollars this year so it was a $35 dollar donation to the Children's Home Society of Florida and $35 for the event. That's a bargain. The mall was shut down for it so you didn't have to worry about stragglers wondering around the mall. The majority of the people this year were dressed in business casual to evening wear apparel. I got there shortly before 7pm and my foodie friend got there a little after me. We met over by Belk between Ruby Tuesdays and Buffalo Wild Wings even though the ticket said you can use any main mall entrance. There were a lot of people already in line when I got there. We gave the ticket-takers our ticket and we were handed a Caring Chefs tray and wine glass for food and wine tasting. We were ready! We weren't able to taste every restaurant's food as there were some that we just didn't want to try, the restaurant ran out of food, or we ran out of time. No matter, we got to taste some excellent dishes just to name a few: The Good Food Co - Chacuterie including Cheese, Grapes, Country Pate, Chicken Liver Pate, Olive Tapenade, Crostini, and Boursin Mushrooms Jacksonville Golf and County Club - Cotton Candy Milkshakes, Beer Brats with Cheddar Johnny Cakes Caffe Andiamo - Herbed Cream Cheese wrapped with Smoked Salmon, Tiramisu (by far the best restaurant there!) Sweet By Holly - Amazing Fall Cupcakes Chart House - Ahi Tuna Chips Alley Cakes - birthday cake samples Havana Jax - A REAL Mojito (this was excellent!) Ovinte - Pumpkin Ravioli Sweet Pete's - Candy and Buffalo Chicken Cracklin Buddah's Belly - Thai Curry Chicken Nineteen at TPC Sawgrass - Lamb with peas and corn I would definitely return next year for this event and bring more people. You're doing two things that you should love to do: giving back to the community and eating.

I really enjoyed Noctoberfest! The space was great, food & beverages were plentiful and the crowd…read morewas ready for ein grossartige zeit! The beverage tents were divided into 4 cities: Kiel, Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich. Each tent offered different options, but all had at least one unique German brew. This was a welcome change from other Oktoberfest knockoffs here in Jax. There was a VIP section with comfortable chairs - close to the stage and a special section with tail-Gate style party huts! What really set this event apart was the music. Two days of fun! Headliners were good, local bands were lots of fun! Only drawback was parking - but I'm sure they'll get that figured out before next year

My friends and I had so much fun at Noctoberfest in Nocatee. I purchased my ticket online for…read more$32.50. I pulled up the ticket from my phone at check-in then received a passport and a plastic beer mug. There were so many food trucks as well as four beer tents. Each beer tent represented different cities in Germany such as Berlin and Munich with beer from each region. We started with Berlin and worked our way around to the other tents. Each beer tent stamped the passport when you purchased a beer and once we had four stamps we went back to the entrance gate and received a free Noctoberfest t-shirt. Pretty cool! Beer was $7, each. Not bad for festival pricing. There was a ferris wheel and a nice size Kid Zone in the back corner. The entertainment was great! We ate at the kabob food truck. I had a steak kabob and shared fries. The kebab meat had a little more fat than I like but was still tasty. The fries were delicious! I would absolutely attend this event again!

Awesome time. Performers were top notch. Venue was eclectic and provided a nice vibe. Crowd was…read moredressed well and definitely out for a fun evening. Highly recommend to get in the holiday spirits next year. Went with our close friends and Yelpers Frank and Melissa.

City of Jacksonville - Very well done!! Third Thursday monthly. How nice to enjoy the beautiful…read moreriver and waterfront from the South Bank on a beautiful night. I went to Sip and Stroll a while back ago and it was nice. It seems Jax has really stepped it up with more flair. While walking the riverfront last night I saw a Mariachi band, an exotic bird, stilt walkers decked out in costumes, a shiny disco ball lady, talented acrobatics on a wheel, and much more (including the dolphins since it's prime viewing time). This was all in the span of an hour. Bars are set up along the path and food trucks are at the fountain. I didn't get to see the beautiful light show at the fountain this time (a sight to see), but I did get to enjoy the Silent Disco at Doubletree starting at 7. Just Wow to the whole experience.

Good food/drink trucks by fountain - tot nachos, free refill pins coladas, tacos. Friendly staff…read more Music in a couple of places is nice. Deck on Doubletree. Fun even for Jacksonville.

This was my first food event with First Coast Magazine. I actually was not going to go as it…read morecoincided with another event I had planned on attending but the opportunity presented itself through a Yelp Instagram contest. Somehow I won tickets! I picked a fellow Yelper who hasn't been to a food festival here in Jax yet and she was very grateful. Every year I believe it's held in a different venue and this year it was at The Glass Factory. I've heard that it's a great event spot due to the old architecture of downtown Jax's past. They had complimentary valet parking which while I don't use anywhere for the simple fact I don't want someone else I don't know driving my car, but parking options were next to nil so I took a chance. The event itself was great! We got a bunch of discount cards for restaurants and kept a souvenir glass (or 2 hahaha). So many great restaurants came out and The Chris Thomas Band were jammin the night away. Here are my favs: Matthews - pork belly with sweet corn puree and a baby macaron Berry Good Farms - Spiced Lamb Meatball Black Sheep - Lamb Bacon Lyonnaise Moxie - Bread Cheese (I reaaallly liked this) As far as the drinks go, Moxie and Manifest Distilling were awesome. I guess I'm a true cocktail woman at heart. The only thing that I didn't like about the event....was that it was soooooo hot! I felt like I was in an oven. I'm sure that they were not counting on it being so hot that day but as the sun went down it cooled off. I'm glad I got the opportunity to experience this event and I hope to attend it again in the future.

Do you have kids? Are you eco-friendly? Do you love living a natural life and consider yourself a…read morefree spirit? Do you like doing cartwheels in the grass mid-life? Are you gluten free, dairy free, and animal cruelty free? Vegan? Vegetarian? Love crafts, new age and doing yoga? Are you a modern day hippie, but cleaner? Then Natural Life Music Festival is definitely for you. It's FREE and there's something for everyone. The people watching is without a doubt an added bonus. Bring your own fold-out chair or blanket if you just want to veg-out in the grass. Did I say there are a TON of kids? You have been forewarned. This festival is located on the water @ Metropolitan Park centered around the grassy basin in the middle of it all. It should only take a couple of hours [or less] to take it all in. It's actually a lot of good energy. I like that there are plenty of places to wash your hands with all of the food truck offerings and sweets available for sale. Oh and those sticky little children...I had four of them with me last time. No, I'm not a mom. Definitely worth the visit if you've never been before. Bring cash. It's easier. And make a full day of it if the weather permits.

I attended my first Natural Life Music Festival this year after hearing about it for a long while…read more How fantastic is it to bring together great music, great food, and great family fun all into one magnificent day. It is also an excellent place to see how vegan/vegetarian friendly and eco-friendly Jacksonville is becoming. The day was perfect. Not too hot, not too cold with just enough of a breeze off of the St. John's. I've been to events like Planetfest and other concerts at Met Park, and I know how stuffy that place can get. This, seriously, was the perfect day. Admission is free, but everything else inside does have a cost, so be prepared. You should know that everything that is purchased (at least from the Natural Life booths) goes directly to Children's Home Society of Florida. Kids and adults can do crafts all day long and all you need is a punch card. Each punch card has 20 spots to punch and costs $20, but each craft may be worth more punches than others. For example, to tye-dye a t-shirt, you have to use 7 punches whereas to make a prayer flag, you only need to use 1. The crafts range from beginner to a little advanced but there's something for every age group. There's face painting as well. My older niece just went with a simple curly mustache and got complimented on it all day long. It isn't titled a Music Festival for nothing because there were some pretty amazing acts playing all day. My favorite was just a girl and her guitar with a guy accompanying her on the cello. I've come to find out that this is a woman named Lera Lynn, who I will definitely be checking out. Throughout the day, the music wasn't overpowering or to the point of drowning out conversation. It was a nice soundtrack to a really brilliant event. I really wish I had remembered a blanket, so that I could have laid down, been comfortable, and have enjoyed the music a bit more. Many local eateries, shops, and vendors had tents and some of the local gourmet food trucks set up a corral. As for food, I saw representation from Sweet Theory Baking Co, Bistro Aix, Pele's Wood Fire Grill, along with an awesome tent with the name of Olive My Pickle which served olives, pickles, and hummus (of which the Black Bean was amazing). I am a sucker when it comes to sauerkraut and they sincerely knocked it out of the park for me. The event is put on by the store called Natural Life which is located on the Southside of Jacksonville. I am loathe to admit that I have yet to go to the store, but will be making a point to do so in the near future. I picked up a number of different items that they seemed to be selling at much lower than they would in the store itself (festival sale, possibly?). It's nice to see shops that are able to do this. The sheer creativity of the items that were sold at Natural Life's vendor tables, as well as throughout the other vendor tents and tables, was just amazing. I saw things like soda can top belts and knitted cup warmers. There was even a lady making a throw rug out of old t-shirts. I'd love to see more community events involving how to upcycle. I'm definitely happy to see an event like Natural Life Music Festival have such a great reception and find success in the Jacksonville area. I hope that there is a way to tie it into local happenings throughout the rest of the year until the next one.

This was my third time attending the Jacksonville Caribbean Festival hosted at Metropolitan Park…read more This year was extremely hot, so my friend and I didn't arrive until about 5 PM. The music has always been fabulous, and this year did not disappoint. We watched several musicians (and met one) while dancing the night away. I was pleasantly surprised to see the band shell moved to a shady area in the park this year. In prior years, it was on the other side where there was no escaping the sun. You can bring your own chair or blanket. After a little dancing, I relaxed in the grass on a beach towel. We purchased a few alcoholic beverages and drank lots of water to stay hydrated. If you like island music, I highly recommend you check out next year's festival. There is a parade earlier in the day and food vendors.