Took some out of town friends that have never been before, they definitely expected more art…read moretents...however it seemed like it was the normal amount to me. Lots of bight photographs and artists with their home made items. Mixed in with local food vendors and food trucks...so many choices and samples galore. Local radio stations with sign ups for prizes and giveaways. The people watching is the best, so much entertainment ...grab some food and sit back and enjoy! If you don't fill like the street food is your thing most of the restaurants on Park ave have outside seating too. I like to go every year for a nice walk and to check out the local artists all in one area.

It's not as exciting as it could be. The food is mainly generic and overpriced and doesn't even…read moreseem to be local. The places that are local are less overpriced. There is less food than I expected. The art and other products available to buy are okay, but only a few places stood out as actually interesting among lots of generic stuff. Meanwhile, it turns the neighborhood into a zoo with lots of parties with beer pong on lawns and no parking anywhere. I'm told this is a big event, but I wasn't all that impressed with it. Seemed like any street fair anywhere, and nothing special, unfortunately.

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!

Amazing experience! A beautiful light show that was well thought out and very worth the money!!read more

absolutely spectacular holiday activity. The length of show along with variety of scenes was…read moreamazing. Stopped and made our own smores before heading to hot cocoa bar. great time, definitely recommend and will be returning.

Looking forward to going this year to have fun and enjoy the music. The Greek life, the food…read moreeverything every year I go. I'm so appreciative to having that there

Stopped yesterday on my way home from work as I was dying for a Gyro. The festival itself is mostly…read morefood tents with Greek food, and a festival tent with dancing. I think most people go for the food and watch the dancing for a bit. The church itself is incredible to see, I was amazed at the stained glass windows, and how beautiful it is inside, definitely worth a walk through if you get the chance. The Gyro's I brought home were delicious! I know it's billed as a festival, but I only spent about a 1/2 hour there, If you like Greek food, I recommend, or do take out like me.

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.

Good luck finding somewhere to park. GPS is useless as most of the roads are closed. Parking as…read moredirected on Google was unavailable. Tiny private lots full on a Tuesday. We gave up and left after circling for 30 minutes. What good are festival signs if there is no parking?

After being to the lilac festival a few other times previous years and visiting this year, I don't…read morethink I would go back again. The first time I visited, I don't think there was any security check at all and the sebsequent times, until this most recent visit, it was minimal. The security line was long when my mom and I visited on a Monday morning. After getting through security, we walked through the concert and vendor food truck areas and went over to the farmers market. After going to the farmers market, we had to go through security again to go back to food trucks & vendors. I went through the line and was waiting for my mom (they made her dump out her water bottle) and the man I was standing near while I was waiting tried to tell me I had to go through security AGAIN even though I had just gone through. Ultimately I moved farther inside the vendor/food truck area to wait for my mom and he was ok with that. After seeking the food we wanted, we were ready to take a walk through the lilacs, which was across the street. The lilacs and other flowers were beautiful and smelled wonderful! After going through the lilacs, we would have had to wait in line and go through security YET AGAIN to get back to where we had parked/entered the festival. Rather than doing that, it was faster for us (and less aggrevating) to just walk the large block around the outside of the festival to get back to our car. If you have never been before and don't mind waiting in security lines several times then, sure, have a visit... Or if you just want to see the lilacs and not visit vendors, food trucks or the live music area, then I'd also say go for it. For myself though, the aggrevation and wasted time of having to go through security multiple times is not worth it.

Party In The Park VIP tickets are not worth it…read more Went to see Seven Wonders perform on 7/18/2024 and purchased VIP tickets for $35 (vs $7 for General admission). We were front of line at the gate when they opened as advertised at 6pm and promptly went to the VIP area. Somehow people were already in the VIP area, some already with drinks, and they scarfed up all the tables and chairs. And the time was 6:02pm! How is this possible? Most of the tables had just 2 people sitting down, but up to 6 empty chairs that they pulled over for when their "friends arrived"These are small hi-top tables that at the most could accommodate 3 or 4 people. I found one single empty table with no chairs and went to the adjacent table asked them for the chairs back, and they said they were saving them for their friends who hadn't arrived yet and wouldn't give them up. Spoke with security about this and they told me it was first come-first served. Well, hoarding chairs for your friends who have not yet arrived is NOT first come-first served. This wasn't just one group of people doing this, it was multiple tables. That's number one. Number two, how did all these people get in before the gates even opened? There is absolutely no benefit purchasing VIP tickets. As I see it, the only thing you get for 5 times the ticket price is a better bathroom and a Lanyard around your neck that says VIP. That's it. They say that they serve "Spirits" instead of just the beer/wine that you get in general admission, but the "Spirits" was just a vodka slushy. That's it. Then I was told the vodka slushy wasn't frozen enough when I went to the bar to get one. Maybe, just maybe, VIP level tickets would be worth it if they provided some lite appetizers like popcorn, nuts or whatever, and maybe a free or discounted drink coupon, but nothing is provided, not even seating for those who got there when the gates opened. Even the General admission area has a few kiosks selling beer so you don't have to wait in a single long line. In the VIP area you have one place to go to get a drink and the line was 30 people deep. Yes, you can leave the VIP and go out to get a drink in General admission, but you better have someone stay back to save you chairs, if you got any in the first place. Totally not worth it and would never spend the extra for Party in the Park VIP again.

Do this, come here, it's not free but at $5 in 2018 for some live music it's a great summer option…read more Now if only parking was less expensive than the ticket we'd be getting somewhere.

I had the opportunity to work this festival and I had a blast. Super hot but beautiful day at Cobbs…read morehill. So many food trucks to choose from and great drink options ( our beer was the best lol) The entire festival was organized and well run. Loved the theme outside bar, it was Alice in wonderland. Lots of hanging cards and just a great outdoor vibe in a comfortable Lounge... nice clean air conditioner bathrooms too!

2022 festival was a bust! There was no shade anywhere and the space felt cramped. The vendors felt…read morelike they were all on top of each other. The stage was in the middle of everything making it tough to watch since people were constantly walking through people. Everything was crowded and there wasn't any space designated to just chill. It felt like everyone was trapped in a relentlessly sunny corral. Hopefully in the future they'll consider some seating or at least including shaded areas.