Amazing free all day jazz festival on the plaza. Last year I think it was the day before Father's…read moreDay. Also a great way to get people from all over the region and even some visitors like my dad to support the many amazing businesses in Downtown Silver Spring.

The Silver Spring Jazz Festival is an enjoyable event. There was a variety of jazz styles and…read moreartists, which I appreciated. It didn't really get busy until after 5. There are some benches but it's best to bring your own chairs. The beer garden was disappointing because it was only beer--no wine, mead, or cider. And there were only two breweries with limited offerings. It was a cute setup but the furniture looked flea-ridden. We sat on the least chairs with the least amount of fabric. Food and shopping vendors were limited and disappointing as well. One Thai food vendor that has awful food and then some stands that looked like they belonged at Fiesta Shows. Better to support local downtown restaurants. So when you come to this event, you are really coming for the music. Which is fine because the music was really good. I've been to a few DTSS events and this was the best one by far. Every other event has been dismal and I want better for Silver Spring. But the Jazz Festival is worth it.

The 2022 H Street Festival executed on every street festival/block party need: Good food, good…read moremusic & entertainment, good vendors, a little dancing with a whole lot of celebration.. and Mother Nature brought the good weather! Not only was there diversity within the items listed above but it brought out a diverse crowd--I'm sure every identity was present at the festival making for good vibes. Food wise, there was a range of vendors that included food from across the Black diaspora (Jamaican, Haitian, Southern soul food), American cuisine, Bar food from H Street bars & restaurants, sushi & other Asian cuisine , among other fun food trucks. The music I experienced spread across multiple genres (African, r&b, reggae, hip hop, country, and pop) and was put forth by live musicians, DJs, and drag queens. Street formers were also off stage entertaining us with their percussion and brass instruments.

H Street Festival is the largest neighborhood festival in Washington, D.C. It started out 12+ years…read moreas a block party. Now it spans 11 blocks and attracts 150,000 people in one day, always a Saturday in September. It usually starts at noon and goes into the evening. Since it's a massive festival almost every business along the H Street corridor is involved (except for Whole Foods and Starbucks). In addition, almost every food vendor and truck sets up shop at the festival. They have all kinds of food and there are many vendors selling arts and crafts (usually around 4th Street). There are also several staging areas, booths giving out water, and even a few stalls from churches. It's always a great time and you'll get a taste for all types of culture in the city. It's AWESOME!

Fun times, show up early and bring your ID. No backpacks.read more

Great things can come in small festivals! The 2nd annual DC Africa Festival was a small affair as…read morefestivals go but had all the makings of a great day: musical and dance performances, jewelry and other fun crafts for sale, and multiple food stands and trucks, including the Fojol Brothers of Benethiopia (guess where I ate!). PLUS, someone had the foresight to set this shindig up in the shade. Brilliant move. The DC Africa Festival, surprisingly, is still a pretty understated affair with a smallish crowd, but I expect it to keep growing. Even with only a handful of performers, a couple mediocre but enthusiastically delivered speeches, and a "Vendor Village" that's more like a vendor neighborhood, a whole afternoon can be wiled away quite pleasantly, and isn't that all you can really ask for in a festival? I probably won't organize my whole schedule around this event next year, but I do hope that it falls on a free and sunshiney day.

I have not seen anybody looking at the phone screen @ this festival which is a testament of things…read morebeing interesting and moving quickly. Entertainment was great: starting with the basic African drumming, continued with the dance and followed by steel drums music with a lot of good fillers between (African Zumba and South African country dance). The vendors offered very unique items to buy - from minerals to clothing and sandals and jewelry. Sales people were very kind and willing to explain the meaning of everything they were selling. It was a teaching moment for kids to see the works of art featuring Mandela. The venue was perfect, 7 story garage right at the venue, big parking lot nearby and street closed. The menu was interesting - a true African cuisine. My choice - it turned out very good - was a food vendor from Ivory Coast. Croaker fish was delicious and it offered a different experience just by virtue of having to pull the meat from the bone instead of eating it in a fish stick. The fish was wonderful, not fatty but flaky. The couscous was not North African but West African style and slightly sour. Plantains were divine (soft and sweet) and doughnuts different (consistency more like bread - a bit harder). Rice and greens met my expectation. I did not notice any North African country represented in the entertainment or in vending shop. Most northern products were from Ethiopia selling under premise of African art. This is a very convenient, very fast pace and fun festival with good food.

Shame on me for not consulting with Yelp before going to today's (5/8/22) Jamaica in Silver Spring…read moreEvent. I was looking for something interesting to take my mom and the some of my siblings to and this event looked interesting. I came across the following advertisement on EVENTBRITE: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/taste-of-jamaica-tickets-257838169907 And after reading it, I thought, "whoa, what a bargain and even better that proceeds were going to charity." So I purchased four so-called "early bird tickets" for $15, with a $2 service charge for each ticket. Now, I like to consider myself a semi-intelligent person and an even savvier shopper who usually reads the fine print. The main reason I purchased the Early Bird Eventbrite tickets was this section: "EARLY BIRD MENU PRICE OF $15 will be offered again for JERK CHICKEN, JERK PORK, JERK RIBS, CURRY CHICKEN AND BROWN STEW CHICKEN. VALID ONLY AT THE TASTE OF JAMAICA BOOTHE. REGULAR PRICE WILL BE $20----$25." So most "reasonable" folks buying this would assume that the $15 price would pay for any of the items listed in the description of the ticket..right? So imagine my surprise when we arrived around 1:30pm, showed our etickets and were flatly told that the $15 early bird ticket only allowed us ONE of the chicken items - which BTW were already priced at $15!!! So what did I pay the extra $2 service charge for, if the it would've been cheaper for me to just pay at the tent? And when I tried to show the "manager the text of the ticket which said my early bird ticket, he insisted that it did not cover either the Jerk Pork or Jerk Ribs" since those were extra. He kept reiterating he wasn't "responsible" for what "gets put on the website," however I see the review for 2018 has an eerily similar experience. What's worse, the group before my family stepped up to order, also got the early bird tickets, and they were able to split their entree orders (such as getting 1/2 curry chicken and 1/2 jerk chicken), while we were curtly told, "that wasn't allowed." Saay what? I don't want to speculate as to why my family received different treatment from the group before us...you'd have to ask the "manager" guy. As for the food - meh. The curry chicken was super oily and the only real flavor was salt and hardly any curry spice was detectable. And the jerk chicken was super dry and mostly bones (again, similar experience to the last reviewer 4 years ago) and had a very bland flavor profile. As one final "shady" item, when we got our food and were leaving, I asked some of the staff about the charitable contribution that the Eventbrite ticket listed: "THANKS FOR THE CONTINUED SUPPORT. WE ARE COLLECTING SCHOOL MATERIALS FOR OUR CHARITY ( JAMAICA EDUCATION FOR THE POOR FOUNDATION, 501(C) NON-PROFIT) The lady who portioned out our food had a bewildered look on her face and then once again referred me to the "manager" guy who said, "oh yeah, we are using 'some' of the proceeds today are going towards a charity." Not really a resounding vote of confidence there. BTW, there was also ZERO signage anywhere in his tent about proceeds benefiting any charity. In the future, if this business comes up again with Eventbrite, I say avoid, avoid, avoid.

Taste of Jamaica does not gather tens of thousands of people so the wait in the line for the food…read moreis only between 2 and 10 minutes. It has free nearby parking, no entrance fee, jamming reggae, a lot of food vendors. Hats were only $5. People are walking around, sipping coconut water from fresh cut coconut. Everybody is smiling or dancing. Vendors product are priced reasonable. I got a got a goat curry with the vegetable and it was great. Meat was just about to fall off the bones and goat meat had the texture of lamb meat. It was just mildly spicy and it was plenty. I tried fish with jerk seasonings and it was good too. Here is a small video that brings the atmosphere. https://vimeo.com/221112689 I would love to go again next year and try ox tails and dance more.

If you want to have an Irish meal, Irish beer, Irish music in a space that is not crowded and on…read moretop of that to be able to contribute to a school (youth education) St. Jerome Irish Fest is a right place for you. Not a big festival although it is in its 15th year - more a small community festival but those tend to be best ethnic festivals anyhow. Corn Beef platter was delicious - meat texture and saltines matched well with the lack of the same with cabbage and potatoes and carrots. It is simple and it is good - Irish recipe. Irish beer for $3 was quenching my thirst nicely. There was a station where kids could place green cream on top of the cupcakes and face painting but kids wearing green were happy running around the old hall (sugar overload) The Irish band music was very good and people were very friendly. I will probably be back in October when Nigerian community will have their party in the same location.

First time attending 420 festival, I enjoyed music by action Bronson and my boy ludacris, I brought…read moretickets online, I heard people looking for tickets outside venue, because they were sold out, that happened to me last year, so I was prepared for this year. They could have done better with traffic, no officers directing traffic, so that was a nightmare getting into event, not to mention ncf, could have done a better job putting information on map what lot parking was going to be in, trying to find the lot to park in was hell , as well as parking was $20, overall I had a good experience, can't wait to see what headliners are for next year.

Small carnival located in parking lot 6 of RFK. $5 entry fee. No charge for parking, and there's…read moreplenty of it. Standard fair games. Standard carnival food like deep fried Oreos, corn dogs. They have an icee place which is nice, also a smoothie stand. A few rides, mostly for smaller children. This year there was one that went upside down like the pirate ship ride.

Amazing trails, gorgeous giant lotus blossoms, bullfrogs, birds, dragonflies... oh my! This park is…read morea hidden gem right within DC limits and an absolute dream for photographers. It's peaceful and beautifully maintained by the National Park Service, with benches tucked along the trails so you can pause and take it all in. Whether you're there for the wildlife, the lotus and lily ponds, or just a quiet nature walk, it's worth the trip. A rare blend of serenity and stunning photo opportunities in the heart of the city.

It's in a sketchy area with no public parking (only street parking). The entrance was confusing…read more I had high hopes for this place and for the longest time wanting to visit, but it was just one giant swamp. Very buggy but that's par for the course! The paths aren't clearly marked so you end up wandering aimlessly. There are sunken spots and areas where you can't tell if the ground is stable. There were random groups of people chanting right when we entered. The boardwalk toward the far end goes nowhere and there's nothing memorable or worth the walk to see. We saw a few lotus flowers and many lilies and a great blue heron made my day! Apart from that, a flop! I would probably never come back.