Review #61 Location:…read more 30 W. 1st Street, Edmond, OK 73003, near N. Broadway, in downtown Edmond. Google lists the address as 30 W. 1st Street and Yelp has it as 26 W. 1st Street. Details: The Festival Market Place is where most of the events, festivals, concerts, and farmers markets for Edmond are held. It has a large, outdoor area to set up numerous tents, booths, food trucks, etc, while allowing many people to gather in an area off the streets. Posted on Thursday, 16 May 2019

We used to be a Markwell Lights (ML) family, but that stopped being a thing. Then we found out…read moreabout the Miranda Family Lights (MFL) last year, and that became our new family tradition. As far as technical skills are concerned, MFL would qualify as being several steps above ML. In fact, comparing them doesn't seem fair because MFL is a full-on elaborate production, while ML was... not that... But the MFL has some minor annoyances that we haven't really seen with ML. Namely: (1) the MFL is one house, while the ML was like a whole street, and (2) people are people (or another way to put it, people are jerks). I'm not talking about the Miranda family. They seem like wonderful people; I don't know them, but I do know what their LED children look like. The MFL cycles through approximately 10(ish) minutes of a very 80's themed show. What we experienced though was that people camp out in front of the house for more than one iteration of the 10 minute show, and then everyone behind these inconsiderate people has to just... sit there and wait. Literally, every 5-10 minutes, there should be movement of at least 5 vehicles. But when we went, we arrived at 5:40 pm (or thereabouts), and didn't get in front of the house until 6:20 pm, and we were just around the corner from the house. There was no reason it should have taken that long, except for the fact that people were being ill-mannered butts. In fact, I'm starting to think these are the same people who cut lines at the movie theater (remember movie theaters?), or think it's okay to yell at fast food employees. tldr; cool lights, but the show could almost be a little shorter to get people to cycle through faster; like... cut a couple of the songs out maybe? We will definitely be back, but we'll be better prepared next time to explain to our toddlers what's causing the hold-up, without using the words "because people are jerks."

A huge heaping helping of holiday cheer. The most impressive dancing house I've seen anywhere, and…read moreI've trekked to see a lot of light shows in my day. Terrific soundtrack and multimedia experience. They also make pre and post Christmas versions of the show to maintain maximum relevance through NYE. Bonus points for terrific signage and their helpful traffic flow messages that clearly assist with keeping their neighbors happy during all the mayhem. They even do an abbreviated show for the high traffic pre-Christmas weekend - sheer brilliance. To cap it all off, they collect donations for charity the whole time, too. Look for them on the Great Christmas Light Fight TV show in 2019. Wishing the Miranda Family all the best and sending gratitude for this awesome display of holiday spirit.

I suppose if it was warmer this would have been a terrific happening. I liked Pie On the Fly's…read morepeanut butter banana cream pie and Roxy's salted carmel ice cream. The Pagoda Pizza place was unusual, unexpected even. It would have been 15% better if I had pedestrian right of way on a sidewalk with a baby stroller. I get the fact that folks who were standing there first win the right of way battle, but the Bob Harper doppelganger with a beer in hand who walks up from the street just to stand there.. no sir. That and the weather are my only true qualms. If we had gotten the H&8th early experience it maybe have been more family friendly. Definitely going to give them a second change to redeem the adventure with gumbo and a Oklahoma cheesesteak with bbq.. there is already a plan in place!

Great way to meet new people, people watch, try local foods, and hang out with friends and family!…read moreVery dog friendly. Parking can be hard to come by so arrive early or be prepared to walk! So many great food trucks. Never had a bad experience. Most accept credit cards and all accept cash. So have one or both. Be patient and be prepared for large crowds. Lots of dogs. There was even a cyclist race tonight! We ended the night with ice cream from Roxy's. Highly recommend it. Had a great night. :).

I was lucky enough to nab a pair of these tickets from the yelp elite perks. I had such a great…read moretime at this two day event downtown. I am not a huge country fan but I love a good music festival especially when it is close to home. I went to the main stage events on Friday and I was blown away by Merle Haggard! I was the most excited to see this country legend live and he put on a great show! Saturday I really enjoyed listening to Randy Rogers and Lady Antebellum. The event was held in the old ford dealership and the location was nice, but It would have been better if we had been able to bring blankets and chairs inside for more comfortable seating. Even if they had an area in the back where you could have set up a chair or had a blanket it would have improved the event greatly. The set up was great if you like dancing and walking around. The food trucks around the main stage felt adequate for the number of people in attendance. The beer was $5 and a water was $4 which was pricey. I felt that you should have been able to bring in some water with you due to the heat and humidity, but I understand they wanted to make money. I just always worry that people will not drink enough water in the heat. I saw at least two people being seen by medics and both looked to be because of heat and dehydration. The event was spread out all over downtown and the stages were pretty far apart. It was also a little frustrating that once you were in the main stage you couldn't leave and check out the other areas of the festival. All in all I feel this event was a success! It was the first year of Okc Fest and I would be interested in checking it out if it happens again next year! I really debated on giving it five stars, but I feel there is room for improvement next year.

Once again the OKC Fest rocks! The lineup couldn't have been better! Can't wait until next year!read more

I attended on a super rainy, chilly day and I was beyond impressed with the commitment of all the…read morevendors! They all had amazing handmade items, including cute dragon toys that I bought for my kids. 405 Brewery was there and I tried their frozen Pineapple Lemonade that warmed me right up! I had an amazing time!

The Med Fair is a Norman tradition. I was very excited to go this year after a 20 year hiatus since…read moreI moved out-of-state. I am back and I wanted some nostalgia. While, it is a big event, it really wasn't the same at all. It used to be at OU Duck Pond and it's now at Reaves Park. I'm pretty sure it had to move away from the duck pond because of parking issues, but parking was not much better at Reaves. Unless you go very early in the morning while everything is being setup, expect to park in a galaxy far far away. At least it's free parking. The entrance is awkward. You will see the jousters on the outskirts (this is not a design flaw imo because you can't forget where they are) then you wind around a million porta potties and it's like your switchbacking until you finally cross into a clearing filled with booths. It's not quite big enough for the amount of pedestrian traffic there is but I was relieved that the fair hadn't been reduced to an extremely long sidewalk sale. My favorite part is watching the blacksmiths and other artisans who make stuff right of you. I love seeing the Medieval characters that people dream up and prance around in. I love the Human Chess Board and the Mermaids are still there, even though there is no water for them to lay around in. Food vendors are pricy, make sure you know exactly what you want or eat before you go. There is no price for parking or entry so any money you spend is going directly to food trucks or the individuals selling their goods.

Check the weather, because if there is any wind they won't do balloon flights, just short tethered…read morerides. What a blast! Great live music, dancing, lots of food, beer, vendors, carnival rides, and of course hot air balloon rides. Carnival and balloon rides continue past 10:00 pm, live music until around 11:00 pm. It's all very laid back and fun. A few negatives..Beer vending is only bottled Budweiser. No outside food or drink is allowed. No dogs. Line for balloon rides forms late afternoon, not sure what it costs or how to pay. Food options are as diverse as I've ever seen, from po' boys to gourmet grilled cheese even bratwursts. Plus they coordinate an outdoor expo next door at the Firelake Arena on the same weekend, so there is a lot to do and see. Crowd surges at dusk, before the last band plays, when thousands come to watch the "Glow". That's when a dozen or so hot air balloons light up all at the same time. It's pretty spectacular! Also expect plenty of security and volunteers for any needed directions or aid. They even supply air conditioned cooling yurts if you get overheated. Parking is plentiful if you arrive before evening, and gets hectic if you leave with the masses right after the Glow. Stay for some music and the traffic gets much better. Our family had such a good time, we'll surely be back next year...BUT...I do wish the ballooning was less weather sensitive. They are just being super cautious for safety's sake.

Oklahoma Craft Beer Festival is an annual event and is not to be missed if you like beer. 2016…read moremarked the sixth year for the festival, and was the second year for the festival to be held indoors at the Cox Convention Center. The festival organizers moved the event from the parking lot next to Tapwerks due to inclement weather in 2015, and it worked so well, it's now the spot (more space and no weather worries). I did not attend the festival at the previous location, but I did attend last year and this year. In my opinion, the organizers are doing a great job of creating an excellent beer festival that maybe someday will compete with the *holy grail. The OCBF is the place to try all sorts of Oklahoma brews as well as non-Okie beers (there were over 300 beers to try this year). Also, OCBF included homebrewers who were sponsored by established breweries this year. I really enjoyed meeting and talking to the homebrewers. The festival also included three food trucks outside this year, and while the food truck spot was pretty cramped, it was nice to have them at the very moment I realized I'd completed my first "power hour" of the day (thank you, food trucks!). There also were multiple water stations around the Convention Center which was great. I noticed the **pretzel necklace made more of an appearance this year than last year, so I think it's catching on here. One of the best parts of a beer festival is getting to try special releases that are only available at the festival. Several breweries did offer special releases during each session and I hope this is an area of improvement in future festivals. I think other areas of improvement are: create a dedicated area for designated drivers with non-alcoholic drinks and snacks. Have some games, some live music, etc. All in all, though, this is an impressive festival and I'm really glad we have it. Other note: The VIP session goers were given a glass tasting cup. Seriously? *Great American Beer Festival, GABF, in Denver. **It's a thing.