Going strong for 41 years - Korean Festival was very impressive with over hundred booths, huge…read morestage, plenty of parking and FREE entrance. Many vendors were giving free bottles of water. It was more business oriented then food oriented which tells about strong and well organized Korean diaspora in MD. Strange thing was that I did not see smoke anywhere, as all food was made in small pots and smaller grills located way back in their booths. There was a booth to learn about Korean culture (+) and dozen food vendors (Korean and non-Korean) (+), plenty stuff for small kids to jump in (+), but the eating area was too small (-). It would be great if the eating area would be doubled (that would be more enjoyable for everybody). I had octopus balls and two different kinds of fried chicken that was truly delicious. All that was completed with the Korean beer. The entertainment was a standard and good (Martial arts + classical dance + K-pop and hip hop artists). It would be even better if larger food area would have a view to the stage like it is usually done. Great festival and strong community!

Hey Yelp Family! Well, we're hanging out at the Jamaica Day…read moreOutdoor Festival. Don't know quite what to say -(. The performers were supposed to start at 3:00. We didn't get here until 5:00 and no one was performing. There is only one alcohol vendor for an event where they did not allow coolers. In addition, the vendors basically all sold the same thing. I did enjoy my meal from Island Quizine. I ordered jerk chicken, on tails, veggies and plantains. It was a huge serving for $12!! I think my biggest issue is the artist performances started late and were lack luster. The cost of a regular price ticket for entry only was $40. But, of course I bought a discounted ticket!! Either way, definitely not worth the money. And to top it all off, there are no funnel cake vendors...dang! The only sweet tooth vendor was ice cream. I'm still here, holding out, hoping things turn around...

It's been a while since I came to the Howard country fair. I made time to come today. The events…read moreare the fair were fun and worth coming for that. My favorite event today was the tractor race. What I dislike is the food prices. The food stands were charging so much money for low quality food.

It's Gem Show time. The Howard County Fairground hosts one of the smaller size gem show several…read moretimes a year, in comparison to the Gem & Jewelry shows in Chantilly and Timonium. The reason I prefer to come to this one is because there are more miners at this show instead of jewelers. The fairground indoor space is limited with restrooms both inside and outside. And 1 food stand open most of the time that sells burgers and hotdogs, very limited options and not the best of deal for $8 . Parking has always been an issue for this fairground hence the grass area are normally open to parking options. However, after the rain it always creates a very nasty situation. Definitely fun to visit during events, just be aware of the conditions.

We loved the annual Sheep & Wool Festival at the Howard County Fairgrounds in West Friendship, MD…read more (May 2026) We always watch the sheep-dog demo, which is presented several times. These working dogs dart around like lightning, guiding sheep through courses. It's amazing and charming. And we love the live music on two stages, one sponsored by the Common Ground On The Hill. Among the variety of performances, we heard the Walt Michaels & Co. band, playing folk, bluegrass, and old-time Southern Appalachian music. Really fun to see. The Sheep & Wool Festival had craft and skill demonstrations, competitions, classes and seminars, and many of the represented farms and ranches were happy to engage in conversations in the barns and tents. There were food booths and scheduled meals, including a focus on leg of lamb sandwiches, lamb specialties such as chops, burgers and ground lamb, sausages, kabob cubes, and sheep cheese, goat cheese, and honey. We were not overly exploratory, but we did bring home several soft cheeses. You can still find their annual catalog online with the festival's programs and participants, spinning wheels, looms, animal-care equipment and supplies, fiber and crafts including other farmed animals (alpaca, angora, llama, mohair, yak, ...), wax and lanolin. There's pointers to related organizations and businesses, and mention of many similar upcoming events, including nearby musical and cultural events in May and June-July by the Common Ground On The Hill Maryland Folklife Center. It was a lovely slightly-chilly day full of fun genuine one-of-a-kind of farm and cultural activities. All for under $15, and free under 18-tears-old. Plenty of parking. We're looking forward to 80th Annual Howard County Fair, Aug 8-15, 2026, at this same location :-)

Very cool experience for the family. It's like another agricultural fair, but in May! There were…read moreso many different events and animal petting, it kept the little one engaged. There are just as many food vendors as a county fair. And the cheese / butcher building was great. Lots of cheese samples and price point was affordable. We also liked the market place and bought so many plants for the garden! A must visit if you love county fairs!

When I saw a cheap red sign pointing to the Fairgrounds saying, "Lego Show!" I was excited to go,…read morebut I didn't think it would be as bad as it was. I was going to rate it 0 stars, even -1 stars. Too bad Yelp is too nice to let us do that. When we (my family) first walked in, the place was crowded, and children were laughing and screaming. The place wasn't very 'official,' but nevertheless, we still walked in. The price was 8 dollars. My dad decided it wasn't worth it, and walked out. Thus, we paid 32 dollars for four people. (Me, my mom, and my two brothers.) The lady in the front gave us a stamp, in the shape of a star. She said there were two buildings, (The Dining Hall and the Bingo Room) and we could go back and forth, as long as we showed her this star. The first thing we noticed were the so-called 'competition.' Not joking: There was a table with white stripes to look like a road, and buckets on another table. People were just digging for spare wheels, and pieces, and just pushed it on the table. Nobody was monitoring the 'competition' and it was mostly just broken pieces, and squealing children. Surrounding the 'competition' were vendors, and demonstrations. Hint: There were TWO vendors in the Dining Hall. There was ONE in the Bingo Room. One of them was 'Brick Crafts.' They charge eleven dollars for a single ornament with legos. They charge 25 dollars for 3 lego bows. The 'Lego Bows' were just lego's attached to each other to look like a bow. Another vendor was the 'Brick Lights'. Ha. They charged 6 dollars for a lightsaber, which was darn expensive. Actually I'm lying. They charged 6 dollars for the 'blinky' mechanics... you have to pay extra money for the actual lightsaber. The other vendor sold lego sets for NEARLY DOUBLE THE PRICE of official lego stores. What a scam. They charge 3 dollars per minifigure, 12 dollars for a single lego soldier... A rip off. The demos were 'do not touch, just look,' They were literally just a bunch of ordinary sets laying around on tables. One cool thing was this couple who had a huge lego neighborhood. That was the only cool thing. Oh and the 'family engaging' activities are the 'Tic Tac Toe' game. They literally have a board with lines made out of Legos and you just stick 2 by 2 legos' to play. The other building was even worse. They just had mats on the floor with buckets of lego. They did have a cool Rube Goldberg lego thing that just moved a ball. You got one free magazine though. That was probably the best thing. Overall message: This is the stupidest thing I've ever been to. There were people outside badmouthing the 'Show' and half the people who walked out looked bored, even angry. The whole thing wasn't run by 'Master Lego Builders' but families who just wanted to sell stuff. Don't go. It's a total ripoff. I warned you.

This is by far one of the best train exhibits in the area. It's multi-leveled and has incredible…read moredetail, and the trains go through multiple tunnels, over and through mountains. Best of all, there's a Thomas display for the little ones - and incredibly knowledgeable and friendly staff to answer any and all questions about the exhibits. Outside, of course, is a real rail car on an old railroad track - and don't miss the model trains in the secondary building! You can get pretty close to these and it's less crowded (except now I've told everyone about it). When my son was obsessed with trains, we went to many, many train shows - all through MD, DC, VA and PA - and this ranks second out of ALL of them (first being a little permanent exhibit we found in Strasburg). We still go to this one, even though my little guy is a teenager now. Well worth it!

Vick performed as Professor Snape at our twin boys' 8th birthday party. He was amazing to work…read morewith, especially in light of the commute required. We were so lucky he agreed to drive well outside of his usual area to perform. His illusions were mesmerizing, and he expertly handled a room full of inquisitive and skeptical kids by getting most of them involved in his performance. He gave a great message in the end of the performance also, drawing on the themes of inclusion and acceptance from the Harry Potter stories, which the adults present also mentioned as being a highlight. We cannot say enough great things about his professionalism and performance and we would highly recommend him for any event!

We hired Vick for our wedding reception! I was thinking of a simple way to entertain older folks,…read moreyoung children, and everyone in-between -- he was the answer! Vick had a wonderful story line and great tricks that kept everyone's attention! We had some guests that are very skeptical of magic tricks, and he still blew them away! I'm so happy we had him! We ended up starting his show a little late, unfortunately, but he was incredibly patient, set-up, and mingled with a few guests while he waited! He then put on a 45-50 minute show for all of us, and included some guests, my father, and us in the show! I highly recommend him for ANY event -- weddings, birthdays (children AND adult), social events, etc. Thanks, Vick!

This is such a beautiful farm for a family day, day date, or even solo trip to bond with nature,…read morebeautiful sunflowers, or simply being surrounded by the cutest big and little farm animals. We had stopped by for the sunflower festival and it was a beautiful late summer day. There is an option to buy feed for the animals which we took advantage of while we stopped by at the different farm locations. The sunflower field was beautiful and you could pick a bouquet of fliers to go home with. Plus there was an interactive frame for pictures and memories. There is also a play area full of swings for the kids, and there was a slope that older kids and adults could go down on. There was also a food truck with great pulled pork sandwiches and an ice cream stand. Great vibes, great animals, great family fun!

I went there last year. Looking forward to visiting again!…read moreGreat for families and for kids!

I had the wonderful pleasure of visiting this awesome place with a group of amazing people. It's…read moresimply fun to learn how to make wine, and actually make your own! The wines we tasted were very good. I enjoyed the Rosé and Chardonnay. Good stuff! It was a perfect day! The drive out to the property was gorgeous! I highly recommend it if you want to do something a little different and learn about the winemaking process.

You'll never just drive by this place ... but you should definitely seek it out. Winemaker Dave -…read morewho trained at UCDavis, and has won a bunch of awards for his wines - opened this local, hometown version of Crushpad. Like Crushpad, he sources grapes from California (among other places), and will work with you to make your own barrel. He doesn't offer as many sources as a big VC-backed operation like Crushpad; on the other hand, you can get half or even quarter barrel; and possibly use local grapes if desired. Dave will help you make anything from your basic pizza or burger wine (from Lodi or central valley grapes) to a high end Napa cab (from designated vineyards) or Rhone ranger. And you can put your own labels on the bottles. Dave's been making wine for 40 years, but just getting this Wineworks operation started. It's a cool little place. He gave us a tour, explained the equipment, and popped a bottle of his own 2005 Stagecoach Vineyard Cab (Napa), while telling us about the notorious Girls for Swirls wine club that's making a Zinfandel with him right now. He's gotten a number of awards for the Cab, and it certainly was a very respectable wine. A group of us may go together on a barrel. If so, I'm hoping the real experience and end product result in an upgrade to 5 stars. It's showing potential ...