I try to make it back for the festival every year. Great music, food, crowds over 3 1/2 days. I…read morelike the events on the commons most, but the parade (Thurs night) and the party at Stewart park (Sunday) are pretty sweet too.

The best of Ithaca! Usually held during the first weekend of June, the Ithaca Festival celebrates…read morethe vital role of the arts in the community. Local food, arts and crafts fair featuring over 80 crafters and artists (jewelry, pottery, paintings, furniture, photography, wooden creations, handmade toys), healing arts fair (massage, reiki, acupuncture, herbal medicine), Gorges Green Expo (learn about environmental awareness, energy conservation, and other green initiatives. Also features a Taste of Tompkins, where you can taste locally grown vegetables, local cheeses, locally made desserts, and wine), family fun (face-painting, storytelling, performances, etc), an Ithaca Festival Parade, and a Paint Off (local artists are asked to produce a piece of art on site in just one hour and the best piece is auctioned off). There's a lot of other stuff going on, too, that I'm probably missing. It's a great place to take your family, date, friends, anyone!

This is the first time I went to the Finger Lakes Grassroots Festival. It was totally awesome…read more Great music of all styles and genres. People dancing together. Electricity and magic in the air. Sumptuous food vendors of all cuisines Had a wonderful time! Will be back next year!

These four days of amazing music and dance from around the world attract day-trippers and campers…read morein droves. I've attended for the last eight years and it's still hard to put into words how wonderful a festival this is. Four stages of top-quality performers from around the world operate from about 10am straight through until 2am every day (or in the case of the dance tent, until 6am--where folks stay up dancing all night to Zydeco music). (Check out http://www.grassrootsfest.org/festival/ for an impressive list of past performers.) A huge variety of healthy food (much better than standard fair fare) is available from centrally located vendors and a secondary area of vendors offers products from local craftspeople. At the center of the festival is a hug campground where people mingle, play music together, and share cocktails (no one has to drive home!). A vibrant Kidsfest area keeps the little ones happy all day long. The festival also has a robust recycling and composting program, as well as a strong commitment to social and environmental issues.

This was the second year the Chinese lantern festival has been in Syracuse. This was my first time…read more Tickets are $16 at the door or $15.50 online. There are discounts for groups over 20 people. There are also senior discounts and children's prices. The event is best at night when the lights look prettiest. Inside the international building there's a show that takes place thrice a day. Come early to get seats. I loved the show. It included jugglers, hoop jumping, foot juggler, face changing act and a bowl balanced. I thoroughly thought the acrobats and entertainers were extremely talented and the show was entertaining from beginning to end. I had a wine slushee here that was $7 and was more like a wine snow cone. The ice wasn't blended with the liquid. They sold beer for $5, ice cream for $5 and flurries for $6 (like a McFlurry). Other food included gyros, baklava, Cajun fries and a few other options. My favorite lights display were the zodiac arches. Each arch was shaped like a zodiac animal and under the arch was a description of each sign as well as the years that correlated with it. Parking is free for this event. Overall the event was very fun but a little on the small side considering the price. I would still recommend that everyone check it out (and do not miss the show).

I absolutely love this Festival. I remember coming here when I was younger and enjoying the food…read moreand the events. Fast forward 20+ years, and I introduced it to my wife. It starts off with a nice pleasant drive through some really beautiful country along scenic Canandaigua Lake. We come in from the North, and since we arrive early in the morning parking is plentiful. However, there is a 10-15 minute walk to get to the center of the festival area. Along the way, you can look at the small stores selling their wares (books, records, etc.) and peruse the many garage sales that pop up along main street. When you arrive at the festival, you are hit with a three-fold attack of (1) great carnival food, (2) lots of arts and crafts vendors, and (3) live music and the cacophony of thousands of people in one space. Aside from the typical kettle corn, fried dough, and sausage sandwiches, you can feast on anything and everything that can be made with a grape... pies, cakes, cookies, cotton candy, ice cream, etc. Frankly, it is a bit overwhelming but in a wonderful way. We don't usually buy too many crafts or artwork (and if you do, be warned that you will need to carry it back to your car somehow) but we do enjoy some things that are just necessary on a day like this: Carnival Waffles (which you cannot get outside of Western NY, and asking about them will just lead to blank stares), grape pie, and lots of bottled water. Who has the best grape pie? If you read the signs, that will narrow it done but I try a new place every time and seem to enjoy them all. Grape pie tastes like blueberry + wine... yummy! There are wine vendors too, and a nearby winery offers tasting and I think tours though we have never done it. This festival takes the best things in life and combines them. Carnival food minus the weird looking carnys; beautiful New York fall scenery with lovely, sunny weather; amazing arts and crafts with plenty of useless made in China junk and dozens of yard sales thrown in, and people having fun. Just watch the bikers that try and ride down Main Street every year only to get stuck in traffic. Even then they are having a blast. The local school gets involved too with various fundraisers. Hint: when you buy food from the area next to the school, make sure you get all the ketchup you need before you go and sit down on the grassy knoll. Navigating the crowds to get the small things you forgot with your food is no fun. I cannot wait until September when I can go again!

I have a love/hate relationship with the Naples Grape Festival. On the one hand you have a great…read moreopportunity to get your hand on some of the greatest Grape pies around. On the other, crowds of people, money trap, long waits to get in and out of the village. Here's what's lacking: *Not much (good)entertainment *Everyone is selling anything and everything (junk included) *Crowded sidewalks where people stop directly in the middle without regard to the line of others behind them. *A long drive from the city Here's what I love: *Views of the lake on the drive down *Views of fall foliage *Joseph's Wayside Market *Grape pocket cookies from the church in the center of town *Jeni's Pies are the best *Plenty of (paid) parking at Hazlitt *Wine slushies from Hazlitt YUM! In the past there seemed to be more artisans, but this year it felt like there were vendors just selling anything. It felt overwhelming with so many people crammed in in the sidewalks. I'll admit it's a great walk from one end of town to the other. Make your way to the south end to check out Joseph's. If you've never been, it's worth the trip, just be prepared for people to stop in front of you without warning because they can't text and walk at the same time!

Great food and fun event. Will definitely try to come to it more often, especially for the food…read more Just wish there weren't so many bugs...

If you are in the area in late July or early August, this fair is a classic example of a small town…read morecounty fair with local flavor and good people. The nightly acts have degraded through the years with no major performers or anyone remotely famous. In the old days at least they could draw in Grandpa Jones, Minnie Pearl and even a few years back a few contestants that were voted off earlier (non-finalists) from American Idol. LOL! Sorry to say that this is not the case anymore and sad to see the slow demise of a once great and very popular fair. I'm not sure who or how the fair is run, but pick up truck pulls and the demolition derby is as good as it gets here. Too bad!

We head out this way and attend this festival every year. If you are familiar with the Sterling…read moreRenaissance Faire, A lot of the same actors that do that come here every December. Basically it's a lot of the characters from Charles Dickens novel A Christmas Story wandering around town in character. Skaneateles also has a lot of shops that are open and some of them are specials on the weekends during December. If you go online and look up the Dickens festival in Skaneateles there will be a list of events with times and days.

Took a bus trip with Scenic Excursions to Skaneateles for the Dickens Christmas Festival. What a…read morefun festive experience! It was a bit of a rainy dreary day, but that didn't deter our fun. The town, which is charming on its own, was turned into a Charles Dickens wonderland. There were Dickens characters wandering through the town all willing to talk to you (in character) and take plenty of pictures. We got to hear Christmas music along the streets of the town and enjoy roasted chestnuts (free). My FAVORITE event of the day was the harp music. A wonderful concert with 22, yes I said 22 harps performing a magical concert. Also free. The weather I'm assuming prevented the horse drawn carriage rides from being available but that was ok. We really enjoyed everything else. The festival is every weekend between I think thanksgiving and Christmas. Well worth the trip from Buffalo. I used the word before but again I'll say it. Magical! Don't forget to check out all the local stores and restaurants while you're here. 2023-119

This year marked the 64th annual Polish Festival! I've gone to the Polish Festival twice so far. It…read moreis a 3-day festival that takes place in the summer in Clinton Square. They have live music, performances, awards (or scholarships that were given to high school students who also performed), Polish beer, pierogis, kielbasa, ice cream, face painting, hot dogs, shopping and much more. The first year I was here, I got pierogis. The 2nd year I came, I got a bunch of different desserts from Eva's European Sweets, ice cream, and pierogi. The ice cream didn't taste that great but but the other foods were good. It is a great outdoor event for families, kids and dogs. There are only ~6 food stands. I would love for there to be more. The festival itself is pretty small but I am guessing the Polish community here is also small. The crowd this year was smaller than last year's. I've never been to any other Polish festival before in any other town, so as far as I know, this one is great.

So I have decided to go through and review some of the festivals that we have here and Polish Fest…read moreis definitely on the list. So I am going to come right out and say that I was extremely disappointed this year when I went. I could almost rate it a 1 or 2 star. So here is the skinny on why I was so bummed. The food was just not what I expected. Now don't get me wrong, I love Eva's with a passion. They pretty much made this review a 3. What I was upset about was the utter lack of variety there. I remember there being Eva's, a pastry place that was meh, the fair style Philly cheesteak place, and maybe one more place. I honestly came here because I thought I would find a variety of delicious Polish food. I dragged my wife down there with the promise of a yummy cultural adventure. What we got was just Eva's. Again...love it there, but I don't need Polish fest to have them. We go there all the time. I wanted to see multiple restaurants/vendors/people selling delicious food and try new things. Instead we ate Eva's on a picnic table and watched dancing. I hope they improve this next year.