This is my favorite festival of the year. This year 2026, I have to say was one of the best. They…read moremade some changes that I think really paid off. There were "bleachers" through out the festival. I feel this was a great thing. It one gave more options for people to sit down, eat and relax. Which I think in turn cleared alot of space up. We walked through the festival for over three hours and not once felt crowded, and I really think that's because of all the new resting spots. I always get the family tickets from tops ahead of time, then collect the tickets from the tent. Always an easy process, shorter lines. Average good was going for 8 to 10 tickets, same as previous years so I did not see any increase there. And most had a 4 ticket sample item as well. Loved the variety..trying new restaurants. Entertainment is always spot on, that hasn't changed either. Just a good food festival..this year weather was perfect for it as well.

One of my favorite days of the year. Walking around downtown with my kids, eating way more than…read morenecessary, and teaching them how to review food. Pro tip: buy your tickets at TOPS before the festival. They're cheaper, and you get (non-alcoholic) drink coupons to use ar the fest. Our favorite this year was Nickel City Vice's "You're Nuts," a peanut butter cheesecake ice cream sandwich. The boys nearly died laughing when I went up to place our order and asked the guy, "Can I have You're Nuts?" We also happily demolished small FREE bags of Checkers & Rally's fries, some ethic eats, and Buffalo classics (Nick Charlap's custard, Just Pizza). The Taste of Buffalo is one of those events that reminds you how many great local restaurants and food businesses we have.

If you haven't been to the Glen Park Art Festival in Williamsville yet, maybe next year you'll…read morecatch the opportunity. It all started in 2010, and since then the event has been extremely popular not only among local residents. The festival takes place in a park worth visiting not just for the festival itself. It's small, but well-maintained and compact, with the picturesque Glen Falls. It's a perfect place for a little stroll, or a getaway from the crowd. This year, 150 vendors participated in the event. I'm sure everyone could find something interesting for themselves. I got caught at two booths for a little longer than the others. The first was Enchanted Cottage Candles. Actually, it was a really popular spot. We all couldn't believe how perfect each candle looked, not to mention the scent, which was absolutely stunning. I also had to stop at Susie Byerley Fine Art Oil Painting from Southern Indiana. I hardly ever talk to vendors, but this time I just had to chat a little bit. Her extraordinary talent was impossible to miss. I'm sure many complimented her traditional representational art. I hope she managed to sell at least a few of her beautiful pieces. There weren't many food vendors, but I was happy to see Sunshine Vegan Eats. Anyway, Williamsville has plenty of restaurants, so don't worry. There's something for everyone.

One of my absolute favorite festivals in Buffalo. This festival never disappoints. There are so…read moremany amazing vendors here and I have discovered so many great artists here. If you have time, I highly recommend taking some time out and visiting this amazing park and festival

The Elmwood Festival of the Arts remains one of my favorites from the Buffalo festival season…read morelineup! A good chunk of the Elmwood strip is closed down for two days of music, food, and, of course, lots of wonderful art. What I like about the Elmwood festival over Allentown Art Fest is that the lineup of artisans selling goods that are not only affordable, but could easily find a place in your home, too. At Allentown, there are a lot of "once in a lifetime" pieces that you'd *really* need a specific place for. But at the Elmwood festival, you can easily find wall art, pottery, and glassware that could fit right into your space. There's always a great lineup of food trucks and bands here, and I really like how all the small businesses on Elmwood stay open so you can shop there, too. It's a little crowded -- but I never really mind. I know summer is coming to a close whenever it's time for the Elmwood Festival of the Arts. But hey, at least I've got a lot of cool new artwork to brighten up my apartment just in time for Buffalo winter.

I spent a very enjoyable Sunday morning here this year. Much smaller than the Allentown Art…read moreFestival, its an easy 5 or 6 blocks of Elmwood - from St James Place to West Ferry. Pros: Id have to say each exhibitor was a high quality one. There really was none of the "junk" you may find at other festivals. The food options were in specific areas, I noticed two of them, one at the St James end of the festival, the other on one of the side streets. Id imagine there was a third, but I did not make note of it. The expected food trucks were available. Tons of "local tables", the BPO had one, Olmsted Conservancy another, Burchfield Penney a third. There were many others as well. A great way to learn more about the various attractions Buffalo has to offer year round. Cons: For these not living nearby or taking public transport, there was terrible parking organization, they had closed off most of the side streets nearby to "Local Traffic Only". If this had been a very humid hot weekend, that would have made for some long hot walks just to get there. As a result, there was really not a "disabled friendly" atmosphere about the festival. (If there was a designated disabled parking area, it was not well publicized enough to be easily found by me, searching for it on line). They sold water for $1 bottle. Really? Costs under $5 for a case (including the deposit costs), sell the water for .50 (even .75) and stop doing such a huge markup. And while you are at it, put a sign on the table of the cost so people don't have to ask about it. Other: There was music around as well, but I did not stay for long for any of that. Seemed like a great venue for it though, various stages and other covered areas throughout. While I found the quality of the vendors terrific, I can only give this 3 stars, I think it was A-OK. I am a fan, but the lack of easy disabled access brings it down a star for me.

The lovely and gracious and radiant Mrs. Yelper and I were in Buffalo for a wedding. We like this…read morearea! Downtown has its sketchy parts, but hello--look at LA or NYC...every major city has creepy parts. The vendue was in the Buffalo Bisons ballpark, a great venue location and a short walk from our hotel. But we were tired...do we really want to go there? HECK YEAH! When in Buffalo and it's THE WING festival in the home town birthplace of said wing, you have Yelp duties! -1* for the venue setup: Nowhere to sit (w/o a purchasing a VIP pass) and it was a very hot day with no shade throughout, except for VIP areas. What, we working stiffs can just suffer and you don't care? We would have had more wings, but eating them standing up was awkward.

I really, really love volunteering at the wing fest, but honestly, the prices here are quite…read moreoutrageous. Admission alone is $20 (8 and under are free), and then you have to purchase food tickets once you're inside. A sheet of 10 tickets is $15, and it costs more if you're paying by credit card. Parking is another $25 if you choose to park in the ramp nearby. (Definitely look for street parking because it's free on weekends). By the time you get in, park, and buy tickets, it adds up quickly. There are food options other than just wings: baked goods, ice cream novelities, mac and cheese, pierogis, and pizza ranging from 1-4 tickets. Each wing is 1 ticket, which equates to $1.50. That said, my son had a great time and was a big fan of the whole experience. He especially enjoyed independently going to the stands and giving me a full review of each item he tasted. Personally, my favorite food item was the boneless chicken bites from Springer Chicken (sold at TOPS) shaken in classic Frank's. Overall, I appreciate the effort that goes into putting on an event like this and supporting the Buffalo community, but I do think the overall cost is getting pretty high for families.

If you are a real Buffalonian, you've probably been to the Annual Italian Heritage Festival at…read moreleast once. If you're just visiting, I recommend you go to see for yourself. This event is definitely all about the food, and it's huge. Definitely come hungry and enjoy Italian and Italian-American staples like pizza, sausages, meatballs, arancini, pasta, etc., as well as plenty of sweet desserts. With over fifty vendors this year, Hertel Avenue was transformed into a bustling, crowded marketplace. In my opinion, the atmosphere is rather intense. People are eating, drinking, socializing, and catching up with friends and family. The air around the festival is always heavy with the smell of smoke and frying onions and peppers. Believe me, lots and lots of grilled Italian sausages are floating around during this festival. Unfortunately, apart from tables near the main stage, which must be reserved in advance for a fee, there is nowhere to sit and eat comfortably. Lots of people are walking and eating or standing. I even saw someone use the top of the trash can as a table, yuck. As I mentioned, there's a main entertainment stage, if you like the Frankie Scinta vibe. The demonstration/cooking tent is a fun place to visit as well. The best way to plan for the special attractions is to simply check out the website. I think it's worth it. On the practical side, it's important to wear proper footwear. Because of the big crowd, I had to be extra careful not to get stepped on or have my toes run over by a baby stroller. It's wild. I guess that's the beauty of this festival. Fun fact: I ate my first raw clam many years ago at this festival while on vacation in the States :). Those were the days when carousels, rides, and similar attractions were still part of the event. It was probably more kids/family-friendly than it has been in recent years. Perhaps it will return someday.

If you're only looking for really good Italian food and pastries and desserts and things and this…read moreis the place to go now. They no longer have all the fun games, like " I got it" or the water balloon game or anything else it's just all food now. No rides, nothing for kids. But the food is amazing. I went there just for Campi's Pizza & Angelo's Italian Desserts. I was extremely satisfied. The pizza never fails me from there. It is always so good and since Campi's is too far to go just pick up a pizza and come home. I have to depend on the Italian heritage festival every year just to get my pizza. Angel is not located anywhere near here as far as I know so again I have to go to the festival just to get my good desserts. They had many other food stands, but I didn't try anything else out except for Romeo and Juliet's bakery. I know what I like so that's what I go for. You have got to try Campi's -White Pizza with the Greek olives on it. They have a few different kinds of white pizza, but the plain or one without all the veggies and without the artichokes and stuff is the really good one.. But they also have many selections of pizza to choose from

Ughh, went there Sunday- what a waste of time - all food trucks and no vendors- but I guess that's…read moremy fault. I didn't know that there was different activities on different days. Today was a chalk contest- not what I care about though- guess I was five days too early. However, I won't waste my time..

Craft art show was not worth it. Rude people running the show. Not a good experience.read more

This was a super fun and adventurous event! This was my first time visiting the Buffalo Zoo in…read morealmost 2 decades and my husbands first visit! It was fun knowing the zoo was closed to the public unless you bought a ticket and it was after hours for the zoo. We had Lloyds Taco Factory (we've had before). Sassi Cakes which are super yummy cupcakes! Shout out to the owner, Danielle Sass, for holding everyone's cupcakes til we were ready to leave! Hawaiian BBQ which was good. We also tried a Buffalo Wing Dip panini from a food truck that I can't recall. It was yummy but reminded me of a grilled cheese, just with bits of chicken, blue cheese and Buffalo sauce added. Still yummy! The company was testing it for the first time! There were A LOT of food trucks and other vendors. It was overwhelming, but enjoyable to discover more local businesses. There was also more then enough beer! The smell became overwhelming in the enclosed areas and some adults seemed to have forgotten they were at a zoo. I'm surprised they didn't have employees out at each habitat ensuring adults were acting properly because some adults did tease some animals. My husband and I were sober. With that being said, it was still a fun event and we'll probably go back next year or check out Wines in the Wild this year.

I was the lucky winner of two complimentary tickets to this event from Yelp. Thank you, Yelp! The…read morezoo put on a wonderful event full of food trucks and vendors. I brought my sister with me and we tried a bunch of different things. Listed below in order of preference: 1. Korean BBQ Chicken Bowl from Lomo Lomo food truck. Wow, this was delicious! Nice sized portion and very reasonable ($7). We also had the ramen and asparagus salad here, but I felt that was lacking a salty ingredient. I will be on the lookout for this truck in the future. 2. Maria's Muffuletta sandwich from Maria's Bene Cibo food truck. This was my sandwich choice. The meat was really high quality and the olive spread tasted great. Sandwich was served on a seeded DiCamillo roll, yum! Customer service from the truck was also top notch. 2. (yes, tie for 2)Beef brisket sandwich from Fat Bob's food truck. This was my sister's sandwich choice. There were huge chunks of meat piled on the sandwich, which compared to others I've had that were sliced, made this way better. I did think it needed some extra bbq sauce, which was probably available at the truck, but we walked away to find a table to eat at before trying it. Also served with a little piece of cornbread. 3. Our least favorite purchase was the truffle fries from Loose Cannon food truck. Unfortunately, these fell flat. We were served a big portion of frozen French fries with a scant amount of truffle oil on them. You could barely taste the oil. For $8, this was highway robbery. They would be better off making this with fresh cut fries. Everyone seemed to be having a great time at this event. We enjoyed our food, some blackbird cider and were out before it rained. Looking forward to attending this event again in the future!

Was invited by my sister to Canal Fest and I'm glad I decided to go. This was my first time ever…read more It was really fun we all had a good time. They had rides for all ages, games, food, snacks, and live music. It literally was something for everyone to do. Only issues I had was there were not enough sitting areas for people to sit and enjoy the food and like 90% of all the vendors only accepted cash which I normally don't carry around with me. Thank God I did that day. Also parking can be an issue if there is a huge crowd. Overall really nice festival to attend every year.

If it were a festival of boring idiosyncracies, it would be Banalfest. And if it were the San…read moreFernando Valley it would obviously be an*lfest. However it's actually the flagship fair & carnival of the Tonawandas, and it really really rocks. I came here many times, in fact I performed here once or twice thanks to a friend, and it was always a great time, in the summer, by the Erie Canal in the Tonawandas, with good food, excited people, interesting music (unless I was playing in which case it was crap), and lots and lots and lots of very good looking people. If you live in WNY or are visiting at the right time of year, and you've never been to Canalfest, you should come down. There are a thousand reasons to have a great time here and only one reason not to, which was me performing live music here, which no longer is a problem. At some point it'll be purchased by a conglomerate and watered down, at which point it'll become Clearchannelfest. You don't want that to happen, so get here and enjoy it before it does.

Had a blast! Every year it's something to look forward to. Good food good people and fantastic…read moremusic!

This jazz festival gets better and better year after year. This is our fifth or sixth time going…read moreand everything went smoothly. Plenty of security and police, food, vendors and retail booths abounded. But most importantly, the music was excellent. They had two large stages, about 300 yards apart on Center Street and a smaller stage on the side of the street equi-distant between them. The spacing worked well as you couldn't hear the music from any other stage interfering with the performance you were attending. The performances year after year get better and better. This year we actually purchased tickets so we could sit right in front of the main stage in comfort which was very enjoyable. In prior years, we listened to the music from the sidelines, which was also fine. The village of Lewiston has many restaurants, coffee shops, and nooks and crannies to explore. We look forward to this every year.

Meatball Bomb stand near gate 5 entrance/exit was outstanding. We had popcorn chicken w/fries…read more Enough for 2-3 kids and reasonably priced. Very refreshing to not overpay like the rest of the food stands. HIGHLY RECOMMEND

Every year, the Erie County Fair brings back all the nostalgia and reminds me that apparently fair…read morefood is now a luxury item. We skip the rides and games but go HARD on the food. The livestock and agricultural exhibits are always a highlight, especially the Agricultural Discovery Center with piglets, chicks, rabbits, and brand-new calves. I also learned way more about potatoes than I ever expected! We loved seeing the fainting goats, potbelly pigs, LEGO displays, artwork, and the Native American Village. The hoop dance was a favorite, especially when paired with my annual Indian taco. And the local vendors are a huge plus: Silly Yak's gluten-free foods (funnel cake and bloomin' onion hit the spot), Nickel City Vice (gourmet ice cream sandwiches), Half Baked Cookies, and Leveled Up all brought their A-game. By the end of two days, we had demolished fries, lemonade, an Indian taco, gluten-free funnel cake, GF bloomin' onion, corn dog, curly fries, and more. My wallet may never recover, but hey...it's only once a year. The grandstand concert was fantastic, with surprisingly great sound, and I loved that you can bring food, drinks, and bags into the concert area. Bonus points for discovering the empty men's bathroom when the women's line was approximately 47 deep. Bottom line: Go to the fair. Eat too much, learn something, see some animals, people-watch, and embrace the chaos. It's a Buffalo summer tradition for a reason!