How has it taken this long for a festival of Pizza to come into existence in the GTA? I mean…read moreVaughan/Woodbridge/Maple, the Italian strongholds of Southern Ontario - and nothing? Until NOW! And man do the organizers of Vaughan Pizza festival do it right! Over 21 different pizza restaurants all selling their wares at extremely reasonable prices. I managed to get half a pizza for 6 tickets (1 ticket = $1). How many places are you going to get a full pizza hot outta the over for $12. They had pizza and Italian food representing all of the major Italian communities in Ontario, as well as some special guests from Jersey and beyond. Every pizza maker is either cooking their pizza in portable wood burning pizza ovens or these gas BBQ rotating pizza ovens. No reheated Pizza Pizza here. Speaking of Pizza Pizza... none of the overblown pizza chains were there, only local independents. AMAZING! Plus there was booze and 2 nights of live music. Night one of all throw backs to early 90's dance hits (Stevie B, Lil Suzy, to name a few) and night two had Dj Pauly D from the Jersey Shore - I know I know, stereotyping but whatever it was cool. On day three they had a pizza eating contest with some international heavy eaters on hand. This is a great location as well (right off the 400 and the 407, at the now virtually defunct Interchange Way Plaza - former home to AMC Vaughan), lots of parking, lots of space, amazing Can't wait for next year AND their brand new Burger Fest! Eatcrest Out

So good to be back!!!…read more After missing out on this festival last year due to the pandemic and other events we finally made it back this year to the Unionville Festival. This year it was held on June 4th and was a special event for us as it was my daughter's birthday as well. When I asked her what she wanted for her birthday this year, she said she wanted to go to the Unionville Festival, so off we went. The Unionville Festival is an annual event hosted by the Unionville BIA. For more info, you can look them up at https://unionvilleinfo.com. Almost all of the businesses on Main Street Unionville offer something for families to do. The stores and restaurants are open, and some companies have booths or offer street food. It's also attended by several other vendors from the Markham area. There is much for kids to do as some of the locations have children's activities. The Varley Gallery had art-related activities for the kids. For grown-ups, there is a beer tent, and of course, the restaurant, bars and patios are open if you're looking for an 'adult' drink. Many of the shops are open for shopping and there are street vendors too. This is only a one-day festival but there is enough for two days. We had a great time as we ran into many people we knew, had some street food, and the kids had fun at the Fred Varley Gallery, we had dinner at the Old Country Inn, which doubled as one of the beer tents. It was a good day for us, as we shopped, we ate, we ran into friends and had a great time. Check out this once-a-year event for yourself.

This was my first year attending the Unionville Festival and it definitely will not be my last! The…read moreevent is organized thoroughly with a variety of vendors. To my knowledge, the number of vendors are increasing dramatically every year. Happening at Main Street Unionville, this festival is good for everyone and anyone. From bars, to family friendly restaurants AND cute little patios, there is something to do for everyone. Main Street Unionville is closed off for this festival all weekend so you can literally walk around this beautiful section of Markham while getting to know/enjoy different local businesses. The Opening Parade was also awesome! There was a lot of different cultural representations alongside great music. After the Parade there were a few entertaining performances that occurred at Carlton and Main Street. The festival was a lot fun and I really enjoyed the street musicians jamming out. Will definitely come back next year :)

This was a drive-thru event in 2020, but for this year, the event got converted to an immersive…read morewalk-thru experience. Now, I've been to many light show events with my family, both Halloween and Christmas ones, drive-thrus and walk-thrus, and this event, is one of my favourites this season. As my husband put it, the walk-thru experience allows you to completely submerge surround yourself with holiday lights that are animated and synchronized to cheerf Holiday music. The location is right off the 400 by the Dave and Buskers and IKEA at the newly built gardens at Assembly Park. The tickets have timed entry and it took our family, with kids age 4&6, about 25m to walk though. I don't want to give away the surprises, but make sure your phone has enough battery to take lots of pictures! We especially liked the light tunnels. One thing of note - my phone kept on turning off because it was too cold. It was -5 the night we went, so make sure you keep your phone close to your body when you're not taking pictures. At the end of the light show, it opens up to a tent with Santa (free) and you can line up and take pictures with him. There are also vendors, and midway rides for the kids. This portion is free to the public, but there really isn't much to see or buy. Take a look at my photos and maybe you can squeeze this fun activity into your holiday break. The event runs until January 2, 2022. Merry Christmas Y'all!

Perfect afternoon to head to the park. Better yet, we headed to the King City Craft Beer Festival…read moreand Food Truck Festival. This is an annual event that's hosted on one Saturday at the start of summer. The entire town seemed to have shown up as the small festival ground was packed with families & groups of all ages (many with pets) to make for a lively atmosphere. Once inside we briefly roamed around the festival ground and craft beer tents, before settling on ordering Urban Smoke's $10 brisket poutine based on the healthy lineup. Fries were crisp but the gravy sort of overwhelmed the flavour of the BBQ brisket slices. Slabtown Cider quenched our thirst well, so we tried both their legendary cherry and founder's dry cider. However another craft beer (aptly named Psychedelic Sunday) tasted like watered down perfume so I'd chalk that as a recipe gone awry. The other food truck that peaked my interest was Buster's Sea Cove. Figured I'd save a trip to Boston by ordering their $15 Lobster Roll! Their roll turned out to be about the size of the accompanying pickle slice, though filled with decent portion of lobster. For dessert, my wife had to try Funnel Cake Express to reminisce of CNE. Their funnel cake was a solid option: crunchy and not overly sweet from the light chocolate, caramel and maple syrup dressings. Admission started at $10. Gate fare was $20 to sample drinks, with 3 tokens that redeemed basically half a cup each (additional tokens were $2). Since we came with family, the festival was not perhaps the best value for the limited itinerary plus live music. We were in-and-out within 1.5 hours before heading to the nearby playground to enjoy the beautiful day.

As of late, I have been entering contests and have had good luck on my side. Here's hoping that I…read morehave not jinxed it. On Instagram, I saw that Yelp GTA was giving away tickets to the King City Craft Beer and Food Truck Festival. I decided to give it a try, which required reposting Yelp GTA's pic, tagging a couple of sponsors, and declaring that you want to go. My dearest friend saw my post and sent me a direct message saying, "I was hoping that we could hang out on June 9. Were you really thinking of going to this festival or just going if you win tickets? If you aren't a winner, we can still hang out." We have known each other since grade 7. I like that she still will be my dear friend, whether I am a winner or loser. Guess what? I got the nod that I have won a pair of tickets. Go, me! I tagged my friend, saying that we're going. The plan was for her to drop by my place, park, and we'd go in my car. Perfect! Thanks to Amanda, Kris, and King City Parks and Recreation for having us at this festival. The catch was figuring out whether we wanted to pick up the tickets through a quick Yelp get-together, or simply pick up tickets at Memorial Park just before the festival starts. We went with the latter. My friend and I got to venue at around noon. I didn't know where to park and ask what seemed to be a volunteer in a purple shirt. She said that parking on the residential street that we were on was fine. The downside was that she was talking to us facing the park. We were looking at her back in my car. Weird. Anyway, I parked and we walked in. I was to look for Kris and a Yelp sign. I saw nothing. My friend needed a washroom and she left to investigate. I seem to be an easy target for Kris to find me. He yelled my name out, which is now customary, and walked over. He told me that he loves this festival and hoped that I would, too. He gave me my tickets. We chatted some more. He pointed out to stop by the Yelp stand to vote for the best beer and food, and we wished each other a great day. You also get free wifi to vote, which lasts for fifteen minutes. The volunteers were not all that prepared, which is the main reason why I am not giving a five-star review. First, we asked whether we were going to drink beer at the front makeshift gate. Um, yes. My guess was that the tickets come with drink tokens. You get a green-coloured wrist band. Second, we had to show ID. No one looked at our ID. Did we look like senile old women that we didn't need to flash our IDs chiselled on rocks? Third, we didn't know which lineup to go to. We chose the one on the left. The fourth point needs a new paragraph. I approached the table. There were two volunteers. One asked for my name. I gave mine to her. She looked at her list and then realized that I wouldn't be on it, as I was holding tickets. She proceeded to give me three drink tokens. I said that I have two tickets. I should be getting six tokens in total. Her sidekick agreed with me. She didn't give my friend three tokens. Um, I'm waiting. I literally had to tell her to provide three tokens into the palm of my friend's hand. OMG, kill me! Anyway, my friend had to use the portable potty. We walked over. We were the first folks to use them, so they were clean. There was a handwashing area to the right. Perfect! We sampled some beer and cider. We ended up chatting with a number of vendors. The two beers and cider that I tried were fantastic. The folks selling them were enthusiastic and nice. Everyone was nice. My friend took a photo of the BMO folks working the stand for them. We enjoyed the various musical bands and acts that were playing. We got food. I had to get a tornado potato with sea salt. It is essentially a spiralized potato on a stick that is deep fried and salted. So good! My friend and I liked it. I have such a weakness for empanadas. We raided the Chacha Churros truck. I got beef and my friend got vegan empanadas. They were so delicious and packed full of fresh, flavourful ingredients. We loved them so much that we came back to get churros. Both folks working the truck remember us. I told them that their food was amazing. The churros had the best cinnamon flavour I have had in a long time. Wow! We visited every stand. I liked visiting the York Region one. You answered trivia questions and you end up winning a cup made of recycled materials that comes with a straw and a lid. We both got one. You could also fill up your water bottles and even these cups at the free water fountain next door. Nice! Naturally, I stopped by the Yelp booth to get some swag and vote for my favourite beer and food vendors. I liked that one person there said that she has seen me around. I suppose that I have been to more Yelp-sponsored events this year than my four years being a Yelper combined that I am fairly easy to spot! I had a fabulous time at this event. I got to experience so much wonderful food and chat with friendly people. I would definitely give it a go again. (227)

If you build it, they will come! The burger vendors certainly did, but where was the crowd?! This…read moreis the 2nd year of The Burger Fest in Vaughan. I was intrigued last year but the crowd seemed small and not much has changed. No lineups on Sunday meant that you've got to watch your own appetite! The band was blasting on stage, making the most of a quiet atmosphere. Since burgers are hit-and-miss, we relied on the recommendations of others. First up was Holy Chuck's Cheeky Cow Burger ($8): braised veal cheek on beef patty with cheese, bacon & caramelized onion. Built on a slider, it was small but mighty delicious. Next, we had Da Bridge Slider ($5) from the Vaughan City Grill with sausage, patty, arugula and balsamic vinegar. A twist on the burger that tasted like fresh salad. I'd heard good things about the Original OMG Steak & Hoagies. They were sold out of the B&J Burger so we had the Cheese Burger ($7) instead. It was a classic that was juicy and savoury though the ground beef patty was a little pink. Finally from the Burger's Priest, we had the Option Burger ($8) with cheese stuffing oozing out of the crispy portobello mushroom patty. Despite having to put on our own condiments, this vegetarian option was a good change after all of the meaty goodness. Weather was beautiful yet the benches were sparsely used at the end of day. Perhaps it was the Raptors championship that had everyone's priority. As others said, admission is steep at $15 on Friday/Saturday or $10 on Sunday. Once inside the "tickets" are purchased 10 ($10) at a time, and may have been a way to take another cut from the vendors. Good burgers but wish the event was more lively.

Went last Friday and had some nice Wins but unfortunately also a big L…read more For the Ws, Fresh Burger was my burger of choice. Great value for $6 (6 tickets) - a full sized patty with cheese and any toppings and as always, it tasted great! Another pleasant surprise was "Da Bridge" burger from Vaughn City Grill. Loved the arugula, sausage and homemade patty. I'd visit them next time I'm in that area. Both burgers washed down great with some fresh lemonade that was also served there. On the downside, while I was ambivalent with Bob's Burger's goat cheese slider, I was really disappointed by their so called "four slices of cheddar cheese" slider. First of all, $4 for a slider was a bit much compared to the value I got from Fresh Burger but if you're going to charge me that much, at least give me a quality bite. Could you imagine my disappointment when I opened the cheddar burger to see a bunch of processed cheese jammed in there? I asked the lady and she's like "it's not Kraft or anything"... it's not cheddar either. The lineup for Burger Priest was also a bit of a let down but I think I might like Fresh better anyway so no big loss. Either way, I had a good time and would go back to try other things next time

Finally an uptown food festival worth attending by the populous. Ribfests are always popular! At…read morethe annual Thornhill Ribfest (July 26-28), they seem to know how to give people a good time by combining a handful of huge BBQ rib stands with a slew of food/shop vendors, ad booths, live stage and a kids zone too. One of the perks is the free admission, so I guess the economics do work when aligned with sponsors. We arrived at 11am Saturday to the festival ground with plenty of parking. Truth be told we were an hour early! No matter, the BBQ stands were ready and being early is good for scouting without a crowd. I kind of missed seeing the ribbers' trophies on display, as this was apparently not a BBQ competition. Multiple BBQ variations were offered by Oak & Barrel, Louisiana BBQ, Texas Jack's, Kentucky Smokehouse, Big Hank's Nashville-style and Memphis Blazin' BBQ. The grill master at the first one had a jolly time chiming away and putting on a fire show for the cameras. We noticed selection was the same at all of the impressive stands: BBQ ribs, chicken, pulled pork, coleslaw and beans. We opted for the Memphis combo of 1/3 rack of ribs, 1/4 chicken and pulled pork. Firm ribs didn't have much dry rub but spicy & sweet BBQ sauces were decent. Chicken was flavourful on the skin but meat was bland and firm. Lesson learned, stick to saucy ribs & pulled pork! Roaming the grass area, there were plenty of food options such as craft beer, fried chocolate bars, blooming onions, and funnel cake. The Filipino BBQ pork skewers were memorable, with drizzled sweet sauce, crispy skin and fat. We happily left the Thornhill Ribfest with a full lunch and a smooth fun experience.

Thornhill hosts a ribfest every year and this was my first time attending it! I love events that…read morehave zero admission fee. The Thornhill Rib & Craft Beer Fest was held at 1441 Clark Avenue West (on Dufferin north of Steeles) and right next to Vaughan Secondary School. It was a three-day ribfest from July 27 to 29. We attended on the first day and arrived there just after 6 p.m. and before the weekend crowds started coming in. It was a very well put together event with a quick security checkpoint at the entrance (and free ample parking at the lot of the secondary school). Upon entering, we received free popcorn to taste! It was warm and a bit sweet. Right away, we lined up for the first ribber that we saw, which was the New York BBQ one. We were hungry and it really didn't matter too much which one we lined up at. There were five ribbers in total: New York BBQ, Oak & Barrel, Kentucky Smokehouse, Louisiana BBQ, and Memphis Blazin' BBQ. We ordered the 1/2 rack with 1/4 chicken since I was curious about the chicken. It actually started raining halfway into the line-up and I'm so glad that we had brought umbrellas to shield us from the sudden downpour. Luckily, after we ordered and found a seat to eat the ribs underneath one of the tents, the rain and rain clouds went away. The rack of ribs were fall-off-the-bone and the meat was quite 'shredded' and it was good for the most part. The chicken was overly burnt but the meat underneath the skin was somewhat moist. Next, we got a beer from the craft beer stalls. Each drink ticket was $7. There were quite a lot of them and I chose the cute-sounding "Bear Hug IPA" beer from Market Brewing Co. It had a fusion of tangerine, pineapple, and evergreen notes. We took a stroll around the other food trucks and food vendors, which was quite varied! There were a lot of people lining up for the Blooming Onions stroll and if it weren't for the fact that it was just the two of us, we would have wanted to try it too. We settled for a buttered corn on the cob from one of the stalls which my mom enjoyed very much. We returned to the ribbers and this time lined up for the Louisiana BBQ. We also got a 1/2 rack from here. The line-up was just as long as the first one. My mom actually wanted to try the beef ribs, but we ended up just getting the pork ribs. After this, we lined up at the Memphis Blazin' BBQ stall. This line-up was a lot longer than the other ones, but we saw how the ribbers really took time to make sure the ribs were cooked well. We still ended up with pork ribs (since the beef ribs didn't look as popular), but this time we got a full rack of pork ribs instead. We sat down with the two sets of pork ribs and chowed down. I really liked the Memphis Blazin' BBQ as the meat on the ribs was so firm! The Louisiana BBQ one was good too and had a sweeter sauce. We really had a large ribs feast that night (and the next few days too for lunch).

I have attended four different ribfests this summer. This one in Woodbridge was my least favourite…read moreout of the batch. All ribfests that I have attended this year have been in drive-thru format, including this one. I headed over here a couple of Sundays ago. This year, it was held at the highways 7-400 Power Centre. I pulled into the entrance where the Leon's is. You couldn't access the ribfest from there, so I had to pull out and around to the only entrance available. There were a few things that put a damper on my experience. The first was getting a QR code presented to me by a volunteer. I am growing to dislike QR codes. This one was circular with the Rotary Club of Woodbridge logo smack in the middle of it. My guess is that my phone is sensitive to any QR code. If this QR code is tweaked or customized in some way, it won't work. Frankly, I would like to see both the QR code and URL to the site presented. Instead, I got a paper menu. I'd rather have that than any QR code! I am all for donating to a worthy cause. The minimum donation was $2. All donations went to Mackenzie Health. I did not have any cash and hoped that I could do debit. The alternative was to text a number and donate $10. I didn't like the lack of flexibility in donation amount. The Scarborough ribfest had a $5 denomination using your debit card if you didn't have cash. I was not pleased, especially when we are in a pandemic and cash is often not high on the acceptable payment list. The next aspect that was odd was getting dessert vendors in my face during this ribfest. The other three had dessert, drinks, and corn at the end of the drive-thru experience. I had one woman present dessert items that she was offering. It turned me off. I was here for the ribs. I want to order my ribs first! The pylons marking the lanes to the three vendors weren't clearly placed. I actually had to ask a volunteer where to go. If I need to ask for that sort of help with where the lanes are, it says a lot. I typically don't pose that question. There were three rib vendors. I decided to go with Uncle Sam's. The man taking my order was great. I got a full rack dinner that comes with coleslaw and beans. I paid using a credit card. I wish that there were an option to tip, but it didn't appear on the machine. I got my food in a paper bag fairly quickly. I thanked the man and drove over to Home Depot to have a late lunch in the comfort of my car. The baked beans were delicious. They were rich and so flavourful. They were gone immediately. I appreciated getting plastic cutlery. The three other places didn't give me many. Luckily, I always have some in my car. The coleslaw was one of the better ones that I have had. It had flavour and a crunch that I thoroughly enjoyed. Yum! The ribs were amazing. They had a generous amount of sauce that was smokey and amazing. The ribs were meaty and done perfectly. They were by far the best ribs that I have had out of all four ribfests, which made up for the horrible start that I got here. I'm not sure if I'd come back. If it ends up being a walk-in ribfest next year, I may give it a try so I don't get dessert shoved in my face before I get some ribs. (366)

Rain Rain goes away…read more.. All these rain made the 6th Annual Woodbridge Ribfest such a muddy one. I should have wore my rain boots! This is one of the smallest Ribfest I been to with only 5 ribbers. But what makes this ribfest different from others are the local craft beers from smaller breweries, a pizza vendors that make wood oven pizza on site and a taco vendor that roasting a pig on site for pork taco! Tons of other vendors promoting their services from photography studio, insurances and home improvement. Woodbridge Ribfest is A-OK if you are in the area and want to have some ribs, but definitely not worth a special trip for the event!

Location This event is now hosted on Enterprise, in the same…read moreplaza as Good Catch, Goodlife and the VIP cinemas. Parking (including underground) is quite limited there - so best to come carpooling or explore nearby parking. One good thing is that the organizer does have a designated parking area setup for people coming in. Setup There are multiple vendors - from food, drinks to small gifts, organizations and even non-profits to promote anything! There are also festivities and live performances based on a schedule - so make sure to grab a seat if you want to watch any of them. I usually come for the food - to see what's new and exciting and what is not out there in restaurants. Inflation over the years have risen a lot of prices - so it could range anywhere from $10 for a drink to $15-$20 for food. Quantity wise - depending on where you look - can vary. You may have to spend at least 1-2 dishes to feel full. It's a staple yearly event that happens in Markham - definitely do check it out - and you may little hidden surprises !

It's been almost a decade since I've frequented NIU. Is there a more iconic, summer asian food…read morefestival tbh? I can't think of one. NIU's always been synonymous with funky smell, gimmicky lights, a packed crowd and overpriced food. Yet the reason, I suppose ppl go is the camaraderie with friends and for a night out w/ significant others? The annual event always happens in the markham VIP theater parking lot and you'll probably need to park near the AVIVA building. Parking fills up quick so you might need to end up parking far and walking over. As soon you get near you'll notice the pungent smell of stinky tofu wafting through the entire lot and permeating your nostrils. My first year back this year w/ my gf and everything started at $10+. I think I must've spent close to $150 by the end of the night. Gf was happy. My wallet? Not so much LOOLL. They had dance, band and singer performances on a main stage throughout the night (basically like an outdoor concert). If you get lost from your group of friends good luck trying to find them cuz chances are you're not gonna have good cell signal either. You'll see a lot of gimmicky food vendors at NIU so pick and choose wisely! Cool experience for a first time if you've never been. If you've already been, you can hard skip a couple years before revisiting. It's always the same thing so you won't ever feel the FOMO.

What a great food festival this is. Definitely one of the busiest food festivals in Toronto. The…read morefood items here are outrageous. Lots of seafood offerings on a sick, lots of meats on a stick. The flavours are not only Chinese, but also Indian inspired. Think Hakka. Make sure to try some of the tasty and interesting drinks, from fresh fruit drinks (some served in a pineapple), to ice teas to bubble teas. The perfect accompaniment on a hot summer day. The festival is very busy, so be prepared for the crowds. Parking can be a hassle, but there is lots of street parking in the surrounding neighbourhoods. On a hot summer day, you can step into the adjacent Pacific Mall to cool down. So, why not a 5 star review you ask me? Simple reason: The place has a very unappetizing smell. I asked around, and was informed that it's the Sticky Tofu. I do believe that people eat it as a novelty, like durian fruit. So, I hope I'm not being culturally insensitive when I mention it. But honestly, I think this festival would be much better if the Sticky Tofu truck was stuck on the 401. Sorry. In case I'm misunderstanding the whole Sticky Tofu thing, please enlighten me! Other than that, I would definitely recommend this food festival. As an added bonus, there is a stage with dance and song performances.

Taste of Asia just isn't what it used to be. Sure there's still lots of food stalls this year but…read moreit's a far cry from the past. It feels more like a community fair now with many non-food stalls like GO transit, embassy of India, MPs, plants and even Scientology (lol). Food options were good, but predominantly Chinese. There's a few Thai and other Asian cuisines but the variety was rather poor and selections were limited compared to a Night Market that I attended last year in New York. Food prices definitely went up by quite a bit this year ($20 for 4 scallops/oysters).

Great event and especially since I went first night it was nice and cool and the lines weren't that…read morebad at all

I have live in Markham for years! This is the first time I ever been to their Annual Ribfest!…read more Parking is plentiful! Free and less than 5 minute walk from the actual event site. Thanks for the surrounding office buildings open up their lots for event parking. Free admission..extra money for food and drinks? At the Main BBQ area there are 6 different food vendors smoking and flaming their ribs, chicken, pulled pork... Meat lovers heaven! There are also Beaver tails, Funnel Cakes, Corns and all the regular festivities food trucks. I am surprised to see even a stinky tofu stall too! Beers are limited to Mill Street: Organic and Stock Ale.. or maybe you prefer a cooler? Non stop entertainment at the bandstand while people enjoying their food and a nice July weekend! Tips: - come early... or in between meals? The lines get long at around 7:30 - Not all BBQ places are the same! Follow the crowd or go and smell the meat or see the open flames... (My friend ended up picked from one of the vendors that gave her cold, dried and chewy ribs!) Why are my friends eyeing my ribs with hungry looking eyes?!!!!!!!!!