Not enough bands, but way too many fire trucks! If there was a brush fire in the county, I fear…read morepeople would have been crushed by the calvacade of fire vehicles speeding off. Other than that, this parade and street festival felt old town America. Lots of folks out on the sidewalks with their kiddos ready to enjoy a rather lengthy parade. If there were no visible cell phones, and if there were no police on the roofs of the Main Street businesses, you would swear you were back in 1980! I'd go again!

Family fun in Ferndale! I came out today for the annual…read moreRubber Duckey Derby sponsored the Ferndale Rotary Club. It's their biggest fundraiser. Although I didn't claim the $5,000 grand prize we stayed a few hours to enjoy the festivities. Tons of activities for kids, they have their very own "Kid street' complete with music, fitness demos, games. For adults, it was the car show (disorganized) the beer garden and a decent rock cover band as well as all the greasy food you'd expect at a street fair. Vendor booths were "meh." I did get some car insurance info and a free coffee card to Woods.The best was the Lipsence booth and color sampling. Who doesn't want a lipgloss that lasts 18 hours!

Definitely a unique experience with some fun, thematic material and performances…read more Cost $ to enter, but it goes to a good cause! You will be able to purchase delicious "fair fare" and peruse many novelty swords, costumes, trinkets from talented craftsmen! Shows include dancing, exotic animals, bagpipes and contests. Firefighters are there cooking up awesome hotdogs and burgers- definitely a good deal too.

A nice small highland game. They have a new sponsor so it is just their first year. That will get…read morebetter and bigger. But just beware. Food takes forever!!!!

First time checking out this festival. I enjoyed the different variety of foods. There was a…read moreBlack forest mushroom stand where they sell Alder tree logs for $45 inoculated with chestnut mushroom spores. The Lummi Nation island salmon lunch plate was $18 but it was wild salmon, pasta, bread and beans + water bottle. I like how they air grilled/smoked the fish. That line was the longest. Trident also had a stall where they were giving away shirts, key chains, fish oil, chocolate swag. The boat building offered a demo on sea urchins which i missed out on. They also had a Whatcom Maritime museum station where kids can build wooden boats. Enjoy coming to this place eventhough a bit far for us. It was nice to be by the water and free parking.

So much fun packed in two days. Today's weather was perfect for the Seafeast...sunny and hot at…read moretimes but dry the whole day. We got there around 12 and stay until 5:30pmish. Parking at that time was a bit challenging but we manage to find a free parking lot close by and walk toward the festival. Once there we saw tons of vendors with all kind of marine info and education. My girls (ages 9 & 11) found the "Passport" section where the girls get their passport stamp as they go thru and learn about each booth. I find myself learning a few things too. Food court was loaded with an abundance of sea and non-sea food options. Nice that most if not all took credit cards. My meal pick was Fish and Chips from Fork & Fin food truck. A huge portion for $12( definitely shareable.) Girls got a huge hotdog ($5) from a hotdog stand. For dessert we grab some ice cream($2) next door to the hotdog stand. Only wish there was a water station so we could re-fill our water bottles instead of having to buy the plastic water bottle. Maybe next year a water conservation vendor would sponsor that to keep us water drinker from contributing to the plastic landfill and from the ocean. We headed to the main stage with all our food goodies to eat while enjoying some live music. Definitely a fun family festival for the whole family.

We happened upon this one-day event while camping nearby. It was a warm and sunny Saturday so the…read moreperfect day for a festival. Confession: this was my first Bigfoot Festival and, as a closet fan of everything sasquatch, I was sorta excited about it! It turns out the festival was a fundraiser for some improvements to a nearby park, more than an informational or even entertainment-oriented gathering about that mysterious, tall, hairy beast that is said to roam the nearby forests. There were a ton of really cute art booths, many featuring bigfoot-related items, as well as a coloring contest for the kids and a musical stage (although we were there for an hour and never heard a note of live music). There were a few food booths, but the lines were long so we didn't partake. We kept wandering around hoping we'd find a beer garden to help us cool off but, sadly, there wasn't a beer in sight. This might have been the first year for the festival, so maybe they'll make some improvements to make it more fun the next time around. I love a good art fair, but having more squatch-related info/entertainment, some music, and music would have made it worth returning another time.

The Maple Falls Bigfoot Festival is awesome !! I've been a vendor there for 2 years and the live…read moremusic, happy faces, engaging people and organized event keep me coming back !! So many different vendors to choose from with decent pricing !! Food trucks, shaved ice and face painting for the kiddos and much more !!

I was over the moon when I found out BOTP was back after a two year absence (thx covid). This has…read morealways been one of my fave beer festivals, with its cool indoor pier setting, live music, and generally being a pretty darned thorough fest in a semi small town. Things have definitely changed, though, since I last attended in 2019. Most noticeable was that there were far fewer breweries and cideries in attendance. In its heyday, BOTP had a whole separate section just for cider. Now, the cider vendors were sprinkled amongst the breweries, making it even more apparent that some of the PNW brewery stalwarts were not in attendance. Kulshan, Stemma, Boundary Bay, North Sound, Wander, Aslan, and many of the great Seattle-area breweries were nowhere to be seen. Shoutout, though, to local greats from Farmstrong to Georgetown for being there. Just wish there were more! The music was great - the Naughty Blokes were pretty entertaining, although I must confess I kinda missed the old polka band that used to play the festival. Gone, too, was the costume contest (though I still saw a few dudes in leiderhosen making the rounds). Perhaps most disappointing were the food trucks. There were three meal-oriented trucks and one serving kettle corn. The prices were OUTRAGEOUS though. We paid $17 for four street-sized tacos at the Mexican Food truck! Hopefully 2022 is just a transition year for BOTP, and they'll be back in full glory next year.

Fun event in Anacortes. Included in your admission is a souvenir tasting glass, eight tickets for…read more4-ounce samples, and a program that gives information about the different beers and ciders that are available to taste. There is a booth to buy additional tasting tickets. Also at that booth, though they were not advertising them, you could buy a string of mini-pretzels for $2. Nice to have something to munch on as you walked around. Also they had food trucks where you could buy dinner, and free bottles water. The venue is an old warehouse type of building on a commercial wharf. It had a fun vibe to it. Definitely bring a warmer layer if there is any wind or rain forecast. One downside was that the band was very loud and it was difficult to have a conversation inside the building.

Great fun. Many items beautiful day wish it was 2 days…read more Great weather was great to be out

This is a review for the 34th annual Shipwreck Days Festival 2015 at Anacortes, where it is held…read moreevery year and my primary reason for visiting Anacortes in July. It is a massive community effort by the vendors, residents, businesses and the Fidalgo Island Rotary who make this thing come true every year, which is a gigantic feat, considering the massive city blocks this antique show/craft fair/arts fair/garage sale occupies. This interesting festival was born 34 years ago when commercial fishermen started selling their used gear as yard art on Commercial street. Perhaps a few of them started bartering fishing nets and other gear as well, attracting all sorts of curious onlookers who in turn started selling their used stuff and so on and so on. You can find EVERYTHING here. Plants, baked goods, old antiques, crafts, toilet seats, crappers on wheels, junk, handicrafts, paintings, beads, statues, old toys, street performers, rubber ducks, foam skeleton heads, mannequins, and yes, even fishing nets. Toilets via porta potties that line each side street. Park on the street and walk. It is very hot in July. Take a rolling tote or else face the wrath of bringing back everything by hand like I had to do - back and forth to the car and back in the sweltering heat. Slather on the sunscreen. Take some bottled water or buy the lot of water available by street vendors for $1.00 Go early, although we went as it just opened and it was still a human sardine garden with people bumping you every which way. Protect your wallet as well. Eat lunch at Gere A Deli right on Commercial Street. There is a long line but the food is so worth it!

A Renaissance market town at faire time, in the gorgeous summer of British Columbia -- how awesome…read moreis that! There are so many activities and features for the family to enjoy -- jousting to watch, children's games, fairies flitting around, jugglers, magicians, falconry, wandering minstrels, dancers, and all set around a total-immersion audience-participation all-day theater. Each year the plot progresses, and yet each year stands alone, entertaining and historically informative, with drama, intricate sword fights, royals and commoners, pirates and naval officers, Scotsmen and Spaniards. The enthusiastic and delightful crew of performers and musicians really make this experience special -- our family has been going to this Faire for years, and we love it! I'm particularly fond of gift shopping there with all of the amazing handcrafted items available -- I even get some gorgeous clothing items there. Also, this is one of the few places in Canada where one can hear authentic British Isles popular music from hundreds of years ago -- while drinking mead :-) The BC Renaissance Festival is truly a treasure -- long may the revelry continue!

From the owner: BCRF arose from a desire to provide an opportunity for talented performers and artisans to showcase…read moretheir historically based / inspired skills and entertain the public in a historically themed setting. We strive to provide entertainment combined with education to all ages in a safe space, producing an encompassing experience. Parents have praised us for our games and rides area as well as our safety factors around the horses and potential risks. Adults and children alike have enjoyed the fulfilling day at the faire. We are bringing World history to life within the comforts of the Modern Age. We are not confined to just the English Renaissance. 'Renfests' all over North America have features and entertainment relating to Folklore (elves, dwarves, dragons, unicorns, etc.), Viking, Asian, European Cultures, Victorian (both realistic and fiction-steampunk), Pirates, and much more. Vendors can not only be influenced by history but also fantasy, fiction, culture or myth. Time period inspired products and entertainment can reach back as far as the stone age and as modern as Victorian. GOOD NEWS!! Jousting is back - Check the webpage for more news and look for the gofundme titled Historicalhorses NOTE: We have changed our dates and location. Please see the webpage for more information.

A giant stage with lively bands playing, people of all ages dancing, a beer garden, food, vendors,…read moredogs, amazing weather...yup, this is pretty much one of my favorite local events. In fact, I'd say Downtown Sounds is the quintessential Bellingham experience. Held on multiple Wednesdays during the summer months, this free concert/street festival brings together the best our sweet city has to offer. And this year it got even better as the layout of the festival was flipped on its access, creating a larger beer garden (no more long lines!) with full view of the action on stage, plus a great food truck area with local yumminess like tacos, tamales, and ice cream. If it's a warm summer night, there's simply no place better to be. Want to experience Bellingham for all it is? Check out Downtown Sounds!

After being washed out for two weeks in a row, Downtown Sounds finally got a break from the weather…read moreGods. Perfect summer weather, great Latin vibe and lots of food, kids activities and dancing!

One of my other loves in life, apart from food, is flowers…read more When I found out that Agassiz has a Tulip Festival, I knew I had to visit. Running from mid April to the end of April, the Agassiz Tulip Festival is a good alternative to the famous Skagit Valley Festival in the US. Of course, it's at a much smaller scale, but it's still picturesque, with the fields nestled among the mountains. Parking is $5, and adult entrance fees are $3. The vast fields are quite a spectacle. Rows and rows of vibrant tulips provide an opportunity to snap beautiful pictures. Soak in the sun, walk around the large fields, and perhaps also purchase bulbs or fresh cut tulips to bring home. With a scenic drive to Agassiz, this festival makes this a great springtime activity!

Luminara is a wonderful free annual festival that occurs on a Saturday in July at St. Ann's…read moreAcademy. This lantern festival attracts between 15,000-20,000 people. The festival features installation art, costumed performers, and lots of lanterns. Kids will love Luminara and so will adults.