I went with family on the first night it opened last week and we had a pretty fun experience. The…read moreparking lot is big and they had parking attendants showing you where to park. The person who scanned our tickets was friendly and she greeted us as we walked in. Once inside, we explored it all. It was a pretty busy night but we were able to see it all. The train ride was the highlight of the night and they did a great job on each theme. The ligth show was also pretty cool and unique. The snow show was a fail at 7:30pm but when we went back to a later time, it finally worked. The miniature houses were super cute and we were able to take pics with Mrs. Claus. We bought three hot chocolates and they were good. The parade was small but cute!

Rawhide has a wonderful setting with its old Western buildings, which creates an amazing and…read morenostalgic atmosphere the moment you walk in. Mrs. Santa was sweet, friendly, and perfectly in character, and the roaming Gingerbread Man added a fun, playful touch. Both characters took their time with the kids and were great for photo opportunities. The train ride was also a highlight--fun, well-designed scenes, and somehow there's a sweet scent that drifts in here and there, which genuinely impressed us. Entertainment overall was good, but difficult to locate. Aside from the main light show--which is truly the showstopper and absolutely amazing--it wasn't clear where anything else was happening. There is food available, and it's probably great, but it's tucked away in tents/food trucks near the entrance with little visibility. Apparently Santa was taking photos as well, but we walked right past the area without realizing it because there was no signage. The gun show was also positioned next to Santa's area, again without clear signs, making it hard to understand what was happening. In fairness, maps are available, and I'm sure they explain everything, but better signage and use of the existing buildings would have made the experience much more engaging. There is a cozy firepit area where you can make s'mores (sold at $9 for two), which was a cute touch. For us, the evening was enjoyable but not worth the $25 Groupon price. Based on the advertising, we expected much more elaborate lighting throughout--similar to the quality of the main light show at the end of the street. The light parade, in particular, did not meet the level of production suggested in the Pratt Brothers' promotions. Overall, it was fun, but we will not be returning.

The event is so much fun and exciting,, the vendor are great for unique Christmas gifts and the…read morefood is amazing. This year can't wait to take a picture with the animals including a

Amazing time with the family. Beautiful show featuring a camel and different vendors available for…read moresome fun shopping time

I signed up to volunteer for the Phoenix Pride event. The director failed to communicate essential…read moreinformation, prior to and during the event. I emailed and walked 3.8 miles looking for the event Information booth. I did not see a tent set up that said information on it anywhere. The director did not apologize for not getting the information, nor did they ever give the information, showing a lack of professionalism and respect for me. A simple response such as, Oh, sorry, meet me here, and we can go over the details. Or they could have copied and pasted from another email the information. No, they simply said I was busy, didn't have time, check my signature line. Which does not have the information in it. I sent screenshots showing them this as well. Their inability to communicate, act in a professional manner, treat volunteers with respect, apologize for mistakes, and take accountability for their actions has led me to no longer support this organization. Nor will I recommend it to anyone moving forward.

The Phoenix Gay Pride Parade is a blast! Whether you are straight or not, there is no way you…read morecannot have fun. My company is a sponsor, so two hundred and fifty of us led the pack up Third Street. There were balloons, noise makers, cow bells (yes, we needed more cow bells), rainbow colored beach balls and a lot a happy, smiling spectators along the route. There were fire trucks and dancers and a festive party atmosphere. So consider coming out next year (no pun) and enjoy the fun. Peace!

I volunteered here this year and thought the event was worthwhile and the weather was warm and…read moresunny. I didn't know there was a Phoenix Chinese Week until recently. This usually happens annually right around Lunar New Year. I think a lot of the reviews here aren't entirely fair because if you're expecting something like you would see in large cities like NYC or elsewhere, you're going to be disappointed. Phoenix has a much smaller population of people of Chinese ancestry here so that's reflected in the event. But, with that said, I thought it was well done with lots of booths to learn about Chinese culture, buy all kinds of Chinese themed gifts and trinkets and dragon and lion dance constantly happening. There is even a beer garden here if you wanted to just sit and hang out for awhile. Overall, a nice way to spend my Sunday morning volunteering and also learning a thing or two about my own culture! My only forewarning for you is that parking gets mobbed after 10am so come prepared expecting that. I came early for my shift and was able to find parking. Give it a chance, if you choose to come!

The best thing about this whole festival is that it's free. A majority of festivals like this cost…read moremoney but year after year, Phoenix Chinese Week continues to be free and packed full of tons of performances and vendors. What I liked about the year that I went is that one of the parking structures was free for the entire event. The area around here only really has paid parking so this was quite a boon. I was quite surprised at how big and fanciful it was. It is definitely worth going to if you're in the mood for shopping, food, or watching some simple performances.

On my birthday weekend, I went to the 2024 Arizona Strong Beer Festival on 2/17/24 with my parents…read moreand my boyfriend, who also had a birthday a few days ago. Though there were about 175 different vendors at the festival, there was no way that we were going to end up trying all of them. The festival took place at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale. Because we had a wristband that we picked up at the college baseball game that took place the night before, we entered the festival at approximately 11:30, which was an hour and 30 minutes before the general admission entrance time. At the entrance, we were given 24 booth tickets and a complimentary 3 oz sample glass to use at all the booths. We later realized that some of the booths didn't ask for our tickets, so we believed that only the VIPs got unlimited samples. We had access to their VIP lounge, which was located under a giant tent in the middle of the field. Because we didn't want to lose our table at the lounge, we agreed that one person stay at the table while the rest of us went to the brewery tents. It was really nice having a table at the VIP lounge, though while the shade did help sometimes, it did get a little hot as the festival went on. Some of my favorite samples that I tried here were the brand new Monster hard tea (yes, Monster now makes alcoholic drinks), OHSO's hard seltzer, and Pedal Haus' day drinker lager. Free water was also available with lots of ice provided. We agreed to stop for water after every two beer samples. Also making an appearance at the festival were a lot of food trucks. We ended up getting a lemonade at The Funky Pita food truck and pizza muffins from Floridino's food truck. The pizza muffins were so awesome and I feel that I should find them again so I can have them again. The lemonade was also refreshing on an unusually warm day in February. Other food trucks that were at the festival were Leo's Ice Cream, Sally's BBQ, and The Corn Dog Company. Though we couldn't make it to the end of the festival because of the unusual heat, we still had fun trying out new beers and talking to new people. Looking forward to next year, if applicable!

So this is pretty much THE beer festival for AZ. All the state's breweries are there along with…read moresome from the neighboring states. You get 40 sample tickets (2 oz. per ticket) which is plenty, trust me. The beers come strong as the name implies, so pace yourself, stay hydrated, and don't show up on an empty stomach. The only real gripe I have on the festival is the organization at the point of entry. I showed up a good 5 min late and had to wait in line 20 min to get in. This should not happen when an even larger beer festival in a Denver (GABF) can get you in pretty much instantly when you show up like 15 min early. Someone needs to contact those guys and figure out how they do it and replicate it for sure. Anyways, have fun!

Way to go Phoenix, wish we could do this every year. Parking was a little tough but it was covering…read moresuch a huge area that it thinned out the parking. It was so huge we didn't even walk the whole thing. We spent plenty of time at the kid zone which had many jumpers that were free, yeah!! There was a fair like area where you pay for games (over priced) but still a nice option. There was a bungee, slide, spinning rides, & zip line that looked cool. There was also lots of fair like food but with more options. A few stages for music but we didn't go late for headliners, there was the military area that had lots on display, a cowboy are with the OK coral fight going on, Indian area, Hispanic area, art area, well every type of area that you can think of.

What an amazing event! I had a blast and won tons of free stuff! The history tents were amazing. I…read morehad so much fun at the Gin Blossom concert. The only bad thing is that there was way too much going on this weekend.

Two years ago, this annual event moved to Steel Indian School Park in downtown Phoenix. This…read morefestival that began in 1984 has more vendors and more outdoor space than when it was held at its prior location-Heritage Square. The surroundings are simpler and bare at the park but droves of people still make the trek here to experience the culture and the food of Japanese heritage. One stand I always visit is the Arizona Buddhist Church. I buy their homemade mochi manju (soft round mochi with sweet anko dark bean paste inside) and their shiroan mochi manju (has a sweet white bean paste filling.) It's like the ones my grandma used to make. Tips:arrive early for the best parking options. :bring some greenbacks-some vendors only accept cash. :sunscreen-there aren't many areas with shade. :eat the manju when it is fresh, the same day or else it hardens. :bring water and bring a bag if you plan on purchasing any goods. Some vendors run out of bags and you may be stuck carrying your things and not have enough hands to enjoy the food items ;) Leave your worries at the gate and just have fun at this outdoor festival.

Great festival. Get there early. Lots of fun foods to try and I enjoyed the exhibitionsread more

This annual film festival is held in the Center for the Performing Arts of the Paradise Valley…read moreCommunity College. I very much enjoyed the presentations for this year - lighthearted ones, as well as serious ones such as the film depicting the struggle of the LGBT people of Uganda. I commend the PVCC groups/organizations - PVCC P.R.I.D.E., Student Life, and the Center for Performing Arts - for putting together a festival that not only showcases really entertaining films and documentaries that shine a spotlight on important issues facing the LGBT community worldwide, but also promotes cultural diversity locally for the Valley of the Sun.