The Burger Blast was...a blast! Great variety of burgers from the India K'raja awesome veggie…read moreburger to the massive Mosaic masterpiece, there was something for every palate. The beer selection was terrific. My personal favorite #sidamo coffee stout by Hardywood. Never made it to the wine tables because of super long lines. Next year the organizer should consider doubling up on the wine offerings. Music was provided by Griff's band and they were really fun. They took standard favorites like Elvis's hound dog and gave it a folk/bluegrass twist. Music was a nice addition to this year's event.

Super thanks to Yelp Richmond for running a FB contest to win tickets to this event beacuse I…read morewon!!! That's right two free tickets to the Virginia Wine Expo!!! I found out I won 24 hours before the event. Babe! !! Road trip! !! I didn't mind driving up from Chesapeake to attend this event in Richmond. This event is world renowned so heck yeah we're game to attend. Parking was a beast!! We arrived about 2pm and the event I believe started about 10am. So yeah we were super late and knew we would have to deal with ridiculous lines for the wine sampling. But no worries... We were blessed to run into a man that was coming out of one of the pay to park lots and he offered to give us his paid for parking voucher. A free voucher for 3 hours...yaWhoooooooo!!! So let's do the math...free tickets valued at $55 each and now free parking...Oh we are in store for an awesome Saturday! ! I didn't do my research on this event, but if we ever return again I'll be ready. They offered private samplings throughout the day and I believe I saw evening tastings too. These tastings included food sampling as well. Bummer...most we sold out too. I believe about 20 openings were available for each private sampling. I'm sure this made an awesome time for a day date or date night. I saw something about a burger blast not sure what that is, but mad we missed that too. I tell yeah it was a lot going on and I'm sorta disappointed we didn't get the full wine expo experience. So definitely do your research before you attend. But we're checked in and wristband ready!! I was able to get a free wine bag that holds up to 6 bottles of wine...ahmazing! !! We picked up our crystal wine glasses...they were beautiful!!! We didn't know where to start. Let's start where the lines are the shortest. As time went on no lines were short so be ready to wait. Patience indeed. All the wine and malt liquor you can stand...this is the event for you! Every 10 minutes it seemed you'd hear a loud roar or cheer even. I thought some kind of contest was going on but nope!! Wine glasses were being dropped left and right, therefore, cheers if you will! ! :) Amongst the wineries different vendors were present and my fav there was Yelp!!! Heyyyy Bevin! !! She was the Yelp ambassador present on Saturday afternoon. She was awesome at greeting guests and telling them more about Yelp. She also had some cool swag to pass out to those that expressed interest. But the highlight at the table, Yelp provided beads and stems to make wine jewelry!! Fun fun fun!! I'd definitely recommend this event. And wear comfy shoes and eat lite before arriving. Have fun :)

Richmond's Pride may not be comparable to celebrations in San Francisco or D.C., but that's okay…read more VA PrideFest is a low-key, inclusive, family-friendly event celebrating love and openness that the whole community can enjoy. It's a breath of fresh air to have an event where everyone is so friendly and you know that you are accepted and that you belong. There's something incredibly powerful being surrounded by crowds of happy people who may not know you, but support you and who you are. Past Prides have included live music, drag and dance performances, awards presentations, speeches from local activists and community leaders, food trucks, full bars, vendors, and activities for kids and kids at heart. You can come just to enjoy the atmosphere and a bite to eat, as well as learn about the local LGBTQ scene and resources available to the community, from health services and STD testing, counseling and safe spaces, to social clubs and organizations to meet like-minded people. The one downside with holding the event in the city is that parking can be a nightmare, and it's not always the most accessible for those with mobility challenges. I strongly recommend carpooling or using a ride sharing service that can drop you off at the entrance (with the added bonus of having a designated driver!).

When your 17-year-old daughter requests your presence at an event, you must go, right?…read more Not that it's a burden. I'm a screaming liberal and believe in equality across the board. My empathy kicks in and I want everyone to feel welcomed, included and valued. I hadn't thought about going to PrideFest. I feel like id be a heterosexual crashing the party, but that wasn't my experience at all. I felt completely comfortable and welcomed. Thank you Richmond for being so inclusive. As a child of the 80s, I feel like we were on the verge of being really open and inclusive, but we weren't quite there. Thanks to my daughter's generation for taking it across the finish line. PrideFest was a wonderful celebration of humanity and acceptance. Thank you for being you and for allowing me to being me. Love and acceptance is what matters in this messed up world. Keep loving and fighting for each other, Richmond. That will make us the most proud in the long run. If you haven't gone to PrideFest, go. #noregrets #loveisbiggerthananythinginthisworld.

This is the best festival Richmond has to offer. Everything is down one street. There's TONS of…read morevendors and as much watermelon as you can eat.

I enjoyed myself at this year's watermelon festival. This was the first year I attended; previously…read moreI didn't bother being that I don't like watermelon. It turns out the festival actually is primarily just regular vendors with some random cut watermelon tents. Arrive early, as it's August in the South and thus can get toasty quickly.

If you didn't go to Virginia Tech, you may want to skip this wine festival. The Central Virginia…read moreWine Festival is hosted by the Richmond chapter of the Virginia Tech Alumni Association. 14 wineries are present at Innsbrook, and your ticket ($20 in advance, $25 at the door) gets you unlimited tasting. Here's what I wasn't a fan of. First off, it's a really hot, crowded day to be outside at Innsbrook. The wineries are under tents, but the tasters aren't really, so prepare to sweat. Also, because of the warm weather, most of the wines weren't cold enough to get a good taste. No one wants to drink warm wine, be it red or white. Second, along with wine, they were selling beer. This led to lots of non-wine-drinking Va Tech grads just hanging out getting drunk. Not my favorite atmosphere when I'm actually trying to taste wine. There were lots of the usual player wineries here: Grayhaven, James River Cellars, Cooper, Lake Anna, etc., which is nice if you don't drink much local wine, but if you do, you might prefer to sample these wines at the local wineries or at a festival at a nearby winery with nicer atmosphere. There were people selling food, but nothing looked too great. We stayed for about 2 hours and then were hot/bored/sick of the crowds and left. Go: if you want to get drunk with a bunch of hokies. Don't go: if you actually want to sample wine and find some you like.

This festival was a huge hit! I just adored the crowd and the people in charge. There was music,…read morefood, and, of course, tons of wine. Everything you could ever want in a wine festival was there and it was magical. I happened to be there working the Yelp table, but I did get a chance to walk around as a spectator and experience the festival in that way. This year the sun was beaming down with fury. Around midday you could tell that the heat was taking its toll on folks, but the VIP tent had tons of water so kudos to them for anticipating #TheThirst. My favorite winery in all of VA, Belle Mount Vineyards, was there which made me super happy. No other winery could have shown up and I would have been perfectly fine. But the fact that I could get pepper spray, my favorite sangria from Belle Mount, and clothes from various vendors at the same festival makes it a winner in my book. I also love how it's always very well-attended, but never so busy that you can't move like other festivals in RVA tend to be. Definitely check it out next year!

The first time I tried to attend the Church Hill Irish Festival, a few years ago, I walked in and…read morewalked out. It was so packed I couldn't breathe. This year I was able to handle the crowds a touch better but not by much. They really need to expand their footprint to make for a nicer festival experience. The festival happenings -- bands, drinks, food, etc. -- are all great fun. It'd just be nice to have perhaps some more seating and shade options. I feel like if they even just expanded two or three blocks, it'd be way better.

A fun annual event in churchill. The last time my husband and I went was about 2 years ago, but…read morethis was the first place I tried a "Mrs. Yoder's Donut". That was when I realized the meaning of a True Love's first bite. haha Unfortunately, Mrs. Yoder's was not at this event this year (or at least on the Saturday I showed up - haha). Beer selection is great as always - I was the DD so I partied hard first and then spent the rest of the time sobering up. As always, my husband and I order a beef Proper Pie "sandwich" to split, and then we finished the rest of the late afternoon with some Alamo BBQ! Both were delicious and the place was very crowded. Def be sure to wash your feet when you get home...mine was filthy and I wore some flip flops. There are a whole lot of other food trucks around the area and lots of local shops to shop if you're walking around. I tend to come for the social gathering with friends and (of course) the food!!! haha P.S. - a VERY helpful tip. Since it's soooo crowded here, I ended up wearing a fedora, because whenever my husband and I would lose each other, I would actually just hop up and down. He would then be able to find me. Just a suggestion - haha.

This ode to summer's red orb is coming up in a week or so and it's a blast. I didn't go last year,…read moreso it's time to head out for some of our region's best tomatoes and a dose of country and bluegrass music. The event is at Pole Green Park and it's free. It's also usually a scorcher so wear something cool and bring plenty of water. They have tons of vendors, recipe contests, and of course, the beauty pageant to end all vegetable pageants, "Little Miss Tomato". The winner of that title may need therapy for the rest of their adult life, although I suppose it's better than "Little Miss Watermelon".

Very nice area Festival with loads of vendors, many that you'd come across at like events…read more The organizers have the event down to a science with parking, but my hunch is to avoid long lines as it be, go before noon (say, 9 am) and you'll be fine ... though you won't be the first car in the spacious lot. On a summer Saturday, it's a good way to stroll around the grounds, pick up a bundle of free pens, grab some local tomatoes, and have quality family time with food and musical performances.

I enjoyed the garden glow. It was such a pretty look for the garden. The walk to get to garden glow…read morewas very nice and the glow village was festive with great beer, hot coffee, cider and hot chocolate and food. So much fun! It was also a great healthy walk. That hill to get back to the village was killer

What a nice event! The lights were beautiful! The food choices were mixed and reasonable. There…read morewasn't a guide to help navigate the grounds, so we had to figure that out. Lots of walking and hill climbing.

Calling all foodies, this is the festival for you. The Richmond Greek Festival for 2025 was held at…read moreSts. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral (I imagine it is typically here, this was my first year attending). It ran from May 28-31. I think of it as one huge food festival. I had a friend that attending on a Thursday and if you want to avoid lines, this is the move. I was silly and went on a Saturday. My mom and I attended after lunch. While I wish we tried some of the food, the lines were horrendous. The food smells were incredible though. They even had a drive through for the food. It's a free festival to attend. There are various booths with a variety of Greek (and some beyond Greek) foods to get as well as a fun shopping goods corner. I imagine it's similar each year, but outside had tents of food and plenty of seating. Inside the church there was a market place with things like clothes, jewelry, candles, olive oils, and more. It was hot outside so I got a Lemon Ice from kids running a booth nearby. My mom was most excited to see the shows. There was dancing and live music scheduled for 2:30pm that didn't start until about 2:50pm. We thankfully found shaded seats while we waited and had a lot of fun people watching. I am excited to return next year and try to go on a Thursday or Friday so I can try the actual food.

Thank god this festival is only once a year…read more We only ended up getting a gyro, a chicken souvlaki and Greek fries. But then ended up with more sweets than we needed. Definitely for the crowd who wants something to do in the city, because they have some performers and alcohol. But outings with a toddler are notoriously short.