Super crowded, no organization to latern launch... Total overly corwded free for all. It was…read moredifficult to even get to the water with people blocking the way. I'll never do this event again.

This past year (Winter of 2017) I first heard about the Seattle Lantern Light Festival. I'm not…read moresure if the festival was at the Puyallup Fair Grounds before but last winter was the first I heard about it. I have been to a lantern festival about a year or two prior in Spokane and really enjoyed it and so when I heard this one on the radio I jumped at the opportunity to go see it. On top of that this particular festival was much closer so that also made it too hard to pass up. This particular festival was held from November 24th and would have ended around the beginning of January but the festival was so popular the dates were extended to January 14th. The festival started within this time period everyday at 5 p.m. and ended at 10 p.m. on weekdays, 11 p.m. on weekends. I believe some nights towards the end of the opening hours they would set off fireworks as well. There were many similarities to the Spokane lantern festival and it seemed like some of the lanterns I saw at this festival I saw at the Spokane one but there were many other lanterns that were new to me as well. Not only that, at this festival there were performers as well, acrobats specifically which proved to be highly entertaining. There are other activities as well like inflatable buildings to play in, face painting and other activities. This festival also had a market or vendor type section as well where there was a lot of lighted merchandise your could buy, t-shirts, sweatshirts and more artistic vendors that did elaborate and detailed paintings all made with their fingers and hands. There were also other artistic vendors as well but the finger painter is what we found to be really impressive! There was food served here as well but it wasn't terribly authentic. It was the typical vendors that are there when you go to the county fair. But that all may have been during the time we went. The website says they do have authentic food somewhere there. I really do hope that this particular lantern festival returns for future years to come. I got a lot of enjoyment out of it and love taking in the bright, vivid colors of the lanterns as you stroll around in the dark. Tickets for adults for this festival are $23 and children tickets are $18. There are also other ticketing packages as well by checking out their website.

The pro's: A portion of the profits from this event goes towards the upkeep of the Basilica of St…read moreMary. 3 stages of live music and a silent disco. The view of downtown Minneapolis from the Great Clips stage was pretty. Portapotties galore. The con's: The event was only from 5-10:30p yet tickets were $70+ticketing fees-expensive! Food & drinks were pricey too, as they tend to be at festival events. The crowd vibe just wasn't there for what you would expect from a music festival. Most folks seemed interested in roaming about and conversating vs jamming out to the music. A free bus pass was offered for everyone attending the event, but I didn't see a single bus on my 15 min walk back to my hotel. That's not necessarily BBP's fault but you'd think there'd be better coordination of public transportation between event planners and the city. Overall, if you go, you'll probably have some high-priced fun on a beautiful summer day in downtown Minneapolis.

Over the weekend, well Friday and Saturday Evening, I had signed up to Volunteer for the Basilica…read moreBlock Party for the first time ever. Even when I lived around there, and was a member of the church, I avoided the area during the Block Party because of how crazy it got. Parking was crazy, the first night I had a friend drop me off and pick me up, because I didn't want to deal with all of the extra cars on top of the construction that was happening on Hennepin Ave. The second night because of other events that I was attending over the weekend, I parked in the Target Center Ramp Parking. Since no other events were happening, it was only $5 for parking on the weekend, and it was far enough away from all of the busy part of downtown that it made the exit super easy. I volunteered at the Coke Tent 1, which was by the Main Stage. It was so much fun! I could hear the music well and see the acts, along with working. It was 4 tickets for a beverage. At our tent we had Sodas, Lemonades, and Water. People loved the water, they did get a little fussy when they realized we couldn't give them the caps, but most got over it quickly. One gentleman who was there the first night, and came back the second night actually brought a cap with him the next evening. It was kind of funny, but very smart and resourceful on his part. The other volunteers were nice and friendly, and even the main staff that instructed the volunteers what the different tasks were. After this experience, I couldn't believe I waited this long to participate in this event. We got free T-shirts, and the colors were a pretty Teal. I believe they change each year, and I can't wait to see what the color is next year.

Pierohi was stellar! Russian tea cake was ok. Bbq beef sandwich meat was awesome!! However there…read morewasn't too much meat and it was on a wrap. This was a negative. The corn looked really good but unfortunately I didn't have any room left in my stomach for it. Good music, nice assortment of vendors. And super friendly people.

A great day, good food, and very friendly community - and a beautiful church, wow!read more

Very very small. Limited food options and booths. I know the fair has been non existent for…read moreseveral years, unfortunately disappointing re-launch.

It's a fun little fair that grows a bit every year. Admission is free, and there is plenty of free…read moreparking nearby. Or pay in the main lot for $2 per car. There are two building with commercial exhibits - similar to the modern living building at the Minnesota State Fair. There's a stage with live entertainment playing all day long. There are the typical fair foods and vendors selling all the typical things, even with the headsets and entertaining demonstrations! The main "barn" also features local 4-H exhibits as well as agricultural stuff. There's a small petting zoo as well. It's a fun little local fair. Not too big and not too small. Great for an afternoon with a friend!

Enjoyed walking around looking at all of the art. There is so much talent in the Twin Cities!…read moreJumped in on some Zumba too! And of course what's a festival without food. I stuck with the basics of corn, corn dog and churro. Prices seemed high but sadly food costs are on the rise. Can't wait until next year!

6.21.26 If I liked snow and brutally freezing weather, I would move here. All the green spaces…read moreencourages you to get up and move, get outside, smell the roses and get your vitamin D on. From the music to art festivals, everything is FREE. Though....parking is a bit challenging. Nonetheless, I would do it again and again. Weather was perfect 73 degrees People, hmmm...I am impressed on so many levels. For 1 they support the Somalian community and they stand for what is just and fair. Its funny, my friend of 52 years asked me, what are we doing this year, I said Cruise, Jamaica, Mexico...she said how about Minnesota. I said what's in Minnesota? And that's when I went down the rabbit hole and did my research. I can honestly say, I'm glad I was too busy to plan our annual trip this year. She did it all, I just had to send my money. From a ferry down the Mississippi river, to several lakes, downtown Minneapolis, Paisley Park, Mall of America to sooo much more. I would like to come back, but there is so much more on my bucket list to double back. Cheers to Minnesota and all its fabulousness!

Gasthof Zur Gemütlichkeit (the restaurant) is now closed permanently. Fulton Brewery has stepped…read moreup at moved the Oktoberfest to the Fulton NE (2540 NE 2nd St) location! The Oktoberfest tent was so fun! Lots of portapotties, so not too much of a line! Great German foods and beers (both Fulton & German). Thank you Fulton! Great live music and dancing and entertainment! Stein holding contests! Remember, the fest is open until 10pm-so get there early! Free entry, street parking, bring your id if you want to drink, no dogs.

Attending Gastof's Oktoberfest tent is a yearly ritual we love doing. This year, we lucked out and…read morethe weather was tropical for the first weekend (September 21st). We like to bring our own beer stein (as we have purchased so many over the years and have a collection). If you don't have one, they are only the price of one token. Tokens = $6 this year and you can use them from year to year. Rumor has it, that you can use for a drink at the downstairs bar year round (if you don't use them all at the tent). Not sure. They have a wide variety of Oktoberfest style beers, local brews, a cider, cocktails and even hard sparkling water. If you get munchie... there is always food for purchase with tokens. Sadly, this year... their was only one large tent vs two. Plus they squished the outdoor area down so they could valet more cars. This made it a tight cluster of people. Can be a good thing and a bad thing. Smoking is allowed outside the tent. By 8:45pm, there was no room to stand inside or out of the tent. Get there early and attempt to find a bench in the tent... good luck this year with half the space and seating. Positive side, it's free to enter and play hammerslaggan (some game with a hammer and nails into wood... perfect for intoxicated people). Haha.

Don't waste your money! If you have a small child, then sure go. Your child will like the lights…read more As an adult, there is nothing to do or see. The lights aren't even as big as you might imagine they would be. Just don't go.

Here's what I love about living on the north side:…read more Every year, the July Fourth weekend is like a post-apocalyptic wasteland movie from the 1980's. With more important things to occupy their time, the MPD don't really bother too much with fireworks violations, so pretty much all weekend stuff is splodin' somewhere. This past Sunday, July 6th, I had settled in to watch a movie, and from the couch I started seeing explosions through the blinds on the front window. I went out to sit on the lawn and see what was going on. From across the street and behind the alley my neighbors were setting these off. They must have spent close to five hundred dollars in Wisconsin last weekend. People driving down the street stopped and got out of their cars to watch. These are the photos of the highlights. I cannot believe they didn't set anything on fire. Man, I love my neighborhood.

The 2017 Stanley's Beer and Bacon Fest was another success!…read more The weather was amazing this year (80 degrees and sunny), so it was easy to toss back many different beer samples. I thought there was a good selection of local and national breweries. Adam H, Trevor H, Shelby M, and I were ready at the gates when they opened a few minutes before 2pm, and we did a good job hitting all the vendors we were interested in. I really liked how the bacon vendors were spread out this year - it helped keep the bacon lines manageable. That said, I do agree with others that for a fest that has bacon in the name, there really isn't that much bacon to be had. Adam H. and I knew this from last year, so we made sure to eat some lunch before attending. The lines were manageable and everyone could get their fill. It was also fun that there were a few special releases throughout the afternoon. There were several merchandise vendors that I mostly ignored, except for the MN lottery booth. I won a $5 scratch off and ended up up by $10! My only criticism is I wish there were more places to rinse out your glass and buy water. Overall, such a fun event!

Wow! This is a must do for the spring! It exceeded my expectations. It was great that everyone was…read moreable to mingle before the gates were officially open to where the beer tents were. Tent upon tent of beer samples of all types. I personally prefer a lighter and fruity beer. I love that at this time of year many of the breweries are offering summer beers so I had a heyday with it all. The Yelp Coozies were a hit. I'm glad I had one it was so hot out my beer would've not tasted the same. Everyone in our group kept getting asked "where do I get one of those"?!? I love that they had bacon tents mixed in with the beer. The bacon was a great way to cleanse my palate lol. The herbivorous butcher even have a tent for the vegan bacon they offer. I was thrown off how it was cold though. It's my first time eating Fakin. Old Dutch was giving out mini bags of chips. The Bacon food truck looked like it had a phenomenal BLT but I was full from the beer and didn't try it. Shout out to Hormel for the free bacon coupons. Also shout out to Kara for the tickets to this awesome event. I have recruited a ton of friends that want to go next year.

I love the Minnesota State Fair. It is a dreamland! It is absolutely the funnest place ever. I…read moredon't know where to start. The first time I went was three years ago and it blew me away! The size of the fair alone is so impressive! I'd never seen or been to anything like it. The food at the fair I could write a novel about how fun the food is and the adventures you go on finding different items. I've eaten so much food here and I always leave craving more of my favorite things. The beer selection alone is impressive. This year my goal was to try as many different new beers as I could. I got to 12 different ones. All so good and delicious. One of my favorite from this year was the caramel apple beer or the key lime pie! So good. The activities are always so fun and exciting. I always feel like a little kid coming back. Seeing the butter sculptures and the art made of beans and grains, the grandstand with all the shops, the dog shows, and even all the live music. That is only a small number of things you can get into! It's been our family tradition for the last three years. I keep coming back. I can't wait for next year!

My first time at the State Fair and it did not disappoint…read more Things we did that helped our group have a great time: Attend during the week if possible. The crowd is much smaller than the weekends. Very few long lines for food or rides. We parked across the street at a school and paid a small parking fee. It was a short walk to the entrance and at the end of the day, you want a short walk back to the car. We brought water, lots of water. It's hot and food and beverages can be expensive. Dress cool. Denim is not your friend with the heat and humidity. We wrote down new food options we wanted to try ahead of time as there are hundreds of food and beverage stands throughout the fair. We only found one of the new food options which was disappointing but we still ate all kinds of yummy treats. We rode the skyway to the other side of the fairgrounds snd worked our way back to the front. There are an abundance of alcoholic beverage buildings throughout the fair and they don't care if you walk around the fair with alcohol. All of the animal exhibits were wonderful. Beautiful animals. Especially the birthing building. How lucky were we to view a live birth! There are so many craft and food exhibitions. However, all of the buildings are hot. No air conditioning. It was difficult to spend too much time in any one building which was disappointing. If you are with a larger group such as us, we only bought a couple of food items and shared amongst the group so we could try more items. The rides and carnival games were meh. I could skip this entire section next year. Loved that there were plenty of security guards throughout the fair. I think this helped quite a bit with crowd control. Especially the evening. A variety of shopping available with deals including pontoons, clothes, docks, RV's etc. There were various music venues scattered through the fairgrounds. All the bands were heard were excellent. Especially in the international section. All the staff we interacted with were very nice. Overall we had a nice time. Would definitely attend in the future.