First time attending 420 festival, I enjoyed music by action Bronson and my boy ludacris, I brought…read moretickets online, I heard people looking for tickets outside venue, because they were sold out, that happened to me last year, so I was prepared for this year. They could have done better with traffic, no officers directing traffic, so that was a nightmare getting into event, not to mention ncf, could have done a better job putting information on map what lot parking was going to be in, trying to find the lot to park in was hell , as well as parking was $20, overall I had a good experience, can't wait to see what headliners are for next year.

Small carnival located in parking lot 6 of RFK. $5 entry fee. No charge for parking, and there's…read moreplenty of it. Standard fair games. Standard carnival food like deep fried Oreos, corn dogs. They have an icee place which is nice, also a smoothie stand. A few rides, mostly for smaller children. This year there was one that went upside down like the pirate ship ride.

This is an awesome rain-or-shine event that we've been attending for the past 5+ years. It is…read morewonderfully run with tons of vendors, food options, and free parking in the GMU parking or in the nearby neighborhoods. There are bounce houses, balloon animals, and giveaways which makes it fun for the whole family. The Clarendon Alliance does a fantastic job running this event, and it is a total hit every year!

Visited during Clarendon Day and the weather was perfect after the past rain. We ate at Spice Craft…read moreand the food was awesome. Lucky the tables outside were free s we could enjoy lunch. We walked up and down visiting the booths.

The owner worked well with me to get us in early with a group of teens from St Mary's County. The…read moreprice was good(worth the time and full access to all things including oneVR experience) and my kids really enjoyed it. The staff were curious and helpful also. We did this right at noon on a Thursday so it was not crowded and I of course stayed and watched them. It was safe and what we expected

Not what you'd expect. Not being able to earn tickets was lame for my son and many machines were…read moredown and had looked down for awhile

This was a fantastic show. I have never been before this past weekend, and I am happy I finally got…read moreto it. It is like the big top circus, with smaller stages which means more difficult acts, and everyone was super interactive. They have tickets on discount at certifikid- http://certifikid.com/r/olclcxjxtlvuelllzl which help. Parking was $10 on site. You can try and get street parking but it would be a far walk. The plus side is you wouldnt be stuck in traffic waiting to leave the lot. It was prob about 2.5 hrs for the show including the breaks. they had a concession stand which didnt have a lot for gluten free people like me, but that is typical, so we ate at fridays first (about 3 mins away) me and my friends will absolutely go back!

Finally, I got to experience this circus team! It was amazing! I had front row seats with my Dad…read moreand we both loved it. It's perfect for the whole family to enjoy. They targeted every age group possible. My favorite act was the motorcycle act. We attended the one at the National Harbor.

This place was a total disappointment. A bunch of people showed up because their website said they…read morewere open, but when we got there--no one was around at all. The whole place was dark, completely empty, and everything was just left open like someone forgot to lock up. Super sketchy and honestly a waste of time. If you're thinking about coming, don't bother until they actually figure out their schedule and update their website.

Great staff/actors. The design sets and props were really good. Definitely made me jump a few…read moretimes. Could have been longer.

Awesome festivities, creative lights on boats, and community engagement at its best! Amazing…read moremusics venues, Pendry Hotel tables nicely designed outdoors with a fire pit, and a Santa photo op. Various treats and freebies offered, great concert - live music. Talk about clubbing on the pier! This evening of Jack Daniels partnership on a pier at the wharf was a full on Techno, old school, pop dance party! They did not spare much...DJ sounds, free tastings of Jack Daniels apple whisky and Jack Daniels rum and coke lasted from 6-9pm. The Boat parade was demonstrated how great a community we have on the the wharf. Followed by fireworks, this 30 year celebration of the holiday boat parade could not have been a better welcoming of the holidays! Kudos to the wharf for putting on an amazing event!

My husband and I love boats and sailing (and one of the things that drew us to each other). So it…read morewas pretty humorous that we had consistently missed the Parade of Lights for the entirety of our relationship...but quite honestly, isn't that the way it seems to always go? Well, this year, we put it on our calendars well in advance, and made a point to head down for the Parade of Lights. So, first of all - if you haven't heard of it before, the Parade of Lights is on the Potomac...as in, it's a parade of *boats*. The parade starts off in Old Town Alexandria (down by the Torpedo Factory), and ends up on the DC Wharf on Water Street, where all the boats dock, and there is a big awesome after party. We opted to watch from Alexandria, as we weren't really in the mood to deal with drunken revelers (I know, so unusual for me!), and I think we were ultimately glad we did. Although the docks were crowded (seriously, get there early and stake a spot!), the view was perfect. The boats were all decked out in lights, each boat with a different theme (although there should be a drinking game...whenever a boat's theme is "Christmas", you do a shot. You'll be drunk 15 minutes into this thing). So the good: The event started right on time. The kick off was supposed to be at 5:30, and the first boat pulled into view at 5:35. Awesome. Some of the boats are decked out incredibly creatively It's not your usual parade There was a professional radio DJ (I didn't catch which one...Tommy something?) that provided the commentary and filled up the time when the boats lagged behind The not so good: The DJ that was providing the commentary ran out of material about 1/3 of the way through and he started to read off tweets...which I pretty much loathe (even though I'm a huge fan of twitter) Some of the boats really lagged, so there were periods where you would just stand there in the cold waiting for another boat to pull into view It is COLD. It's the beginning of December, on the water, at night. OMG. SO. COLD. All that being said, it's a quirky, off the wall little event, and I love the creativity that the captains put into their boats. Definitely fun and weird.

The weather looked threatening with the potential to soak the 2013 Edition of Sound Bites…read more However, the rain held off and attendees were treated to one of the city's best charity food and music festivals that topped 2012's event. Like last year's Sound Bites, the event was held in and around the 9:30 Club with all proceeds going to a worthy cause, DC Central Kitchen. Also, like last year, there was plenty of live musical entertainment, but perhaps the threat of rain resulted in it all (except for the DJ and the always energetic Batala) being moved indoors to the 9:30's stage. This year's iteration, however, offered a bigger (and better) lineup of participating restaurants serving up a wider range of delicious bites. Thankfully, that also meant that there were many food offerings beyond "sliders". Food highlights... Chef Jeff Black/Black Jack's ceviche, Chef Victor Albisu/Del Campo's grilled salmon campechana, Bar Pilar's Peruvian ceviche, Jaleo's huge chicken and sausage paella, Rappahannock River Oysters' Olde Salts, and Astro Doughnuts' unique array of tasty doughnuts. Frankly, every food booth offered up tasty bites with no clunkers. I left satisfied. This year's cocktail competition was a battle for 14th St. bragging rights as crack bartending teams from Bar Pilar faced off against The Gibson while Black Jack battled Birch & Barley. The finals pitted The Gibson against Birch & Barley with the all-female team from Birch & Barley eeking out the win. Who knew Birch & Barley even served cocktails? Once again, though, samples of the competitors' cocktails weren't available to event attendees. If there's one thing that hinders Sound Bites from 5-star status is the cost and quality of drinks. $4 for a bottle of water?!?!?! $5 for Natty Boh?!?!?! $8 for a John Daly or this blue slushie?!?!? The 9:30 Club monopolized drink concessions. I can only hope that the proceeds from its beverage sales also went to DC Central Kitchen. Given the wealth of restaurants and bars serving amazing beers, wines, and cocktails in this city especially considering many were participating at this year's Sound Bites, it was a shame that they weren't able to also serve drinks. I would've gladly paid for them. Oh well. Sound Bites, in my mind, is DC's best-kept charity food event secret. It offers great food at a great price for a great cause. Sound Bites in 2014? It's a date!

What do Germans and non-Germans do in October at Ft. Belvoir? Celebrate OKTOBERFEST! The family…read moreand I attended Ft. Belvoir's Oktoberfest celebration on Saturday, 10/5/2013. Logistically it was right in our back yard from Burke America; however, I think we spent just as much time driving through two gates as we followed Ft. Belvoir's MWR website to a T. We initially went through Pence Gate but were told we had to drive through the Tulley Gate. After driving in circles we finally arrived at Oktoberfest. I immediately stopped by the Bier Garten tent to purchase an official Oktoberfest mug with Dunkelweizen. The dark lager beer lived up to its billing of "toasty malt and mocha aromas, with a medium-bodied palate and subtle hop bitterness on the finish." We then waited about 20 minutes at Schnitzels & Giggles to order a bratwurst platter and schnitzel on stick. The brats were homemade but could've fooled me either way. The Sauerkraut was fresh and not too sour like from a can. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the schnitzel on stick as it was crispy and had just the right amount of pork. After round one, we ordered some German Potato Pancakes at Babci's Potato Pancakes. The pancakes were about the size of a typical hamburger patty and paired well the apple sauce. We then stopped at Carol's Concessions Classic American Fare and ordered a foot long Italian sausage, funnel cake and lemonade. Since my bier mug was empty I filled it up one more time for $5 and downed a Marzen. Overall we a good time eating and listening to German music. I would've enjoyed the opportunity to participate in their Obstacle course (Krazy Krieger) and listen to the Luftwaffenmusikkorps 2 (German Air Force Band). Perhaps next Oktoberfest it'll all come to fruition. Tschus (Goodbye!)

This fair was easy to find in Ft. Belvoir. We were able to get close enough to walk to the…read moreentrance so we didn't need to take the shuttle. This is definitely a family friendly event with free entry and plenty of carnival rides. A few of the vendors offered decent german chow and plenty of the american stuff (chicken fingers, fries, hot dogs, etc.). The fresh squeezed lemonade was pretty good (Carol's Concessions) - just the right amount of sweetness. The kartoffelpuffer was very good (kudos to Babci's), however the lobster roll was a complete dissappointment, especially at $11/sandwhich. I got about a tablespoon of lobster --they claimed this was approximatel 4 to 6 ounces of meat -- no comment on the math here, especially since I gave the cashier a 10 and a 5 and she conveniently forgot to give me my $4 in change, doh! Oh yes, I did stand there with my hand out until she figured it out. That sandwhich left me thinking that I was eating an empty potato bread sandwhich rather than a lobster roll. I watched the guy load the bun and then take more than half of the lobster back off! shame on you Lobster Maine-In! I really wish that I could have tried the chicken schnitzel on a stick over at Schnitzels and Giggles but their line was just waaay to long. It stayed that way the whole time which makes me believe that I missed out on something tastey. sad face. The Oompah Band was nice entertainment while you sat under the tent to either eat, grab ein bier(oder zwei oder drei...) or just to get away from the sun. While I was there they played a few German songs and a mix of fun ones for the kiddos (chicken dance, hokey pokey, etc.). On the carni side there were plenty of fair rides for the kiddos and the delish fair food that we all love -- funnel cakes, deep fried oreos, corn dogs, etc. The Fire Department was there handing out toy fire helmets to the kiddos at the entrance, a few vehicles were on the display and the event sponsors were active talking to people and handing out goodies. I hope that I win that gas card from GEICO! =P Unfortunately I didn't sample the German beer - I chose to be the designated driver and got the free non-alcoholic beverage instead. Over all it was a nice event and I look forward to checking it out again next year...maybe on a different day.