One of the best arts & crafts plus harvest festivals I've ever experienced! Yes, they have all…read morethings pumpkins, gourds and apples to get you into the fall spirit. Additionally, they have two huge covered tents with dozens and dozens of talented artists and craftspeople selling their incredible and unique items. Covering a plethora of art mediums, you can find gorgeous hand blown glass, unique jewelry, wood sculptures and charcuterie boards (including utensils and serving pieces) lots of colorful and pastel ceramics and earthenware, photography of the PNW in many sizes, clothing and scarves, leather goods and accessories and much more. Lots of food vendors, too, with delicious sweet treats, cured meats, pepper jellies and jams, decadent chocolate and coffee to name a few. Live music all weekend and lots of food trucks in the area outside of the tents. And local fruit from farms along Hood River's famous fruit loop. There are so many varieties of apples and pears and you can fill a bag or basket with all types. Pumpkins, gourds and fall flowers like mums and ornamental cabbage are also for sale. Last year I spent over two hours in the craft area taking my time, walking up and down the aisles and then deciding on what gifts I would buy myself and others. I bought two water color prints that I framed and matted, both have views of Mt. Hood, my favorite Mountain! I love wood and picked up several Arcadia serving utensils and small cheese knives and spreaders and a vase. The earrings i purchased have so much movement and I wear them constantly. The treats disappeared quickly as did the large bags of apples I bought to make apple pies for the holidays. Located in the event area down by the river, make a day of it and watch the wind surfers, grab a bite to eat, visit the shops downtown and even go wine or cider tasting. It's fall, y'all, and this is the event that kicks it off! Held annually from Friday afternoon through Sunday at 5pm, I look forward to it every year and more and more friends come with me! Visit the website for dates and hours. For 2022, the Hood Eiver Harvest Valley Festival is Oct 7-9. Parking is on street and plentiful - most areas are free so look for those areas. Also a paid lot. Earlier is better (10am-noon) if you don't want to shop with crowds. See you there!

$12 admission a total rip off. Entry to buy from booths. The kids bounce houses have $ tickets.read more

Nice little Festival in a tiny River town called Bingen, Washington. If you ever wanted everything…read moreHuckleberry this is a good place to go! Held every year in September. Picked up bunch of Huckleberry stuff here when we went, Pie, shakes, fudge..... Also got a couple other things as well. I would highly recommend this little Festival but that being said, not much else to do in this town!

We attended the 2018 Huckleberry Festival with our daughter-in-law who has recently moved to the…read morearea with my son. We had never been to the Columbia River Gorge, and wanted to experience the beautiful scenery & anything else, such as festivals in the area. We had a good time, and the local folks were very friendly. My husband bought a large slice of huckleberry pie with homemade huckleberry ice cream. It was delicious! Another booth was selling huckleberry jam, and I inquired if they had sugar-free jam, and the lady checked, and handed me two jars that are fruit sweetened. I bought both of them & brought them home to Oklahoma to enjoy. As the label suggests, "An exceptional treat , the best berries in the world from the Pacific Northwest". Bingen is a small town, but they put on a fun festival. If there was more products featuring or made from huckleberries, I'm sure they would sell well, especially sugar-free items. I bought the last t-shirt available, and it is so cute, I have worn it several times. Enjoyed this festival!!

I came here July 2018, and it was surprisingly lit. Did not have expectations going in and was…read morepleasantly surprised. Lots of vendors - diversity in food booths and cultures represented. Some booths sold cultural items and were very interesting. The performances were WOW.

First time to this event on a beautiful August evening…read more Event opens at 5 p.m and closes at 10 p.m. Event is popular and inclusive of the many diverse cultures in the area. Plenty of people. Come early. Highlights: * Free admission * Plenty of food and drink stands with variety of flavors to suite diverse tastes and dietary needs * Unique hand made crafts from around the world * Organized event staff - helpful, ready to answer any questions * Max train station close by * Interesting performances at the two stages with many international themes * Activities for kids and adults * Free give-aways from some exhibiting organizations * Accessible ATM and restrooms * Plenty of information to learn about other cultures * Good music and vibes Lowlights: * Long lines for food - especially at popular food stands like the Himalayan Dumplings * Parking - this event is popular and parking lots around the area get full. Event parking is not encouraged in surrounding parking lot. Didn't see a dedicated event parking area. Use Max train if possible * Some vendors up-charge items and only take cash. * Not enough seating areas to watch the performances at the main stage * Crowded - be comfortable being very close to people and possibly rubbing shoulders. If you are in the area, bookmark this event. I found it worthwhile, enjoyed it, and learned a lot. Check their website for event details and dates. Bring cash and an empty stomach to taste all the different foods and drinks.

Impromptu trip of 6, and it was glorious! The woman working was attentive, sweet, kind, and made…read morethe experience all the more better! The property is absolutely gorgeous. We had plenty of seating. Service was quick food truck out front although we didn't eat at looked amazing when I looked at other people's plates lol I was sad the fruit shop wasn't open, but it probably is not in season?! This is the second time I've been there and I will be back!!

The Gorge White House was a fantastic stop on our road trip through the PNW. The grounds are…read moreabsolutely beautiful, with plenty of seating spread throughout different areas so you can relax and enjoy the scenery. We loved the U-pick flower garden--such a fun and unique touch. The drinks were excellent, from refreshing ciders to great wines and beers. Their food truck is a standout, serving some of the best burgers, flatbreads, and sandwiches we've had, and the sides are truly to die for. It's also very kid- and dog-friendly, which made the visit even more enjoyable since my daughter had her dogs. If you go, definitely try a burger or sandwich paired with a cider flight--it's the perfect combo! Can't wait to go back.

Such a fun and educational experience! The founder is regularly at this spot and there are a lot of…read morevolunteers to help answer any questions you may have. They have a ton of different events they host throughout the year. Definitely will be back again!

There is a great selection of planes and automobiles in this collection. They have one of the…read morelargest collections of still flying Airplanes and running cars. Large amount of things to look at and could spend a bit of time there. I live in the same town and take my son there numerous times a year. There are many events planned each year. Worth stopping in for a visit if you're visiting for the day or while on vacation.

I went to the Portland Fresh Hops Fest last year, and to tell you the truth, it was very much a…read moresausage fest, with serious beer drinkers crammed into a soggy tent, hunched over taster mugs and making copious notes about their hoppy experience. I didn't mind because I was just there for the beer, but my significant non-beer drinking other found the event to be a total yawner. The Hood River Hops Fest proved to be a totally different affair. The weather was beautiful and the event is held outside. Sweet. There was a line around the block when we arrived, but it didn't take too long to get inside. This is a family-friendly beer fest. That seemed kind of weird and ill-conceived to me at first. Little kids hanging around with grown-ups slamming down brewskis galore? Eh. However, they had a fenced off kiddie area full of jolly jump things and the beer garden was adequately separated from the spots where kids are allowed. Once I got into some serious suds sipping, there weren't any youngsters nearby. Great family festival feel at this event. Nice, big, open area. Everybody was having a great time, including my wife, and that says a lot. Oh, yeah, the fresh hop beers were awesome! I paid $10 for a mug and four taster tokens. My wife gained entrance for $4 as my DD. Extra tokens were a buck each. Four tokens gets you a full mug of anything. I'll be back next year!

I went to this Hops Fest expecting more and was kind of disappointed. The ratio of guys to girls…read morewas the first thing that threw me off but ultimately what turned me off about this was how difficult it was to work my way through the crowd and get a beer sample. As if that wasn't enough your $10 entry fee got you 4 tokens and a small beer mug. Each token lets you get about a shots worth of beer from whatever vendor you choose or you can use all 4 tokens to have 1 beer from a specific vendor but the mug you are given is kind of small. I am not sure that I would go again or recommend this festival to anyone, I saw it as kind of a waste of time.

This was honestly really upsetting. We went on Halloween night, and there was zero organization. I…read moremade a special trip down from Washington with my daughter and stepmom, stayed at a hotel and did the whole thing because I grew up on Halloweentown and have always wanted to experience this in person. I paid online ahead of time, fully expecting some kind of structured, ticketed event. Instead, it felt like everyone in town was just allowed to walk right in. There was no clear separation for people who paid versus people who didn't. People were everywhere taking pictures, and no one was stopping them or checking anything. It was frustrating to realize we paid for something that others were doing for free. I honestly feel like I wasted my money. I'd like a refund, but I already know that would probably turn into a runaround. If you're coming from out of town, especially on Halloween, this is absolutely not worth the drive. Do not pay online, there is literally nothing stopping anyone from just walking around and taking pictures anyway. It's a joke. A literal joke. We ended up salvaging the night by driving about 10 minutes away to a neighborhood actually celebrating Halloween and handing out candy, which ended up being the highlight for my daughter. Unfortunately, this experience was a huge letdown. I will not be attending again or recommending to anyone if they ask.

Literally came into town for this and so glad that we did. We're used to large festivals in Vegas…read morethat are overcrowded. The town kept telling us that it does get pretty busy but honestly it was nothing compared to an event like this here in Vegas. We absolutely loved going! The event itself is free, but if you pay for tickets you get so many other things. We also took the shuttle in, which they take you by school bus (so fun and totally make sense for the movie). With the ticket you get access to special bathrooms and things like that, as well as the pavillion, though it felt like no one was really hanging out in there. They even had a live band that was kind of playing for no one which was kinda sad haha. However, still really cool! You also got to go on a tour which took you to the spots where Halloweentown and Twilight were filmed, which I honestly really loved. The tour guide was super knowledgeable and gave some fun facts about both movies I didn't know! We came a few days early and got to explore before it got crazy with all the vendors, but honestly, still SO much fun to come to this! They event do a pumpkin lighting at night and a few of the cast members were also there. Definitely recommend checking this out if you love the movie! It's so much fun and literally feels like a fake little movie set, even though it's the actual town! SO FUN! We had the best time!!!

This is a fun event, especially on a Sunny Day. It is promoted as kid friendly and there are a lot…read moreof families, but I would suggest coming Early. It gets packed, they have great Ciders and food booths.

If you like shoulder to shoulder, sweaty bodies rubbing on you with cider splashing on you and your…read morechild, then this is the place to go. This event was not planned out well. There was room for it to be expanded and it wasn't. Will not be coming back next year!

I had a lot of fun at this faire! Loved the setting with plenty of tall trees and dappled shade -…read morereally helped in the hot weather. There was a huge variety of vendors with high quality goods, and plenty of options for foods and drinks. There were free water-refill spots to help everyone stay hydrated and keep those reusable water bottles full! I caught several shows, a bit of music, and sat and admired all the incredible costumes of the staff / vendors and the other guests. There were archery lessons, a blacksmith with a forge, several vendors with beautiful swords, and so much more! They had a booth with a game for kids to catch "rats" throughout the faire - I didn't catch the details, but the kids were clearly having a ton of fun with this. I arrived shortly before the gates opened and was happy to see plenty of parking, and plenty of staff on hand to direct vehicles (sounds like this is an improvement from last year). I would happily make this drive again, it was very enjoyable.

Not a Ren Faire - something maybe for children - pretty much sucked. Jousting was good. Vendors…read morewere meh

From the website: "Wulapalooza is an annual urban earth, art and music festival that takes place on…read morethe campus of Willamette University. Local schools, performance groups, and professional bands perform for over a thousand students and community members annually with local businesses and student groups fundraising for various charitable organizations. We are an Earth Day and community festival that yearly brings in thousands of community members and students." Thee Emergency is one of my favorite bands, but since they usually stick around Seattle, I knew I had to make the trek to Wulapalooza to see them play. I did miss the entire first part of the festival with the student and community booths and whatnot, so my commentary pertains solely to the evening program. However, Wulapalooza remains one of the strangest events I have ever been to, and it's not just because of the name. We arrived when the band was setting up to a crowd of a hundred or so students milling around a field. I had to keep reminding myself that it was a community festival, because it always seemed like we were the only non-students there. So Thee Emergency came out and rocked hard, as they are wont to do, but Willamette U. students must not be the rocking-est, because they were dancing around as if it were some hippie drum circle or something. Now, I love me some hippie drum circles, but there is a time and a place, and it's not when this bluesy, punk-y, soulful throwback to 70's-style rock 'n' roll is playing out live ten feet away, the guitar player throwing out sweet licks from behind his head and everything. Maybe it was the dearth of shoes. Maybe a body requires footwear to rock out. Anyway, we couldn't take any more of that for a while, so we went to get some dinner before Mirah was set to take stage. When we got back, the beer garden seemed irresistible, but we saw the door person checking off names. Now, I went to a huge state school, and it seemed entirely impossible that a university could have a full list of its 21-and-over students contained entirely on printed pages in a small-ish binder. How quaint. The beer garden really was only for students, but we were somehow convincing as alums. Beer was 3 for $10, which mathematically doesn't make sense and is also silly for two people to split, but whatever. Also, they had all kinds of free food up there that we abstained from due to the fact that we weren't really meant to eat it. The fact that the school was providing an entire free party for its students was starting to set in, holy crap. Next was Mirah, who was unfortunately playing in a gymnasium due to some noise ordinance shenanigans. When a very serene sort of performer like Mirah is playing, you have to really pay attention, especially when she is playing in the middle of a gymnasium and you are sitting cross-legged in front of her. However, dozens of side conversations almost drowned out the music, and then some students decided to get as close as possible to the bassist in order to flick their Bics, and someone's kids were allowed to walk all over near the performers and grab their hand percussion instruments, and the people dancing majestically still couldn't get the beat right. We stayed as long as we could bear, but the magic was gone. On the way out, a big truck was backing up to the stage, shining its lights on some students on the field wrapped up in the provided blankets. Moral: private school is strange.

Wulapalooza is the day I look forward to the most all year. Wula brings Willamette students, Salem…read moreinhabitants, and music/art/earth/fun enthusiasts from surrounding areas together under the glorious umbrella of everybody having a damn good time for free. You'd be a fool to miss it.