The 2017 Charlotte Food Fight did not disappoint. Another great event at Stumptown Park…read more I arrived right at 3:00 when the event kicked off and the crowds were already lined up in front of food trucks, which was great to see. This year there was a larger group of trucks, which I was happy to see. The secret ingredient this year was coffee! So each truck had to have one item featuring coffee, which made it very interesting. Fresh Med by far highlighted the coffee within their lamb and cous cous dish, amazing! I had the ability to taste several other trucks options and will say King of Pops had a great coffee popsicle! Overall, love the food, entertainment and beer selections from D9 Brewing. Definitely looking forward to 2018..what will the secret ingredient be???

Five stars for a well organized event with a superior turnout. A dozen or so food trucks, neatly…read morecircled in the parking lot of Stumptown Park. All sorts of foods, from sandwiches to hot dogs to fried potatoes. Each of the food trucks had a Food Fight special and you were expected to try the special and then vote. Sadly, I only managed to eat six different specials (hey, I tried!) including Wings and Chips from Wingz on Wheelz, a Dirty South Bowl from New Wrap Order, a dog from JJ's Hot Dogs, a Half Italian from What Goes Round and then some tasty Chicken Thighs from Tiger Yakitori. Oh, and three beers from D9. Music was quite good. The first gal I heard was okay, but the Charlotte School of Rock kids were awesome. That dark haired girl rocked it with Helter Skelter, but it just seems like an odd choice from a teenager. Bassist was spot on. Maybe some more seating would have helped, but it is a park. I just forgot to bring my lawn chair. So I "accidentally" ran into the Yelp table and borrowed a corner, socializing with our lovely CM Nikki and Kate T. and Christi K.

This little Yelp profile deserves an upgraded, & a recent review. This is one of the best beer…read morefestivals that Charlotte has to offer. The weather this year was perfect. Not terribly hot, but blue skies and plenty of beer. No, I don't think that beer is usually included in a weather forecast - but maybe it should be! Blue skies and 100% chance of local beer and swag. This festival seems to be very well organized and attended. You're able to camp, if that's your preference, all weekend! I did not, as I am very spoiled and like camping at home, in my house, with the A/C on - but I know that some people like it. TONS of local breweries come out for this festival and offer unlimited samples on Saturday, and you can vote for your favorite brewery! Food trucks were just up the hill, I don't know if this is the norm as this was my first time attending. A little out of the way, but not a pain. There are booths with local crafts and goodies too, if that's more your pace. Bring lots of sunscreen, as the festival takes place in an open field on Rural Hill grounds, and there's some (but not much shade). Or you can hide from the sun under one of the beer tents. Rural Hill is gorgeous, I'm glad this festival went so well this year as I know that they've been struggling with keeping events on track in the last year. This is definitely something to put on your calendar - local beers, friendly beer reps, food trucks, live music, local crafts and beautiful scenery! Win win win win win win.

Myself, some friends and several other thousands of people stopped by the 2nd annual North Carolina…read moreBrewers and Music Festival and it was a very well attended event for certain. The location of Rural Hill was a great selection for them because of all the open space it provided for people to move around. It's remote location and many acres let people pretty much have the run of the property and you didn't get that somewhat kettle'd in feeling that the Octoberfest can bring on. The food vendors they had were pretty limited with there only being a hot dog stand, hamburger stand and I believe a BBQ stand but amazingly enough they didn't seem to run out of food (while we were there) so if you wanted to grab a bite to eat there was at least food to be had. There was also the music/bands on the main stage but I'd say about 80% of the attendees were only there for the beer tasting. They seemed to do a very good job of representing a lot of North Carolina Brewers and there were probably about 12-14 tents up handing out the samples of sweet hoppy deliciousness. I gotta get on to the reason I only gave this event 3 stars though and that is because of the poor event planning that seemed to go into this with regards to being able to accommodate the large crowd they had. My friends had prepaid tickets and I decided I would just eat the additional 5$ charge and get my ticket at the gate for the beer tasting. We probably showed up at around 130 and the line for tickets was at least 150 people deep. They seemed to do a pretty good job of moving the line along but mid way through a woman came out and announced that they were no longer selling tickets for the beer sampling because they were afraid the beer vendors would run out of beer. Right then and there many people just peeled out of the line and went on their merry way to other probably anywhere else the could get a cold draft. With my friends already inside I was pretty much committed to the event or else I would have up and left myself but I figured what the hell. I'll just pay the 20$ and claim designated driver rights so my friends can have a good time. Once inside it was amazing to see the lines at the beer tents. They were probably at least 100 people in each line and moving rather slowly. I tagged along with my friends as they hit each of the tents in succession. The vendors would give you a small plastic cup and for your sample you'd have probably 4 ounces. Nothing unreasonable there or anything you wouldn't expect for a beer sampling but after you had hit one vendor you would have to immediately go to the next line and begin your wait all over again. From what I could tell they probably needed at least double the number of beer tents to support the number of people they had in attendance. We ended up leaving after the last of the free tastings came and went and by that time most of the beer vendors had packed up and left because they ran out of product to hand out. Oh yeah, and the first keg was kicked probably around 3pm and that just added to the other lines becoming longer. Overall, it is a great idea for a event (weather permitting as always) for people who like to get out for a beer tasting. I'm sure the promoters will rave about it being a roaring success but when you have people being turned away at the gate or having to spend 30$-35$ just to stand in line all day it comes off as kind of "ehh". Until they get a better handle on how many people will be in attendance and scale the event to suit everyone I'd say it's a flip of the coin on whether or not you should check it out. Lastly, mad props to the Lonerider folks. They seemed to have a endless supply of beer and their staff was keeping the cups topped off and line moving as fast as they possibly could.

We love a good Food Truck and was so excited for this Festival to be able to try so many new ones!…read moreThis s was definitely a good first attempt for this festival as we had a great time and did enjoy ourselves but here are a few thoughts to hopefully make it even better next year! 1) It was hotter than Hades today so it might be nice to host it later in the fall or at least later in the day! 2) It would be incredibly helpful if the Festival provided a map of the grounds or at least listed all of the attending Food Trucks and provided a description of each. 3) Not many trucks had a $4 option as promised in the Festival description. We want to try and taste as much as possible but that's not as easy to do with the full portions being served plus it would be nice to have the option of cheaper portions. 4) We wish they had offered the VIP option without the shirt from the very beginning however the $25 VIP ticket was definitely worth it just for the shade tent. Plus it was nice that they did not oversell the VIP area. Maybe instead of including a shirt, we would have loved to have a few food vouchers or tickets included with the VIP ticket. Overall, we had a great time and will be looking forward to next year!

Largest food truck festival of the Carolinas? Sign me up. I am eternally grateful that I won the…read moreVIP tickets in the Yelp instagram contest. VIP is the way to go. Mostly because you get to enter the festival a whole hour before everyone who buys the general admission ticket. We didn't have to wait in line behind more than 5 people for anything. For a food truck festival that's insane. If you add the cost of a ticket and the cost of food (and maybe drinks), you're not looking at a cheap day. What I really liked about this festival though, was that every truck had to have a $4 item. That way you can try more items in smaller portions. Most of the trucks we ended up trying I had never even heard of before. My favorite thing was the Sriracha Chicken Bao Bun from A Bao Time. I definitely enjoyed the beer tent--- it was hot out there!!! I thought it was the perfect venue to host so many trucks and the new parking deck at Music Factory was clutch. A little more seating and shade would have been nice for such a large event.

This festival just continues to grow each year! I genuinely love checking out Festival in the Park…read moreevery single year, because there's always something new to see. There's probably hundreds of vendors at this point, from food, drinks, desserts, artists, charities, jewelry. I mean there's SO much to see at this festival! My favorite part about it is the live music. My friends and I always bring a blanket and just come lay out there and enjoy the live band. This year it was actually the same singer as last year and she was great!!! Love her voice and she always sings upbeat songs everyone knows. It's always a whole vibe. We grab food and bring our own cooler and just pick a spot up on the hill and enjoy. That's exactly what we did this year too. For food I couldn't decide what I wanted so I kinda settled for a gyro and it was pretty good, all things considered. The fries we great though! Nice to have so many food options available though. I'll continue to come to this festival year after year!! Definitely a lifetime fan.

I enjoy FITP every year. The variety of vendors lets me purchase items I can't find in my weekly…read morejourneys. It's great to find something I've never seen before. I stopped by a cookie vendor, deliciousness! However, the food lines are typically ridiculously long. Not my speed. There should be a vendor who sells water only for one price. Parking is a task and requires a lot of patience. It may help to catch a ride and skip parking altogether.

Visited this event for the first time in years and was pleasantly surprised but not overwhelmed…read more It's a perfectly fine way to spend your weekend but it does coincide with the same weekend as Festival in the Park in Charlotte so it's probably not as populated as much as it could be. That being said, I had a good time with my kids and girlfriend. Not a whole lot for adults here, pretty much geared towards children with bounce houses, etc and fair like rides that they will enjoy for sure. In short, this is a good event to browse some local crafts and food as well as some kid friendly rides but if you're like me, you'll be ready to leave within an hour. Not a terribly large event.

Went to the one held at Veteran's Park. Plenty of parking. Lots of space for vendor tents and to…read moreset up a picnic. Only went on Friday where the wristband of unlimited rides was &20 that day only. Kids had fun getting on every ride as many times as they wanted. I sat in the shade listening to the band on stage. We cooled down with fresh squeezed lemonade and satisfied our sweet tooth with funnel cake. Great family oriented festival that was very well organized.

I found out about this last minute, and could not believe I was so close to missing out on this…read more If you've ever met me, you would know that I am one of the biggest sweet tooths on the planet and the concept of having a bunch of the best bakeries in town in one place for the sampling...well you might as well have let me die and go to heaven. The price to get in is a bit steep ($30), but worth it for someone new in town like me so I can get to know some of my future favorites to visit. The event was well organized and though a lot of the vendors were generic with cupcakes and cookies, there were a few that stood out including the flavored ice cones and the artisan chocolates. I would definitely go again, but next time I would smarten up and take more home rather than trying to eat all that sugar in one night!

This was a very well organized event and the addition of swag bags with a to go box to take home…read morewhat you could no longer manage to eat. Sweets were great. Some better than others of course. It would have been nice to have more variety. Many of the vendors had the same flavors of cupcakes. There were a couple of twists. Like the mancake, with bacon and beer. Overall it was s successful event that just needed more variety and imagination. And of course they need more chocolate candy vendors.

I have been to Denver's Furry Scurry, AGA GoldenRama in Atlanta, and GRRR Golden reunions in…read moreBoulder. This was very nicely handled. Lots of volunteers were around to help collect donations. Lots of dogs of all types and surprisingly everyone was on leash and polite. Lots of local dog stores were out selling their supplies. Water was available at the food trucks for the dogs since my Golden won't drink out of a community water bowl. (just a golden thing) I am sure in time it will get better and better.

This was so much fun! Last Saturday was my first time ever going! Now I plan to go every year! My 7…read moremonth old golden retriever Bailey LOVED it! It is so much fun! I love that there was water always available for the dogs and the were constantly putting fresh water in for them!!

Ever wanted to be a judge on Iron Chef? Competition Dining Series is that chance!!! This series…read moreputs chefs head to head in a three course cook off in various cities, culminating in a head to head against all the bests from each region for a chance to win some $$s! Best part is, you are the judge! Each person puts in their scores for each dish based on Presentation, Aroma, Use of Secret Ingredient, etc. My husband and I had the amazing opportunity to go to the Dogwood vs Mandrake competition one night. The competition took place at Bonterra. Never been to Bonterra before, but man, we will definitely return just cause of the wine list! You are seated at a table of other people attending the competition and we had the priviledge of meeting some awesome Yelp people! The secret ingredient for the night was arugula and Calvander Cheese from Chapel Hill Cremery. Calvander cheese is like an Asiago style cheese. Bonus, we sat with the ladies that owned Chapel Hill Cremery and learned so much about their business and cheeses! As for the courses....all very delicious and super creative. It was just so cool to see how these chefs integrating the secret ingredients! Some of our favorites were a Calvander grit cake and the arugula ice cream! Both chefs used lamb as the meat for their second course.....yummy!! 6 courses and a few glasses of wine later, the chefs and teams came out for applauses and to introduce the winner! The night was just so much fun! Great food, awesome company, so much smiles and laughter! Perfect date night. The second we left, we talked about making sure we RSVP for atleast one of these each year!

Want to dine like a rock star??! Follow these four simple steps…read more1) Buy a competition dining ticket 2) Roll up to the front door of Bonterra, hand your keys to the valet, wink at the paparazzi 3) Order some drinks or wine from the list of 200 and make it rain, as you're seated and greeted by the talk of the town 4) Open an enormous can of Holy Crap NC Competition Dining Awesomeness and enjoy!! Tonight the Mandrake and Dogwood crews competed for bragging rights, entry into semifinals and a $2000 check. Each team made 3 courses: a starter, main course and dessert. And the secret ingredients were ... drum roll...Organic Arugula and Calvander cheese from Chapel Hill Creamery. First you sample the ingredients in their purest "naked" form and then the dishes start flying out of the kitchen!! After each dish you rate it on a smartphone app based on everything from Presentation to Aroma to Use of Secret Ingredient. Votes are tallied in real time, separated by the Pros and the Joes, celebrity guests and chefs like our own CM Nikki and people who just like to eat. At the end the teams come out and run through the crowds soaking in the glory, until one is crowned champion! Tonight Dogwood Southern took the prize handily. Both teams had some amazingly creative dishes with spectacular flavor combinations that included uses of the cheese in everything from grit cakes to ice cream, and the arugula in everything from Spaetzele to gelato!! Wow! This is quickly becoming a "must do" annual event here in Charlotte!! Oh and almost forgot step #5 - "accidentally" swap valet keys for the Maserati parked out front and drag race on South Boulevard...just kidding!Or am I??