Unfortunately due to a nor'easter situated of the coast most Neptune Festival events were cancelled…read moreor moved indoors to the Convention Center! However we made the best of the situation and enjoyed ourselves and will definitely return next year!

The Neptune fest is one of my favorite events that marks the end of summer for me. I love starting…read moreat one end of the boardwalk & walking to the other end. There's endless, food trucks & food vendors, booths, touch-a-truck exhibits, free handouts, & lots of people watching.

This neighborhood art event happens every year twice per year - once in May and once again in…read moreOctober for a weekend filled with art, food, and music. A few years ago I went to the May festival and yesterday enjoyed it on a beautiful and sunny October day with perfect weather and a light breeze. There are so many artists here and so many interesting items to see. It spans the entire three sections of Stockley Gardens in the middle of the neighborhood near The Hague St. Luke's Episcopal Church. There are some food vendors (I saw around 6) and there are several scheduled bands that play live music so you can make a nice couple hours out of enjoying this. It gets pretty crowded as locals really love it. This is not your typical art show - there are some pretty high-end pieces here that go for upwards of $20,000 and the majority of the larger art pieces are no less than $1000 minimum but most are much more. I saw some jewelry, stained glass and glass art, pottery, and tons and tons of canvas and other mixed medium art pieces with a real range of talent and innovative techniques I haven't seen before. Artists travel from all over the US to participate in this event and there are tons of vendors here so it's worth an afternoon visit. It's a short walk to Colley so you can make a complete afternoon in Ghent out of it and walk around, enjoy the Hague, shop on Colley and even have dinner or coffee. Parking is a bit of a challenge if you want to be very nearby - but if you can park and walk a few blocks you should be fine finding something in one of the nearby neighborhoods.

Such a great collection of artists, food vendors, and music. Be prepared to get muddy, though, as…read moreit nearly always rains just before or during this event.

Well first off let me tell you from someone who came in on day 3 at the very end of the fest I had…read moreabsolutely no idea what I was walking into. I thought this must be an interesting event. I walked in about 30 min into the event and they had LED hula hoops, scarves with colors blowing, random hammock chairs, a town like horse bar, I mean there was a lot. When I mean a lot. .. there is a lot. The one thing you must know is first off its from what I gather a celebration of life, earth, music, spirit of human connection, and just a transcendental experience. Don't come in looking for a list of activities, you have to just be. People would flock in crowds from one spot to another there would be a mini performance, one tent had a wickedly awesome shadow puppet storytelling. At first glance I was mind blown at the intricacy of story and shadow. That was wildly sweet to look at! The food trucks were just 2 and I had the chicken platter and the food was good the baklava was melt in your mouth yummy. The grand finale took me away as there was a giant moon puppet and sun puppet, fish, a swirling lantern show, shadow imagery, it was sweet looking! Please come with an open mind I had to let go walk around, not ask Qs, and take it for what it was. The ladies that would walk song and dance were my favorite they would stop walking do some poses and continue walking in unison. The lantern head people were cool to check out, and the dancing routine in front of the bar with the fairies was in great spirit and energy! Can't wait to see more next year! BTW the band DJP & Mr T a local band played the crowd well at the end and selled merch near stage. I met the lead singer she was very sweet!

Went to this event this past weekend. It was not as crowded as other festivals in town point park…read moreand is limited to only a certain section of the park. It is geared more towards families but it was enjoyable for adults too. They had a Shakespeare rap battle and a performance of Prince's Purple Rain among other great performances. They also involved audience participation. I was pleasantly surprised this was a nice event!

Town Point Park in Norfolk is home to some of the best festivals around. Bayou Boogaloo is a…read morepersonal favorite, Embrace the Culture is another. When the sun is shining and it is at least somewhat warm, you can easily point your compass in this direction and find something worthwhile. But whoever came up with Ribtoberfest.....this person needs a medal. Crossed pig bones WITH BBQ Sauce device and cole slaw clusters. This year the combination was slowly cooked meat and slowly sizzling blues. Two of my favorite things in the universe, and the Scheduling Gawds smiled on me and kept me close enough to 757 to actually physically attend. When faced with Destiny, why fight it? If you like ribs (and who doesn't), this is Nirvana. The choices are off the charts, all varieties, all flavors. Vendors set up their makeshift kitchens and envelop the surroundings with the succulent odor of Pigs giving the Ultimate Sacrifice. For those about to roast, we salute you! For something different, I chose the Korean BBQ rib platter. (Insert protracted silence here as if remembering fallen comrades with a private moment of honor.) My words cannot do justice to the taste, even served with plastic utensils and consumed standing up at a Long Board previously used to demonstrate waterboarding techniques. The atmosphere was strangely reminiscent of when my (now deceased) Uncle Larry roared my sister and me through the sketchy parts of Los Angeles in 1975 in search of the perfect Lamb Sandwich served in a deli with no tables and bars on the windows. Imagine Ward Cleaver herding Wally and The Beav to their front row seats at Showtime at the Apollo and you will have an accurate mental picture of that day. Not to suggest that we here in Norfolk are of the sketchy variety, far from it. You see, all of those gathered were brethren. The Great Calendar had ticked past Labour Day so all of the tourist packed up their plastic beach chairs and tubs of stale Coppertone and headed back to New Jersey in contrary migratory fashion. Nope, this festival is all ours. And we earned it. So the food. Yep, it was tasty and plentiful. A few years ago, Norfolk proudly claimed the title of Fattest City in the US. Ribtoberfest will do little to put that memory into the rearview mirror. With any luck at all, we will regain our rightful title, maybe get Elizabeth River Crossing Toll Nazi Corp to include it on the inflated bills they are sending out to those without an EZPass. Kind of an ersatz sponsorship/promotional type letterhead across the top. Indeed, we could probably convince them to jack up the price of leaving Norfolk and heading to Portsmouth (our much skinnier neighbor). (Editor's note: Umm....weren't we talking about a festival here someplace?) The second wheel of this delightful scooter of a Saturday was the music. Blues cuts me to the core, I would crawl barefoot through a Chicago snowstorm to hear a guitarist torture a vintage Stratocaster, armed only with a pentatonic scale. This year had a lineup of local favorites that swaggered and electrified. The JD Slivia Band is one of my absolute favorites and they certainly did NOT disappoint. The coolest part, though, is that JD is one of the nicest, most positive people that you will ever meet. Go and hear them sometime, it will be well worth your time. As if that wasn't enough, the guy who figured this out had the foresight to also toss in a very liberal dose of local microbreweries hocking their swill. Wait, you mean I can eat ribs, hear scorched-earth blues AND imbibe Young Veterans Pineapple Grenade? Truly, in Heaven there is no Beer....because we drank it all at Ribtoberfest. So this one goes on the calendar along with Bayou Boogaloo.

These is definitely a perfect example of an awesome weekend!!!…read more A pint of cold ice beer, smoky pork ribs and band on the side - what a brilliant combo to spend a relaxing evening. Excellent choices of food and beverages. My only critics, would have been nice if they had options in terms of buying alcohol. Overall, I had a wonderful time and enjoyable experience.

I think its great that Portsmouth is trying to attract tourists and locals out towards the…read morewaterside, but this festival really needed some more activities, vendors, and entertainment. There was a live band playing as I was disembarking the ferry. What a great welcome! However, that was probably the highlight of this festival. There were about 5 vendors selling trinkets and other items. Nothing really attracted my eye. The food vendors were only Jay's Barbecue, Shakey's, Dominos Pizza and Mr. Cream Cones. I ended up getting fries from Jay's Barbecue because I was starving and needed something to hold me over during the ferry ride back to Norfolk. There were two workers in the booth for Jay's Barbecue. One was cooking, the other was preparing food and taking the money. I found it quite disgusting that the hand that he wore a glove on was used to prepare food AND take people's money. So UNSANITARY. Unfortunately I was hungry, desperate for food, and already gave him my money. Not only was the food dirty, but they didnt have enough money to give people correct change. He shorted a LOT of people (including me) because he didnt have the right change. He considered this extra cash his "TIPS". Why am I tipping for dirty food? Never again!

Great day in the city!…read more It's usually super hot when this event comes to town, but good music by local artists/bands and the great outdoors makes for a great day along the Elizabeth River!! The event is free to attend and it's for the whole family! There are several food vendors...a few vendors selling novelty items and you may see one or two vendors selling desserts. This year the City decided to rotate acts between two stages which was a bit aggravating. One act would perform for about 90 mins then we'd be asked to move (lawn chairs) to a larger stage area to hear/see the next act. Nevertheless, the bands featured this year we're a hit while some were a miss. The crowd at 3pm... a minimum of 20. Perhaps the hot temperatures deterred people away but as time went on... the crowd began to increase. Seems as though the more popular the band the larger the crowd. This event is held yearly so definitely look out for it every Memorial Day weekend to take place in Portsmouth, Va. Parking is free in the garages and free after 6pm for street parking. Bring about $20 for pocket change. And if you plan to catch the ferry that's nearby remember you'll need the exact fare. Have fun and enjoy life

The festival was fantastic! Very spacious, and everything was labeled. It was our very first time…read moregoing. We will be going again in the future. The festival was great. The only bummer was, which I dont think we were expecting, the temperatures were reaching 90's degrees and there were no shady areas to rest and cool down. This isnt much of the festival's fault, it's mother nature. *smiles* Lots of activities stations, lots of food vendors...lots to do. They had a petting zoo, arts & craft stations, playdoh station, play house stations, a kiddie area for the younger one like ball pits, tunnels etc. I felt like a kid all over again. I made sure that my daughter was the one doing all of the activities, even though I was itching to do some myself....Heck, I got chocolate milk brom Oberweis...delicious! Cant wait to go back next year! Wish the festival was a bit longer like a 2 day thing versus one day. It gives families options.

The reason I gave it 3 stars is because the festival was wayyy to crowded. I understand that you…read moreguys try and get as many activities as you can for the kids to have fun but there is no room to sit down. There is no room for cranky kids to just chill out because there's so much traffic. And if there are booths who aren't patient with kids then they probably shouldn't be there at a children's Festival for example there was a booth for for brain balance and she was just getting very aggravated with the kids who didn't want to do the whole cycle who did just want to do the trampoline. I'm sorry that my two-year-old doesn't want to do a whole brain activity she just wants to jump on the trampoline. Other than that the festival had great ideas for the kids to do like I said it was just too much and they should definitely do it for the whole weekend not just one day it would probably help with the overcrowding.

Went to the Norfolk Greek festival for another year as this is a highlight event of the year, its…read morenot summertime until you've been to the Norfolk Greek Festival. Parking for the event is wherever you can find a spot on a nearby street so make sure to bring a smaller vehicle or carpool. Everything is AMAZING! The food - AMAZING, Music/entertainment - Amazing, the church - Amazing, the staff/congregation - AMAZING! I got a lamb shank, green beans, spanakopita, tiropita, and a gyro for the road. The lamb shank was seasoned and cooked to perfection, I didn't even need a knife to cut it, fork only it was so tender. The spanakopita is a side with a mixture of shredded spinach mixed with Greek cheese between filo dough, or just yummy. The tiropita is similar but with only a mixture of Greek cheeses in the middle, and also really yummy. The portions are as you would expect if you went to your Greek relatives for a feast, hence why the gyro was for the road. Music and entertainment are a combination of the various youth groups from the church performing traditional Greek dances in traditional Greek outfits. There are bands that paly traditional/modern Greek music, and the MC will even do some Greek lessons. Inside the school/gathering hall is a small fair that has vendors selling various art/jewelry items, religious works a Greek coffee stand with the best coffee you will ever have, AND the ever popular deserts to-go (Baklava cheesecake, Greek chocolate cake, breads, and cakes) the only hard part is choosing what you want, lucky they have sampler packs. You can pay with card or cash and there is an ATM on site so there is no excuse to not see you next year.

Norfolk Greek Festival is a wonderful experience. It is festive , fun, and full of great times…read more There is quite the cuisine which includes gyros, lamb shank, dolmades, Greek coffee, Greek pastries and I could go on and on. My favorite is the Greek coffee experience. There is a booth indoors with people making the coffee in a traditional style. Last year I only bought 1 bag of the coffee, this year I got 3 because it's so good. There's a little Greek store where I got a sesame treat and more. The music, singing, and dance are a blast !

I already love Green Flash and think it's the best brewery in Va Beach. The Treasure Chest fest was…read moreso much fun and just solidified those feelings even more. So many tents of beer and food. Tickets weren't too pricey considering you got unlimited beer and 10 food tastings with it. I did only do 3 of the tastings as pork and duck are not for me but what I did try was beyond delicious. The environment was so nice and overall it was a blast.

A wonderful day in Virginia Beach to celebrate the 4th annual Green Flash Treasure Chest benefiting…read moreSusan G. Komen cancer research. Parking was 100% at Liberty Tax and nice shuttling about a half mile to the brewery. Volunteers get prime parking adjacent to the brewery. Is it just me or is anyone thinking they should have the paying customers park in the lot and shuttle the volunteers. After being processed in the line with bag, ID and ticket your hand is stamped. A souvenir glass, pink Hawaiian Lei and credentials are handed over. Don't loose the taster glass, you'll need it for the sampling throughout the day. Also it's important to keep their credentials because that's how you get your food from the vendors. A silent auction takes place under the tent with new donated items and services from our local community. I did not pay this much attention, but it was popular. Music by The Deloreans was pumping as the gate opened and was fantastic! This is my first time enjoying this local Virginia Beach band and they played a nice mix of 80' and 90's. Their first set was a whopping 2.5. I loved it enough to go a bit crazy with video, sorry. Several great food vendors on hand. My Overall favorite was Dog Street Pub Chili & cornbread. All the food vendors donate their time and goods for charity. The reason everyone comes is the beer and they don't play at Green Flash Everything was available on their regular menu inside. Plus all the specials that you cannot find locally. Plus Green Flash Cellar 3 beers from San Diego was shipped out to VA. My overall favorite today was a Golden God Blonde Ale / Aged in Jameson Irish Whiskey barrels 9.2% ABV. Good times, good friends and supporting a great cause. Recommend putting this annual event on your Fall calendar for 2018.