Two years ago, this annual event moved to Steel Indian School Park in downtown Phoenix. This…read morefestival that began in 1984 has more vendors and more outdoor space than when it was held at its prior location-Heritage Square. The surroundings are simpler and bare at the park but droves of people still make the trek here to experience the culture and the food of Japanese heritage. One stand I always visit is the Arizona Buddhist Church. I buy their homemade mochi manju (soft round mochi with sweet anko dark bean paste inside) and their shiroan mochi manju (has a sweet white bean paste filling.) It's like the ones my grandma used to make. Tips:arrive early for the best parking options. :bring some greenbacks-some vendors only accept cash. :sunscreen-there aren't many areas with shade. :eat the manju when it is fresh, the same day or else it hardens. :bring water and bring a bag if you plan on purchasing any goods. Some vendors run out of bags and you may be stuck carrying your things and not have enough hands to enjoy the food items ;) Leave your worries at the gate and just have fun at this outdoor festival.

Great festival. Get there early. Lots of fun foods to try and I enjoyed the exhibitionsread more

This is becoming an annual tradition. Yes the tickets are a little pricey, but in my mind, it's…read morewell worth a beautiful evening among the candlelight botanical gardens. It's beautiful- there are a lot of different music options too. Last night included handbell choirs, classic choirs singing a cappella, as well as these two amazing brothers playing Guitars and they were fabulous! As you stand in the middle of the garden, you can hear all the different types of music playing just follow the path to what you want to listen to. lol As far as food options, what we found was a food truck in one area which I've posted their menu as well as the patio restaurant had an ordering encounter. Bars are plentiful throughout as well as they have a margarita station. I know they had hot chocolate somewhere, but we did not find it They had s'more's kits as well and plenty of kids were lining up for that If you wanted to go high-end, you could make a reservation at Gertrude's but we really didn't enjoy their food last year With as many people that attend, it never felt claustrophobic either, just take one of the candlelight paths and explore to your hearts content. They did have people stationed throughout, helping you in case you felt lost. Make sure to go back and see the owls, that was pretty cool too.

As a visitor to Scottsdale (another so-called short-term snowbird), I wanted to check out the…read moreDesert Botanical Garden since it is so highly rated. I figured I could hit two birds with one stone by getting a Las Noches ticket so I could see the garden with the nighttime lights. I was partially right. The place is clearly popular--even the overflow parking lot was almost full. I did the main loop and some of the smaller loops. There were performances, art installations, and food and drinks for sale. The issue is that the garden just does not show very well at night. I stood in reverence of the giant cacti but really wished I could see them in the daytime. While the administration has put up signage and maps to make things easier, I still found the whole place confusing to navigate. Save your money (it is almost $50 for entry) and visit the garden during the day.

First- Well Done!! Loved the location at the Botanical Gardens!! It made for a nice way to spread…read morethe vendors and keep crowds flowing!! The food vendors did their best to show off their work and for the most part it was pleasing. But, some were overly salty, cold when supposed to be warm, those kinda little things. Neither my husband or myself drink alcohol, so we felt like we really didn't get our money's worth in terms of beverages offered that were non-alcoholic other than water/or tiny lemonade samples. It would be a recommendation for the future to offer some Mocktails or other fun options other than coffee. That said- we purchased the early time and were very pleased with the day and we found some favorite goodies and places that we will try in the future! All the food was beautifully presented and there certainly was no shortage of tasty treats- the problem was having room in your tummy!! Highly recommend for any foodie folks, lovers of beers & wines!! And, people watching too!!

Best food festival in town held at the Desert Botanical Garden!!!!! Always sold out!!! A true…read moreculinary classic!!!!!This tasting event of best local restaurants is in its 18th year!! A two-day event of tasting stations of amazingly delicious food, wine, beer and craft cocktails. Artists with their work displayed around the garden along with live music. Free parking.

Great artisans! Temptation to spend was there, and I had to find ways to get it all back in my…read moresuitcase! Great gifts, even if some were just for myself. Would go again next time I'm in the Cave Creek area! Variety of prices and products, different and better than I see in Virginia. Clothing, metal working, painting, jewelry, prints, oils (hemp), etc. Right off the main drag in Cave Creek. Also near other shopping areas. But I prefer to buy from artists and crafters. Love the clothes I bought, and always get compliments!

The Jackalope Art & Craft Fair was very charming. The location at Steele Park was a great location…read morevery spread out didn't feel crowded like other fairs and really enjoyed the food trucks. Great variety of food trucks. Today was really cold and windy but lucky there were food vendors that sold coffee, hot chocolate, hot tea and hot apple cider. The arts & craft booths I really like the variety, tons of vendors selling candles, great variety of jewelry items Native American, spoon and fork rings and necklaces, lots of charms necklaces very unique items. Creative children items, even a Cardinal/ASU unique T-Shirts & sweatshirts. Some paintings, pottery not the normal items you would see at the Tempe Arts Festival this was unique in a good way. This fair was free, plenty of parking and easy to get in and out. All the vendors were really engaging and I really loved the setup. It was not huge like the Tempe Arts Festival but they had a nice variety of booths and a great place to pick up unique Christmas items.

The Scottsdale Family ArtsFest is a free festival that runs for two days in the Scottsdale Civic…read moreCenter. It features performing arts by K-12 so it's actually more catered to kids. There's performances and various booths. What I found very lacking was their food choices. The theater's first floor features a variety of art done by kids which I thought was neat. Otherwise, this isn't all that special unless you're a kid.

Attended The Taco Fest with my daughter. It was time well spent however, I feel like these…read morefestivals just aren't as fun anymore. They seem to be filled with random vendors. For example there were vendors there selling houses and doors. Not knocking anyone's hustle but I want to try tacos at a taco fest not be hounded about houses or house appliances and raffles to clean shutters. Lol. Just saying. Anyways, The tacos and food we tried were okay. I honestly enjoyed the strawberry and brownie dessert we tried more than anything. I believe that place was called Berrie Sweets. I will have to look it up and leave them a personal review as it's definitely worth trying again. As for the festival it's probably a hit or miss, for me it was a miss.

Last night Scottsdale Stadium in Old Town was transformed into burger nirvana! The Culinary…read moreFestival had their first annual Burger Battle and I was so thrilled to be in attendance. My girlfriend and I were excited to try all of the local burger joints at the event, especially since most of them were places we have never been to before. For a first year event we were thoroughly impressed with how smoothly everything was run. From the burger tents, Leinenkugel's Beer, live music, and even desserts, everything was topnotch! Here's my rundown on the 2012 Culinary Festival Burger Battle: The Best Burgers: El Hefe: One of the first burgers we tried and surprisingly, probably the best. Most people we spoke to felt the same way. Winner of the best burger voted by the people. Zinburger: Another crowd favorite. A great sloppy burger! Judge's choice for best burger. Lenny's: This is a family owned burger joint and the family was in attendance last night. We even got to meet and speak with Lenny himself! Really nice people and we had to give this place our vote. Modern Burger: Another great one, very unique with lobster and bacon on the burger. The Very Goods: La Grande Orange: I dug this one which had green chili on their great English Muffins. Omaha Steakhouse: Surprisingly good and spicy! The Decents: Bourbon Steak: This was definitely the most photogenic burger of the night. It looked amazing, but it had a million toppings on it and was just too rich. Cold Beers and Burgers: My girlfriend was a big fan of this one, but I wasn't crazy about it. I thought the burger meat was a bit too dense and had some weird flavoring. Maybe it was the cheese. Capital Grille: Again was expecting a lot from this one. It was good, but didn't wow me. And The Not So Greats: Bueno Burger: Heard good things, but was disappointed with this one. RnR: No surprise here. I have never been a fan of this place. Old Town Whiskey: Forgettable. Chelsea's Kitchen: Was expecting a lot from this one since I have heard such great things about this place. The onions were too overpowering and the bread was too doughy. I still want to go to this restaurant and try one of their other dishes though. The only burger I didn't get to try was Indulge Burger. I had them before and thought they were decent. I just couldn't eat one more bite of burger that night. Drinks: I have been a fan of Leinenkugal's beer so I was happy to try some of their brews that I never had before. I tried their wheat beer and a berry beer. Not my typical choices, but they were both good. I had to switch over to wine with my last drink ticket since I didn't wanna fill up too much on beer. Free Dasani water was a life saver after consuming all those salty burgers! Desserts: Whoopie Baking Company: These were some damn tasty whoopie pies! I wanted more, but they ran out and I can see why! Peterson's Old Fashion Ice Cream: Really good Chicago based ice cream. The guys working their tent said they'll be opening up a shop in Old Town soon. Check it out when they do! It is easy to give this event five stars! A job well done by everyone involved. This is an event that every burger lover should attend at least once in their lifetime!

This was my first time attending this event. Burger Battle is one of the many events that kick off…read moreScottsdale Culinary Festival week. I've always heard from others that it is the best one of all the events. I thought it was great! Tickets run about $65 and it is all-you-can-eat. Around 20 restaurants cook up and present their best burger for patrons to sample. Majority of the samples were the size of sliders. The location was the Scottsdale Waterfront where the competitors each had their own tent to showcase their culinary talents. The crowd was nice and spread out in front of the stage where they had live music and beverages. The one complaint I had was that they squeezed in about ten tents on the bridge overlooking the canal. The view was gorgeous but it made it very difficult to move around in that small space. The competitors really brought out their A game. Not only did they put out some great burgers, they made it fun. Caveman Burgers had people dressed up as cavemen to hand out their burgers. Aioli Burger handed out gifts like burger stress relievers and bottle opener spinners. AZ Wilderness Brewing Co had all types of fun with the crowd with their fun personalities. Some places even offered fries with their burger samples. We were able to vote for our favorite burger via voting boxes. My favorites were Aioli's Hawaiian Burger and Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co.'s Jalapeno and Peanut Butter Burger. Hopdoddy's poblano burger was also a standout for me. The problem I had was that I got full after seven samples and wasn't able to try them all - boo! Sedona's Mariposa - Latin Inspired Grill took home the prize for the evening. Overall this was a well-organized event that made for a fun night out with friends.

Another warm day in Fountain Hills, perfect for an art walk stroll. This is a large arts and craft…read moreshow offering many types of media. The show is located adjacent to the Fountain Park. There are also plenty of food vendors to keep your belly full. You will find tables and chairs to sit at while eating. Along some of the walkways are businesses you can wander into. Bench seating is available in some area. Port-A-Potties are scattered throughout the festival. Entry to the festival is free drawing a good amount of people. Plenty of free parking that is marked for your convenience.

Price gouging'. Even food was expensive'. Definitely geared towards the rich and not general public,read more