festival – Loving Food, Fashion, & Life

The Fun Of An Art Fair

Posted on November 1, 2014 by LFFL

So—I had the great pleasure of attending the annual 3-day art fair here in town held in the ritzy part of our city. LOVED IT! Hundreds of vendors, thousands of people, live music bands around, and food everywhere!!!

What’s not to love?! I had a great time and I have to say—the food vendors were some of my favorite. I made my rounds. Any surprise?

So, if you have nothing else to do today, attend the nearest art fair in your city and make your rounds to every and all tents.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Bring plenty of spending money for all the art and food vendors. You’ll kick yourself if you don’t.

A Wine Festival

Posted on October 23, 2014 by LFFL

YES!! I had the pleasure of attending a wine festival this year with one of my girlfriends and how lovely it was. I’d never been to a wine festival before and was a little excited as to what was might lie ahead.

Well, I can tell you WINE IS DEFINITELY EVERYWHERE!! So make sure you eat a double cheeseburger and fries before you attend one of these shindigs, people!

This particular wine festival was being held on the grounds of an estate and tents were set up all around it. Most of the tents had different vendors from various places selling bottles of their assorted wines and giving away free tastings of them all. So—WHOA! That’s at lot of wine going down your insides. There were also other tents that were selling and giving away free tastings of different snacks of food—and you know I had no problem trying them ALL!

The tents.

Proof I’m at least 21.

The murder tape around the bees’/hornets’ pit.

Horse-drawn carriage ride.

Singing and playing guitar.

Chair massages.

Bottles of wine everywhere.

When we first arrived, we had to get wrist-banded so the vendors would know we were at least 21 years of age! First things first, you know. Then we were given our very own personal wine glass to enjoy all the tastings.

I’ll tell you—the lines to some of the tents were RIDICULOUSLY LONG! I couldn’t believe how long we stood in one line just for a tasting! So needless to say, we opted to go to tents with shorter lines—which were few and far between. I mean, we stood in one line for 35 minutes at one tent just waiting our turn for a tasting!

Pumpkin Coffee Cake

And OH, I found a coffee cake tent!! HEAVEN!! And pumpkin coffee cake at that. It was so amazingly good I had to buy a whole one just for myself to take home. I swear I’m going to stalk this company and order more throughout the year.

In the end, all the food and drink tastings were awesome and I came home with one bottle of sweet red wine, one bottle of sweet white wine, pumpkin coffee cake, and a big jar of yummy apple butter.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, attend the next wine festival you can find in your town.

Take-Away Life Lesson: If you don’t eat a double cheeseburger and fries ahead of time, you won’t be able to make your way around to all your rounds of wine tastings like you want to—if you catch my drift.

Time For A Festival

Posted on September 24, 2014 by LFFL

So I took myself to a festival a few weeks ago so I could have some fun and get out of the house. I have to say I actually enjoyed myself even though I went by myself.

I chose to go bright and early in the morning to this festival and arrived right at opening time. That’s the best time to go, you know, because there’s not a lot of people everywhere yet. You know how I roll.

It was fun to people-watch and eat up a storm. You know how I LOVE food! Festivals are some of the best places to eat to your heart’s content. There were food tents everywhere! I mean, how do you even begin choose?!

Fried Potatoes.

Corn Dog eating.

Pineapple Cobbler.

Sitting on a street curb eating a Corn Dog & Funnel Cake.

My first stop was for potatoes and onions. They were pretty ‘meh.’ As I sat on a bench eating my bowl of potatoes and onions, I looked up and saw a FUDGE sign through a window that was directly across the street. Oh, MAN, you know where I headed next!! A piece of plain chocolate fudge was all I needed.

I later headed towards the carnival area. You know a carnival is not complete without funnel cakes, cotton candy, and corn dogs. So, since there was really no place for me to sit, I sat on the street curb and ate a corn dog and funnel cake.

The only thing I was baffled by was why they’d be selling hot chocolate at a carnival when it was almost 100 degrees outside! Really?!

That fudge sign through a window and across the street.

Oh, the fudge.

Selling hot chocolate and it’s 95 degrees outside!

Kettle Corn tent.

Taters & Onions.

Oh my, the cobbler.

At some point, I made my way to a COBBLER booth. No way was I passing that one up. I chose the pineapple flavored cobbler. It was to die for.

This was also the first time ever that I stopped at a psychic booth. I really just did it for grins. It was only $10 I was losing. It was hilarious though because the very first thing she told me to do was sit down and take $10 out of my purse, put it into my right hand, and ball up my fist.

Then she proceeded to open my fist and take my money. I couldn’t stop laughing on the inside because she was being so dramatic about it. Even I saw that one coming!

I mean, why is she pretending the money in my palm is part of the psychic act of my palm reading—as if the spirits need the money in my hand first for my future to get predicted? Just take my money and read my palm already! Who are we really kidding here?

The psychics that read my palm.

Indian man playing a musical instrument.

Headed towards the carnival.

Entering the carnival.

Carnival rides.

This dome was spinning 100 miles per hour. No thanks!

So, if you have nothing else to do today, take yourself to a festival full of fun, food, and laughter—even if you just go by yourself. You’ll have lots of fun, trust me.

Take-Away Life Lesson: A psychic is obviously only there to give you a generalization about your future life—not specific details like you’d hope for. Saying you’ll have “happiness in your future” is something you can probably predict yourself. In that case—we’re ALL psychic. But giving detailed dates, times, places, and names of people and things that are going to happen in your future—now that’s a psychic.

Rockin' The Strawberry Festival

Posted on June 1, 2013 by LFFL

Me arriving at the Strawberry Festival — Arriving at the Strawberry Festival

Oh, my! I had such a fabulous time at the Strawberry Festival this year!

The weather was perfection and I got to the festival right before opening time. I mean, I just have to be the one to get first dibs on any pickins I could possibly want to buy before they all get snatched up by anyone else that dares take them! (I’m thuggish like that.)

The mansion in all her glory

Look at that Victorian detail.

And I absolutely LOVE being around this gorgeous Victorian mansion. I love, love, love all things Victorian. So I was a bit overwhelmed, as usual, just being in the vicinity of this stunning creature in all her glory. I love me some beauty!

Now for the fun! There were over 100 tents selling all sorts of things. It was just one big garage sale for all! I lucked out and found these absolutely beautiful heavy glass ‘objets d’art’ for dirt cheap. Score for me! And I didn’t even have to haggle.

Let the negotiations begin!

Crystal glass wares from Strawberry Festival

I got these lovelies for a bargain!

The kettle corn man! Yum!

Strawberry Goodness

Strawberry Shortcake and Strawberry Float

Amazingly, there was another tent across the way selling glass objects that did not look as nice as these and that were of a much lighter weight when I picked them up—for FOUR (4) times the price!! Kick rocks, dude. I don’t think so.

They couldn’t possibly have known what the competition was selling. I got all 3 of my heavy glass beauties for LESS THAN what the other tent was selling for just ONE light-weight glass bowl the same size. Come on now.

Next up, the EATING PART!! My FAVORITE part of the day. The most exciting part of any day! What can I possibly tell you about all the delicious strawberries I saw being served every which way you could possibly want! Naturally, when I can’t decide which food item I want to eat more than another—I tend to get one of each. Big ups to the ladies serving them!

So, if you have nothing else to do today, find out when a festival will be in your town again and make plans to attend and buy all sorts of objects and yummy eatings. No festival anytime soon? Take a tour of a beautiful historic Victorian mansion and transport yourself back in time. Aahhh.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Always window-shop and make mental notes of all 100 tents first BEFORE buying anything. This is how you score big time for cheap. Also, don’t be afraid to eat yourself into strawberry madness.