The 2013 OC Chocolate Festival

Tags

Chocolate, Festivals, Food, LA events, OC

Join the best chocolatiers and pastry chefs as they present their savoir-faire and top items all for you to enjoy.  The 2013 Orange County Chocolate Festival is back and bigger than ever.  Exhibitors and caterers will feature scrumptious chocolates, exquisite wines, and fabulous gift ideas for your enjoyment. Also enjoy live music, live cooking demonstrations, vendor attractions, and more. Bring your friends, make it a date to celebrate together.  Tickets can be purchased at the door however if you purchase in advance there’s a discount off the door price!  Head down to the OC on Oct. 26th to  have your chocolate and eat it too!

Location: Hyatt Regency Orange County (Grand Ballroom)

11999 Harbor Blvd., Garden Grove 92840

Date:  Oct. 26

Time:  11am – 6pm

Website:  http://www.occhocolatefestival.com

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National Red Bull Flugtag

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events, Festivals, free things to do, Long Beach, Los Angeles, southern california, sports, Things to do in LA

The quest for human-powered flight returns to Long Beach this Saturday, September 21st at Rainbow Harbor!  The National Red Bull Flugtag will feature teams from across the country launching their flying machines off of a 30-foot ramp to the waters below.  Judges will score each team based on distance, creativity of craft, and showmanship.  The hangars open at 10AM with the first flight at noon, and best of all, it’s FREE!  For a unique and exciting event this weekend, check out the flugtag.

 

Location:  Long Beach Rainbow Harbor

340 S Pine Ave. Long Beach, CA 90802

Date:  Saturday, September 21st

Time:  10 AM, First Flight at Noon

Website:  http://redbullflugtagusa.com/page/cities/city/5/longbeach

626 Night Market and Gardena Obon Festival

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Culture, events, family, Festivals, Food, Los Angeles, markets, shopping, Things to do in LA, weekend, wigo

Get some Asian culture (and delicious food) this weekend at the 626 Night Market and Gardena Buddhist Church Obon Festival.  The 626 Night Market is returning for its third summer event at the Santa Anita Racetrack, offering dozens of vendors selling everything from Asian-inspired food and drinks to arts and crafts, and anything else you can think of.  The event runs from 4 PM until 1 AM on Saturday and 11 PM on Sunday.  This event was near capacity on Saturday nights, so we recommend going early or on Sunday to beat the crowds!  

626 Night Market

Location:  Santa Anita Racetrack

285 West Huntington Drive Arcadia, CA 91007

Date:  Saturday, August 3rd and Sunday, August 4th

Time:  Saturday – 4:00 PM to 1:00 AM, Sunday – 4:00 PM to 11:00 PM

Website:  http://www.626nightmarket.com/ 

*website was down as of this posting so head to their facebook for info too

https://www.facebook.com/626NightMarket?directed_target_id=0

 

If you are out in the South Bay this weekend, be sure to stop by the Gardena Buddhist Church’s Obon Festival, one of LA’s largest obon festivals!  Obon festival is a traditional Japanese festival honoring one’s ancestors that typically happens during the summer.  These festivals have evolved to be a celebration of Japanese culture, with kendo and martial arts demonstrations and taiko (japanese drumming) performances.  There will also be plenty of food vendors selling all types of Japanese food, like sushi, udon noodles, teriyaki chicken, and much more.  There will be plenty of carnival games as well.  

Gardena Obon Festival

Location:  Gardena Buddhist Church

1517 West 166th Street Gardena, CA 90247

Date:  Saturday, August 3rd and Sunday, August 4th

Time:  Saturday – 3:00 PM to 10:00 PM, Sunday – 2:00 PM to 9:00 PM

Website:  http://www.gardenabuddhistchurch.org/

LA Street Food Fest Update

Tags

drinks, events, Festivals, Food, LA, Los Angeles, Pasadena, Things to do in LA, wigo

We had an awesome time checking out LA Street Food Fest at the Rose Bowl, an all-inclusive food and drink event featuring some of LA’s best food trucks and restaurants!

It was a quick cab ride out to the Rose Bowl, and surprisingly traffic was not too bad.  We were dropped off right at the entrance gate, grabbed our alcohol wristbands and walked right in.  Once inside, we situated ourselves while sipping on cucumber jalapeno margaritas from Milagro tequila, which hit the spot on this warm later afternoon.  The layout of the event had vendors surrounding the outside of the Rose Bowl while the infield and seating was open on the inside of the Rose Bowl.  We actually ended up doing most of our eating in line to make the most of our time.

The lines were very reasonable with wait times around 5 minutes for most vendors.  We weren’t sure where they got them, but we saw some people carrying cardboard trays to hold all of their food, which was a brilliant idea.  There were over 100 tents and food trucks serving up all kinds of cuisines.  Some of our favorites were the grilled cheese truck, crispy pig ears, and crab rice balls.

 

We headed to one end of the vendors called the Taste of Mexico, which featured some amazing tacos and was right next to the Singha beer garden.  Mariscos El Mazateno served up a delicious scallop and shrimp taco.

 

 

After passing through all of the vendors again, we headed toward the dessert part of the event.  One of our favorites was Churro Borough, serving an ice cream sandwich made of churros!

Only 2 and a half hours into our 4 hour session, we were stuffed and ready to check out the Rose Bowl infield.  The infield had plenty of space to sprawl out and relax on the grass.  A live band provided the entertainment and it seemed like everyone was having a great time.

 

 

We stayed to watch the sun set and decided to catch a cab home.  All in all we thought the LA Street Food Fest was a good deal with free parking, unlimited food and drinks, and it never felt over-crowded.  We definitely recommend going next year if you are a foodie like us!

Reminder: LA Street Food Fest This Saturday!

Tags

drink, events, Festivals, Food, Los Angeles, Pasadena, rose bowl, Things to do in LA, wigo

Just a friendly reminder that the LA Street Food Fest is this Saturday!  Check out our blog post for the details.

Head to http://lafoodfest2013.eventbrite.com/ for tickets!

We will see you there!

Pasadena Chalk Festival

Tags

Art, chalk festival, Culture, events, Festivals, Los Angeles, Pasadena, Things to do in LA

The Paseo Colorado Mall in Pasadena is hosting their annual chalk art festival this weekend!  The festival set the 2010 Guinness World Record for largest public art event and features hundreds of artists creating amazing chalk murals.  Take advantage of this free event and watch the artists at work, listen to live music, and get some shopping done too!

 

Location:  Paseo Colorado Mall

280 East Colorado Boulevard Pasadena, CA 91101

Date:  Saturday, June 15th and Sunday June 16th

Time:  10:00 AM to 7:00 PM

Website:  http://www.pasadenachalkfestival.com/

Hi Everyone,

We have been working hard to launch an event-related website called wigo Los Angeles and would love for you to be a part of it!  Click here or click the link on our blog’s homepage to leave us your email address so we can let you know when it goes live.  Thanks for the support!

-the wigo team

626 Night Market

Tags

events, Festivals, Food, Los Angeles, Night Market, shopping, Things to do, Things to do in LA

America’s largest Asian night market is returning with their first weekend of the summer this Saturday and Sunday evening at the Santa Anita Racetrack!  Over 150 vendors will be on site selling authentic Asian street food and drinks as well as merchandise and arts and crafts.  There will be a full schedule of live entertainment including artists, performances, and games.  The last few events have been really popular, so they recommend coming early to avoid the crowds.  Admission is $2 from 4-6PM and $3 after, with free parking all evening.  Check out the website for a map of all of the vendors.  If you can’t make it to this weekend’s event, don’t worry, they are having events in July and August as well!

 

Location:  Santa Anita Racetrack – Front Paddock Gardens

285 W. Huntington Drive Arcadia, CA 91007

(Gates 3 or 5 off Huntington Drive; Gate 8 off Baldwin Avenue)

Dates:  Saturday, June 8th and Sunday, June 9th

Time:  Saturday – 4:00 PM to Midnight, Sunday – 4:00 PM to 10:00 PM

Website:  http://www.626nightmarket.com

4th Annual LA Street Food Fest

Tags

beer, events, Festivals, Food, LA, Los Angeles, Pasadena, recreation, southern california

Calling all foodies, grab your tickets for the LA Street Food Fest at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Saturday, June 29th!  This is an all-inclusive, all you can eat event featuring nearly 100 vendors including food trucks and bites from LA’s best restaurants.  And to wash it all down, there will be plenty of beverages offered including a beer garden, signature cocktails from LA’s best mixologists, a tequila tasting tent, tea, and coconut water.  Grab a blanket and hang out on the Rose Bowl field listening to music and hanging out with friends at this awesome summer event.  We already grabbed our tickets and are super excited for this one!

Location:  Rose Bowl Field

1001 Rose Bowl Drive, Pasadena, California 91103

Date:  Saturday, June 29th

Time:  3:00 PM – 4:30 PM VIP Hour, 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM General Admission

Website:  https://www.facebook.com/events/175576005923181/

2013 LA Winefest

Tags

events, Festivals, Food, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Things to do, Things to do in LA, wine

With summer quickly approaching, many great outdoor events are coming up that are sure to sell out, so we will try to let you know about them as early as possible so you don’t miss out!  The 8th annual LA Winefest is taking place on June 8-9 at the historic Raleigh Studios in Hollywood.  This event features over 500 wines and spirits from over a dozen countries and your tickets is all-you-can-taste for the entire event!  There will also be plenty of food trucks, live entertainment, and demos.  If you are a wine enthusiast, this event is perfect for you!  A limited amount of $60 tickets are still available online, so head over to the website and click tickets.

 

Location:  Raleigh Studios

5300 Melrose Ave. Hollywood, CA 90038

Date:  Saturday June 8th and Sunday June 9th

Time:  Saturday: 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM, Sunday: Noon – 5:00 PM

Website:  http://www.lawinefest.com/wordpress/

LA Beerfest Update

Tags

beer, beerfest, events, Festivals, Food, Los Angeles

Last weekend we did some day drinking at Eat.Drink.Play’s LA Beerfest, held at Paramount Studios!  The event had two sessions, one from noon to 3PM and another from 4PM to 7PM.  We opted to go for the first session (in hopes of cleaner porta-potties) and got dropped off by our cab about twenty minutes before the drinking commenced.  Although the line to get to security extended down the block, it moved very quickly and we were in the event with our mini beer mugs by noon.

The event featured over 80 breweries, each with their signature brews on draft.  There was a front area of the event with food trucks and one group of breweries, and another area in the backlot with more breweries, a stage with live music, and a photo booth truck.  The backlot was a fun place to hang out because it felt like you were part of a drunken neighborhood block party.

The lines for some of the breweries were pretty long, but with two people serving at most tents, the wait for a refill was only about 5 minutes at most.  The three-hour time limit was a perfect amount of time and our group was able to try out some great beers, ciders, sake, and soju.  One of our favorite beers was Abita Purple Haze, a light, crisp, raspberry wheat ale.

Honestly, toward the end of the session we couldn’t keep track of all of the beers we had tried!  We grabbed some food at the Seoul Sausage truck, which specializes in Asian-inspired sausages and deep fried foods.  We had the galbi sausage and fried curry rice ball, and both were delicious!

All in all Beerfest was a fun event with a friendly crowd and a cool location.  There are more beers than one could possibly drink in one session (although we did see people crossing breweries off their list one by one).  We will definitely be back next year and bring pretzel necklaces to snack on throughout the session, just like the pros!