We purchased the general admission for $12 online. Didn't think it'd be worth the extra $30 for the beer garden... glad we didn't put more money into this festival. If you're a vegetarian, save your money and time for the Phx Veg Fest. I would say the variety in cuisine was so-so. We had pizza, cheese fries, ice cream, snow cones, and samosa. They also had pitas and crepes - but we decided to skip. Wish we had tried it instead of snow cones. Do you see a trend here though? Out of the list of things we tried, the samosa was the most special thing.. and the restaurant that was serving it is one of our favorites down the street from our home. I guess this experience is what you make of it. Prices for food ranged from $2-$8. Reg Beer was $6.
I'm sure they had a reason to charge more for the beer garden - seemed more of a disservice to vendors...
We also attended the teen cooking competition. Fun concept - it was 1.5 hrs. Took more time than I liked, but it was fun and different.
As a vegetarian, I don't regret attending, but I also don't forsee visiting this event again.