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| - I initially learned of this festival through a Groupon deal and I checked to see if they'd have any veg*n options. The Spicy Veggie truck was supposed to be there so I was excited to try it. However, I ended up volunteering to take part in the Yelp judging (not an official Yelp event) instead of purchasing the Groupon, and I couldn't be happier. If I had spent one red cent on this event, I'd be uber ticked.
About a week prior to the event I received a call from someone confirming my spot as a Yelp Elite judge. I was told to arrive by 11am to check-in. When I arrived I expected to see some sort of designated check-in area for judges. I went to the area where they were selling event tickets, but no one knew anything about the Yelp judges or where to go. I wandered around aimlessly until I ran into someone who guided me to a building. Inside that building I was informed that I could sign in there (I had to sign a waiver via iPad), but then I'd have to walk to the amphitheater for the Yelp judge meet-up. So I walked over there and I saw what looked like a group of friends hanging out. I looked closer and saw two familiar Yelpers, so I figured I was in the right place. There was no signage from the event indicating that this was the meeting area. If I didn't know anyone, I would've kept walking around, looking for the group.
After about an hour of waiting, we were finally given some instructions. We were given 10 sample tickets for use at booths which were participating in the challenge (Not all booths were.) and one or 2 (I don't recall) drink tickets, although we were promised more (which we eventually received a couple of hours later). We were forewarned that some of the vendors might be meanies, due to stress and whatnot. Yay. (Sarcasm) We were instructed to jump to the front of the lines, announce ourselves as Yelp Elite judges, and demand our samples or else (basically). Oh, that sounds fun. (Not.) We were told to get the samples and go back to the meeting area to be interviewed.
As we walked around, looking at the various food booths and food trucks, we noticed that less than 1/2 the advertised vendors were present, the Spicy Veggie truck was amongst the M.I.A. Therefore, I was limited in what I could sample. LuLu's Sorbet is always a winner. There was a sample tent which had vegetarian egg rolls, fried green beans, potato cakes, and apple churros. This was the most veggie-friendly option out of all the vendors, and I'm pretty sure this tent was owned by the event organizers. I really wanted french fries from one vendor but the line was long and mean with eye-daggers waiting to gouge out your sockets if you tried to jump them. Yelp-schmelp. Without any distinctive credentials to set you apart, you were basically just a rude @$$hole trying to cut the line. No bueno. Oh, and let's not forget the soft-serve and coffee food truck owner who was rude to us, or the many vendors who started the day saying they were out of samples. Fibbers. *sigh*
After the stress of finding and getting at least a couple of samples, we remembered that we needed to high-tail it back over to the meeting area for an interview. There was a lot of back and forth. I was partially dehydrated by now and everyone was out of water. When the water finally arrived it was warm.
After having enough with the lines, we decided to throw in the towel on the judging. We made our choices and took our ballots to the building. While there, we were given the rest of our drink tickets. I inquired about the wristbands we were supposed to have and we were given VIP wristbands. Come to find out, everyone and their mamas had these wristbands. That, coupled with the fact that even though there were signs indicating there should be separate lines for people with sample tickets, express, etc., there were no separate lines, so you just had to wait with everyone else. If I had paid for a VIP wristband, I would've raised all levels of hell, but I didn't, so...
I did enjoy the samba dancers in their traditional wardrobe. I also had a delicious sno-cone at the cart across from the Panini truck; wish I remembered the name of that business. They let me get a large sno-cone using my drink tickets, which sent me off on a happy note. And I made some cool friends.
I walked away having spent $0 for this event, but I cannot give it 3 stars because it was not OK. If there had been a smidgen of organization to this event, it could've gone so much better. Someone with the event should have either been at the booths to assist the judges, or with the judges as they went around to the booths. Maybe even specific times for judging at each booth would've been helpful for both the vendors and judges. I'm not a fan of having food already sitting at a table for judges because I'm OCD, for one, and secondly, that's a sure way to waste food, as not everyone eats every thing. I'm sure they'll learn from this year's mishaps, and maybe next year will be loads better.
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