Arts Beats & Eats

$ 15 Parking
$ 10 (2 people) Entry
$ 20 2 beers and 1 tiny slider
= $ 45 in the first 5 minutes we were there
The original ‘taste’ menus were all but gone. Remember the good ol’ days in Pontiac where you could sample a dish from a fancy restaurant you could never afford for a few tickets? Now, a simple, tiny slider costs you $ 7.
Also, where did the art go? I saw carnival rides, cheap fake designer sunglasses, and window salesman.
The performing artist line up wasn’t half bad, if they would only run on time.
The only ‘good’ thing about this festival is that you can find an empty seat at an otherwise packed restaurant in the area at 7pm on a Friday.
Never again.

This is the first ABE I have been to in like four years! I used to go to the ones in Pontiac, but somehow this particular festival lost its appeal. I always preferred Tastefest, probably because of the New Center location or the food selection.
I have to say I was also disappointed in this year’s ABE. I specifically went to see Mayer Hawthorne perform but I knew I had to get some grub and walk around while I was there. I didn’t mind paying $ 3 to get in… it’s chump change if it helps put on a local festival that supports local businesses and artists. I was disappointed in the food vendors. C’mon, Melting Pot? CPK? What happened to the local food places in Detroit (all the BBQ places that give off that sweet aroma at other festivals)? I forked over six tickets for the saddest, thinnest chicken shwarma from Mezza. I think I have seen fruit-​roll-​ups thicker that this sandwich. I also wasn’t crazy about the ticket system. It just gives them permission to rip you off. Like others, the whole fest seemed very very crowded to me. I couldn’t stand the stop-​and-​go walking on Washington. It was impossible to find out where a line started for each food vendor, and the lines would spill into the main walking area. Beer selection was also weak. To echo Dave M., it would have been great to see some local breweries and Michigan beers, instead of just Bud/​Bud Light pish.
Oh and don’t get me started on the information booth. After wandering around trying to get my bearings for about 20 minutes, I rushed to the info booth to find out where the stages were. I asked the info guy where MH was playing… he looks the listing and says «he’s not playing here.» Huh? Yea Bud, I know he is. So, genius me, flips over the concert listing to show the info guy a whole other page of show listings. After pointing out what time MH was playing, I ask info man (again, a mistake on my part) where this particular stage is. After taking an eternity to find the stage on the map, he tells us how to get there but yet tells us to go one block past the actual entrance. Sadly, Mr (no so) Info Man was not my favorite person for that night.
However, as soon as we reached the main stage area, it was more comfortable. People had room to spread out in and actually enjoy the show. I have to say the show was the redeeming quality for the night. If I didn’t enjoy the set so much, I think I would have totally one starred the Royal Oak ABE.

Royal Oak needs to seriously reconsider the lay out of next year’s AB&E’s. I LOVED Comerica’s Cityfest in Detroit. Because it was a two lane road with a median that they shut down to have the festival there was more than adequate walk room. Not to mention it was really well organized.
I was really excited to come to this thing because I heard it was like Cityfest but bigger. I will NOT be coming to this again unless they change some things.
1) ALL parking was $ 15 — REALLY? What a rip off!!! I was so pisssssed that you needed permits to park in the street, but to park in a ramp was a flat rate of $ 15.
2) THEY CHARGED YOU TO GET IN!!! — Detroit’s Cityfest NEVER charged because they already knew you were going to buy tickets to eat the food, buy drinks, and other various spending of cash. I was livid they charged to get in. Now, before even getting into the event I paid $ 18 total.
3) Horrible HORRIBLE food vendor layout — The way it was set up all the food was grouped together, and all the merchandise vendors were on the side streets. This was a terrible plan, not to mention they should have opened up way more streets. They either needed to space out the foot vendors down a few more blocks and give them more room. Or instead of having them all cramped next to each other on Washington they should have had it go food-​merch-​merch-​merch-​food to give it more room.
You couldn’t walk anywhere, too many parents decided to bring their hummer-​sized strollers for their kids, and everything was way way way too congested.
Royal Oak, organize this better and quit charging us as much. I took out $ 80 to spend at the AB&E’s but only spent $ 10 because I was already nickel and dimed in parking and an entrance fee that you shouldn’t have been charging anyone.

Over crowded! Too small of a space for such a big venue. Pontiac had much more room! AB&E is a disappointment this year.

I’ve gone to AB&E the last couple of years in Pontiac and was excited when it moved to Royal Oak since it’s much closer to my house. My husband and I went on Saturday morning, getting there right when it opened at 11am. We tried to find some street parking in the close neighborhoods, but they all had no parking signs. Luckily we turned into the RO Farmer’s Market lot and they weren’t charging yet! So we popped 3 quarters into a meter and were all set. (I think because the Farmer’s Market was going on, they weren’t charging the $ 15 parking yet).
There was a bit of a line up at the main entrance on Washington near 11 mile, but a AB&E worker was walking down the line explaining the ticketing and whatnot and said that a train had just come through so they had to stop letting people in until that went by (the entrance was right by the railroad tracks).
It was more crowded than I would have liked, but it wasn’t terrible. People definitely need to learn how to walk. I thought the area for the fair wasn’t as large as it was in Pontiac (but that could just be my perception). It seemed there weren’t as many art booths either, but the few artists that I always like to see at art fairs were there. I was a little disappointed with the Ford display, as the main sponsor of the event, I would have thought there would have been more than just a few new models scattered throughout the fair. I tried to look at the new Explorer and the guy working the display told me I had to get a wrist band (for liability purposes because the car was on some stage that moved) from a tent where they were trying to get me to sign up to win a car, which just felt pushy to me. Maybe there was no catch to signing up, but I got the feeling there was. This is all coming from a die-​hard Ford lover who will never drive another type of car. I would hope Ford would step up their displays a little in the future and not have pushy feeling people work them.
We walked around the whole event, got a corn dog and some butterfly chips and headed home. One of our favorite Detroit bands, The Hard Lessons, was playing at the RO Music Theater later on Saturday night, so we kept our wristbands on to return later. We bit the bullet and paid $ 15 to park in a structure right by the fair, I think $ 10 would have been a more reasonable price to park. But for the convenience, I was ok with it (especially since we got off not having to pay $ 15 when we went earlier). It was MUCH MUCH more crowded on Saturday night, we ended up walking mostly on the sidewalk, behind the tents, to avoid the morons who think it is a good idea to stop in the middle of the street to talk to their friends. We got some food, did up spending $ 30 during the day for lunch, dinner, and dessert, which was steep, but fun to try different places. We headed to the RO Music Theater to catch the end of Ty Stone’s set and see The Hard Lessons. I liked that the stage was inside the music theater (especially since it was a little cold that night). I didn’t drink at all at the show, but I’m sure the drinks were priced more reasonably than the tents outside and there was more variety.
All in all, I’m glad AB&E came to Royal Oak. I would hope next year they would open a little earlier, I was hoping to get there at 9am to miss a lot of the crowds. And maybe they could reduce the parking (we’re in a recession here!) I did like that they gave you a $ 3 coupon when you walked in to use at various participating RO businesses through the end of the month.

The husband and I were looking forward to AB&E this year in Royal Oak to see what the city could do with the event. Last year was our first time going to AB&E in Pontiac and we had a great time.
As much as we tried to avoid it, we ended up paying the atrocious fee of $ 15 to park. We quickly lost our patience driving around and sitting in traffic. We arrived at the festival at about 6pm, and had no lines to get in, and no confusion like others had mentioned. Our first priority was to get a beer, so off to the ticket booth we went. Again, no lines for tickets either. Beer was just as easy to get.
Our second priority was food. We headed down the International aisle. It was crowded, but not too bad. There didn’t seem to be many lines for the food. I was a little bummed that Rumalee’s only had Butter Chicken out of the 4 options they were offering. So, we moved on to the other areas of food to see what else we could devour. All other areas were JAMMED. I felt like a friggin’ sardine. Many times we were at a standstill and had to dodge the crazy people with strollers to prevent getting hit. Finally, we decided to head over to the Peking House booth and got their combo plates which included Vegetable Lomain (that is how it was spelled on the sign… ha ha), General Tso’s Chicken, and a Spring Roll. It was ok. Not great, but I wasn’t expecting great. I was just happy to get out of the crowd, and not have to wait in line for food.
After we filled our bellies, we ventured around to check out the art, still trying to safely maneuver through the masses. Most of the art was the same from last year. As I drank more beer, I became less agitated, which is always good. Beer makes everything better in my world. As I finished my 2^nd beer, I saw a shop that was just outside the festival that I wanted to check out. After we left the shop, we couldn’t get back in. Why? Because the festival was at maximum capacity! There was a line at least 50 people deep to get in. We were told to walk around Main Street and come back in about 20 – 30 minutes. We passed 2 more entrances and there were lines that stretched down the street to get in as well.
We found our way to Blackfinn. It was crowded, but we were able to get a beer and hang out next to the bar. Oh what fun it was to watch all of the idiots who try so hard to get attention and look cool.
Fortunately, when we tried to re-​enter, it wasn’t an issue. We continued to drink beer, enjoy the arts, and listen to the music in the background. We didn’t stop to see any bands this year. Not sure why!
The port-​a-​potty situation wasn’t an issue. We used the ones in the carnival, and they were in pretty good shape, no lines.
The parts I liked about the festival:
This gave me a chance to check out the shops on the streets now that we’re moving to Royal Oak. I probably wouldn’t give myself enough time to see what this trendy little downtown area had to offer.
I got to drool over all of the candy at Pronto. I love candy.
Due to the stupid ticket system, we were left with 8 tickets 30 minutes before closing time. We spotted soft pretzels with cheese for 5 tickets. The husband asked if we could get 2 orders even though we were 2 tickets short. The girl said she could give it to us without cheese for one order, but ended up giving us cheese for both orders anyways. She wouldn’t accept a tip either.
I was impressed with all of the First Aid stations. Royal Oak FD did a great job positioning the tents where they were easily visible & accessible. I spoke to one of the Paramedic Firefighters, and he said they had done over 100 runs with their gator (it’s like a big, fast golf cart with a stretcher on it). Too bad they are still laying off 13 Firefighters next week.
So…I ended up having a good time, mostly because of beer and my husband. I might consider going back next year if they expand the area to prevent overcrowding. Otherwise, we’ll skip it.

We avoided the whole parking thing by walking there, which was way cooler than shelling out 15 bucks. Once inside, we quickly snatched up tickets and headed for the beer. Bud, Bud Light, and Bud Amber?! Yeah, I know that Budweiser is a sponsor but please, Michigan boasts some fantastic craft brews, not to mention Royal Oak Brewery’s finest – couldn’t there have been a couple tents showcasing one of our State’s liquid treasures?
The food – I was pleased. Lots of choices for adults and kids. Blackfinn’s spicy shrimp was great, there were several bbq joints featuring rib tips, pulled pork, fried catfish, and the like. Tasty Indian cuisine from Rumalee’s, and a generous sized Cubano from Café Habana.
The art was cool. Some interesting stuff that I hadn’t seen before.
The carnival area though was a ripoff – which I guess is normal. $ 5 so that your kid could throw 3 softballs into a basket which was positioned in such a way that the ball bounces out each time? Same with darts, etc. Big money pit. Next time I’d just avoid that area completely.
All in all, happy to have ABE in Royal Oak.

Crowds don’t usually bother me but this was a cluster of craziness. I tried to partake of the Arts and Eats but I just couldn’t handle the massive amounts of people crowded into what seemed like the narrowest streets in the world.
And, apparently people don’t know how to walk. One foot in front of the other, people.
We went down there specifically to see Rhythm Corps and Mayer Hawthorne. Oddly, the main stage area (The Michigan Lottery Stage) didn’t seem to be teeming with people. Before and after the bands it was a great place to chat with friends and have a beer.
After Rhythm Corps finished we walked right up to the front. Technically, we were in the first row after the VIP area, which led to great viewing for Mayer Hawthorne.
Hawthorne didn’t seem very happy that there were only about 20 people in VIP area so he invited the crowd to fill it up. Crowds broke through the barrier and started rushing towards the front of the stage. It took a few minutes before security and the police realized what was happening and then they put a stop to it.
Overall, I think the layout of the festival in Pontiac worked so much better. I was dubious about the move to Royal Oak from the beginning. The planning commission has a lot of kinks to work out before next year.
For me, the festival could be renamed Beats & Brews. That’s all I had the patience for.

ABE was better than I expected. I believe that I might have had some advantages that others didn’t, so maybe that’s why my rating is a bit higher. I read some of the other reviews and guess I had a better experience.
1 — Lines: I never waited to get in. I entered off 4^th street each time and walked right up. When I went to get a soda, beer, smoothie, or any food item I never waited more than 2 minutes.
2 — Prices: Very Reasonable. I think most food and drink items averaged around 8 tickets which was $ 5. Some items were slightly more, some less, but overall it’s what you would expect at an outdoor festival or fair.
3 — Crowd: Yes it was crowded, I guess they were even turning people away on Sunday for awhile. I guess the crowds didn’t bother me. I think it’s what you would expect and if you aren’t in a hurry and know how to navigate a crowd it’s okay. Being a resident of Royal Oak I was actually enthused to see how many people were there. Being that the Michigan economy has suffered the last few years, it was refreshing to see so many people come out and have a great time and enjoy themselves. I hope the large crowds show the potential this event can have in Royal Oak and helps it attract even bigger artists and musical acts for next year. The first year in Royal Oak was surely a learning experience and I’m sure next year there will be improvements.
4 — Food: I was very happy with the vast selection of restaurants that came out to ABE. The smells and aromas coming off all of the grills and smokers was so intoxicating. I came to ABE 3 separate days and was able to try a few different things. The sliders and Sicilian steak sandwich from Vince & Joe’s were both great. I had a great smoothie from the stand near the carnival, wish I knew where to get one like it after today. The selection, much like the crowd, was very eclectic. There were cuisines from all different areas and regions, so it was hard not to some something up your alley.
5 — Music: I thought there was a lot of great acts this weekend although I was only able to see a few. I thought Kenny Wayne Shepherd on Saturday night was awesome. Also the Killer Flamingos on Friday covered a lot of current and older songs and were a solid closer Friday night to the alt rock stage.
6 — Parking: I’m local so I was able to drive closer and park in a friends driveway or even walk from home if need be. Non-​issue for me, but I could see where an extra $ 15-​$ 20 would be annoying to people driving in from other areas.
7 — Art: I thought there was a lot of good art displayed. Whether it was photography, paintings, sketches, jewelry, pottery etc., there was something for everyone in that department. The only thing I wish is that there was more modern art and photography (and it was cheaper), but overall the selection was solid and I’m sure it will only get better.
All in all I had a great time at ABE this weekend (probably why I went 3 times) and I was thrilled to see Royal Oak thriving. I know a lot of local business say a substantial spike in foot traffic and revenue this weekend so hopefully ABE comes back next year and everyone supports it like they did this year.

This was my first time attending AB&E and I was a tad disappointed. First, it was way, way, way too crowded. They need to expand the area for sure. Next, the ticket system was totally lame. I bought the minimum $ 10 worth and was one ticket short of getting a beer and sandwich. Annoying. Then, I wasn’t all that impressed with the vendors. For example, why was Metro PCS there? And lastly, the event staff were kind of jerks on more than one occasion. So, this will be my first and last appearance at the festival.

Picture perfect weather brought out a lot of festival goers today.
Even though parking will cost $ 10-​$ 15; I suggest parking in a designated lot and using the shuttle. We drove around looking for street parking, found a spot on a street that DID NOT have signs designating it as a no parking area, only to return to a $ 50 parking ticket!
The streets were so crowded it was difficult to navigate through the downtown Royal Oak venue, which also made it nearly impossible to see what wares the vendors had to offer. Baby strollers added to the congestion; maybe there should be a NO STROLLER policy for another year. Plus it really doesn’t seem like a child friendly environment to start with (so, maybe just get a sitter and enjoy a day out with the hubby!)
It was awesome to see the art vendors booths filled with customers!
The food vendors were plentiful enough and the food we sampled was very tasty. It would have been nice to find some seating areas nearby though so you didn’t have to eat while walking and bumping into other people.
There was a decent variety of beer, wine and other beverages throughout the festival area.
Admission into the event was reasonable and the tickets were about what we expected to pay.
Royal Oak is always a nice place to visit and hopefully the event will return again next year with a few improvements.

It’s been been a while since I last attended AB&E’s in Pontiac– but living in Ferndale, and with the festival relocating to Royal Oak, it seemed like it was worth checking out. Boy was I wrong.
Parking was a nightmare. All normal metered parking was not allowed, lots were all charging $ 15 and neighborhood streets were permit parking only. I understand the neighborhood street thing, but overall I just felt like this was ridiculous.
$ 3 admission fee… that’s fine or whatever, but I almost felt like it shoudl be for the whole weekend if you want to be gross enough to keep your wrist band on. By the number of people packed into this cluster, I’m sure they were making plenty off the $ 3 admission.
The crowd — Holy hell, this was a nightmare. It was impossible to move around here without getting super annoyed — we barely saw any of the art as it was way too obnoxious to get past people to look at anything, and it wasn’t any better trying to scan the food options. I felt myself getting steaming mad pretty quickly.
The tickets themselves were obnoxious — being sold only in increments of $ 10 — thereby forcing you to spend $ 20 for most folks… and getting the equivalent of $ 10 worth of food.
Bathroom situation– I didn’t even really see any… I’m sure they existed… right?
Music — Was I the only one pretty disappointed by the line-​up? I feel like they could’ve pulled together some better acts.
I am over it.

I will start with the bad, since this should be shorter:
1) Parking: Nearby parking is $ 15 bucks. You could park farther away for $ 10 then catch a shuttle to the main entrance. I walked from my home and some friends parked in driveways of people they knew.
2) Entrance backups: the main gate backed up something awful. This could be because the shuttles were dropping off here, but it looked like the wait was for the wrist bands. Maybe some signs pointing to the alternate entracnes (i never used the main one to enter, and never had to wait in line) would have been helpful.
3) Bathrooms: occasionally hard to locate & long lines.
The good stuff now:
1) The food options were vast & tasty. We had Indian Tandoori Lamb, then got Italian Chicken skewers next door and had a tasty churro on our walk back to the main strip. Then there was Dessert Ally with all kidns of goodness available.
2) There were so many bands & groups performing. If you don’t like the country music at that stage, check out the African tribal dance on the international stage. There were so many options for entertainment.
3) The Carnival! I have concluded that I do not not like carnival ferris wheels, unfortunately I came to this conclusion at the top of this on in Royal Oak. However, it was fun and the view may have been worth the fear factor.
4) The art section was great. Some local artists, some distant ones. I found some local artist who does prints of Detroit Art/​Architectural Icons and am having some of them shipped to my brother who moved to NYC a few years back. Most artists are offering discounts if you buy at the festival too, so there’s extra incentive.
It was crowded too, but that is both good & bad. Bad because it hampers your ability to move around & get where you want to be. Good because you know with these crowds it is profitable & that it’s likely to happen again next year.

This was AB&E’s first showing in RO and I have to say, it was pretty decent so far.
The goods:
— Location location location… this place started in Pontiac, then after several years decided for a number of reasons to move to Royal Oak, and I can tell you this WAS the right decision.
— The food choices were really good, addressing any palate and food craving.
— The layout was awesome, and creatively utilized every part and area very nicely within its boundaries.
— The music was GREAT… there were so many stages set up all over, if you were unable to find music you liked, then you better just play your I-​Pod, because there likely is not much else that would satisfy you musically!
Unfortunately there has to be a bad, after all I am a realist, but luckily there is not too much bad going on (that is the optimist coming out in me).
— Bathrooms… the porta-​john situation was pretty crappy (no pun intended). Really though, I did not think there were enough, and my group had to seek this out each time as we moved about.
–The non food non arts vendors… there were so many of the sign up and win folks, that it detracted from the arts part. There were way to many of these Metro PCS type places that occupied multiple booths/​spaces.
— The sound on the «big» stage was pretty bad for at least the first band (Saving Able), for whatever reason they had the bass up way to high and some other sound things happening where it sound muddy. By the time the second band (Candlebox) was done, they seemed to have it squared away, although that may have been because of the permanent stereocilia damage as a result of prolonged and loud 32Hz bass.
— The visibility of the stage… Pontiac had such a great stage setup that allowed viewing/​seating for all the main acts. The Royal Oak main-​stage setup was flat with only a minimal riser for the bands (short people simply had to look at the back of tall peoples backs), which was not fun for the ladies in our group.
Honestly I would normally just pass some of this by as being first timer mistakes and not think of them as an «issue», but I think others may want to know (at least about the peepee rooms).
I am sure ABE will work out the kinks, and improve on the goods and bads, but for me this event was golden… and with over 100k in attendance the first night, can be looked at as a success.

Well, the name says it all; Pontiac’s Labor Day weekend festival is a combination of art, food, and music. It’s grown to become one of Metro Detroit’s most popular summer fests and it’s easy to see why. With its exceptional national music acts like Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and The Neville Brothers taking the stage, some of the area’s best restaurants feeding the droves of attendees and a wonderful mix of art from jewelry, metal sculpture, to painting. This festival has got it all.
In addition, to the entertainment within the festival the area bars open their doors to festival goers to have a drink and check out some of downtown Pontiac’s restaurants and bars. There is tons of parking, both in most and on the street, around the area, which makes attending this festival much more enjoyable. For specific information, like the entertainment schedule check out the website.

Every year, Pontiac has its version of Detroit’s Cityfest (Tastefest): Arts, Beats, and Eats.
There are a few things that Pontiac’s festival has up on Detroit’s.
Firstly, ABE is much more kid friendly, to the point of having an entire stage dedicated to children’s entertainment. Performers include anything from magicans, to musical performers, to workshops that expose kids to new experiences (for example, this year they will have a «balloon workshop,» presumably for kids to mess around with balloon animals!)
Secondly, not only does it include both music and food, but ART. (Duh) Hundreds of (starving?) arts from all over the country come to peddle their wares — photography, paintings, sculpture, and more. There’s a lot of quality work being sold here, so if you’re looking for an original piece without having to pay thousands for it, this would be the place to look!
My issue with the festival is that, though all the aforementioned aspects of it are wonderful, the music portion of the festival has been severely lacking for a few years now. They tend to get second-​rate headliners (that’s not to say they’re bad per se) that had a hit … say, a few years ago or never. I mean, do I really need to see Broadzilla or Reefermen again? One star off.
Still, it’s a good time, and would be a great family outing.