Arcade Lights

I got the opportunity to attend this event. Arcade Lights is like a food tasting festival, filled with various of local restaurants. There is even some drinks from portland oregon!
I was able to get it at $ 45 (Early Bird). What it came with is a tasting glass, that’s adorably cute and you can keep, 10 tokens, a bandana (which i put on my dog haha) and a full belly.
The sampling sizes varies based off of the restaurant. I think it’s worth it, if you choose the right place to give your token to. If you run out, you can always buy more tokens :). It’s a great date event and to see what delicious restaurant are out there. I had a taste of bavarian meats, Crêpe De France, Piroshky Piroshky and more.
If you hear about this event, I’d recommend checking it out at least once in your life. I didn’t have any problems with lines, since it wasn’t as crowded as possibly the other years. (Either that or i went in early and got out early too: P)

Arcade Lights is a tasting festival featuring local beer, wine, gourmet eats and confections. Hubby and I made a date of it this year and braved the foodie masses together. The tasting glasses alone are keepsakes!
Uli from Uli’s Famous Sausage was there greeting his fans. Tom Douglas had salmon sliders at his table (I didn’t get to meet him, sadly, but his offering was pretty unforgettable). Tender beef ribs, empanadas, piroshky (that smoked salmon pâté!), wood-​fired pizza, Nutella crepes, boozy pear cider floats, jerk chicken, artisan cheeses, sweet waffles with melted brie and basil, tomato bisque, salmon stew, vegan donuts, oyster shooters, Pappardelle’s pasta, and more — the options were plentiful. I wanted some of everything, but, apparently, my stomach has limits. The brewers and vintners were many, which made it tough to decide. Such a great variety! We ate our way through the festival and left it hand-​in-​hand.
Four stars because of the sheer volume of people and lack of flow. I think they would do well to send folks through in intervals (and ban the backpacks — I feared more than one nose bleed due to collisions with The North Face).
Don’t miss the photo booth.

If you love to sample food and alcohol, yet don’t mind crowds, then you’ll do fine at Arcade Lights.
My friend and I got there early since they allow early admission for people who purchased tickets online. We were hoping to avoid the crowd but I guess everyone else had the same thought because it was PACKED. The crowd did die down later in the evening, which would have been a better time to go. However, some of the booths were out of food 2 hours before the event ended.
Each ticket holder was given 10 tokens. 1 token was needed for each sample of food or drink. For additional tickets, it was $ 2.50 per ticket. For the portions that were given, it was not too bad of a deal, especially if you split samples with a friend. From the top of my head, I highly enjoyed a raspberry wine that had the right amount of sweetness, Ethiopian food (which was extremely popular), truffle mac & cheese and roasted pork from a catering company.
Sadly I didn’t get the chance to fully document the stuff I tasted since there were not a lot of places to sit down and relax. My friend and I pretty much ate and stand while people squished by us.
It’s a fun event but make sure you arrive in comfy attire and like what another Unilocaler did mention, bring a bottle of water!

Good stuff and a fair price for what you get. Great for snacks all night and the beer was food. Lamb chili was fantastic.

People, People! So many People! :O
I purchased tickets online, saving myself the $ 5.00 entrance fee at the door.
Arcade Lights ran from 6:30pm — 10:30pm. We arrived around 7:00pm and the «Will Call» was 4 times longer than the «No Ticket» line! What!?! :P Luckily the lines were moving at a steady pace. At the entrance Volunteers supplied you with a souvenir glass, handkerchief (napkin) and 10 tokens.
Additional tokens were $ 2.50 each. Vendors were asking for one token per sample and half of the vendors were serving beer and wine (and I don’t drink) so additional tokens weren’t necessary for me! ;)
There was a total of 60 Vendors at the event and I could name then all — but I’ll just list my favorites and you can Unilocal them if interested…
1. Uli’s
2. Pear Delicatessen
3. Blue Rose Dairy
4. Sweet Iron Waffles
5. Chicarepa LLC
Would I do it again? Yes!
It was extremely crowded but the atmosphere, entertainment and food were amazing!!!
I only wish they had more than just one bathroom open, even honey buckets would have been just fine!
TIPS:
Use the Restroom Beforehand.
Bring Water.
Wear Comfy Shoes.
Fill the Wallet with a little Cash.
Be Courteous and Come Hungry! ;)