I got tickets for the Great GoogaMooga right away when I heard about it. A festival of some of the city's best food AND music? Free? Why not? Well, after a day of hearing nothing but horror stories from friends on Twitter and Facebook, and talking to some folks who actually worked the event on Saturday, I was quite wary of going on Sunday. I decided to re-strategize and completely changed my plan of attack. I got there at noon primarily to make sure I could eat without dealing with ridiculous lines. My plan worked. Before I left for a break at about 2:30, my friends and I had tasted a soft-shell crab sandwich from Vinegar Hill House, the crack-like wings from Kasadela, Crawfish Monica, a foie gras donut from Do or Dine, a pork belly taco from Colicchio and Sons, sipped some sparkling Spanish rosé and shared a bacon tasting. I took a break to head home, walk Moxie, and regroup, then returned around 5:15 for more food/drink: pops from La NewYorkina, a red velvet ice cream sandwich from Melt Bakery, a Dirty Duck Dog from Craft, and a few more glasses of wine. All in all, the longest line I waited in was the very first line, and it couldn't have taken more than about 7-10 minutes — about what I'd expect for a festival, and probably shorter than any line I have been on at JazzFest.

The kicker was Hall & Oates, who started promptly at 6 and who were just fantastic. At one point, when they played "You Make My Dreams Come True," I stopped to look at the crowd. Everyone looked incredibly happy — singing and dancing — and I was too. What a perfect kickoff to the summer with Carrie, Brian, Jenn D., Katie, Kim, Jenn, Emilia, Jim and everyone else I bumped into: Katie N., Matt, Stephanie, Ethan & Morgan, plus the Maharlika crew. I hope that the organizers learn from the problems they had Saturday, and make even more improvements than they did on Sunday so that everyone can enjoy it like I did. A few more pics can be found here.