Event Review

Review: Maryland Italian Festival 2025 – Gluten-Free Finds & Family Fun

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This weekend my kids and I attended the Maryland Italian Festival at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, thanks to SIAB. We went with one goal in mind: to see what gluten-free options the festival had to offer—and to my delight, there were plenty! From pizza and cupcakes to gelato and even grilled lamb, we found so many delicious things to try.

The festival itself is lively and family-friendly, with carnival rides, craft vendors, bocce tournaments, and of course, a huge lineup of food booths. My kids skipped the rides this time and instead browsed the craft stalls before we all made our way to the food area. Here’s what we sampled:

  • Di Pasquale’s Lamb Kabobs – The aroma alone drew us in, and once I confirmed the kabobs were gluten-free, we ordered a generous platter. The lamb was tender, flavorful, and almost steak-like—definitely not gamey. It came out looking like a bouquet of skewers, and every bite was satisfying.
    📍 Brewer Hill Location – 3700 Toone St, Baltimore MD 21224 👉 Di Pasquale’s
  • Nino’s Food Distribution’s Gluten Free Pizza – Based out of Baltimore, Nino’s was serving up 10″ gluten-free pizzas that are also corn-free. My kids tried veggie, pepperoni, and cheese varieties. The crust, made from rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, and olive oil, was soft, chewy, and full of flavor. They loved it so much they’re still talking about it. I’ll definitely be looking into more of Nino’s gluten-free, keto, and cauliflower crust products since they are a Food Distribution company.
    📍 1710 N Elwood, Baltimore MD 21213 👉 Nino’s Foods
  • Love.Crust.Pizza Lemonades – To wash it all down, we grabbed giant 32 oz lemonades. They weren’t overly tangy, with just the right balance of sweetness and fresh lemon flavor. Super refreshing after walking the festival grounds! Love•Crust•Pizza
  • Mangia Baby Cupcakes – Gina Cicatelli from Annapolis was one of the sweetest vendors we met. Her mini gluten-free Vanilla Cannoli cupcakes were bursting with flavor, with a frosting that really did taste like authentic cannoli filling. Perfectly bite-sized, they were a must-try treat.
    📞 202-270-5118 | 👉 Mangia Baby Cupcakes
  • Gotta Lotta Gelata – To finish things off, we stopped at this Pennsville, NJ-based vendor. All their gelato is gluten-free, and we tried Cappuccino, Chocolate, and Mango Sorbet. The cappuccino was light with chocolate chunks, the chocolate was rich and creamy, and the mango sorbet was bright and refreshing.
    📍101 N. Broadway, Pennsville, NJ | 📞 732-800-1747 | 👉 Gotta Lotta Gelata

My oldest son was hoping to join the bocce tournament, but all the slots were filled. Still, between shopping, sampling treats, and filling up on gluten-free eats, we had such a fun and flavorful afternoon.

If you’re near Aberdeen, the festival runs all weekend—open until 10 PM tonight (Saturday) and from 11 AM to 7 PM tomorrow (Sunday, September 28). Tickets are $12 for adults (kids 12 and under are free with a parent), and parking is free on-site or at shuttle lots.

👉 You can buy tickets online at marylanditalianfestival.com or at the gate.

This is definitely a festival worth checking out—whether you’re looking for family fun, cultural entertainment, or just some seriously good food (yes, even gluten-free!).

Elkton Fall Fest 2025 – A First-Time Experience

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This past Saturday, my daughter, her boyfriend, and I walked from my home to downtown Elkton to check out the annual Fall Fest. It was my first time attending, and while the event was smaller than I expected, it had a welcoming hometown feel.

We arrived around lunchtime, which turned out to be a quieter part of the day. The streets weren’t crowded, so it was easy to stroll along, visit the vendors, and take in the atmosphere. While it was hot outside, the lighter crowd made it more enjoyable to move around without feeling rushed.

The festival had a full lineup scheduled, including live music, a petting zoo, a rock wall, and more. Somehow, we completely missed a section of the event called Adventure Zone, which is where the animals and rock wall were located. I’ll definitely make a point to explore that area next year.

Even though we missed some activities, I still enjoyed browsing the vendor booths and came home with a couple of unique finds. My favorite purchase was a wooden and enamel crab sign that says “Maryland” across it, perfect for my dining room. Later, I also found out that chair massages were happening while we were there, which I unfortunately overlooked. Next time!

Overall, the Fall Fest was a nice community event with plenty to do. While timing (and maybe a better sense of direction) would have made our visit even better, I’m glad we went. Now that I know what to look for, I’m excited to experience even more of Elkton’s Fall Fest next year.

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Lantern Fest 2015 – Event Review

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Lantern Fest - Fernley Speedway

Lantern Fest - Fernley SpeedwayI was fortunate enough that Lantern Fest invited my family to partake in their festivities on Friday. While it was magical, it was also challenging. It isn’t as easy as it seems and we only got one out of our two lanterns up and floating.  This was mostly due to the Nevada winds, unfortunately. Nevertheless, the kids had a lot of fun Lantern Fest - Fernley Speedwaydecorating the Lanterns, toasting marshmallows around the provided pits and making s’mores as well as watching all the twinkling lights from the Lanterns around us. It was an all round extraordinary event!

It was a spectacular evening regardless of the wind AND it was so breathtaking to watch hundreds of lanterns rise into the sky at once!!! It was like twinkling stars above us while the band played awesome music throughout the night.

Lantern Fest - Fernley Speedway

The location of having Lantern Fest at Fernley Speedway was great. There wasn’t any noise or light pollution to interfere with the ambiance.

While it was awesome to see the Lanterns rise… not all Lanterns did. Due to the Nevada winds many lanterns weren’t “rising” as they should, flying all over the place and into people and their belongs all the while on fire! This unfortunately happened to one of the two lanterns we had. We should had just been patient and waited the wind out and then tried releasing the second lantern then. Instead, we tried to fight the wind and eventually our Lantern tore and was no longer usable.

Lantern Fest - Fernley Speedway

It was nice that they had all kinds of activities for all ages prior to the lantern launch including entertainment during the launch which included awesome tunes from a live band to the fire performers.

All in all it was an awe inspiring sight to witness the lanterns that did rise into the sky as well as to have spent that evening experiencing releasing our Lanterns with my friends and family. I’d definitely participate in this event again!

Lantern Fest - Fernley Speedway

*** Disclaimer: I received our tickets free from Lantern Fest. I am not required to write a positive review and all opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”