:: get your weekend on ::

Music is in my ears this weekend- and I love it!! There are a few different music events happening in the Bay Area this weekend, so throw on your sundress and enjoy the sun outside this weekend..

It's that time of year again, San Jose's Summertime Jazz festival is this weekend in downtown. Come out and enjoy a weekends worth of Jazz music from artists of all ages and a few different genres. Last year there were even a few reggae groups- I joked that they took the wrong freeway entrance and ended up at the Jazz festival my mistake. Of course they will have a wide array of shop booths and tons of yummy food- per the norm.

Up in San Francisco everyone is going to be rockin' out at the notorious OutsideLands festival held at Golden Gate Park. I have been following a few of my fav bloggers today and it looks like they are really enjoying themselves at the first day of the event. The entire line up is fantastic- personal favorites for me are on Sunday and include.. Bloc Party, Santigold, Skrillex and Franz Ferdinand.. leaves me wishing I didn't spend my "summer musical festival" allowance on Coachella... but at least I learned a lesson for next year. speaking of Coachella- did you hear it will be hosted on a cruise next year?

San Francisco will also be hosting the 2012 Festa Coloniale Italiana a.k.a. the Italian Festival in North Beach on Saturday. as I'm typing this my mouth is watering, just thinking about all the delicious food and wine that will be at this event. I can already smell the marinara sauce for the meatballs. a warning goes out to my readers- there will be tons of carbs at this event, so a wheelbarrow might be a smart thing to bring for the walk back to the car.

It is also the weekend for the Burlingame ArtzFest it runs 10-6 pm both days. They are celebrating their 20th anniversary so that automatically means there will be something extra special about this festival. Plus this year they have over 130 artisans selling their crafts; works of art, jewelry, photography, vintage prints, clothing, sculptures, home décor, and more.. And they will offer a Wine Garden- so much more upscale than the traditional "beer garden", in my opinion... but, I mean this is Burlingame- so it's expected to be a little classier. The festival is located in downtown, so you can enjoy the local shopping and restaurants too.

Gilroy Garlic Festival

This weekend it's time for the notorious garlic festival in the South Bay. The festival is boasting it's 34th anniversary and is sure to bring crowds from all over. I can remember when I was a little girl, seeing the stretch of the 101 between Gilroy and San Jose be so crowded... just like a LA freeway. A normal 7 minutes car ride from Morgan Hill took closer to 1 hour to get to Gilroy for the event. I stopped going a few years back because it had been so hot on the weekends when it was hosted. But this weekend seems to show promise of cooler weather, so it might just be my year! 

It runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday and you'll know you're getting close when you can start to smell that distinct aroma in the air. I don't think you would believe me if I told you they have garlic ice cream, but they do... and I've tried it too! My friends' beau, Shane Dwight, will be performing at 12:30 on Saturday in the ampetheater- "Dwight is a charismatic and talented guitarist, vocalist and songwriter… fast becoming a blues sensation” -San Francisco Chronicle
They will also have a cook off tent (one of my favorite types of events)

Friday, it's "So You Think You Can Cook With Garlic," Saturday "Great Garlic Cook-off" is a crowd favorite and see pro chefs in action Sunday in the "Garlic Showdown." Should be a fun weekend and I hope you can make it down there!

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