San Diego Mac N’ Cheese Festival

For my final review of 2015 I decided to go out with a grand review. And nothing says «grand review» like gooey noodles.
First off, let me start by saying I had a good time here. But to be fair, we were in good company and got here not too long after the event started.
But yes, unfortunately all complaints must be echoed. Though let me try to be constructive with this review.
The event felt like it was put on by a non-​profit, which can be a mixed bag. Having worked with people on stuff like this before, it’s the same level of barely making it you find with volunteers and such. It worked, but only on the most basic of levels. And I don’t mean to knock the people who doubtless worked hard to put this thing on, but someone wasn’t prepared here.
Space felt like it was utilized poorly. Two sides of the area had booths along them, and then one side was a barren wasteland of tables. Though considering the length of the lines, this was more like a happy accident.
None of the booths were labeled in a way where it was obvious if it was beer or mac and cheese samples until you got halfway through the line or more. It should have been more apparent, and possibly grouped together (although the beer lines eclipsed the mac and cheese by a mile).
The wristband stamp thing was a bit of a nightmare logistically for the beer samples. You were supposed to have one of the ten slots marked off when you got a sample, but with limited people at each booth it slowed down the line. Tickets would make more sense, though to be fair carrying around 10 tickets is less convenient for the patrons. Meanwhile there was technically no limit on the mac and cheese, since they had no tallying system for that.
There was also the fact that there was no obvious indication how many different beer samples were available. Each beer booth offered at least two different styles, but without good signage I had no idea if I should be taking both samples or limiting myself so I could see what was out there (and with the lines the way they were, it wasn’t easy to just jump back and forth).
And while yes, running out of EVERYTHING by the halfway mark is disappointing (especially for people who came later), I think the bigger problem was the event didn’t offer anything else to do really. Space is limited, to be sure, but some other draw might have been nice. Sure, they had a mac and cheese eating competition at around 2:30…which is after we left… and that sounds pretty gross to watch anyway.
So, on the «need» list for this event, if they do it next year:
–Better location, or at least an overhaul of the setup
–Streamlining of tallying system for free alcohol
–Heightened design visibility for individual booths and from the outside of the event
–Some other small events throughout the day to make any time an interesting time to be there
–Enough food and beer to last the length of the festival given the ticket sales
–Better sound system set-​up (could not hear the announcements from one side of the park to the other, and it’s not a large park)
–Honestly, maybe consider a variety of mac and cheese based products. I know the restaurants were competing for best mac and cheese, but if one of them had done like a fried mac and cheese ball it would at least offer some contrast.
They named it the 1^st Annual Mac & Cheese Festival, which is rather presumptuous. But things can be improved upon, they just need to make sure they listen to what people are saying and respond accordingly. I’m sure they realize what happened as well, and will be fine-​tuning things for next year. It’s hard for me to feel any actual animosity toward the event or the event planners, since it was really a charity event. I just see potential there that needs to be met, so I wanted to post this low-​starred review to try and get someone’s attention.
(And no, I will not be helping to plan the event next year. Those days are behind me, I don’t have time for your festivals. I would lose my mind)

This was such a great idea, but SO poorly executed. I literally got MAYBE ½ a cup at most of mac n cheese for my $ 35 ticket + convenience fee of $ 2 something. It was clear the participating restaurants were not anticipating the lines, but they should have since festival sold out (1500 tickets). This was extremely disappointing because my friends and I were very excited about it, but it was just poorly planned and executed.

I went to a couple of themed food festivals when I worked in Boston. For just $ 5 you got to eat your fill of clam chowder or ice cream from different restaurants or companies. Nowadays the prices are higher, but even at $ 10 or $ 12 I can definitely see the appeal.
The Mac n Cheese Festival was the same basic concept, but the ticket price was $ 35. That’s… expensive. Who can eat $ 35 worth of cheesy pasta? Not me. 10 beer tastings were included in the price, but still. I don’t really see the appeal of standing around in lines in the blazing sun with blaring music, so the food is really the only draw. But I didn’t buy my ticket, so I tried to go with an open mind, thinking there might be some hidden appeal.
Nope! Hot sun, blaring music, long lines. The wild mushroom version with truffle oil by Stella Public House was good enough to make me want to visit the actual restaurant. But standing in long lines only to get small tastings is enough to take the joy out of the food. It didn’t help that you couldn’t bring water in, there were no drinking fountains, and the lines to buy water ($ 2 for a warm bottle) were just as long as for everything else. Dehydration abounds!
Even if everything ran smoothly, I don’t think I would have been a fan of this festival. But the mac and cheese stations ran out of food and everyone shut down and left after a few hours. And the beer ran out. They were selling full 16 oz cups of beer for $ 5. But then they changed the cups to 6 oz, still for $ 5. And there was a problem with the kegs, so the lines moved at a snail’s pace. Ugh.
Right now their website is down and their Facebook page is hidden. Are they hiding from angry festival goers? This was supposed to be an annual event.
On the plus side, the proceeds benefitted an education non-​profit, not a company like I originally thought. I hope that the high turnout means that it was a successful fundraiser!