The High Desert Beer and Wine Festival returns to Palmdale for its fourth annual outing on Saturday, June 20, at the Palmdale Amphitheater. The festival is 21 and over, and IDs are required upon entry.  Highlights of the evening include:       Craft beer and local breweries: Sample a variety o f craft beers from top brewers in the region with unlimited tastings. Breweries confirmed so far include Malibu Brewing Company, Lucky Luke Brewing, Two Tracks Cellars, Santa Cruz Brewing, Brewery Draconum, Bravery Brewing, Antelope Valley Brewery, Tortugo Brewing Company, Shadow Grove Brewing, and Freedom Juice.       Fine wines and local vineyards: Discover California wines with unlimited tastings. Wineries confirmed so far include Tehachapi Winery, Stephen Hemmert Wines, Le Vigne Winery, Callaway Wines, Antelope Valley Winery, and Honey Pot Meadery.       Live music and entertainment from local and regional artists, including the first Bruno Mars tribute band, Uptown Funk, Reality Check, Wildfire Arts, and DJ Aone Morris (DJ Aone), “educator by day, DJ by night.”       Lawn games and interactive experiences are also available, along with food trucks and food pairings from local and regional vendors. General Admission and VIP tickets include unlimited beer and wine tastings and are available at a discounted early bird rate at www.HighDesertBeerAndWineFest.com. VIP tickets include early access, a special entry lane, specialty tastings, concert seating, and more. Courtesy High Desert Beer and Wine Festival In celebration of National BBQ Month, the 4th Annual Long Beach BBQ Fest returns on Saturday, May 23, and Sunday, May 24.  Organized by Ian and Qiana Mafnas, proprietors of the wildly popular Axiom Kitchen Smoked Meats BBQ, sponsored by non-profit Noah’s Arc Foundation, dozens of BBQ and other vendors will gather at Rainbow Lagoon to offer their smoked, sauced, and rubbed specialties to BBQ lovers.   Some of the vendors include Axiom Smoked Meats BBQ, El Guero y La Flaca,  Magillas BBQ, Bully’s Craft BBQ, Big J’s SoCal BBQ, Avalon Smokehouse, Big Sal’s Up in Smoke, Texas Craft Barbeque, OC Smokehouse, and Vinegar and Smoke. Tickets can be purchased HERE. Soft shell crab season has officially begun, and dishes are now live at both Water Grill and King’s Fish House. At Water Grill, the wild soft shell crab is offered in two preparations, one with watermelon and cucumber salad and a brown butter soy ginger sauce, and another with roasted eggplant, coconut rice, and a Thai red curry sauce. At King’s Fish House, the dish leans more classic, with a Southern-style fried version served with corn succotash and remoulade, as well as a piccata-style preparation with lemon butter, capers, and Israeli couscous. Soft shell crabs are blue crabs harvested just after molting, when their shells are still tender and fully edible. The overall season runs from spring through early fall, and you can also find them at Santa Monica Seafood for home cooks. What’s Popping Up is a column in the L.A. Weekly that explores everything new in food and drink   The post The High Desert Beer and Wine Festival, Plus BBQ In Long Beach – Here’s What’s Popping Up appeared first on LA Weekly. ...read more read less