Obviously, taking a road trip through California’s Central Valley will be different than vacationing in one of the state’s big cities. The area’s towns are a lot less densely populated, and the residents’ livelihoods are often agriculturally based. The pace is generally more laid-back, you’ll see farms or orchards instead of business parks and shopping malls, and you may enjoy an enhanced sense of community when interacting with local residents.
But there’s also no shortage of things to do and interesting places to see in the Central Valley. If you’re resourceful, you shouldn’t have much trouble filling your days. Check out this article for some fun ideas!
You’re also not far from Yosemite National Park (Central Valley’s Fresno is the closest airport to the park, about a 90-minute drive away), so you may want to check that out, too, while you’re in the area.
Traveling through “America’s Fruit Basket” also may afford you the opportunity to experience a taste of the local culture – and we do mean “taste” quite literally, and not just in restaurants, either. Like the bounty they celebrate, there is a bevy of food, beer and wine events in the Central Valley, and California Tourist Guide has compiled information for this year’s offerings in the list below.
For each event, you’ll find the date, the host city and a link to a website where you can find additional details. Events for which a 2017 date was not available at the time of this writing are noted with a triple-asterisk (***) to avoid confusion. Clicking on the link may lead you to the updated information, however, since we’re not notified of changes. If you find such updated information and have a moment, would you please use our Contact form to let us know about it? Thanks in advance!
Please let us know, too, if you know of other “gormandizing” types of festivals and/or events in the Central Valley. We’d love to add them to this list!
January
Winterfest Beer & Wine Social – Sacramento
CANCELLED for 2017
Sacramento Chocolate Salon
January 28, 2017
February
Clarksburg Port Wine & Chocolate
February 11 & 12, 2017
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Ripon Almond Blossom Festival
February 24-26, 2017
Spam Festival – Isleton
February 19, 2017
Capay Valley Almond Festival
February 26, 2017 (always the last Sunday in February)
March
Sacramento Beer Week
March 2-12, 2017
Clarksburg Brazilian Carnaval
March 4, 2017
Taste of San Joaquin
March 16, 2017
Folsom International Culinary Festival
March 19, 2017
April
Lodi Wine & Food Festival
April 1, 2017
Sacramento Food Film Festival
April 1-8, 2017
Lindsay Orange Blossom Festival
April 1-8, 2017
Sacramento Beer & Chili Festival
April 8, 2017
California Nut Festival – Chico
April 15, 2017
San Joaquin Asparagus Festival – Stockton
April 21-23, 2017
Central Valley Pizza Festival – Lemoore
April 21-23, 2017
Macaroni and Cheese Festival – Bakersfield
April 22, 2017
Taste of Elk Grove
April 22, 2017
Lodi Beer Fest
April 22, 2017
Lincoln Wine Fest
April 29, 2017
Make-a-Wish Wine & Food Fest – Sacramento
April 29, 2017
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Scottish Games Festival – Sacramento
April 29 & 30, 2017
Hughson Fruit & Nut Festival
April 27 & 28, 2019***
May
Old Sacramento Chocolate Week
May 8-12, 2018***
Selma Raisin Festival
May 3-7, 2017
Sacramento Bockbierfest
May 6, 2017
Central Valley BrewFest – Turlock
May 13, 2017
Roseville BerryFest
May 13 & 14, 2017
Lodi Zinfest
May 20, 2017
Solano Wine & Food Jubilee
Nut Tree in Vacaville
May 20, 2017
Oakdale Chocolate Festival
May 20 & 21, 2017
Galt Strawberry Festival
May 20 & 21, 2017
Craft Brew Festival – Downtown Sacramento
May 21, 2016***
Vacaville Fiesta Days
May 25-29, 2017
June
Patterson Apricot Fiesta
June 2-4, 2017
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Sacramento Smoke on the River Festival
June 3, 2017
Serbian Food Fest
June 3, 2017
Sacramento Taco Festival
June 2, 2018***
Wine in the Pines – Frazier Park
June 10, 2017
July
Stockton Beer Week
July 7-16, 2017
California State Fair – Cal Expo in Sacramento
July 14-30, 2017
Slice of Chico
July 14 & 15, 2017
Marysville Peach Festival
July 14 & 15, 2017
Tehachapi Mountain Beer and Wine Fest
July 15, 2017
Fresno Food Expo (industry oriented)
July 26 & 27, 2017
Courtland Pear Fair
July 30, 2017
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August
Fig Festival – Fresno
August 2016***
Taste of the Delta – Lodi
August 5, 2017
Woodland Tomato Festival
August 12, 2017
Sacramento Banana Festival
August 12 & 13, 2017
Davis Beer Week
August 14-20, 2017
Fairfield Tomato Festival
August 19 & 20, 2017
Benicia Taste of First Street
August 22, 2017
Fresno Greek Fest
August 25-27, 2017
Blues, Brews & BBQ – Yuba City
August 26, 2017
Clarksburg Wine & Cheese Faire
August 26 & 27, 2017
Taste of Oakdale
August 29, 2017
September
California Craft Beer Summit
September 7-9, 2017
Sacramento Cocktail Week
September 10-16, 2017
Sacramento Legends of Wine
September 14, 2017
Lodi Grape Festival
September 14-17, 2017
Fair Oaks Chicken Festival
September 15, 2018***
Weekend in Greece – Elk Grove
September 22-24, 2017
Livingstone Sweet Potato Festival
September 22-24, 2017
Taste of Chico
September 24, 2017
Sacramento Farm-to-Fork Festival
September 23, 2017
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International Food Blogger Conference – Sacramento
September 28 through October 1, 2017
October
Taste of Downtown Visalia
October 2, 2018***
Los Banos Tomato Festival
October 7, 2017
Sheep & Lamb Festival
October 7 & 8, 2017
Manteca Pumpkin Fair
October 7 & 8, 2017
Yolo County Hoes Down Festival – Guinda
October 7 & 8, 2017
Auburn Wine & Food Festival
October 7-9, 2016***
Sacramento Turn Verein Oktoberfest
October 13 & 14, 2017
Rio Vista Bass Derby & Festival
October 13-15, 2017
Benicia Zombie Brew Crawl
October 14, 2017
Riverbank Cheese & Wine Exposition
October 14 & 15, 2017
November
Madera Pomegranate Festival
November 4, 2017
Best of Sacramento Party
November 18, 2017
Tehachapi Ugly Sweater Wine Walk
November 26, 2016***
December
At the time of this writing, there were no food festivals and/or wine events scheduled in the Central Valley during December 2017.
Photo of Central Valley farmland by Eric Sonstroem via flickr (Creative Commons); Photo of Central Valley farms by David Prasad via flickr (Creative Commons); Photo of Sacramento Food Festival by Robert Couse-Baker via flickr (Creative Commons); Photo of Fig Tree by whologwhy via flickr (Creative Commons); and Photo of Central Valley Sunset by Eric Sonstroem via flickr (Creative Commons).
Related posts:
Central Coast Food Festivals and Wine Events
San Francisco Chocolate Factory Tour
Note: Information in this article was accurate
when it was published, but hours, prices, etc.
change constantly. Please confirm details
with local contacts before traveling.
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