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 2019 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
Sacramento Chocolate Salon
January 26, 2020
February
Clarksburg Port, Wine & Chocolate Lovers Weekend
February 9 & 10, 2019
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Spam Festival – Isleton
February 18, 2019
Ripon Almond Blossom Festival
February 20-23, 2020
Capay Valley Almond Festival
February 24, 2019 (always the last Sunday in February)
March
Clarksburg Brazilian Carnaval
March 2, 2019
Capitol Beer Fest, Capitol Mall
March 2, 2019
Taste of San Joaquin
March 21, 2019
Lodi Wine & Food Festival
March 30, 2019
Taste of Elk Grove
March 30, 2019
April
Make-a-Wish Wine & Food Fest – Sacramento
April 6, 2019
Lindsay Orange Blossom Festival
April 6-13, 2019
Sacramento Food Film Festival
April 10-16, 2019
Sacramento Bockbierfest
April 12, 2019
San Joaquin Asparagus Festival – Stockton
April 12-14, 2019
Central Valley Pizza Festival – Lemoore
April 12-14, 2019
California Nut Festival – Chico
April 18, 2020
Sacramento Beer & Chili Festival
April 20, 2019
Macaroni and Cheese Festival – Bakersfield
April 20, 2019
Lincoln Wine Fest
April 25, 2020
Sacramento Beer Week
April 24 through May 3, 2020
Lodi Beer Fest
April 27, 2019
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Scottish Games Festival – Sacramento
April 27 & 28, 2019
Hughson Fruit & Nut Festival
April 27 & 28, 2019
May
Selma Raisin Festival
May 1-5, 2019
Central Valley BrewFest – Turlock
May 11, 2019
Craft Brew Festival – Downtown Sacramento
May 11, 2019
Roseville BerryFest
May 11 & 12, 2019
Old Sacramento Chocolate Week
May 13-19, 2019
Lodi Zinfest
May 17-19, 2019
Solano Wine & Food Jubilee
May 18, 2019
Oakdale Chocolate Festival
May 18 & 19, 2019
Vacaville Fiesta Days
May 21-25, 2020
June
Patterson Apricot Fiesta
May 31 + June 1 & 2, 2019
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Sacramento Taco Festival
June 1, 2019
Serbian Food Fest
June 6, 2020
Wine in the Pines – Frazier Park
June 13, 2020
Best of Sacramento Party
June 20, 2019
July
California State Fair – Cal Expo in Sacramento
July 12-28, 2019
Slice of Chico
July 12 & 13, 2019
Marysville Peach Festival
July 19 & 20, 2019
Tehachapi Mountain Beer and Wine Fest
July 21, 2018*** (took 2019 off?)
Courtland Pear Fair
July 28, 2019
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August
Taste of the Delta – Lodi
August 3, 2019
Stockton Beer Week
August 9-18, 2019
Sacramento Banana Festival
August 10 & 11, 2019
Woodland Tomato Festival
August 10, 2019
Fairfield Tomato Festival
August 17 & 18, 2019
Benicia Taste of First Street
August 20, 2019
Fresno Greek Fest
August 23-25, 2019
Taste of Oakdale
August 27, 2019
September
Blues, Brews & BBQ – Yuba City
September 7, 2019
Lodi Grape Festival
September 12-15, 2019
Fresno Food Expo (industry oriented)
September 14 & 15, 2020
Sacramento Legends of Wine
September 19, 2019
Fair Oaks Chicken Festival
September 21, 2019
Livingstone Sweet Potato Festival
September 21-22, 2019
Taste of Chico
September 22, 2019
Sacramento Farm-to-Fork Festival
September 27 & 28, 2019
Weekend in Greece – Elk Grove
September 27-29, 2019
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October
Taste of Downtown Visalia
October 13, 2020
Sheep & Lamb Festival
October 3-6, 2019
Yolo County Hoes Down Festival – Guinda
October 5, 2019
Manteca Pumpkin Fair
October 5 & 6, 2019
Sacramento Turn Verein Oktoberfest
October 11, 2019
Rio Vista Bass Derby & Festival
October 11-13, 2019
Los Banos Tomato Festival
October 12, 2019
Auburn Wine & Food Festival
October 12 & 13, 2019
Riverbank Cheese & Wine Exposition
October 12 & 13, 2019
Sacramento Cocktail Week
October 14-21, 2019
November
Madera Pomegranate Festival
November 2, 2019
Tehachapi Ugly Sweater Wine Walk
November 30, 2019
December
At the time of this writing, there were no food festivals and/or wine events scheduled in the Central Valley during December 2019.
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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