Central Valley Festivals – 2024
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! And, whether you’re looking for things to do in Sacramento this weekend or putting together a plan for a future trip and searching for food and wine events around Bakersfield or Fresno, you should definitely check out the list of culinary-focused festivals that follows!
You’re also not far from Yosemite National Park — Central Valley’s FAT airport in Fresno is the closest airport to the park, about a 90-minute drive away — so you may want to visit Yosemite, too, while you’re in the area.
Traveling through “America’s Fruit Basket” might also 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 we’ve compiled information about them in the list below.
The list is arranged by month, so you can easily determine what’s on during your visit. For each entry, you’ll find the date(s) it’s scheduled to occur, the host city, plus a link to a website for additional information.
Currently, the list still shows some 2023 festival dates, but the 2024 dates are ***flagged with a triple asterisk*** to avoid confusion.
Many of these events are held annually, and they’re often scheduled to occur around the same dates, so if a 2022 event looks interesting you may want to click through to see if the organizer’s website has been updated. Also, if you plan to attend an event, we strongly recommend that you make note of the website and recheck it closer to the actual date.
If you know of any other Central Valley events we should add to this list, would you please use our Contact form to let us know? (Thanks in advance!) And, here are some jump links that you can use to skip to a certain month’s events quickly:
January ### February ### March ### April ###
May ### June ### July ### August ###
September ### October ### November ### December
January
Winter Feast Beer Dinner at
Mare Island Brewing, Vallejo
January 12, 2024***
Sacramento Dine Downtown
January 12-21, 2024***
Elk Grove Restaurant Week
January 12-21, 2024***
Vacaville Restaurant Week
January 19-28, 2024***
Sacramento Chocolate Salon
January 27, 2024***
February
Lodi Wine & Chocolate Weekend
February 2-4, 2024***
Fresno County Wine & Chocolate Lovers Weekend
February 3 & 4, 2024***
Davis Oddfellows Chocolate Festival
February 4, 2024***
Spam Festival, Isleton
February 18, 2024***
Ripon Almond Blossom Festival
February 22-25, 2024***
Capay Valley Almond Festival
February 25, 2024*** (always the last Sunday in February)
March
Capitol Beer Fest, Sacramento Capitol Mall
March 2, 2024***
California Craft Beer Summit, Sacramento
March 12-14, 2024***
Old Town Clovis Craft Beer Crawl
March 17, 2024***
Oakdale Testicle Festival
March 25, 2024***
April
Lodi Wine Festival
April 6, 2024***
Berryessa Gap Winery Fourth Friday
Paella Dinner, Winters
April 12, 2024***
San Joaquin Asparagus Festival, Stockton
April 12-14, 2024***
Downtown Winters Spring Open
April 12-14, 2024***
Cambodian New Year Celebration, Stockton
April 12-16, 2024***
Lindsay Orange Blossom Festival
April 13, 2024***
Chico Brewfest
April 13, 2024***
Celebrating the Orange Dinner, Winters
April 15, 2024***
Fresno Strawberry Festival at
River Park Farmer’s Market
April 16, 2024***
Wine Me Up & Cornerstone Bakery
Spring Treats Pairings, Bakersfield
April 18, 2024***
California Nut Festival, Durham (near Chico)
April 20, 2024***
Taste of East Sac
April 20, 2024*** – 21+ Only!
Macaroni and Cheese Festival, Bakersfield
April 20, 2024***
Visalia Spring Wine Walk
April 25, 2024***
Fourth Friday Fun, Downtown Winters
April 26, 2024***
Park Winters Flower Farm Tour, Winters
April 26, 2024***
Sacramento Beer Week
April 26 through May 5, 2024***
Lincoln Wine Fest
April 27, 2024***
Lodi Beer Fest & State BBQ Championship
April 27, 2024***
Elk Grove Brew Fest
April 27, 2024***
Yolo County Spring Wine Ramble
April 27 & 28, 2024***
Hughson Fruit & Nut Festival
April 27 & 28, 2024***
Sacramento Grilled Cheese Festival
April 27 & 28, 2024***
May
Old Town Clovis Spring Wine Walk
May 4, 2024***
West Sac Beer City Fest
May 4, 2024***
California Honey Festival, Woodland
May 4, 2024***
Lodi Street Faire
May 5, 2024***
Foodie Land Night Market, Sacramento
May 10-12, 2024***
Central Valley BrewFest, Turlock
May 11, 2024***
Kings Agave Fest, Lemoore
May 11, 2024***
Rancho Cordova iFest
May 11, 2024***
Glenn County Fair, Orland
May 16-19, 2024***
Fresno Tequila Fest
May 17, 2024***
Stockton Flavor Fest
May 17-19, 2024***
Bay Area Black Restaurant Week, Sacramento
May 17-26, 2024***
Linden Cherry Festival
May 18, 2024***
Sacramento Martini Week
May 20-26, 2024***
Sacramento County Fair
May 23-27, 2024***
Fourth Friday Fun, Downtown Winters
May 24, 2024***
Wilson Family Winery
Annual Rib Cookoff, Lodi
May 26, 2024***
San Joaquin County Fair, Stockton
May 31 through June 2, 2024***
Patterson Apricot Fiesta
May 31 through June 2, 2024***
Lodi Wine Experience
May 19 & 20, 2023 – ON HIATUS FOR 2024
June
The Lavender Garden Festival, Lost Hills
June 1, 2024***
Rocklin Brew Fest
June 1, 2024***
Jewish Food Fair, Stockton
June 2, 2024***
Merced County Fair
June 5-9, 2024***
Cache Creek Lavender Festival, Rumsey
June 8 & 9, 2024***
Pizza Night at Full Belly Farm, Guinda
June 7, 2024***
Off the Rails Whiskey Festival at the
California Railroad Museum, Sacramento
June 14, 2024***
Crawdad Festival, Sacramento
June 15 & 16, 2024***
Isleton Crawdad Festival
June 15 & 16, 2024***
Organic Stone Fruit Jubilee and
Small Farm Expo, Kingsburg
June 22, 2024***
Fourth Friday Fun, Downtown Winters
June 28, 2024***
Red, White & Brew Craft Brew Fest, Chico
June 29, 2024*** – Tickets on sale April 1!
Yolo County Summer Twilight
June 29, 2024***
July
Wine in the Pines, Pine Mountain Club
July 6, 2024***
Clovis Peach Party
July 12, 2024***
California State Fair & Food Festival, Cal Expo in Sacramento
July 12-28, 2024***
Slice of Chico
July 13, 2024***
Pizza Night at Full Belly Farm, Guinda
July 19, 2024***
Marysville Peach Festival
July 19 & 20, 2024***
Fourth Friday Fun, Downtown Winters
July 26, 2024***
Courtland Pear Fair
July 28, 2024***
August
A Taste of Obon, Stockton
August 3, 2024***
Albariño Wine Stroll, Winters
August 3, 2024***
Taste of the Delta, Stockton
August 10, 2024***
Yolo County Fair
August 14-18, 2024***
Pizza Night at Full Belly Farm, Guinda
August 16, 2024***
Sacramento Banana Festival
August 17 & 18, 2024***
Butte County Fair, Gridley
August 22-25, 2024***
Fourth Friday Fun, Downtown Winters
August 23, 2024***
Foodie Land Night Market, Sacramento
August 30 through September 1, 2024***
California Garlic Festival, Los Banos
August 30 through September 1, 2024***
September
Sacramento Legends of Wine
September 5, 2024***
International Olive Sustainability Conference, Davis
September 5-7, 2024***
Pizza Night at Full Belly Farm, Guinda
September 6, 2024***
Feast at The Fox, Stockton
September 6, 2024***
Stockton Greek Festival
September 6-8, 2024***
Bakersfield Village Fest
September 7, 2024***
Urban Roots Brewing Arts & Beer Fest, Sacramento
September 7, 2024***
Yuba Sutter Brewfest, Marysville
September 7, 2024***
Tower Bridge Dinner, Sacramento
September 8, 2024*** – Details for the ticket purchasing random drawing available in Summer 2024!
Lodi Grape Festival
September 12-15, 2024***
Blues, Brews & BBQ, Yuba City
September 14, 2024***
California Brewers Festival
Discovery Park, Sacramento
September 14, 2024***
Assyrian Festival, Turlock Fairgrounds
September 14 & 15, 2024***
Rutherford Cabernet by the Bay, Mare Island
September 18, 2024***
Visalia Oktoberfest
September 20, 2024***
Sacramento Street Festival
September 20 & 21, 2024***
Fresno Greek Fest
September 20-22, 2024***
Chico Country Fest & Chili Cook-Off
September 21, 2024***
Fair Oaks Chicken Festival
September 21, 2024***
Edible Extravaganza, Modesto
September 26, 2024***
Fourth Friday Fun, Downtown Winters
September 27, 2024***
Livingston Sweet Potato Festival
September 27-29, 2024***
Winters Carnitas Festival
September 28, 2024***
ClovisFest, Old Town Clovis
September 28 & 29, 2024***
Weekend in Greece, Elk Grove
September 28 & 29, 2024***
October
Vegan Chef Challenge, Sacramento
October 1-31, 2024***
The Big Fresno Fair
October 2-14, 2024***
Chico Art & Wine Walk
October 4, 2024***
Sacramento Greek Festival
October 4-6, 2024***
Hoes Down Harvest Festival
at Full Belly Farm, Guinda
October 5, 2024***
Sacramento Taco Festival
October 5, 2024***
Bike the Bridges & Brewfest, Benicia
October 5, 2024***
Lambtown Festival, Dixon
October 5 & 6, 2024***
Manteca Pumpkin Fair
October 5 & 6, 2024***
Lodi Street Faire
October 6, 2024***
Sierra Oro Farm Trail Farm-to-Fork
Dinner at TJ Farms Estates, Chico
October 6, 2024***
Taste of Downtown Visalia
October 8, 2024***
Peoples Beer Fest at
Oak Park, Sacramento
October 10, 2024***Sacramento Turn Verein Oktoberfest
October 11 & 12, 2024***
TASTE: Wine, Beer, Food & Music, Davis
October 12, 2024***
Bakersfield Brunch Fest
October 12, 2024***
Riverbank Cheese & Wine Festival
October 12, 2024***
Tehachapi Apple Festival
October 12 & 13, 2024***
CHIC-O-BER-Fest, Chico
October 19, 2024***
Springville Apple Festival
October 19, 2024***
Old Town Clovis Walk-tober
Fest Fall Wine Walk
October 19, 2024***
Fourth Friday Fun, Downtown Winters
October 25, 2024***
November
Madera Pomegranate, Fruit
and Nut Festival
November 2, 2024***
Séka Hills Olive Crush Festival, Brooks
November 3, 2024***
Fresno Taco Truck Throwdown
November 9, 2024***
Old Town Clovis Tailgate BBQ Throwdown
November 9, 2024***
Fresno County Fall Harvest Wine Journey
November 9 & 10, 2024***
Elk Grove Dickens Street Faire
November 30, 2024***
December
Bondolio Olive Farm
Olio Nuovo Celebration, Winters
December 8, 2024***
Downtown Visalia Winter Winederland Walk
December 12, 2024***
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 Pizza Oven at Sacramento Food Festival by Robert Couse-Baker via deleted flickr account (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).
