Central Valley Festivals – 2024 & 2025
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 mostly 2024 festival dates, but the 2025 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 2024 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
A Taste of France in Winters
January 3, 2025***
Sacramento Dine Downtown
January 10-19, 2025***
Elk Grove Restaurant Week
January 10-19, 2025***
Winter Feast Beer Dinner at
Mare Island Brewing, Vallejo
January 18, 2025***
Sacramento Chocolate Salon
January 26, 2025***
Vacaville Restaurant Week
January 19-28, 2024
February
Toast of Winters
February 1, 2025***
Davis Oddfellows Chocolate Festival
February 2, 2025***
Lodi Wine & Chocolate Weekend
February 15 & 16, 2025***
Ripon Almond Blossom Festival
February 20-23, 2025***
Capay Valley Almond Festival
February 23, 2025*** (always the last Sunday in February)
Fresno County Wine & Chocolate Lovers Weekend
February 3 & 4, 2024
Spam Festival, Isleton
February 18, 2024
March
Chinese New Year Celebration, Stockton
March 8, 2025***
Capitol Beer Fest, Sacramento Capitol Mall
March 8, 2025***
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 5, 2025***
San Joaquin Asparagus Festival, Stockton
April 11-13, 2025***
Cambodian New Year Celebration, Stockton
April 11-13, 2025***
Lindsay Orange Blossom Festival
April 12, 2025***
Sacramento Grilled Cheese Festival
April 12 & 13, 2025***
Macaroni and Cheese Festival, Bakersfield
April 19, 2025***
Sacramento Beer Week
April 25 through May 3, 2025***
Lincoln Wine Fest
April 26, 2025***
Lodi Beer Fest & State BBQ Championship
April 26, 2025***
Hughson Fruit & Nut Festival
April 26 & 27, 2025***
Berryessa Gap Winery Fourth Friday
Paella Dinner, Winters
April 12, 2024
Downtown Winters Spring Open
April 12-14, 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!
Visalia Spring Wine Walk
April 25, 2024
Fourth Friday Fun, Downtown Winters
April 26, 2024
Park Winters Flower Farm Tour, Winters
April 26, 2024
Elk Grove Brew Fest
April 27, 2024
Yolo County Spring Wine Ramble
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, 2024Sacramento 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
Holiday Open House at
Mare Island Brewing, Vallejo
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).
