Central Valley Festivals – 2023
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 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.
The list presently shows mostly 2022 festival dates, but additional 2023 dates should be available after the new year. When added, 2023 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
Sacramento Dine Downtown
January 13-22, 2023***
Elk Grove Restaurant Week
January 13-22, 2023***
Vacaville Restaurant Week
January 20-29, 2023***
February
Downtown Visalia Restaurant Month
February 2023***
Fresno County Wine & Chocolate Lovers Weekend
February 4 & 5, 2023***
Almond Blossom Cruise, Modesto
February 10 through March 5, 2023***
Spam Festival, Isleton
February 19, 2023***
Ripon Almond Blossom Festival
February 23-26, 2023***
Bok Kai Parade, Marysville
February 25, 2023***
Capay Valley Almond Festival
February 26, 2023*** (always the last Sunday in February)
March
Capitol Beer Fest, Sacramento Capitol Mall
March 4, 2023***
Visalia Craft Beer Festival
March 11, 2023***
Old Town Clovis Craft Beer Crawl
March 19, 2023***
California Craft Beer Summit, Sacramento
March 19-22, 2023***
West Coast Taco & Beer Festival, Bakersfield
March 25, 2023***
Oakdale Testicle Festival
March 27, 2023***
April
Lindsay Orange Blossom Festival
April 1, 2023***
Lodi Wine Festival
April 1, 2023***
Visalia Wine Walk
April 13, 2023***
Cambodian New Year Celebration, Stockton
April 13-16, 2023***
San Joaquin Asparagus Festival, Stockton
April 14-16, 2023***
Macaroni and Cheese Festival, Bakersfield
April 15, 2023***
Chico Brewfest
April 15, 2023***
Sacramento Beer Week
April 22-30, 2023***
Lincoln Wine Fest
April 29, 2023*** – Tickets on sale December 1, 2022!
Lodi Beer Fest & State BBQ Championship
April 29, 2023***
Hughson Fruit & Nut Festival
April 29 & 30, 2023***
Sacramento Grilled Cheese Festival
April 29 & 30, 2023***
May
Feast at The Fox, Stockton
May 5, 2023***
Old Town Clovis Spring Wine Walk
May 6, 2023***
California Honey Festival, Woodland
May 6, 2023***
The Lavender Garden Festival, Lost Hills
May 6, 2023***
Foodie Land Night Market, Sacramento
May 12-14, 2023***
Central Valley BrewFest, Turlock
May 13, 2023***
Rancho Cordova iFest
May 13, 2023***
El Dorado Hills Art, Beer & Wine Festival
May 13 & 14, 2023***
Lodi Wine Experience
May 19 & 20, 2023***
Stockton Flavor Fest
May 19-21, 2023***
Fresno Tequila Fest
May 20, 2023***
Linden Cherry Festival
May 20, 2023***
Sacramento Taco Festival
May 21, 2023***
Wilson Family Winery
Annual Rib Cookoff, Lodi
May 28, 2023***
June
Patterson Apricot Fiesta
June 2-4, 2023***
Merced County Fair
June 7-11, 2023***
Cache Creek Lavender Festival, Rumsey
June 10 & 11, 2023***
Wine in the Pines, Pine Mountain Club
June 17, 2023*** (second Saturday in June)
Organic Stone Fruit Jubilee and
Small Farm Expo, Kingsburg
June 24, 2023***
Soroptomist Craft Brew Fest, Chico
June 24, 2023***
July
Slice of Chico
July 8, 2023***
Sacramento Martini Week
July 9-15, 2023***
Downtown Visalia Summertime Food Contest
July 10-23, 2023***
Clovis Peach Party
July 14, 2023***
Marysville Peach Festival
July 14 & 15, 2023***
California State Fair & Food Festival, Cal Expo in Sacramento
July 14-30, 2023***
Tastes of the Mediterranean, Modesto
July 27, 2023***
Courtland Pear Fair
July 30, 2023***
August
Taste of the Delta, Stockton
August 5, 2023***
Albariño Wine Stroll, Winters
August 5, 2023***
Tour of Albariño, Lodi
August 5 & 6, 2023***
California Garlic Festival, Stockton
August 5 & 6, 2023***
Yolo County Fair
August 16-20, 2023***
Sacramento Banana Festival
August 19 & 20, 2023***
Butte County Fair, Gridley
August 24-27, 2023***
Fourth Friday Festival, Winters
August 25, 2023***
Fire and Smoke Tequila & Mezcal
Tasting at La Cosecha, Sacramento
August 26, 2023***
Blues, Brews & BBQ, Yuba City
August 26, 2023***
September
Foodie Land Night Market, Sacramento
September 1-3, 2023***
Sacramento Legends of Wine
September 7, 2023***
Stockton Greek Festival
September 8-10, 2023***
L’Apéro Honey Tasting and Education, Winters
September 9, 2023***
Bakersfield Village Fest
September 9, 2023***
Crawfish & Catfish Festival, Sacramento
September 9 & 10, 2023***
Tower Bridge Dinner, Sacramento
September 10, 2023***
Lodi Grape Festival
September 14-17, 2023***
Park Winters Farm Tour, Winters
September 15, 2023***
Fresno Greek Fest
September 15-17, 2023***
Berryessa Gap Argentinian Dinner, Winters
September 16, 2023***
Chico Summerfest
September 16, 2023***
California Brewers Festival
Discovery Park, Sacramento
September 16, 2023***
Fair Oaks Chicken Festival
September 16, 2023***
Sacramento Salsa Festival
September 16, 2023***
Modesto Greek Festival
September 16 & 17, 2023***
Assyrian Festival, Turlock Fairgrounds
September 16 & 17, 2023***
Oktoberfest at Vossler Farms, Visalia
September 21, 2023***
Dinuba Raisin Harvest Festival
September 21-24, 2023***
Uncapped & Uncorked, Elk Grove
September 22, 2023***
Sacramento Street Festival
September 22 & 23, 2023***
Clovis Fest, Fresno County
September 23 & 24, 2023***
Weekend in Greece, Elk Grove
September 23 & 24, 2023***
Edible Extravaganza, Modesto
September 28, 2023***
Clovis Pistachio Party
September 29, 2023***
Livingston Sweet Potato Festival
September 29 through October 1, 2023***
Foodie Land Night Market, Sacramento
September 29 through October 1, 2023***
Winters Carnitas Festival
September 30, 2023***
October
The Big Fresno Fair
October 4-15, 2023***
Sacramento Greek Festival
October 6-8, 2023***
Bike the Bridges & Brewfest, Benicia
October 7, 2023***
Lambtown Festival, Dixon
October 7 & 8, 2023***
Manteca Pumpkin Fair
October 7 & 8, 2023***
Yolo Growers & Farmworkers Festival, Woodland
October 8, 2023***
Chico Art & Wine Walk
October 13, 2023***
Sacramento Turn Verein Oktoberfest
October 13 & 14, 2023***
Bakersfield Brunch Fest
October 14, 2023***
Riverbank Cheese & Wine Festival
October 14 & 15, 2023***
Tehachapi Apple Festival
October 14 & 15, 2023***
Sierra Oro Farm Trail Farm-to-Fork
Dinner at TJ Farms Estates, Chico
October 15, 2023***
Taste of Downtown Visalia
October 17, 2023***
Old Town Clovis Fall Wine Walk
October 21, 2023***
Fresno Taco Truck Throwdown
October 21, 2023***
Chic-O-berfest, Chico
October 21, 2023***
Springville Apple Festival
October 21, 2023***
The Taste of Winters Charity Gala
October 27, 2023***
Hops & Goblins BeerFest, Lodi
October 28, 2023***
November
Old Town Clovis Tailgate BBQ Throwdown
November 1, 2023***
Madera Pomegranate, Fruit
and Nut Festival
November 4, 2023***
Fresno County Fall Harvest Wine Journey
November 11 & 12, 2023***
Elk Grove Dickens Street Faire
November 25, 2023***
Downtown Visalia Winter Winederland Walk
November 30, 2023***
December
There are currently no events scheduled for December.
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).
