Home » Central Valley Festivals – 2024

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.

Farmland in California's Central ValleyBut 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.

Currently, the list shows mostly 2023 festival dates, but additional 2024 dates will be added as the year progresses. When added, 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***

San Joaquin Asparagus Festival, Stockton
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***

Macaroni and Cheese Festival, Bakersfield
April 20, 2024***

Visalia Spring Wine Walk
April 25, 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***

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***

California Honey Festival, Woodland
May 4, 2024***

Foodie Land Night Market, Sacramento
May 10-12, 2024***

Central Valley BrewFest, Turlock
May 11, 2024***

Rancho Cordova iFest
May 11, 2024***

Glenn County Fair, Orland
May 16-19, 2024***

Stockton Flavor Fest
May 17-19, 2024***

Linden Cherry Festival
May 18, 2024***

Wilson Family Winery
Annual Rib Cookoff, Lodi

May 26, 2024***

The Lavender Garden Festival, Lost Hills
May 6, 2023

El Dorado Hills Art, Beer & Wine Festival
May 13 & 14, 2023

Lodi Wine Experience
May 19 & 20, 2023

Fresno Tequila Fest
May 20, 2023

Sacramento Taco Festival
May 21, 2023

June

Rocklin Brew Fest
June 1, 2024***

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

Sacramento Wine Festival, Carmichael
August 26, 2023

Blues, Brews & BBQ, Yuba City
August 26, 2023

September

Feast at The Fox, Stockton
September 6, 2024***

Foodie Land Night Market, Sacramento
September 1-3, 2023

Fig Tree in the Central Valley of CaliforniaSacramento 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

Bounty of the County at
various Solano County venues

September 22 through October 15, 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

West Coast Taco & Beer
Festival, Bakersfield

September 30, 2023

Escalon Wine & Brew Stroll
September 30, 2023

Oaktoberfest at Dying Breed Brewery, Oakdale
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

Chico Art & Wine Walk
October 13, 2023

Sacramento Turn Verein Oktoberfest
October 13 & 14, 2023

Peoples Beer Fest at
Oak Park, Sacramento

October 14, 2023

Bacon & Brew Bash, Roseville
October 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

Sunset in California's Central ValleyTaste of Downtown Visalia
October 17, 2023

CHIC-O-BER-Fest, Chico
October 21, 2023

Old Town Clovis Fall Wine Walk
October 21, 2023

Fresno Taco Truck Throwdown
October 21, 2023

Springville Apple Festival
October 21, 2023

The Taste of Winters Charity Gala
October 27, 2023

Tractors & Brews at the California
Agricultural Museum, Woodland

October 27, 2023

Hops & Goblins BeerFest, Lodi
October 28, 2023

Séka Hills Olive Crush Festival, Brooks
October 29, 2023

916 Vegan Street Faire,
Old Sacramento Waterfront

October 29, 2023

November

Old Town Clovis Tailgate BBQ Throwdown
November 1, 2023

Madera Pomegranate, Fruit
and Nut Festival

November 4, 2023

Sacramento Wine Festival, Carmichael
November 11, 2023 – UNCONFIRMED

Berryessa Gap Vineyards
Paella Festival, Winters

November 11, 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

Bondolio Olive Farm
Holiday Open House, Winters

December 10, 2023

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).

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