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 St. Patrick’s Day Parade
March 11, 2023***
Visalia Craft Beer Festival
March 11, 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***
Scottish Games Festival, Woodland
Postponed for 2022
May
Feast at The Fox, Stockton
May 5, 2023*** – Tickets available mid-February!
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***
Linden Cherry Festival
May 20, 2023***
Oakdale Chocolate Festival
May 20 & 21, 2023***
“Travel in Style” Train Excursion, Sacramento
May 27, 2023***
Wilson Family Winery
Annual Rib Cookoff, Lodi
May 28, 2023***
Selma Raisin Festival
May 4-8, 2022
National Garlic Festival, Fresno
May 13-15, 2022
Kingsburg Swedish Festival
May 19-21, 2022
June
Patterson Apricot Fiesta
June 2-4, 2023***
Merced County Fair
June 7-11, 2023***
Sacramento Whiskey Festival
June 8, 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, Clovis
June 24, 2023***
Soroptomist Craft Brew Fest, Chico
June 24, 2023***
July
Slice of Chico
July 8, 2023***
Downtown Visalia Summertime Food Contest
July 10-23, 2023***
Marysville Peach Festival
July 14 & 15, 2023***
California State Fair, Cal Expo in Sacramento
July 14-30, 2023***
Courtland Pear Fair
July 30, 2023***
August
Taste of the Delta, Stockton
August 5, 2023***
California Garlic Festival, Stockton
August 5 & 6, 2023***
Yolo County Fair
August 16-20, 2023***
Butte County Fair, Gridley
August 24-27, 2023***
Blues, Brews & BBQ, Yuba City
August 26, 2023***
Winters Albariño Wine Stroll
August 5, 2022
Best of Sacramento Party
August 18, 2022
Sacramento Banana Festival
August 20 & 21, 2022
Taste of Oakdale
August 23, 2022
September
Foodie Land Night Market, Sacramento
September 1-3, 2023***
Sacramento Legends of Wine
September 7, 2023***
Stockton Greek Festival
September 8-10, 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***
Fresno Greek Fest
September 15-17, 2023***
Chico Summerfest
September 16, 2023***
California Brewers Festival
Discovery Park, Sacramento
September 16, 2023***
Fair Oaks Chicken Festival
September 16, 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***
Livingston Sweet Potato Festival
September 29 through October 1, 2023***
Foodie Land Night Market, Sacramento
September 29 through October 1, 2023***
Assyrian Festival, Turlock Fairgrounds
September 3 & 4, 2022
Sacramento Salsa Festival
September 17, 2022
Modesto Greek Festival
September 17 & 18, 2022 – TAKE-OUT DINNER
Dinuba Raisin Day Festival
September 22-25, 2022
Bakersfield Pinot, Paella & Pints Festival
September 24, 2022
Uncapped & Uncorked, Elk Grove
September 24, 2022
October
Yolo Growers & Farmworkers Festival, Woodland
October 8, 2023***
Chic-O-berfest, Chico
October 21, 2023***
Sierra Oro Farm Trail Farm &
Wine Pass (various venues)
October 1-31, 2022
Bike the Bridges & Brewfest, Benicia
October 1, 2022
Lambtown Festival, Dixon
October 1 & 2, 2022
Manteca Pumpkin Fair
October 1 & 2, 2022
The Big Fresno Fair
October 5-16, 2022
Chico Art & Wine Walk
October 7, 2022
Sacramento Turn Verein Oktoberfest
October 7 & 8, 2022
Sacramento Greek Festival
October 7-9, 2022
Sacramento Taco Festival
October 9, 2022
Taste of Downtown Visalia
October 17, 2023***
Winters Food & Wine Gala
October 14, 2022
Springville Apple Festival
October 15, 2022
Tehachapi Apple Festival
October 15 & 16, 2022
Taste of Capay Valley at Luna
Lavender Farm, Guinda
October 23, 2022
Hops & Goblins BeerFest, Lodi
October 29, 2022
November
Downtown Visalia Winter Winederland Walk
November 30, 2023***
Madera Pomegranate, Fruit
and Nut Festival
November 5, 2022
The Hive Anniversary Party, Woodland
November 12, 2022
Lodi Tour of Tempranillo
November 12 & 13, 2022
Fresno County Fall Harvest Wine Journey
November 12 & 13, 2022
Séka Hills Olive Crush Festival, Brooks
November 13, 2022
Elk Grove Dickens Street Faire
November 26, 2022
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).
