Sierras and Gold Country Festivals – 2023
Outdoor adventures, visiting cool little museums and sampling tasty Sierra Foothills wines are just a few of the many things to see and do in the Sierras and Gold Country area, but including a local event on your itinerary will almost certainly add to the fun. Some people even plan their trips around these dates!
The festivals list below, arranged by month, can help you easily determine if there’s one happening during your visit. You’ll notice that the spring and fall seasons are the most popular time for events of this type, and that’s because the summers here can get a bit warm. Spring and fall are fabulous, though!
You’ll find a bunch of festivals in Yosemite and Lake Tahoe, as well as in Mammoth Lakes and all the historic Gold Country towns.
You may also notice that wine is a popular draw, which is quite fitting since the area is known for its award-winning vines. Alternatively, many of the events feature beer, and music is often thrown into the mix for good measure. There’s truly something for everyone in this area.
For each entry on the list, you’ll find the date(s) it’s scheduled to occur, the host city, plus a link to a website that provides additional details. We recommend you make note of the website because it’s wise to check again and verify the event details closer to the actual date.
The list includes dates for 2022 festivals as well as some with 2023 dates. ***Events for which a 2023 date is available are marked with a triple-asterisk.***
Many of these are annual events that are held around the same time every year. While we plan to check and update this list from time to time, if a 2022 event looks interesting you can always click through to see if the organizer’s website has been updated.
You may just want to browse the list to see if any of the festivals especially appeal to you. Or, if your travel dates are already set, you can use these handy jump links to advance to a specific month’s events quickly:
January ### February ### March ### April ###
May ### June ### July ### August ###
September ### October ### November ### December
January
Twain Harte Soroptimist Crab Feed at Tuolumne Memorial Hall, Tuolumne City
January 14, 2023***
Burns Night Supper, Placerville
January 25, 2023***
Yosemite Chef’s Holidays
CANCELLED for 2023***
February
Mariposa Lions Club Crab Feed
February 4, 2023***
Valentine’s Day Food and Wine Pairing
at Lusso Della Terra Winery, Fiddletown
February 10-12, 2023***
Mardi Gras Celebration, Lusso Della Terra, Fiddletown
February 17-19, 2023***
Nevada City Mardi Gras Celebration
February 19, 2023***
March
Snowfest, Tahoe City
March 2-12, 2023***
Haus Snowfest Brewfest
March 4, 2023***
St. Piran’s Day Festival, Grass Valley
March 4, 2023***
The Foothills Celebration, Grass Valley
March 18, 2023***
Behind the Cellar Door, Amador County
March 25 & 26, 2023***
April
Taste of Mariposa
April 1, 2023***
Lodi Wine Festival
April 1, 2023***
THE GREAT OUT THERE Passport Weekend, El Dorado County
April 22 & 23, 2023***
Lincoln Wine Fest
April 29, 2023*** – SOLD OUT!
May
El Dorado Hills Art, Beer & Wine Festival
May 13 & 14, 2023***
Placer Wine & Ale Trail
Summer Passport (various venues)
May 15 thru August 31, 2023***
Westside Tribute Band Brew Fest, Tuolumne
May 20, 2023***
Wine on the Water Wine Dinner
at Trokay Restaurant, Truckee
May 25, 2023***
Made in Tahoe Festival, Palisades Tahoe
May 27 & 28, 2023***
Amador Four Fires Festival
May 7, 2022 – Returning on May 4, 2024!
June
Truckee Thursdays (11-week street festival)
June through August 2023***
Summer Farm Tours
June through October 2023***
Wine on the Water Wine Dinner
at Sage Leaf Restaurant, Incline Village
June 1, 2023***
Taste of Calaveras at Ironstone Vineyards, Murphys
June 3, 2023***
Rocklin Brewfest
June 3, 2023***
Wine on the Water, Incline Village (NV)
June 4, 2023***
Sample the Sierra, South Lake Tahoe
June 10, 2023***
Tahoe City Food & Wine Classic
June 10, 2023*** – Tickets on sale March 1 (see also info about “Grab Your Glass” pre-party on June 9)
El Dorado County Fair
June 15-18, 2023***
Lavender Blue Festival, Apple Hill
June 17 & 18 AND June 24 & 25, 2023***
RIDGE Vineyards Weekend Getaway, Lake Tahoe
June 22-25, 2023***
Placer County Fair, Roseville
June 22-25, 2023***
Mother Lode Fair, Sonora
June 29 through July 2, 2023***
July
Truckee Thursdays (11-week street festival)
June through August 2023***
Summer Farm Tours
June through October 2023***
Mammoth Jazzfest Wine Walk
July 14 & 15, 2023***
Downieville Mountain Brew Fest
July 22, 2023***
Amador County Fair
July 27-30, 2023*** – Tickets on sale May 1!
Bass Lake Fest
July 28-30, 2023***
Mammoth Villagefest
July 28 & 29, 2023***
Motherlode Beer & Music Festival,
Historic Main Street, Placerville
July 16, 2022
August
Truckee Thursdays (11-week street festival)
June through August 2023***
Summer Farm Tours
June through October 2023***
Festival of Beers & Bluesapalooza, Mammoth Lakes
August 3-6, 2023***
Taste of Gold, South Lake Tahoe
August 5, 2023***
Nevada County Fair, Grass Valley
August 9-13, 2023***
Mammoth Margarita Festival
August 11 & 12, 2023***
All American Rib Cookoff, Auburn
August 12, 2023***
Brews, Jazz & Funk Fest,
Palisades Tahoe
August 12, 2023***
Mammoth Wine Weekend
August 17-20, 2023***
Apple Hill Growers Farm-to-Fork Dinner, Camino
August 19, 2023***
Placer Wine & Ale Trail Winemaker &
Brewer’s BBQ, Gold Hill Gardens in Newcastle
August 19, 2023***
Angels-Murphys Rotary Club
Shrimp & Pasta Feed, Murphys Park
August 19, 2023***
Mammoth Rocks Taste of the Sierra
August 25 & 26, 2023***
Tahoe Brewfest
August 26, 2023***
September
Summer Farm Tours
June through October 2023***
Mammoth Rock N Rye Whiskey Festival
September 1-3, 2023***
Mariposa County Fair
September 1-4, 2023***
Tri-County Fair, Bishop
September 2-5, 2023***
Alpen Wine Fest, Palisades Tahoe
September 3, 2023***
Guitar Strings vs. Chicken Wings,
Palisades Tahoe
September 8, 2023***
El Dorado Hills Brewfest
September 9, 2023***
Twain Harte Soroptimist
a la Carte at Eproson Park
September 9, 2023***
Barbera Festival, Plymouth
September 9, 2023***
Groveland 49er Festival Chili & Salsa Cook-Off
September 16, 2023***
Aloha Festival, Auburn
September 16, 2023***
Fiddletown Fiddlers’ Jam
September 16, 2023***
Tahoe City Oktoberfest
September 23, 2023***
Coulterville CoyoteFest
September 23 & 24, 2023***
Oktoberfest, Palisades Tahoe
September 30, 2023***
June Lake Autumn Beer Festival
September 30, 2023***
October
Summer Farm Tours
June through October 2023***
Amador Big Crush Harvest Festival
October 6-8, 2023***
Oktoberfest on Main Street, Placerville
October 7, 2023***
Truckee Wine Walk
October 7, 2023***
Calaveras Grape Stomp, Murphys
October 7, 2023***
Loomis Eggplant Festival
October 7, 2023***
Downtown Grass Valley Brewfest
October 14, 2023***
Columbia State Park Harvest Festifall
October 14 & 15, 2023***
Springville Apple Festival
October 21, 2023***
Mariposa Friends of the Fair Sausage & Suds Event
October 28, 2023***
November
Foothill Wine Festival, Folsom
November 11, 2023***
Mountain Mandarin Festival
Gold Country Fairgrounds, Auburn
November 17-19, 2023***
December
Murphys Open House
December 1, 2023*** (first Friday in December)
Nevada City Victorian Christmas
Sundays – December 3, 10, & 17, 2023*** (1:30-6pm)
Wednesdays – December 6 & 13, 2023*** (5-9pm)
Auburn Old Town Christmas
December 9 and December 16, 2023***
Yosemite Bracebridge Dinners
CANCELLED for 2023 due to Ahwahnee refurbishment project
Yosemite Grand Vintner’s Holidays
CANCELLED for 2023
If you know of any other Sierras and Gold County festivals that we should add to this list, would you please use our Contact form to let us know? (Thanks in advance!)
Photo of Fiddletown Fiddler’s Jam Festival by Bruno Rijsman via flickr (Creative Commons).
