Sacramento calls itself the Farm to Fork Capital, and the festival calendar is where you can see why. The region sits in the middle of farms, orchards, ranches, and vineyards, and most of the year has at least one event built around whatever is ripe or being poured. Here is how the year breaks down, so you can plan around what you actually like to eat and drink.
These are annual events, so the shape of the year repeats even when the dates move.
LATE SPRING PUTS STREET FOOD AND HONEY FIRST
FoodieLand Food Festival, Sacramento. A large gathering of food vendors at Cal Expo, all of it street food with a global accent: birria tacos, Korean corndogs, soup dumplings, pupusas. The dessert list runs to churro sundaes, candied fruit skewers, shave ice, and mango sticky rice.
California Honey Festival, Woodland. Two days in Woodland, a designated Bee City USA, built around honey and honeybees. You can taste different varieties of honey and honey-based food and drink, including mead, learn how pollinators matter, watch cooking demonstrations, hear live music, and shop artisan vendors focused on sustainability.
EARLY SUMMER IS BEER AND BLOOMS
Rocklin Brewfest, Rocklin. Unlimited craft beer pours are the draw. Brewers from across Northern California pour, food trucks park, and there is a home brew competition and live music. Wine and cider are available for anyone who is not there for the beer.
Lavender Blue Festival, Apple Hill. A summer harvest festival near Placerville where lavender turns up in the food. Many activities are at Bluestone Meadow Farm, with nearby farms offering lavender donuts, blueberry-lavender lemonade, and blueberry-lavender cobbler. There is U-Pick blueberries, gourmet food to shop, and wine tasting at area wineries.
MID SUMMER BRINGS THE FRUIT
Tasty Nights Food Festival, Woodland. An annual culinary and cultural event built on international street food, with desserts, beverages, live music and entertainment, carnival games, and local vendors.
Courtland Pear Fair, Courtland. In the Delta town of Courtland, a seasonal fair for the Bartlett pear harvest. Pear pastries, jams, and cocktails, plus a fun run, a parade, live music, and artisan vendors.
LATE SUMMER IS FOR PEACHES AND BANANAS
Peaches in the Plaza, Historic Folsom. A family-friendly celebration of California peach season. Local peaches, peach pies, cobblers, smoothies, and lemonade, a peach-eating contest, artisan vendors, and carnival games.
Banana Festival, Sacramento. An annual event about the banana and the cultures and traditions of the countries where it grows. The food list is long: banana empanadas, banana mango guacamole, banana lumpia, banana street tacos, and banana fritters. To drink, there are banana beer, banana wine, and banana cocktails.
FALL MOVES TO BEER, WINE, AND MANDARINS
El Dorado Hills Brewfest, El Dorado Hills. Stouts, lagers, IPAs, and cider from brewers across the region, with local food, lawn games, and live music.
Yolo Wine & Food Affair, Yolo County. A tour of wineries around the county, with wines paired with local food. Participating wineries bring in chefs to make thoughtful bites, and there are gourmet products to sample like olive oil, cheese, and sweets.
Fair Play Harvest Wine Festival, Fair Play. In the Fair Play area of El Dorado County, a celebration of wine grown and produced in the Fair Play and Somerset areas. Local food, harvest demonstrations, and live music.
Mandarin Festival, Roseville. Placer County grows mandarins, and this festival in Roseville is built around the harvest. Buy just-picked mandarins from county farms, sample mandarin donuts, beef jerky, and ice cream, watch cooking demonstrations, and shop artisan vendors.
THE COMPARISON I REACH FOR, AND WHERE IT STOPS WORKING
The comparison I reach for is a harvest calendar. Each month the region hands you whatever is ripe, and the festivals line up behind it: pears, then peaches, then mandarins, with honey and lavender and beer threaded through the year.
That reading falls apart pretty quickly. A harvest calendar tells you what the land did. These events are decisions. Somebody chose to build a festival around the banana, which does not grow here, and around the mandarin, which does. A calendar is nature. A festival is an argument that a thing is worth a party.
WHAT TO WEIGH BEFORE YOU GO
These are good days out, and they are also busy, hot, and sometimes crowded, and I would rather you plan for that.
- Summer heat. The middle of the year is the middle of the valley summer. The outdoor events are hot by afternoon.
- Crowds. The bigger festivals draw from across the region, and parking goes early.
- Alcohol. Several of these are built around drinking, and some are 21 and over. Check before you bring the family.
- Short windows. Harvest events run for a weekend or two. Miss it and the food is gone for a year.
- Costs. Many charge for entry or for tastings, so know the format before you commit a day.
If a festival town on this list got your attention, the neighborhoods hub is where I keep the guides, and the buying process page is the place to start if the reason you are reading this is that you are thinking about moving.
Question for you: which month on that calendar would you actually plan a weekend around? The honest answer is usually a better clue about where you want to live than a list of features.
Adapted from Food (and Wine, and Beer) Festivals to Look Forward to This Year, originally published by Windermere Signature Properties at windermerecalocal.com.
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