Such a great event. As a former event planner, I can see that ALOT of thought went into the…read moreselection of the vendors. Very cool idea having only 1 beer company, face painting activities for the children included in admission as well as the VIP beer garden being next to the NWA wrestling event. Great idea to have the wrestling of NWA here during the event!! The crowd for the event was great. Looking forward to next year

Absolutely disappointed, my family and I drove an hour away to go to the festival, purchased…read moretickets, when we got there there was maybe 4 grilled cheese vendors not a festival at all. We tried 4 different grilled cheeses at 3 different vendors and each time it was extremely cold. Reminded me of eating my toddlers left overs that's been sitting out for a hour. Don't waste your time or money

A fairly well organized event at a beautiful location for a worthy cause. I think I discovered more…read moreamazing and up-and-coming microbreweries in one hour here than I did in the last year, and that says a lot since I'm quite the beer enthusiast. The venue of choice, the California Aerospace Museum, has a lot of advantages because of its space, open and airy feel and beautiful aircraft to admire. On this particular night they would not allow us to go outside to view the rest of the planes, which is something I distinctly remember I was allowed to do at other festivals here. Each vendor was friendly and some of the pours were more than generous. The atmosphere was lively and became crowded in the final hours, but it was easy to slip upstairs and people watch from the second floor if the crowds weren't your thing. My biggest criticism is reserved for the "VIP Rare Beer Hour." For a significantly higher cost of $100 per ticket, you got to get in an hour early and supposedly taste rare beers - many of which are not even available off the factory floor. Half of that first hour was wasted standing in a long line, there was no private section for rare beer tasting and many of the vendors didn't even have a rare beer option. I'd probably be more disappointed in this if the event as a whole didn't turn out to be such a thirst quenching success.

Cheers!! A fest…read morededicated to all things brewed, with delicious tastes of sausages, pastas, cheeses and stews to fortify the soul. Hopefully other Yelpers will fill in the details on this lager-than-life event! So many breweries we didn't get to them all. The pluses: bathrooms upstairs and downstairs. Large event space. Brewers sociable and generous with their explanations, and their pours. Delicious food. The lines were short so we didn't have to spend all her time waiting around for food or drinkl The minuses: a 15-minute line at the beginning - but that irritation quickly wore off as we sipped and slurped our way to beer nirvana!! Solid 4 star event!!

So growing up in the Bay Area in the 80s and 90s, I never knew about the California State Fair in…read moreSacramento. There was no social media,barely any internet, so unless someone you knew went there was no means to ever knowing about it. Not sure how I heard about it but I remember when I was 20, someone mentioned it to me so I came up here on a Saturday and my mind was totally blown. It was so much fun-I've been coming back darn near every year ever since. The State Fair has been located at Cal Expo grounds for as long as I can remember. There are plenty of parking areas available, though on weekends it still can get kind of crazy. Admission is generally around $15 and parking is about the same. Though there are special days when the admission fee and the parking are drastically lower. Also there are many merchants that sell State Fair packs which offer discounts for admission, parking and food. Let's talk about my visits this year. This year, I was drawn to the State Fair for multiple reasons but I'd say the biggest reason was the musical acts. This year I was able to catch Ja Rule and Boys To Men on different nights at the fair. Seeing these musical acts comes with the price of admission, though they do sell seats really close to the stage for an additional cost. Now coming in at a close second as far as the reason I love the fair so much, the food. There is nothing quite like the food at the fair-it's so awesome. Though not cheap and some would call it overpriced-I like to think of it as more unique and is priced as such. My favorites year to year tend to be the cinnamon rolls and the various BBQ offerings. Something I look forward to every year at the fair are the county exhibits and the various vendors selling their wares at the State Fair. I'm always coming home with something I didn't plan on buying. This year the State Fair really expanded their cannabis exhibit as it's taken over major parts of the old water park area. It's a wild scene over in Cannabis-Land. Overall these are some of the reasons I fell in love with the California State Fair when I was 20 years old and why I continue to love it just as much today 30 years later.

I love a good summer fair! I enjoy the California State Fair. It's huge! It has a lot to offer. I'm…read morenot from Sacramento, so my boyfriend and I like to go right when it opens to make our moneys worth and to beat the heat as much as we can. We went to the fair during the last weekend and met up with a couple friends. I did some research beforehand, to see what the best foods were just because I didn't want to waste money and be disappointed on food items. I'm glad I did that because most of the food items I got from the recommendations I saw online, I enjoyed. We got hot dog on a stick (classic), pickle lemonade, chicken kebab, cinnamon roll, lobster fries... now I'm going to say hot dog on a stick was the best. Maybe I'm biased, lol. But, I do have to say, I didn't eat anything that made me say I would love to get it again next year. I knocked down one star because it is expensive. Be prepared to spend lots of money! Admission price is I believe $15 per person? I can't remember. Parking was $15. Each food/drink item ranges from maybe $10-$30. If you want to ride any rides and play any games, that is additional money as well. There are also vendors inside selling stuff. So, just make sure you come prepared to spend a lot but I feel like that is expected when you go to the fair. However, my friends and I made the most of it! So, we had a great time. There are lots of indoor exhibits as well that has AC, so you can take a break from the extreme heat. If you haven't checked out the state fair, I would recommend to check it out at least once. If it isn't for you, then at least you tried!

Deschutes knows how to put on a party! For one day, the streets of the "Handle" district in…read moreMidtown Sacramento got transformed into a large makeshift outdoor pub, raising funds for the "Runnin' for Rhett" organization. There was a stage for live music, retail vendors, foodie trucks, water stations, beer taps throughout the streets, and a sea of people to navigate your way through. Twelve ounce beers were $5, and there were plenty to choose from. I sampled "fresh sqeezed, " "mirror pond," and the porter. All were incredible. There was a live cooking demo, that I actually missed but passed by in time to sample the finished product of pasta and sausage, and served with a sample of the fresh squeezed IPA. There was also a popular "shotski" booth, where 8 people held up a "ski" and took beer shots at the same time. Fun times! At the reserved booth, you could buy the limited releases at certain times only, but I heard the tap runs dry pretty quickly, so I didn't even attempt to fall in the long lines. If you love festivals, beer, and people-watching, this free event is right up your street!

What fun I had today. I have always liked Deschutes beer and have been to both of their breweries…read more I think what they are doing as a fund raiser for the Runnin' for Rhett non profit group is great. I sampled some of their brews. Black Butte Porter is one of my all time favorites. They had at least 50 taps today. I left about 4:00 in the afternoon and the place was getting pretty crowded. As it's free to get in I don't think they know how many people attend. My wild ass guess is between 10,000 and 20,000. They have food trucks set up and there are restaurants along the street. I ate at Zocalo today. This is a once a year event that shouldn't be missed.

This Elk Grove Giant Pumpkin festival two day weekend event has been occurring since 1994 but when…read moreCovid happened in 2020 it happened online. It was only recently we attended if we weren't away traveling as my wife loves a huge festival that entails lots of walking, live music, shopping & food. It's an ideal place at autumn time with giant pumpkin weigh-ins. This year 2025 the top pumpkin weighed 2,147 pounds! Brian Werner from Gridley California won. This year they also had a scarecrow contest, pumpkin recipe contest, lil pumpkin cupcake & youth art contests. There were also multiple stages of entertainment & the pumpkin regatta happened on Sunday. We didn't arrive here until after an hour of opening yet they had plenty of parking at 20 dollars a pop. We did spend several hours here so it was worth our time. Also they do have kids rides & activities for them! That tractor tram ride for kids only looked so fun! It is really a family friendly event! This year we bought their Mediterranean food: chicken gyro & lamb salad. Service was good. My chicken gyro however was meh. Yet my wife loved her tasty spicy lamb salad as she ate the entire entree bc she was hangry! That value on that salad was worth it to her! My wife even purchased her favorite chocolate dipping' dots bc people kept walking past us eating them! We also observed some people dressed in costumes & lots of furry friends on leashes. An ideal place for people watching too! The weather was the most perfect right after a stormy week! Not hot as the temperature was nice & cool! Last Saturday it was odd though as the internet was down so they encouraged to bring cash! Cash is King! Now if you missed this year's festival make it a point to attend next year. It usually occurs the first weekend in October. You will be highly entertained. Seriously. My wife thought her pictures she captured were exceptionally pretty bc of the beautiful pumpkin orangey colors especially against the greenery background, bright sun & blue pond. It does make you appreciate our lovely sunny California weather. We are truly blessed.

Being a local Elk Grovenian and living here for 20+ years, I have never been to the ever popular…read moreand famous GPF. Why? I don't know but perhaps I was influenced by someone years back telling me it's not worth coming because there's hardly anything. Boy were they wrong!! I enjoyed every minute of the GPF. Sure it's mostly for kids but I as an adult, with no kids, I still had fun going. There are plenty of food vendors, coffee vendor and a variety of desserts (ice cream, kettle corn, shaved ice). The cooling desserts are much needed on a hot day in October like it was this past weekend. Don't forget to bring a water bottle, hat & sunglasses since you'll be at the park for a couple hours. The vendors are all spread out in Elk Grove Park so there's an ample amount of walking to experience all that there was to offer at the GPF. My friend and I got there close to opening on Sunday morning which is the last day. We did hit a bit of traffic, however, traffic was moving and we weren't stuck on the street for more than 5 minutes. If you go early, you'll find good paved parking. If you go later, you'll be parking in the unpaved areas. Parking was $10 and it is all day or you can chance it and park in the neighborhoods. I was most excited to see the pumpkin regatta but we didn't get to see it because I think they started rowing the pumpkin boats slightly before 12 pm (12 pm was scheduled time). I did see them carving the pumpkins when we arrived at 10 am. There's plenty of photo ops for little kids and adults in the pumpkin village and there was also a scarecrow contest. Many of the vendors give out useable freebies which can be used during the festival or later on. There were also other small businesses that had their own booths such as arts & crafts, trinkets, hand made soaps & bath bombs etc. Plenty of things to do for the whole family of all ages. Just a note, there are 2 different events for Saturday and Sunday. The pumpkin weigh-in occurs on Saturday along with some other fruits & veggies weigh-ins. Sunday is the pumpkin regatta and the big splash after the regatta. There are also different events at the main stage and smaller stages too. Next year, I'm coming on Saturday to watch the pumpkin weigh-in. The winners for the pumpkin weigh-in were present on Sunday with their awards, and there was a final standing for all participants.

It was a fun time. Day 4 in bday festivities for a friend of mine. Everything was pretty well…read morespaced, not terribly crowded or anything. Lots of nice people and the event was dog friendly which was nifty. I think there should've been some areas for owners to take care of dogs like a water bowls and what not. The weather was decent since it didn't rain although it did get pretty warm at some points of the day. Lines were expected. I've seen longer at brew fests out in the city so these weren't that bad. I wish there were more areas people could wash out their cups tho. Some of the breweries had their own water jug which was awesome. All the vendors were friendly and outgoing for the most part. I did like that they had some games to play like giant jenga and corn hole. Jenga wasn't too great since it was on grass and not terribly level. Corn hole was only outlined by some cones so there was a constant threat of a bean bag accidents. There were a few vendors for food although I think some coordination with food trucks could've fixed that right up. Wind kicking up food smoke into the crowd at a large gathering area near the end didn't work out too well during some points. All in all we had fun, but the long walk at the beginning was arduous. The walk at the end tho to sober up a bit definitely helped tho haha.

This was a great concept that could have been executed better. I loved the idea of paying a flat…read morefee and then drinking unlimited amounts of beer from a bunch of cool microbreweries, but my enthusiasm waned after a long walk to the festival, a wait to enter in the hot sun, and then long lines for every brewery. To make matters worse, they give you a plastic glass a little larger than a shot glass to do your drinking. So when you finally get to the front of those long lines, you get one shot of thick brew to quench your thirst. It wasn't all bad. Once you get into the rhythm of standing in line then you learn how to navigate the crowds and maximize your investment. It was also a great place for people watching and food, like the amazing nachos I shouldn't have devoured after all that beer. I enjoyed myself, but not enough to go again.

You gotta be crazy decide to organize something like this. I give them credit. That's worth .5…read morestars. I'd try to support anyone having Whiskey and Stiches, Drop Dead Red, and Stationary on stage. Good music, great park, and a nice assortment of food and beverage vendors. Things got a little bananas with the beach balls during the Humble Wolf. That was a lot of fun. I don't know about all the vendors, but at least $5 paintball guy made out pretty well. I was having buyers remorse, but then someone else in the group was like, "We should do a paintball day. I got a bunch of passes." Turns outs out he got everyone. Ha, I had a good time. . I'd consider going again depending on the lineup.

Great weather, awesome food with a wide selection of music. Check out all the venders and grab some…read morefreebees

I was excited to be able to attend the Sacramento Harvest Festival this year after missing it for…read morethe last couple of years. And I guess so did a lot of other people, because it was super busy! Even though we arrived early, there were already multiple long lines of visitors! But I'm glad we came wearing our masks as required, but social distancing is a thing of the past. I was very impressed that they made announcements informing people that masks must be worn over the nose or they will be told to leave! As expected, some vendors that participated in the Sacramento Arts Festival were also present, displaying their crafts at the Harvest Festival.  So it was exciting to see them again and more of their merchandise in a different environment at Cal Expo. However, I was still disappointed that some of our favorite vendors were not present. I had high hopes at making some special purchases from them like I used to in the past. If you have an appreciation for arts and crafts at it's finest, this is a festival that should not be missed!  Local artists from Sacramento and beyond come to these shows to display their wares. You'll pretty much find one of a kind artwork here in a wide range of prices.  Best of all, it happens at the right time of year for ideal Christmas gift ideas! Of course, I always break down and buy something at the show.  Whether it be jewelry, clothing, glass sculpture, or some nick knack that I don't really need but have to have because they're too pretty to pass up. This festival offered so many great decorating ideas for home, garden, workplace or office.  Even if you can't afford to buy anything, it's still worth seeing all the wonderful hand made items and chatting with the friendly artists.   After having an enjoyable experience at the festival, I'm hoping we can return to making this a yearly tradition once again!

This is my second time attending the Harvest Festival and it's just not worth it. I will say the…read morefirst time I came, it was $10 to park and $10 to enter but this time it was $10 to park and $5 to enter. Even then it didn't seem worth it. The space wasn't even at capacity for vendors and a majority of the vendors seemed like food items. I've purchased wholesale items before for my small business and a vast majority of the clothing is white labeled and marked up at a huge increase, which I get but don't try and pass it off as homemade. There was a sign for a full bar and maybe 3 food truck vendors as well as a live singer for entertainment. There is also a large sign stating no video or photography of vendor items which is kind of a bummer. Took me about 40 minutes to make my around the entire thing and I ended up purchasing nothing. Side note - the fliers they sent out to their mailing list says you can purchase tickets online for $6.50 but you also have to pay a processing fee BUT buying at the door is a flat $5, makes no sense. And there is no benefits to doing so online because you still wait in the same line as regular at the door ticket purchasers.