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    Gather: Oak Park

    4.2 (28 reviews)

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    David O.

    2nd Thursdays this summer GATHER: Oak Park is a cool open air market/beer garden/food vendor cluster kinda hangout event. Beer, kombucha, food, and various goods vendors are local. Cool area for the kiddies to get their playdate on. DJ was spinning laid back hip hop. Vendors were a little light, but since GATHER is from the folks that started GOOD I think that'll improve considering a nice turnout of folks for the first one. I enjoyed the people watching with my farmhouse from New Glory Brewing. I'll be back next month. Maybe next time I'll hit that popsicle cart.

    Dev R.

    Great neighborhood gathering. zi wasn't sure where it was initially, as there was another street something going on just a few blocks over. Hey, can't be mad with capitalism, trying to grab customers from this well-advertised event. The concept is perfect! What happened to the neighborhood block parties we use to have when I was a kid? Gather is bringing it back! With comfy lounge areas, a few standing tables, and a center "family style table" to encourage chatting, it had a good vibe. Music was playing at separate ends of the block, yet not interfering with the other. Food was plenteous. There was seafood, chicken, BBQ, soul, Asian, and a few others. It was hot as heck, so those triangle shade things tied to buildings or trees would have made this perfect.

    gather is a new community event in sacramento.
    Luke C.

    The first Gather event was held tonight in Oak Park from 5-9pm. I found out about this event through a friend, and it seemed like a great idea! Basically the event is about bringing the community together with food, unique items, and live music. Everybody is welcome to enjoy the experience no matter if you're from the Oak Park area or not! The atmosphere was festive and there was a good vibe about the entire event. Gather took place on a sectioned off street in the Oak Park neighborhood of Sacramento, Ca. I wasn't sure what to expect before I got there. It turned out to be a bit smaller than I had imagined it to be. In total, there were really just a couple restaurant food places with the other vendors being drinks, desserts, candy, or other non-food items. Attendees had the choice of either having food from Thai Basil or tacos from a restaurant that I can't recall at the moment. I went for the Thai Basil as it looked a bit more unique than the tacos. For $12 I was able to get a combo plate that had a pretty good amount of food on it - noodles, rice, tofu, curry, vegetables, and a sausage patty. Thai Basil was not skimpy on the portions! The combo plate was very tasty as the ingredients were freshly prepared. I also chose to get a DavePops Popsicle, the pina colada one. Oh, that was a tasty frozen treat for a warm day like today! I was surprised at the richness and full-flavor that this Popsicle had. I'd definitely get another one from Dave. LukePops that are sugar free were also available from him. As I finished dinner I turned my attention to the live music and other vendors around Gather. I found that quite a few people had come to see what this event was all about. I think Gather as slightly under-prepared for their first time out. There were only two dining quality places to go if you wanted a meal for dinner. Hopefully next time there will be more. Other than that, Gather has a good start to build on, and I'm hopeful that Gather will become an event that the people of Sacramento can enjoy all summer long!

    Best thing going... I PROMISE!!!!!
    Jamila B.

    If your looking for a relaxed, mature, family crowd. This event is for you, every good thing you've heard about it... is true! Every food truck and pop up that I have had are tasty. Not one selected by Gather have I been disappointed in and there's always a diverse selection to choose from. The music selection has gotten a lot better. It truly has become a joy to vibe out to the music as well as eat the food. They also provide a few selected clothing and accessory vendors to buy from and for those that love a beer or wine with their choice meal... there's that too. The people are fun and everyone loves to mingle including the cops on patrol. They even have a couple of games for children to play. I urge you to come and check out GATHER... once experienced I believe you'll agree that it's a "must go to event" every month. See you there!

    Craft Beer Bar
    Kristian D.

    I am not cool enough for Gather: Oak Park. You might be if you have a beard and visit the gym more than the bar. The OP is already hipster central and this event is the prom. Their monthly outdoor event is on the streets near Old Soul along Broadway. Parking is limited and not recommended. Use RT or your favorite paid driver instead. This is really more of a food truck event than a major cultural event. There are several excellent trucks and a great beer garden near the live music stage. Gather does have a kids area and several arts and crafts vendors, but most of the young crowd are here for a buzz and snacks with their dogs in tow. This is a place to see and be seen with many young professionals mingling. It was really packed with wanderers making it tough to navigate, but it does deliver excellent beer, food, and people watching for those cool enough to participate.

    crowd is starting @5:30.
    Lisa V.

    my first oak park gather night. at first when i arrived there was hardly anybody but then i realized people were still getting off work or finding parking--- so why am i complaining. i did a roll around the stands and food trucks (very good trucks) and got dibs on food. afterwards we walked around the area and went into shops. really cool ones too i dont know why i waited so long to come to one of these.

    Half of my sandwich from Culinerdy Cruzer
    Rocio K.

    This is a fun place to go when you want something fun to do on a Thursday night, but you don't want to stay out too long. We saw the mayor there once. The set up us nice, the about a block is closed off for this weekly event, you walk in and show your ID if you plan on drinking alcohol, then you go to the booth and get your wrist band. They have tables set up along the middle, but it can be very sunny and hot during the summer. There are so many food vendors that there is something for everyone. The live music changes weekly. It is good to go early to find nearby street parking. There is an art section too and the overall vibe is family fun and friendly

    Ashley N.

    Probably my favorite event in the Sacramento area! I love the premise of Gather Nights! It's a place where everyone can get together. There's an area for kids, an area with food trucks, an alley where artisans can sell their items, there's dogs everywhere, and there's live music. The event is free to attend, free parking. You can get cocktails, beer, or wine. There's tons of food vendors doing tented food and prepackaged food (i.e. bread, popcorn, marshmallows). I LOVE the communal table! Yes, it's a pain in the butt to walk ALL the way around to get to the other side to see the different vendors but I just have to deal with it. I sat down at a table to eat some Masa Tacos and of course I talked to the people across from me about their meals. This is what it's all about, meeting new people. GATHER. The music is loud, people dance on the tiny dance floor or in the street. You can buy gourmet popsicles. Kids are doing art in the kid area. The sunsets and you can see all the beautiful lights and with any luck the delta breeze comes rolling in. And you're just standing there in the middle of the street with strangers who are your neighbors and it's gorgeous and it's like a movie and I wish I could live it everyday.

    Tung L.

    I've been to my fare share of gatherings, food truck events and festivals but this by far has to be one of the more memorable ones. Super cool atmosphere and good vibes all around. DJ was on point playing all the good jams. Had everyone dancing on and off the dance area.

    Enjoying all our food options! Fat kids at heart.
    Ella C.

    What an awesome event. I'm sad I didn't realize these existed before this month! I'm a sucker for anything that fosters a strong sense of community. Why you must go!- Tons of food options Great diverse crowd Kid & pet friendly Great music $5 draft beer/wine Tables with umbrellas and linen to eat dinner What's not to love?! The kids and I were there for over 3 hours and had a blast the whole time. A word to the wise- bring your own water if you can. $2 per bottle when it's 107 outside gets expensive after a while. (It was hot as heck but that's my only complaint)

    Jamie S.

    A really great event, but take this review with a grain of salt because the event isn't exactly as advertised. The promotional material for Gather displays it as some sort of casual, farm-to-table, hipster-elegant relaxed event. Advertised: Beer Garden, communal tables, kids area, marketplace Reality: Beer truck, food truck, loud reggae, tshirt sales. Too crowded to be kid friendly- I actually found a sign outlining the rules of the kid's area, but no actual kid's area. The reality is that this was a REALLY AWESOME event, I had a warm beer and some vegan samosas while listening to the Sacramento Storytellers. Knowing this, I'll be back for sure! Advice: Leave the kids at home. It's too crowded and they're not going to have a great time. Also, most of the vendors accept cards, which is amazing!

    Elote, boiled corn smutter with mayo, sprinkled with tajin, and cotija cheese from the real masa vendor.

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    Review Highlights - Gather: Oak Park

    Not one selected by Gather have I been disappointed in and there's always a diverse selection to choose from.

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    Sacramento Aloha Festival

    Sacramento Aloha Festival

    4.3(19 reviews)
    5.9 km

    10th Annual Sacramento Aloha Festival 2021…read more Aloha kākou! This year the Aloha Fest was held at the Gold Country Fairgrounds in Auburn. I've never attended the location at the Cal Expo but the location in Auburn was a beautiful park-like venue with lots of greenery outside in the open air. It was a nice place to hold the event. The weather was sunny and in the low 80's. Perfect weekend for ending the summer! Folks were out in their lawn chairs just enjoying the day. There was no shortage of entertainment (live native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander), fun workshops, Aloha merchandise, and delicious Polynesian food!!! There were resource vendor booths, educational exhibits, and an arts and crafts Keiki Korner, and lots more. Restrooms were nearby and the grounds was wheelchair accessible. We attended to watch my boss's little keiki participate on stage with the KŪHAI HĀLAU O KANOHEAOKALIKOLAUA'E PĀ 'ŌLAPA KAHIKO dance group led by Kumu Hula, Nohea Macugay. We also participated (attempted) at the Tahitian Workshop with the VAIPUNA NO TE HERE dance group led by Director, Stephanie Manuel. My daughter belongs in the dance group and was part of the workshop. -whew- what a workout. Also, saw my favorite band, Island Sunset Band, on stage. My favorite because "Unko" is a guitar player (married to Yelper, "Aunty" Ronnie B) This was a much needed coming together and made me miss the islands. It's the next best thing in the mainland if you're not in Hawaii... Aloha... A hui hou! Review #2397

    It's no longer held at Cal expo. It's held in Auburn during the month of September The new…read morelocation is a lot better than Cal expo

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    Sacramento Aloha Festival
    Sacramento Aloha Festival
    Sacramento Aloha Festival

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    Lantern Street Festival - Beautiful Lighted Lanterns...

    Lantern Street Festival

    5.0(1 review)
    2.7 kmDowntown

    Beautiful Time Celebrating Ancient Cultural Diversity in Sacramento!…read morehttps://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/lantern-street-festival-sacramento?select=wSSUqMiUI0sCyIE8XEcSpw&userid=3mNz5nQFTIBQm0oU5mBR0w SITREP Fremont Park in Downtown Sacramento became the site of the lovely Lantern Festival. https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/lantern-street-festival-sacramento?select=Ay_BfKSvzAy8Nd9X9w4rzw&userid=3mNz5nQFTIBQm0oU5mBR0w THE SETUP Sacramento has a large Chinese community - and has had one nearly since the founding of this city, and definitely since the founding of The Great State of California. The Spring Lantern Festival ("Lantern Festival") is a Chinese festival celebrated historically on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunisolar Chinese calendar. It marks the final day of the traditional Chinese New Year celebrations. Fremont Park was the site for this year's festival and became a hub of activity with Decorated Lanterns, a music concert, a food truck convo, and so much more fun! https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/lantern-street-festival-sacramento?select=ud0mxk_sXgV9GGoSp91EdQ&userid=3mNz5nQFTIBQm0oU5mBR0w LIGHT TOYS! A festival such as this DOES inspire some marked "branch-offs" when it comes to pleasing the sensibilities of children: many lighted toys make their way into the festivals. Many kids brought their light-sabers contributing to the visual array of lights. There are also some creations that I swear are Harry Potter-inspired, such as the "Lighted-Wands" that come with their own lighted globe on the end of the wand. https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/lantern-street-festival-sacramento?select=a2aUOqyuUd10pTam9dVN9w&userid=3mNz5nQFTIBQm0oU5mBR0w ANCIENT HISTORY As early as the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC), the Lantern Festival has been imbued with great significance for children, who go out at night, carrying their paper lanterns, and solving riddles that adults have placed on the lanterns. In those ancient times, lanterns were plain, and often only the nobility could afford the making of large ornate lanterns. These days, lanterns feature many different embellishments with intricate designs, including being in the shape of animals or symbols. THE WEST Because of our significant Chinese communities all over the United States, including here in California, the Lantern Festival is a significant Cultural Celebration. It is noted in many other Western countries as well, especially in cities with a large Chinese community: for example, in London, the Magical Lantern Festival (the largest Lantern Festival outside of China) is held annually. THE LOWDOWN A beautiful celebration giving we Sacramentans to enjoy some more great cultural diversity with our neighbors.

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    Lantern Street Festival - Beautiful Lighted Lanterns...

    Beautiful Lighted Lanterns...

    Lantern Street Festival - Beautiful Lighted Lanterns...

    Beautiful Lighted Lanterns...

    Lantern Street Festival - Beautiful Lighted Lanterns...

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    Beautiful Lighted Lanterns...

    Sacramento Harvest Festival - 11/17/18 Queen of the Valley Almonds, cinnamon, chocolate toffee, applewood smoked and sprinklemint candycane purchased for Christmas gift!

    Sacramento Harvest Festival

    3.9(33 reviews)
    5.1 km

    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.

    We were looking forward to attending at this large venue on Saturday, which we did. Unfortunately…read moreit was just so-so. We saw all of the vendors and purchased a couple of loaves of bread but we left not talking about anything we saw. Nothing just knocked our socks off or was memorable. I guess overall it was disappointing.

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    Sacramento Harvest Festival - Beautiful vinyl purses

    Beautiful vinyl purses

    Sacramento Harvest Festival - 11/17/18 11.5 oz Lawford's Private Reserve Maple Cream Fine Cream Syrup I purchased for a family friend for Christmas!

    11/17/18 11.5 oz Lawford's Private Reserve Maple Cream Fine Cream Syrup I purchased for a family friend for Christmas!

    Sacramento Harvest Festival - Beautiful gourd lamps!

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    Japanese Food & Cultural Bazaar

    Japanese Food & Cultural Bazaar

    4.3(29 reviews)
    2.9 kmDowntown

    We have attended the Buddhist church Japanese food & cultural bazaar so so many many times. This…read moreyear 2025 it was expected to be 100 degrees. Thank goodness the band we came for started playing at 11 AM. Even then it was toasty already that we decided to leave early like before 1 PM. A suggestion is they need misters to combat the heat! We were at another different kind of festival where there were fan misters! My wife loved it! We ran into old friends. This year we didn't bother getting food bc the lines were crazy busy but my wife is on a special diet so she can't eat much of the food anyway. Many people around us bought food & the sizes looked smaller. We were even tempted to buy Gunther's freezes! Now that was super smart to have for sale, very refreshing! The teriyaki beef sammy was huge I heard this year. Inside the church gym they sold sushi & udon. Outside the food was for sale & the lines forked for days. So you must be patient. This year like the last year it was only a 1 day event. I think since Covid it has changed considerably bc before it used to be a 2 days event. I'm sure we will try again if we aren't gone traveling & the weather is cooler! I know fat chance that happens! It's like the live band Eastwind always brings the HEAT!!! There has been an occasional time that it was cool that day. That's very rare though. Maybe next year! Heehee. Watch my wife book a trip! We shall see...

    This year was my first time coming to the Japanese & Cultural bazaar. I've always wanted to check…read moreit out, but my schedule has never allowed me to. I met up with friends and ran into friends I haven't seen in a while so this was a nice meet up. I arrived early as my friend has a table and we checked out the different food offerings and split up because the lines were going to be long so each person took on another order and got in line and bought the food to make the process faster. There was so much food to choose from I was so excited! We got Yakisoba noodles, Udon noodles, teriyaki grilled chicken, rice, and my favorite!! The beef sandwich it was huge! And Spicy tuna sushi rolls. They had desserts of all kinds for sell, but I didn't get any it looked amazing thought. It was a lot of people and long lines everywhere. I had a great time enjoying food with friends and just mingling. I will definitely come back next year it is well worth it and the food is fantastic! They also had a band performing ol'skool music. If you haven't been you have to check it out. You will not be disappointed.

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    Japanese Food & Cultural Bazaar
    Japanese Food & Cultural Bazaar
    Japanese Food & Cultural Bazaar

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    Farm To Fork Festival - Peach cobbler milkshake

    Farm To Fork Festival

    4.1(42 reviews)
    4.0 kmDowntown

    This was the first year I attended the Farm to Fork Street Festival and I'm so sad I missed out on…read moreyears of fun. No worries though, this has become a must attend event for my family. The festival was Friday and Saturday for 2024 and we attended on the Friday. It's free to enter. We arrived on the earlier side, around 5pm and it wasn't too crowded and lines for food were short. We grabbed drink tickets, which were reasonably priced- $8 for beer, $12 for cocktails and I think $10 for wine (we didn't get any wine though). There was music, a silent disco, local vendors, and on Friday there was a private Grand Tasting event that costs extra and was sold out the day of the event. We ended up stopping for drinks with Midtown Spirits, grabbed some adobo bacon jerky with Baboy Boys, a chicken and rice plate with Sweet Mother 101 and a bucket of lumpia and chicharones from Lumpia Bucket. It seemed like prices were a bit more festival prices than everyday prices, but the food was good! We walked around for a while, visited some of the interactive booths/vendors and headed out after a few hours. As we were leaving the crowds were getting larger and the lines were getting longer. They had music going throughout the event, and it was fun to listen to. Next year we plan to come on Saturday and start early in the day again. We would also consider doing the Grand Tasting in the future.

    This is our second year in a row going to this festival and it's one of the better ones in town -…read moreand best of all it's free! You can reserve parking ahead of time online too for a cheaper rate so we got a spot in a parking garage right up front for only $8. There are tons of food and drink vendors, as well as shopping and local goods! They have live music all day with brief breaks in between. There are some chairs and tables set up around the event but you're better off just bringing a picnic blanket and setting up on one of the many grassy areas. I appreciate that they do the event for two days so you have the opportunity to make it to one or both days. We like going in the afternoon because the tall buildings will block out the sun by then so the weather is much cooler!

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    Farm To Fork Festival - Chicken Tikka Burrito

    Chicken Tikka Burrito

    Farm To Fork Festival - Peach mango from Jefitaz

    Peach mango from Jefitaz

    Farm To Fork Festival - Lechon plate from Baboy Boys

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    Lechon plate from Baboy Boys

    Sacramento Arts Festival - Todd Borg book signing for Joe K.

    Sacramento Arts Festival

    4.3(7 reviews)
    3.3 kmDowntown

    After missing a few years of the Sacramento Arts Festival because of the pandemic, Joe K and I were…read moreexcited again to visit this once a year event! It only happens for three days in November. This time I felt like our lives were starting to have a semblance of routine and normalcy. We chose a Saturday to attend. Masks of course, were required and we were even asked to show our Covid-19 vaccine cards. I looked forward to seeing several of my favorite artists, but alas, they were not present this year, except for one. I did splurge on a lovely glass blown sea creature design by Shawn Tsai. But many wonderful artists did participate this year, making it an enjoyable day. We still made a point of visiting the regulars, seeing some new ones, and missing the ones that were not there this year.  But at least we had a full and enjoyable day making special purchases and conversing with some of the friendly people. It's nice to have more culture in our area and this show is one that makes you more aware of the beauty that people can create and inspire! The yearly tradition resumes!

    It is time again to dust off the murse and head to the Sacramento Arts Festival for a great day of…read morelooking at art while listening to some mellow music. Hopefully I will find some great Christmas presents for the family at the same time. After a stop for banana nut pancakes and Belgium beer we finally made our way into the convention center while a band played some smooth jazz in the background. The first thing I noticed was that the venders had their noses stuck to their cell phones, i-pads, and Kendalls. No one seemed to be paying attention to their potential customers. Is this what our world has come to? I wanted to yell at them; "put down your phones, the real world is out here". This baffling behavior continued until I finally came across a tie salesman from Berkeley by the name of Mitchel Rubin. You might think there is not much interesting about ties, but that would be because your eyes have not crossed paths with these whimsical artistic masterpieces. Mitchel not only had regular neckties but had pre tied bow ties and bow ties that you had to tie yourself for the bow tie purest and if that was not enough to get you all excited he had whimsical artistic suspender masterpieces as well. This guy was talented! He even had matching sets. Of course my girl friend had to check out all of the handcrafted jewelry and we both enjoyed the various pottery and hand blown goods. Then my girl friend found a comfortable pair of sandal that she could not pass up and I found a couple of hand thrown coffee mugs with frogs and dragonflies to buy my sister for Christmas. We stopped for a couple of frozen mochas (this has become an annual tradition) before continuing on. It was not long before my girl friend came across a ceramic masterpiece she had to get for a family member and I came across a hand blown glass Christmas ornament that looked kind of like a sparkling avocado (I buy my daughter some kind of handcrafted ornament every year). That is when I realized that I had not bought my annual Todd Borg suspense novel yet so we went in search of the Novelist from Tahoe. After purchasing the latest "Owen McKenna Mystery Thriller" and having Todd Borg personally sign it, we had just about conquered the show when my girl friend decided that we needed to get a present for a very special friend of hers so we spent at least another hour looking for the perfect present that would most clearly express our love for this friend. It was truly another successful year at the Sacramento Arts Festival.

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    Sacramento Arts Festival - Garden Fairies

    Garden Fairies

    Sacramento Arts Festival - Adirondac Designs

    Adirondac Designs

    Sacramento Arts Festival - Natural Fire, Chris Efstratis

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    Natural Fire, Chris Efstratis

    Fair Oaks Chicken Festival

    Fair Oaks Chicken Festival

    4.3(13 reviews)
    20.0 km

    What a fun annual events for all ages!…read more There is free parking in the nearby lot if you get their early or you can park in the neighborhoods and walk into the park. There is also paid parking ($13) that you have to pre-pay online. Follow the signs for "PRE-PAY" and scan the QR code with the person at the gate. Paying for parking was the way to go, it was a short walk into the event when some of my family members had to park far into the neighborhoods. There are some chicken themed vendors and a few chicken dishes can be found at the food trucks. We witnessed a chicken call contest on stage where the person with the best chicken cluck got a gift card for $25! There seemed to be some chicken themed activities for the kids as well. Country music and hay bales as seats. 2 Beer/Wine gardens to ease you from the heat. I bought a load of jalapeno cheese bread from the cutest bakery vendor. We brought our camp chairs and set up under the shade to hear the music and check out the vendors. Beer tickets were $7 and there was a pretty good variety. Fun time!

    The Fair Oaks Chicken Festival is a must go to event for everyone. There is something for all ages…read more Lots of craft and business vendors, a few food trucks, music on multiple stages and a place for the kids to have fun & play. First time attending the festival, my 2 year old granddaughter and I went and had a blast. We walked around the different vendors, received some free items including a cool chicken hat, little chicken squish toys which she loved, and we learned a few things from the vendors. Had a Mango sorbert and Pink Lemonade from one of the food trucks that was the best I have ever had. Yum! Prices were good for the large size of the items. Parking wasn't too bad, we found some at a nearby business who offered their lot to festival patrons and didn't have to walk to far. There was lots of security walking around the festival, which made you feel safe. My granddaughter had so much fun coloring on the Kids Color Board, bouncing in the bounce houses and playing the mini carnival games. We will definitely will be back next year.

    Photos
    Fair Oaks Chicken Festival - Fair Oaks Chicken Festival - Chickenstock!

    Fair Oaks Chicken Festival - Chickenstock!

    Fair Oaks Chicken Festival - Lots of fun for the kids

    Lots of fun for the kids

    Fair Oaks Chicken Festival - Fair Oaks Chicken Festival - Saturday 9/17/16

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    Fair Oaks Chicken Festival - Saturday 9/17/16

    California State Fair - Water fountain

    California State Fair

    3.4(743 reviews)
    5.5 km

    71/18/2025- Another…read moreannual family day at the State Fair-! Although we didn't arrive when they opened-, lucked out- no lines and weather was very nice-.. Very grateful as both my boys took the time to spend the day! A little disappointed with the exhibits - which we all love to see- the one exhibit was more like an empty building with a few vendors selling.. The livestock building only had goats- might have went at the wrong time-.. My oldest son had a very good observation point- When we walked by the seals- they were blaring out music-and one can only imagine the seals enduring that for how many hours-.. Massive corn dogs were $19.99 - better than last year which was all dough- Cinnamon rolls with a new Tres leches variety!". Glad we made it down... and looking forward to another year..

    Parking is $17 on top of admission cost (advance purchase) at Cal Expo, and they enforce a…read moreridiculous bag rule (bags need to be 5×8 or clear), a shitty policy that's super inconvenient. Besides these two things, I think the California State Fair has much improved in the last two decades and has plenty to offer for different tastes and preferences. Rabbits, alpacas, llamas, birds, cattle dogs, guinea pigs, goats, horses, pigs, and sheep can be found in the Tractor Supply Co. Big Barn. Obviously most of my attention went to the adorable bunnies! In addition to this, there's a petting zoo outside for guests to interact with the animals inside their pen (for a fee) and pony and camel rides on site (for a fee). The fair also offered sky rides on gondolas over the Sky River, and plenty of exhibits and entertainment for festivalgoers. I enjoyed checking out the Insect Pavilion at The Farm where I got to view and read about the greenbottle blue tarantula, thorny devil stick insect, and painted lady butterflies, cooking demonstrations galore and free tastings (tea sampling, honey sampling, olive oil sampling), the Superhero Exhibit (which looked fun for kids), the beautiful California Flowers on display, the animal sculptures at the California Forest Center, and the All-Alaskan Racing Pigs, classic entertainment at the fair not to be missed. The Drumheads were awesome! (separate review on this). The Sea Lion Splash was new to me and quite adorable (separate review on this). Master hypnotist, Tina Marie, did her thing at the PG&E Center Stage with a massive seating and viewing area in the middle of the Expo Center, I've seen her show too many times to count, at different locations, but she does the biggest show at this particular fair. At the Exposition Center, eight expo halls each featured a unique experience for visitors. I explored several that stood out to me, including a "Candy Maze" with some sweet photo ops, "It's a Wild Wild World Adventure" (Conservation Ambassadors' Wild Things) with several species of wildlife on display like black and white ruffed lemurs, kookaburras named Chuckles and Giggles (their bird calls sound like human laughter), capybara, red kangaroo, african crested porcupines, and reindeer, "POPnology" with displays highlighting pop culture's impact on technology, and the "Rustic Charm Marketplace" selling antique signs, furniture, and more. It wouldn't be a fair without carnival rides and games, great for kids. But I'm more amused by the various entertainers roaming the fairgrounds on stilts and community stage performers throughout, with an endless schedule and diverse lineup of live music by numerous bands. I enjoyed the sounds of Dylan Vroom playing tunes on the acoustic guitar, Michael Country Walker rockin songs like Tennessee Whiskey, and Jay Rin (part of a father/daughter duo) performing hits like Cups (When I'm Gone) and Come Together by the Beatles with her guitar and vocals, as well as the Silver City string band with its classic bluegrass and country music. The food court had a great setup, a stage on one end, a ton of shaded seating, and endless food stands lining both sides as well as the outside of the food court. No shortage of fair food could be found throughout the venue actually, lots of options to choose from. I had a pastrami sub from Grinders Sandwiches and of course a chocolate and strawberry funnel cake from one of many funnel cake vendors (they had at least 5 different stands selling these yummy deep fried sweet treats!).

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    California State Fair - It's a Wild Wild World Adventure

    It's a Wild Wild World Adventure

    California State Fair - Seahorses

    Seahorses

    California State Fair - SMUD Giving Monday free admission ticket on 7/17/23 and 7/24/23 from 11 am to 3 pm if you donate 5 cans to Elk Grove Food Bank.

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    SMUD Giving Monday free admission ticket on 7/17/23 and 7/24/23 from 11 am to 3 pm if you donate 5 cans to Elk Grove Food Bank.

    Gather: Oak Park - festivals - Updated May 2026

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