This is an annual festival taking place the Friday after Thanksgiving, with a tree lighting at…read more6:00pm, followed by a delightful parade at 6:30pm. For the 2024 event, most people brought their own chairs, others just stood behind those seated. I arrived an hour early, and set up my chair to ensure a good view, situating myself near Niles Town Plaza, midpoint of the parade route. Then I walked around to explore the antique shops on Niles that were still open after 5pm, as well as a couple merchandise vendor tents outside. Entertainment before the parade included live music by Anthony Arya Band, street performers like jugglers, as well as costumed characters including the Grinch and SpongeBob SquarePants walking down Niles Blvd and posing for photos with kids. I also saw 4 food trucks on site, serving sushi, sliders, chicken sandwiches, and mexican food. And there was a drink stand selling hot chocolate, coffee, and tea for a dollar donation. The tree lighting was not your traditional christmas tree, it was just a regular tree along the street (the one with the stage set up next to it, across from Nature's ice cream shop). But they did make it look pointy at the top, with the lights, lol. Decorated vehicles and performers in the parade represented numerous organizations in the community, including little league teams, East Bay Regional Parks, and Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum. Golden Gate Basset Rescue had several dogs being walked with colorful string lights on the leashes. It was adorable. American High School color guard did a wonderful job with their performance, and marching bands from various schools and institutions created impressive sounds on percussion and wind instruments galore, including the bag pipes. There were plenty of cars in the parade too, adorned with beautiful designs, lighting, and props to put you in the holiday spirit. The crowds grew as it got later into the evening. But it never became chaotic or unmanageable. The event seemed to be organized well, yet still casual and flexible (like people could cross the street during the parade), even with a heavy police presence. It was such a laid back and joyful atmosphere, free to attend, and parking and traffic isn't too difficult if you arrive early and leave early before the parade ends. Otherwise, good luck.

I feel like the experience gets bigger and better every year! Been coming here for 3 consecutive…read moreyears now and have enjoyed it every time. I'm a big fan of local functions and activities and community involvement so this Christmas tradition is always a delight. My son loves seeing Santa and Mrs. Clause! He enjoys the entire parade full of cars and many lights with local performers. our friends and family always gather here every year now as part of our new tradition. We have a friend who lives on the street where they have the parade so her place is usually our usual spot. We've started bbq'ing and drinking before the parade as part of our festivities and then head over to Papillon's down the street for our dinner to celebrate Christmas season amongst friends. I appreciate Fremont a bit extra for having this tradition that I feel we are a little late in experiencing but now that we have, we refuse to ever miss it if we're in town. (We live in Southern California now.)

A pretty big festival in Downtown Fremont!!…read more I came on a warm Saturday afternoon, lots of booths, although I didn't see a lot of art. But there was plenty to see here. It was relatively crowded, most people were congregated around the live music stage!! There were a lot of food trucks here, but nothing really stood out to me. This was my first time here, not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon, I would check it out again!!

This year's festival was a letdown since they cut the vendors in half, which meant a shorter…read morewalking radius and fewer Asian fusion options. I'm not sure why there were over five permanent jewelry vendors at the Art and Wine Festival when you only need two. There wasn't much local artwork, fewer wine options, and generic beers. The food trucks were mostly carnival food, bbq, jerky, local bakers, and Asian desserts. I enjoyed getting the same lemonade from Macs by Icky, bean pie from Delightful Foods, a non-alcoholic pina colada from Tropical Hut, and a colorful soft serve from Twisted K's. I even went home with free sodas thanks to Shasta. The barbecue and food truck options were good, but a bit pricey. Love the live Latin and Country performances so far, way better than Martha Reeves' brutal national anthem. That one kept me in a good mood despite the 95-degree weather. Also, don't forget to spin the wheel at the Ohlone College and Half Price Bookstore tent to win a freebie. I even got a free tote, a foldable dog bowl, and a magnetic clip from the Fremont Police, and a firefighter hat from the Fremont Firefighters. You can find free parking in Civic Center Place or street parking near city hall.

DIG DEEP FARM PUMPKIN PATCH REVIEW: This review is for the pumpkin patch at the harvest festival…read morepresented by Dig Deep Farms. This pumpkin patch is perfect for families with young ones. Besides pumpkins, there's a crafts table with stickers and coloring, a "corn maze", haystacks for climbing, old tractors, and a tented area for sitting. The corn maze is made of tall sunflowers which the little ones can see through so they never feel like they are lost. There's also a little hay house that's like a single room, that they walk in and exit a few feet away. It's a toddler's version of a haunted house. So cute. The pumpkin patch is only there for a few weeks before Halloween, and we make it a point to visit it every year.

This review is for their Halloween pumpkin patch…read more Short Story: A great place to take your kids to for Halloween! The patch area is quite sizable with lots of pumpkins of all sizes that you can choose to buy, a very short corn maze, lots of areas to take pictures, etc. The prices are quite seasonable with $5 for adults, $3K for kids, and under 2 is free (no ID checks). Verdict: I'm definitely going back!

So imaginarium is a little pop up that comes out in different locations, constantly moving! Seen…read morethis little pop up and had to bring my lil family to explore this! I heard from my coworker how fun and exciting this place is! Definitely a place to take a lot of pictures! You will have to come when the sun is out so you can experience the beautiful lights! They have little coloring games, a bubble foam machine, and even little concerts!

Took my niece and nephew here and my nephew kept screaming "best day ever" while running around, so…read moreI'd say this place is a resounding success! We went at around 9 pm on July 4th and there was still a lot of people but not enough to dampen the experience thankfully. Tickets are easy to grab online and there is ample parking available because it's in the great mall. When we first walked in we were greeted with lots and lots of foam. Foam in the air like its snowing, and foam on the ground. My nephew was so excited and kept running through it excitedly which was cute. We were also told the last show of the day was about to start so we luckily caught it. Loved watching all 3 performers - aerial, juggling, and hoops. From there we just walked around and saw as much as we could. The little rooms they have with different decorations and aesthetics are great for pictures and selfies. There are so many good photo ops that I basically spent an hour being the munchkins personal photographer :) was a great time

We attended this annual festival at Fremont's Downtown Event Center on Saturday afternoon, and a…read morehad a positive experience. Free parking was available in the lot for the plaza and the place wasn't crowded and had an awesome laid back vibe. There were a few merchandise vendors, and we ended up buying some salt-free spices. They obviously also had a good amount of beer tents, but you could only get beer by purchasing a tasting package for $50-60. It's a pretty good deal for an all day affair, if planning to try a lot of the different beers on site. But not for us on this day. They had about 5-6 food vendors on site, but some of the tents were out of burger-related dishes by the time we arrived in the early afternoon (ie. Kay's Creations was out of their classic cheeseburger lumpia and loaded cheeseburger lumpia). Still, I liked the diversity in the festival's food offerings overall, food trucks selling halal and pakistani menu items, a cheesesteak truck, and a taqueria (Rincon del Cielo) also selling lamb and beef burger specials which we ended up trying (it was yummy and cheesy!). They also had a burger throwdown and competition with awesome trophies for best burger and People's Choice best brew award (yes, the trophies were shaped like a burger and glass of beer... of course I took pics!). Our favorite part of the event was the live music on stage. We spent a majority of our time picnicking on the grass and lying around while listening to the sounds of the Evan Thomas Band. The sound quality was excellent, and the band was outstanding as they played mainly blues music for the small audience. The festival overall was quite small, but it was free to attend, and on such a beautiful sunny day, we enjoyed our visit.

The Fremont Burger & Brew Fest was this past Saturday, 5/21/22. $40 in advance (+ tax & service…read morefee) or $50 at the gate for AYCD beer...way way too much. How much beer do you have to drink to make it worth it? With your spiffy wristband, you can indeed fill up your 4 oz glass as much as you want. Here's the rundown: ================= * 12 breweries ...and a 3-4 whiskey booths for an extra $10 ticket fee * Community booths * Artisans * Food Trucks (10 or so) for separate purchasing Burgers?: ======== * For the price, shouldn't it include a burger, or burgers? * Shouldn't a event name like this feature, or in addition, serve up the best burgers in the city? * The Food trucks, none of which were BURGER trucks, had a special of the day BURGER ($12-16) to their menu offerings. Two of the trucks were the ol' "roach coach", not specialty trucks. Additional problems I have with this event: ===================================== * The breweries were mostly pouring out of cans, and a few out of a keg. * It felt small, like a small community fair (that's what it is, actually). Positives: ========= * I really liked Shadow Puppet Brewing from Livermore, CA (#1 at the event) * Oakland United Beerworks was #2 (in my opinion) The bottom-line: =============== It's for beer drinkers. They can take their 4 oz glass and sample the heck out of those breweries. You can, if you wish, walk the event unpaid, and still eat at the food trucks and check out the artisan and community booths.

The 4 stars is for the vendor (whom I cannot remember the name of) which was stationed right next…read moreto Jaden's Kettle Corn on Friday night (the 13th). They served the best Hawaiian Malasadas with a banana filling. These balls of warm dough were generously showered with sugar and cinnamon and served with a side of goat's milk caramel. Price: $7.50. Haven't had malasadas this satisfying since my most recent trip to Maui this year when we dined at The Mill House. We were served with an identical version which was just as satisfying! With each bite, I was transported back to my trip to the islands. I looked at the list of vendors on the Bay area Night Market website and could not locate them. Would anyone know who this vendor was?

Thank goodness we bought our tickets online! Still had to wait in line, but it was fine. When I saw…read morethe big Asian cat, I already knew it was going to be mostly Asian. LOL Now that I read some of the reviews, it's true it didn't say "Asian" Night market on the flyer, but it almost seemed like one, having most of the vendors being Asian, which I was totally fine with! Although, I wasn't able to find any Asian vendors that were shorter lines, so I ended up eating mini burger and fries at Food Truck Mafia, which was like the only short line. LOL. The sliders were really good. The lady that helped us though, was really rude though. Honestly, I just wanted to eat something & not waste my time in the 1+ hour lines. At least I got to have Milk Tea at Bubbly when it got darker at night, when it surprisingly got shorter lines. (hello, night market, surprised it died down quick.) People are saying they didn't get Boba in their drinks, I was OK with grass jelly, which I got to get! So cool these bottles were & a keepsake. I also got to visit my friends booth, "Simply Lovely Catering." Those Hawaiian donuts though. Yummy! Sam's Matcha was worth getting too, because it had green tea AND red bean inside. #HEAVEN It was really cool to see a booth set up for karaoke. Also a booth set up for children's reading/telling stories. My least favorite was the merchandise vendors, I just skimmed through, nothing interesting to see. I would definitely come back.

I've been going to the Alameda County Fair since I was a kid, and I truly don't think I've missed a…read moreyear. Even during COVID, when they couldn't hold the regular fair, they put on a special fall version instead. Getting to go to the fair in a Halloween costume was honestly such an awesome experience. I hope they do something like that again someday. I definitely have my traditions. Funnel cake is a must (always with strawberries ). Non-negotiables include the Sky Ride, the petting zoo, and the Model Railroad exhibit (ask about their scavenger hunt!). Before I leave, I have to stop at one of the old-fashioned photo booths too. I write the year on the back of every photo strip, so I've ended up with this little collection that's basically a timeline of my life at the fair. One of my favorite things is that it really feels like the community coming together, and the whole place has such a festive vibe. My dad has won a couple of blue ribbons over the years, I have friends who enter competitions, and I genuinely love walking through the exhibits to see what people have grown, baked, photographed, painted, and created. I always end up spending way more time (and money! ) than I planned, so now I just budget for it every year. The concerts have been incredible too. I've seen Bowling for Soup, Smash Mouth, the Village People, Flo Rida, and plenty of others over the years. Between the concerts, the demolition derby, the drone shows, the animals, the rides, and all the new entertainment they bring in every year, I usually end up going more than once before the fair is over. Speaking of food, the best (and most ridiculous) fair food appears every year. This year it was Spam fries. Did I try them? No. Did I absolutely stop to take a picture? Of course I did. Also, one year I somehow came home from the fair with a mattress. We weren't planning on buying one, but I guess that's just another Alameda County Fair memory. After almost 30 years, I still get excited every time I walk through those gates. I have to leave with my traditional photo strip, my feet tired and dusty, and already looking forward to next year.

We went to this fair on July 11th, and it happened to be one of the hottest day ever!! If I…read moreremember well, it was 96 degrees that day! Before my granddaughter went back to Bellevue, we bought tickets online and went to this fair. It was quite a fun experience! We arrived early, and parking was a breeze, well organized . We headed to one most wanted attraction, the Alaska pig racing!! The benches were full, but some very kind people squeezed in to make room for us. It was quite a show, and the host made the crowd participate too!! Then the petting zoo, the games, the food, the snacks.... Expensive, but it was fun. Then the heat got to us and we went home. It would be so awesome if the weather was cooler so we can enjoy everything!!! Guess we need to come back next year.

I won tickets to this event through the yelp east bay instagram contest. I was super excited to go…read moreand learn about the cultural and try some food and enjoy the festival. What was included was booths lined up after the entrance gate that had all sorts of things like bracelets and henna Turkish desserts. After that you got to the food court area. There were many options you could choose from like drink shaved ice and bbq. In the back were a few rides going on. There was also a little dome that held some music and cooking demos. For food we tried the chicken lumpia and a briyani plate with chicken tikka kebab on top. The lumpia was really good! Sometimes when you order lumpia they come all oily in the middle and super hot. These were cooked perfect. Nicely rolled where the inside was just the stuffing and it was crispy and delicious. The briyani was excellent as well, a little on the spicy side but full of flavor. The chicken was cooked perfect not tough and not undercooked. Yum! Why I took off two Stars was I thought I was going to learn more about some of the cultures. I did not. There were some shows but they were at strange times and not happening all through the event.

At first glance the festival looked tiny in a huge furniture parking lot off of Stevenson Blvd…read more Upon entrance there's quite alot of non food stalls (going on an empty stomach made me rush through) selling from household items to spices, clothes and one stall with a variety of Turkish delights. Narnia comes to mind. The pistachio was pretty delish, but really sweet. It'll pair well with tea I'm sure. Rounded the corner and that's where the treasure is at. BBQ, gyros, bean pies, schwarmas, Puri bites, kabab plates, burgers, smoothies, Rita's Italian ice custard and gourmet ice cream! About 10 stalls in all, but quality is where it's at. We came at noon when it opened so the grilling was just starting. We started off with Puri bites to wet our palate. $3.50/6 pieces! Great deal IMO. Dahi Puri is a crispy shell filled with mashed potatoes, tomatoes, tamarind sauce, onions and crispy bits on top. It was delicious. We then tried the Pani Puri. Same crispy shell but filled with tamarind and green chutney sauce. Eat it right away otherwise the shell gets soggy and you'll have to pick it up with a spoon. Trust me. The line for the peshawari kabab stall was amassing quite a line and the person manning the stall was a bit overwhelmed. It took some time for me to get our $2 mango lassis because he was torn between taking orders, getting change, passing out drinks AND food. The poor guy. We waited about 20 min for my lamb kebob plate for $10. Luckily the lamb was succulent and grilled to perfection. All's well that ends well. We got gourmet ice cream from Golnazar at $5/ small tub. Just the right proportion to end on a sweet note. The also had cooking demos and live music, but we left before that started. I'll return for the Puri for sure, but it was a great outing on the weekend. I hope they continue next year because the food is on point.

After my last visit two years ago, I attended the festival again and majority of art items are…read morenicer primarily due to the people who live in the area. 8 solid blocks are closed off to cars so that folks can walk and peruse the various artisans exhibiting. As mentioned in my previous review there are not a lot of food vendors since the restaurants on the perimeter on University Ave have a great variety of cuisines to choose from.

We visited the Palo Alto Festival of the Arts this past Sunday, and had a wonderful time exploring…read morethe many activities and vendors along University Avenue, a row of seemingly endless booths. Food, art, and merchandise  galore, to be viewed and/or purchased. Fascinating art displays caught my eye at every corner, so unique and simply remarkable. The Italian Street Painting Expo featured pastel paintings by chalk artists (my fave was the Sleeping Beauty piece... cuz how could I not love the rabbits in the boots!). Chopin & Chandeliers was an interactive piano with a "play me" sign just calling for musicians among the crowd to showcase their talents and entertain attendees under a shaded tent decorated with chandeliers sculpted from upcycling materials (ie. plastic bottles). The live entertainment was amazing and enjoyable, getting the crowd on its feet and in the mood for this joyous event. The rhythmic sounds of the violin and keyboard, by Tom Rigney & John R Burr, was a treat for my ears. And the late afternoon band on the Waverley Stage, The Cook 'n Fenny Combo, kept the good vibes going, heavy on the harmonica, tambourine, and guitar, performing hits like Joan Osborne's One Of Us. This was a great festival with free admission, lots to see and do, well organized, welcoming atmosphere, friendly people, and easy street parking less than a block away in the afternoon.