This is the third rodeo I've attended. I still think the Livermore Rodeo's the best (of those that…read moretake place in the bay area), but we enjoyed our time at Rowell Ranch this past weekend, watching and cheering on the competitors (both humans and animals) as they engaged in team roping, saddle bronc riding, calf tie-down roping, cowgirl barrel racing, and of course, the bull riding (which happens during the final half hour). There was also a bit of entertainment in between events, like a lip sync contest and a pee wee stampede for the kids. The sound system wasn't the greatest, it cut out a couple times, but it wasn't terrible. And views were great from anywhere in the arena. The bleacher seats were nasty though, dirtiest on the shady side, not just dusty, but sticky and slimy, dead insects, just ewww. Concessions, mainly offered by Hayward Rotary, were limited compared to similar events elsewhere. They sold the typical hot dogs, nachos, kettle corn, and cotton candy, along with snow cones and ice cream. Besides soda, few beverage options were available, just one kind of beer, red/white wine, and whiskey lemonade which came in two choices of flavors. We chose peach over apple, and it was tasty and refreshing with very little alcohol content. There were also several merchandise vendors, including plenty of hat tents, though I didn't find a cowgirl hat I liked. We enjoyed our time at this multiday event, and though we just came for the pro rodeo main show, they also offered a cowboy style tri tip dinner & live music for guests on Saturday evening. But that cost extra, almost twice as much as the rodeo admission price. Also the parking lot was full/closed early, and people just parked anywhere they could fit their cars, along the road, on the curbs, in the dirt, etc.

Excellent rodeo experience in the Bay Area - smaller than the Livermore rodeo but equally…read moreenjoyable. We went in late May and had a blast seeing the cowboys and cowgirls show off their skills calf roping, steer roping, bronco riding and bull riding. We took turns sitting in the grandstands which were in the sun and those that were in the shade - the latter was much more comfortable though the view wasn't as great. Parking wasn't easy so get there early if you can. Lots of affordable food and drinks. Bathrooms were serviceable and people were friendly. We will be back!

World's fastest rodeo!?! Not sure what that means... but the lines went fast, the tickets went…read morefast, and those bulls and horses were certainly speedy. Both the event and pre-paid parking sold out in advance. And after attending the show this past Sunday, I can understand why it's so popular. The 2-day event takes place annually at Livermore Valley Stadium and seems to be very well organized. I loved that they actually tell you which seats are shaded based on time of day, so you can make an informed decision about where to sit when purchasing tickets. I certainly appreciated and found this helpful in avoiding the blazing heat, and got awesome seats in section E (the middle section), what I consider the best view in the stadium. The entertainment was nonstop, never a dull moment, and the main show lasted about 2 and a half hours, though doors opened about 4 hours earlier in the day for other activities. Lots of competitions and racing to cheer on the contestants (both the humans and the animals), including bareback and saddle bronc riding, tie down and team roping, barrel racing by them cowgirls and their horses, and of course the finale, the bull riding! Always a pleasure to watch this awesome and crazy sport from the stands. And the announcer and rodeo clown did a good job keeping the crowd engaged, along with classic tunes (mainly oldies, country, and rock) playing through the speakers. Not my first rodeo, I knew what to expect this time around. Compared to the Cow Palace event which I attended last year, I liked this one slightly better. A true festival environment, and far more vendors at the Livermore show, offering rodeo themed clothing, customizable trucker caps, cowboy hats galore (in various colors and designs), cowboy boots, other miscellaneous merchandise, and at least 15 different food and drink stands selling tacos, bbq, carne asada fries, italian bites, mini donuts, ice cream, beer and alcohol, and more. We enjoyed some cold lemonade and a sweet and tasty chocolate milkshake from one of the dessert tents. A great way to top off an already amazing experience.

It had been several years since going to the annual Livermore rodeo and a first for my husband. I…read morelove how patriotic it feels that being there with the whole atmosphere filled with "Americana". They were celebrating Patriot Day and we really respected and appreciated that. The food was decent but would like a bigger variety. We ordered the chicken skewers and what seemed a bit pricey at first ended up being worth it with a giant skewer of 3-4 large chicken thighs and they were tasty. Water could be more accessible for sure especially being it was hot out. If you're sitting in the middle of a section in the stands it's tough to get in and out to get drinks or use restroom. Having vendors come more frequently with drinks would be ideal. Loved the show , loved the atmosphere, seeing bucking broncs, trick riders, team roping, bull riding and more. Will go back again for sure. PS would be even better if the parking lot was a little more coordinated when leaving event. Thanks Livermore Rodeo. We appreciate you and the tradition. Wow 107 years running.

Attended my first rodeo this past weekend, and the entertainment value was high, well trained bulls…read moreand horses keeping the crowd engaged... along with the humans running the show of course. Parking and event entry was quick and easy (though it cost $20 at Cow Palace). And there were several concession stands available serving typical snacks and treats like hot dogs, nachos, and even frozen beverages. The show started at 7:30pm, and various acts occurred for a little over two hours (before the main attraction). This included award presentations, an opportunity for moms from the crowd to enter the arena and race for a prize wearing only one shoe, corny jokes by the rodeo clown, saddle bronc riding (wild bucking horse trying to throw off the rider... similar to bull riding), horse barrel racing (female riders getting their horses to zoom around 3 barrels in the arena at the highest speed), and tie-down roping (cowboys wielding a lasso on the bull, competing for quickest time). I liked how the announcer explained the rules and animal ethics to the audience as some participants were disqualified during the roping challenge. The bull riding started around 9:45pm, and those spinning, twisting bulls were crazy! This 15-minute highlight of the event, with about 5 different bulls/riders, was followed by a bull jumper/stuntman performing acrobatics, dodging and doing flips in the air while being charged by a bull. The show ultimately ended around 10:15pm, and quickly turned into a country concert, opening up the arena to all, for live music entertainment. I enjoyed the event overall, and felt that Section 19 offered an ideal view of all the different acts. I do recommend coming a little early if sitting in the dress circle though, since it's "first come, first served" stadium seating and was pretty crowded. Cool and unique experience, and I will definitely return!

Never in my life have I had the desire to go to a rodeo! Then I got married and my husband loves…read moreit. Eye roll...as a gift I got tickets for us to attend. There's a ton of people who enjoy this sort of thing, so we parked far and walked. As we entered we were greeted at the door and thrown into the chaos. It's an adult circus complete with clowns, rings and lights. The animals do most of the performing. We wakes the whole arena. Saw the horses in the back on the dirt ground, looked at the food options and viewed the merch that was being sold. We found our seats and listened to the dj intro, watched all the events and left. Not my favorite but glad I experienced it once.

Always the best! Concerts so fun! Clean and safe! You can spend the whole day exploring. They have…read moreeverything from food, to animals, to stunt bikes to drones and much much more.

Waste of time and money, one of the worst festivals ever. Charge $15 to park, $25 to get in, jump…read morehouses for kids additional charge per jump house, nothing else for kids. Food vendors ok but not enough for the crowd, merch vendors mixed - some very cheap, some ok, a few excellent quality. Set up for eating was awful - picnic tables spread across open asphalt pavement - no umbrellas and not enough seating for the crowd. Hot!!! Families were sitting on the sides of dirty concrete planters or dirtu steps trying to eat. Everyone was trying to find a little shade. Inside the buildings where merch vendors booths were located the AC was either non-existent or not keeping up. Never will I take my poor mom to this again. The organizers should be fired.

I bought my husband two tickets to the Rodeo earlier this year…read more We were seated in seats 4, 5 section 16 C. My husband is pure Scottish and from Dallas Texas. He brought and wore his Stetson that he keeps in pristine condition in the Red and Black Stetson Box. But he also wore his Brooks Brother dark blue polo shirt, Armani watch and Cartier wallet. Yes it was a hoot. The rodeo is located in the stadium in Salinas. We parked about a block away from the entrance. Minus one star because it doesn't say park in rear. All you can do is follow the massive line of cars driving to park on a grassy area in the rear of the stadium. There were vendors selling various mexican foods such as enchiladas, churros, tacos, nachos and burritos, and then there were vendors selling rodeo and western wear, cowboy hats, cowboy and cow girl shirts. We bought a cowboy hat for our son Matthew in black to match my husbands cowboy hat. We also took a picture of both of them on a bull (fake of course for 20.00). All in all, they had bullriding, horse racing, wagon racing, musical entertainment, clowns, alot of food and souvenirs. I loved that they had a corral for the kids. But I will take Matthew there when he turns 2. We had a great time and I will take them again next year.

This was quite literally my first rodeo so what do I know? Nothing! But we had fun! The parking…read moresituation was chaotic, but we were able to find a lot within walking distance for a $10 fee, rather than dealing with the event lot. There were plenty of vendors inside, but food options were a bit limited. We ended up choosing the Mexican food stand and my friend and I got tacos and a Chicken Quesadilla to share. The tacos were very disappointing - literally nothing on them but meat. There was a little station with free pico and salsa, but still not worth the $5/taco. The Chicken Quesadilla was much better though - easy to share too! My friend also got a Watermelon Agua Fresca and I got a Horchata, which were both massive. They were tasty enough but way too sweet to finish. The rodeo itself was a ton of fun, with two events happening at all times and lots of excitement. Would return!

First time coming to Line dancing class. It was so fun but very crowded by the end. Starts 815pm…read more It would say 8 but doesn't start til later. The crowd was friendly. People comes in groups so girls night out. Yah! Drinks are pretty cheap here and the staff were are done to earth. They even have a cute bar doggy. He's been greeting all the guest. Definitely recommend coming in for Line Dancing class. It's free. Thursday and Sunday at 8pm. Heard the Sunday isn't as crowded so it's more beginner friendly. Fridays are packed here with regulars.

DO NOT TRUST THIS BAR!!! It was impossible to navigate, even more impossible to enter, and the bar…read moreis poorly decorated! It looked very unkempt and the music wasn't very loud. There was an extreme overflow on Halloween (which is expected) but the way security, bouncers, and workers dealt with it was extremely disrespectful. My friend had to use the bathroom and the asian boy on the right (circled in the picture) took her ID as collateral. When she came back to get her ID, they stated that they gave it to someone else!!! We asked the asian girl on the left (circled in the picture) to speak with the manager and spoke to this blond white lady (not pictured) and she did not offer us any compensation or anything. When speaking with her, she gave no empathy or care to our situation and only offered us a free drink....which is incomparable to what we lost She was not interested in helping us or finding a solution to the issue her bar gave us. I would not trust this bar with anything. They couldn't even make sure they were giving the right ID to the same person. It's understandable that it was crowded which made it chaotic but that does not mean an establishment gets to be irresponsible with other peoples property. ESPECIALLY an Identification Card!!!

I was given VIP tickets for the rodeo, which gave us access the food and drinks in a gated area…read morebefore the rodeo. The food was catered by Nix Taco, which was the best choice. We also got to sit in the VIP area, which was a little overcrowded but still so much fun!

I bought two tickets to the Folsom Rodeo for about $360, very expensive for this venue. The…read moreseating, supposedly premium reserved turned out to be horrid, placed directly behind a cyclone fence and a horde of other customers moving back and forth in front of us on a dirt path, the dust rising into our faces. This is very dishonest pricing. Four rows back would have been more reasonable. But worse was the "welcome" we received on arrival. My partner had a camera in a backpack and we were told we would have to leave because cameras were not allowed. But we are in our late 70s and there was no way we were going to hike several miles back to my car to store her expensive camera. Besides, on the date when I bought our tickets, this message was printed directly on the ticket form (slightly abbreviated, as follows): Please no strollers, car seats, ice chests, dogs, chairs. No professional camera equip. Well, my partner is an amateur photographer so we were in the clear... or so we thought. I showed this message to several security agents but they insisted that their set of rules invalidated the rules we had been given even though they were clearly stated on the tickets. Later I found the conflicting set of restrictions the security agents insisted on under "Frequently Asked Questions". This very odd location was something the security folks kept under their hats. Now is that where you would look if you wanted to see the rules which could get you removed with a forced march home? FAQ? The first security man we spoke to was around 25, and after finding out we had a camera, he tried bodily to bar my way in. At 79, I'm not so quick on my feet and I ran into him as he stepped in front of me. He complained that I shoved him. I told him I was going around him and he decided to "tail" us, following all the way to our seating section, maybe 200 yards. He confronted me again and I told him that the incompetence of the rodeo organizers in putting out two conflicting sets of regulations was no fault of ours but whenever I mentioned regs, out came his FAQ entry. This young man was seriously lacking a sense of fair play. Eventually the cops came and most of the officers were competent and kind. When our "tail" (amazingly!) asked the police if they were going to arrest us (no kidding?), the lead officer told him we were not a problem for the police. Eventually, after at least 20 minutes of arguing, the security gang (who were up to four or five Gen Z's by now) let us take our seats as long as we kept the camera in the backpack. No problem. We were just there to enjoy the rodeo. So, one suggestion to FPR: don't hire adolescents to be security agents. They haven't got the maturity or the training. But, in addition, as several other reviewers have written, this rodeo is run in a casual and disorganized fashion. The actual rodeo events were okay: the riders were competent, the horses strong and beautiful. The problem is that you had to wait so long for the actual events. The start time was supposed to be 7:15 but there was no hint of a rodeo until 8 pm or so. Then there was a long session of putting young kids on sheep and letting the animals run. Mostly the kids stayed on for less than one second per ride and fell right at the sheeps' feet. I am not aware that there were injuries suffered but it must happen sometimes. And the thought that a child could suffer serious harm made me cringe. Another huge negative was this announcer who roamed around the rodeo field filling the empty time segments with his supposedly hilarious observations on life. Allegedly a comic, he was a complete drag. If you want to see rodeo, I recommend La Estampida, a dance bar/rodeo in Durango, Mexico. That is something worth seeing! The dancing is good too. Again, no criticism against the cowboys and their horses at Folsom Rodeo. As far as I could tell the riders were professional, skillful, and mindful of kindness to the animals.

Stoneridge Mall, Pleasanton…read more One of the favorite malls, they have a DMV and a Pop Mart here, Macy's, Victoria's Secret, Bath and Body Works, Lululemon too! There's a Quickly's here too, it used to be Hot Dog on a Stick! Lots of parking. Will be back soon!

This is the best mall you can find living in the East Bay since majority of the malls near my area…read moreare dying in bankruptcy. Plus, they don't charge an hourly parking like Valley Fair and Santana Row in Santa Clara. They have a good selection of stores like Great Mall mixed with Valley Fair. I barely shop for clothes here, but the food selection is good. I recommend getting a soft serve taiyaki from iSee Cream, cute boba drinks from Ume Tea, and the original boba shop Quickly. Not much dine-in restaurants in here since it's three big American chains and one new ramen restaurant. I like there's a mini work from home office next to the restroom on the second floor. Their WiFi is free to use. Some areas are a bit empty. There's also a DMV service, but I don't think they offer full service like getting a license. Overall it's nice to walk around with lots of available parking. It's even conveniently located near the BART station.

This is the real deal…read more You have mutton racing (kids training for the big time by riding sheep) You don't see that in wealthy, private school East Bay. Amador County is one of those places kids can still actually get hurt and parents are not coming apart at the seams. Don't forget the barrel racing, that would be the ladies part, riding horses around barrels without knocking them over. Then comes the big time, the steer riding, I suppose young men ride bulls for the same reason the government sends them off to war, they have so much testesterone that they actually can not see clearly. Visit the rodeo if you can. It's the real thing.

I had never heard of this festival before in Castro Valley!!…read more This was a pretty good sized festival. It had 2 music stages, one at each end, a petting zoo, a pony ride area along with plenty of booths selling all sorts of stuff. There are also lots of food options here, and an area to get beer or wine at also. It was a rather hot Saturday when I was here, and it was fairly crowded. This festival occurs every year, the weekend after Labor Day on Castro Valley Boulevard!!

We came by this past Saturday, and enjoyed our time here. Parking and traffic were what you'd…read moreexpect at this type of the event (closed streets, etc.) but the Safeway plaza didn't seem to monitor parking this past weekend, so we simply parked in the lot for a couple hours without any issues while attending the fall fest. There was a nice variety of food/drink vendors on site including garlic butter artichokes, smoked sausages, southern soul food, and of course funnel cakes. We had a hard time choosing what to get for lunch, but Coastal Paella did not disappoint. We came early, there were hardly any lines, and we enjoyed the seafood paella and a trio of flavorful skewers along with a couple alcoholic beverages from the drink tent, a Kitson Wines red blend and beer from Drake's Brewing Co. We ate our meals while vibing to some great live music. Two stages were advertised on the event website (performances of rock, pop, and jazz tunes), but we only saw one stage while we were there in the early hours. There were rows of seating for viewing and standing tables in the back, but no seats and tables together. They offered pony rides for kids, and an awesome petting zoo with waterbirds, farm animals, a giant tortoise, and LOTS of bunnies running around in their pen, in which visitors could come inside and play with them for a small fee. There was also plenty of interesting merchandise for sale including totes, plants, and groot shaped freeze dried candy from Freezy Frosty. We got ourselves some harissa infused olive oil from the Amphora Lafayette vendor tent to take home. It was a fairly small festival, only a couple blocks long, but they used the space nicely and packed a lot of unique offerings for guests without it feeling too crowded. The atmosphere was lovely and the people there were friendly. We had a good time.