For what little there is to see and do, I'd really give this a 3, but the event could do with a bit…read moremore love. Also, it's arguably more for kids what with the bounce house and face-painting, but that didn't stop the fact that most of the costumed patrons were adults having a grand ol' time in sparkly wings and Renaissance faire garb. Why I feel it deserves a higher rating, though, is for their resident storyteller, True Thomas. I got to hear a good yarn about a drunk merman who kept the souls of dead sailors in his cabinet, while snacking on treats from Olsen's Bakery down the street. I was quite content. There were a few people who added a bit more to the experience. A man with a large, plush mallet ran about the festival chasing pixies to bonk them on the head, for instance. Truly, the fact that they held this event in Solvang was still a valid excuse for us to have made the drive. We had other places to run off to for Danish food since we weren't quite feeling up for tamales and pizza (the only food options at the faerie festival). It was also quite hot out (102 degrees when we checked), so heading further into town for butter cookies and aebleskivers was a good excuse to get into some A/C for a bit. The pictures on our camera are interspersed with fantasy costumes, windmills, jugglers, plates of meatballs and sausage with red cabbage, Brandon D. getting a dragon painted on his arm, and display cases of pastries. It was a typical visit to Solvang for us, with a bit more whimsy thrown in.

This was a cool little surprise festival that my boy friend and I came across rolling into Solvang…read more There was live shows and entertainment, people were dressed up fairy style, there was food, unique gift booths, and music. I thought it was great for us as a couple to see and i know I saw a lot of families enjoying its as well. Great make believe idea love it.

This year is the seventh annual Scarecrow Fest in Santa Ynez Valley. How did I just hear about this…read moreevent?? This was so much fun!! I had a few hours to kill so I wandered into Solvang to window shop. Quickly I noticed the adorable decorations and window displays. What could this be about? At one of the displays I found the information on the ballot sheet. There are over 100 businesses participating in Solvang and surrounding areas in the Santa Ynez Valley. On the ballot sheet is a map to all the participating businesses and organizations so you can be sure to not miss any. Voters can walk around (or drive for further out scarecrow locations) and enjoy all the different scarecrow and holiday displays. Voting categories include Most Danish (cuz it's Solvang after all), Best Photo Opportunity (you are encouraged to take pics with displays when possible and upload to FB or tweet them), Best Use of Business Theme, Most Humorous, Spookiest and Best Use of Recycled Materials. There was an incredible variety of displays showing different strengths, themes and artistic interpretations of Scarecrows. I felt like this was kind of a scavenger hunt as I ran through the streets trying to find all the different scarecrows. Unfortunately I didn't see too many others walking around participating, but I did notice that almost all the tourists (and some locals) were really enjoying the displays. Some of the window displays were difficult to take pictures of because of glare issues. I was in the city early in the day and not all businesses had their scarecrows out at that time, so I noticed a few extra as I was on my way out of the city. Scarecrow Fest this year goes from October 7 - November 7. Ballots need to include a name, email address and zip code for the votes to count. There are ballot boxes throughout the city to drop your completed ballots before the last day. The grand winner will be announced at the Haunted House and Street Fest on October 29th. Category winners will be announced on their website www.syvscarecrows.com at the end of the voting period. This was a ton of fun and a creative way to get visitors to explore the culture and climate of Santa Ynez Valley. I would definitely recommend checking it out, especially if you are an autumn junkie like me. This is something I will look forward to for many years to come.

We are at Gainey today doing a tasting. Rebecca, our host is fantastic! Very informative and…read morefriendly!! So sweet! The wines are always wonderful. The environment is something else all together. A woman near me was up near the vines and said "I'm in another country". I absolutely understand what she means by that one statement alone. You feel like you are in another space of time while you are here. Nothing but peace, calm, kindness and good wine!!

Gainey Vineyards is a well around solid choice in the Santa Ynez Valley. When the weather is nice,…read moreGainey has a nice outdoor sitting area for their patrons. My friends belong to their wine club which allowed us to imbibe in some wine. I am not sure what the confusion was with their wine pickup, but it was annoying having to wait around to pick up wine that should have been ready. Other than that hiccup, the wine tasting was quite pleasant. I appreciated the fact that they also had water on hand as drinking wine can dehydrate you.

First timer and was hesitant because of the weather forecast, but glad I came!…read more It was outdoors in the camp grounds and surprisingly it was warm with a slight breeze and only sprinkled a little red here and there! There were many vendors just selling merch like novelty items, kitchen towels and trivets, jewelry, and soap. At the entrance there was a stage where a band played for the first half then a DJ took over for the second half! Music was great and the crowd was lively! A lot of the vendors say this was much bigger than last year. There were many vendors some large breweries we'll known breweries like SLO brew, Fig mountain and smaller local ones as well. Really enjoyed the sparkling rose and the rose from a veteran owned stall (there's a pic included). There were tastings for wine, seltzers, gin, and whiskey!! Each stand either had an entry in Chile verde, red chili, salsa, or alcohol - some stands were were entered in multiple areas. Some stands had toppings you could add like corn bread, sour cream, cheese, and onions and the chips were all served with the central coast favorite taco works tortilla chips! One chili that stood out for me was a ground turkey butternut squash one made by the rotary club - it was hearty and had a slight sweetness, didn't think I would have liked it but it was one of my tops! So at end of your tastings you vote on best choice! Overall would deff come here again!!

SAME THING ONLY DIFFERENT…read more Ah... festivals. Always different. Always the same. Everything smells like weed. Except the guy standing in line beside me. He smells like sardines. And weed. Out-of-town dudes in man-buns crowd alongside pretty young women dressed vaguely like Native American princesses. Not sure Indians had bubble-gum flavored lip gloss though. Everyone is 'Gramming. A giant beach ball passes by with intention. The volume is concussive. The energy palpable. When the live music starts, I picture my 9th grade English teacher Mrs. Delaney, hands on her hips, shouting back grammar corrections. "Cause I'mma pimp you up" "'BE-cause I am GOING TO pimp you up', young man!" "Cold split you in two" "COLDLY split you INTO two!" "Then let you catch it in the du-rang" "OK not bad..." "Take the Bentley back to school" "YOU GOT THIS! WOOO!!" Good music, passionate people, and great alcohol-- the keys to success for all festivals. But after a while, an existential question rises out of the chili pot smoke... Use the filth-laden portable toilets, or risk sobering up too soon by discontinuing the refreshing beverage routine in the hot afternoon sun? Maybe we'll just go find sardine dude to pick up some herring-infused indo... Pro tip: Had a great time. We sampled a lot of chili dishes, enjoyed copious amounts of local beer and wine, and clapped a lot because... well like most white people, we have no idea what to do with our hands when we dance.

Such a fun annual event! Nestled right in the heart of Buellton once a year on Avenue of the Flags…read more Easy to walk to from most anywhere in town. They block off a lot of the road, so there's a fair amount of space to maneuver. They've got drinks, rides, and tons of food vendors! It's a multi-day event. Great opportunity to gather with friends/family and enjoy the local community!

While visiting and talking to the small business owners at at Santa Rita Hills, it's apparent this…read moremother/son duo are passionate about their fields of flowers. So happy we got to see all you offer and the work you put into making it successful. The Festival starts next week. Enjoy!

A beautiful family farm run by people who are truly passionate about making the very best products…read more The setting is gorgeous, the lavender fields were picture perfect, the flowers were stunning, and Lucas was so generous with his time and knowledge. Highly recommend.

Solvang Farmer Pumpkin patch is absolutely perfect. The parking is free & the entrance is free…read more They are so many pumpkins too choose from and so many in perfect condition. Great prices and they have a corn maze $10. They also sale Kettle Corn and Waters. If you finish the corn maze and find all the Signs you get a prize. We sure finished it and found all signs. We showed proof and the staff was nice enough to show us our prize a mini pumpkin (how cute). we had such an amazing time.

The pumpkin patch is charming! I felt the maze was quite expensive! There's no shade offered…read moreanywhere so even though we wanted to hangout more, there was no place to do so. They had a lot of pumpkins in all sizes! The staff were friendly! I wish they would have thoroughly explained how everything works when we first arrived. PS-the maze is definitely a challenge!