This was my first walk since the pandemic and it did not disappoint! I was allowed 15, 1 oz pours…read moreout of a choice of 27 locations which ran from 1-5. The part that I appreciated most was the wine tasting map also included the varietal that would be poured at each stop, helping to strategize. From this event, I discovered new enjoyable wines as well as shops I made purchases from and have plans to revisit. Parking was a breeze and I definitely look forward to next year's event.

REVIEW #1 BEST WINE…read moreEVENT I HAVE EVER PARTICIPATED IN!! WOWZERS! I am still thinking about my fun wine tasting day this weekend! I am SO happy I didn't miss this event, I would have been so disappointed in myself...and if you missed it, you should be really ashamed as well! This was such a well-organized event with tons of businesses that participated to make this a great turn out. It was 85 degrees weather and perfect day to wine taste. I first heard about this event on Eventbrite and there were tons of other wine events that were going on that day as well but I decided to try this event out. It was located in Benicia which was about a 1 hour from where I live. I was able to find the location and parking was a breeze. I noticed there was parking on the street as well as parking near the beach area. I didn't have any expectations for this event as I never been before so when I walked in I was greeted by a nice gentleman who explained the agenda for the day. The event was from 1PM-5PM, there were a total of 22 wineries but you get 15 free tastings: You are handed a half sheet of all the businesses that are participating in the event as well as the different wines that each business is offering. You go to each business, shop, look around and taste wine at each vendor store. MY PERFECT TYPE OF EVENT! I can shop and sip wine...OH plus talk to people who love doing what I love doing!! OMG, this was totally my type of day! You get 15 tastings and to be honest with you....I tapped out after 8 tastings! OMG, I can't believe I just wrote that...Yes...yes...people I couldn't drink anymore after the 8th tasting. I arrived at 1PM and by 3PM I was on my 8th tasting and I sat with one of the business for over 1 hour and they totally took care of me that I could have bypassed all the rest of the wines and been okay. My of the business even had snacks, treats and lovely music for you to take advantage of while you were there. I was able to witness stores that I never knew even existed! I found an amazing clothing stores, jewelry, my first experience doing a psychic reading! The list goes on and on... By 3:30PM I was walking back feeling myself. This event totally leaves you satisfied. Plus everyone was on their best behavior. No violence or rowdy people. By the time you walk most of the event you seem to meet friends along the way because we were all checking out the same wine stops. This totally changed my mindset about the little city of Benicia! This community is small but peaceful and beautiful! Fun cute shops and lots of history! I can't wait for next year's event! I hear they always do events such as this one. They preciously did a Beer Festival event which was a great turn out as well. I wish they had something like this in my little city! DON'T MISS THIS EVENT NEXT YEAR! REVIEWER 56/196

What a great turn out! Dozens of great breweries with friendly pourers, and awesome live bands…read morecovering the classics! I thought I was going crazy when I heard "Don't Stop Believing" (because that's pretty much the song you hear anyway while drunk, right?) but one of the bands was actually playing that song! The food was also awesome at awesome prices. $4 for an awesome sausage (they had many--my choice was the chicken cajun sausage) with all the toppings/condiments. The food was pretty much from food carts with extremely reasonable prices... Please let it stay like this forever!! The thing I hate most about most beer festivals is the rip off food... But this one had all the right stuff for all the right prices! Kettle corn for $3 too! The shuttle that took us from the North Concord/Martinez BART was totally hilarious/legit... It was a yellow school bus with a BACBF sticker banner on it. Lovez it!! The lady on the bus (Bus Bitch, as she called herself) gave us a lovely guided tour of Martinez on the way to the festival site from BART. The Martinez PD were also present at the festival, but they were only outside and their job was to make sure that no one left intoxicated without a DD. If your ass was too drunk, they pulled out patio chairs for you to sit on! Even though it rained, most of the festival was held indoors in a warehouse (with EZ-Up tents for some of the outdoors) and everyone was in great spirits! Mannnnn totally sweet, I can't wait until next year's event!

Attended the Beer Fest again today and I was happy to find that they have made much needed…read moreimprovements since we last attended three years ago. Our friends live nearby so we parked there and walked, as opposed to trying to find parking at the event. They do still offer the free shuttle to and from the North Concord BART station, which is great. We got in line a little after 11:30 and, once they opened the gates at noon, the line moved quickly. They checked our IDs while we were in line, which was nice and sped up the entrance. Once inside I was impressed by the vast and varied beers available. Most breweries had 2-3 beers available. I stuck mostly to IPAs and other hop-heavy brews...of which there were plenty. I was also happy with the variety of delicious food available. We stuck with cheese zombies and frickles but our friends also enjoyed their carne asada fries, Indian wraps, etc. The BBQ place even walked around with samples of cole slaw and "shots" of pulled pork. The pulled pork was excellent and if I hadn't already eaten, I would have gotten a pulled pork sandwich. There were umbrellas and tall standing tables scattered throughout the event. We had a big group so we snagged a table as soon as we arrived to be our "home base." From there, we switched off getting beer/food. They had plenty of port-o-potties available and we never had to wait in line. There was also hand sanitizer and sinks with soap and water. To top off a nice afternoon, we got to spend time with great friends and ran into many more throughout the day.

An occasion for old-timely Poles (aka Polonusy) to get together, reminisce about the good ol'…read moretimes, and eat some bigos, while Łowiczanie perform for the 100th time. I mean, it's comforting how by-the-book this all is but it doesn't excite anyone who's a Millenial or GenZ. Maybe freshen things up in 2025?

Outstand food, everyone was happy and having a good time, beautiful costumes and dancing. We can't…read morewait for August 24th

Kind of disappointed with this years Bay Area Blues Festival. There were more dogs walking around…read morethen art vendors and blues performance. The food vendors were very few and most ran out or were closing by 2pm (the event runs till 5pm on Sunday). My $8 funnel cake was burnt and the smallest I ever had. If it was not the regular Sunday Farmers' Mtk vendors happening on the same day, there would be a only 10 vendors left after 2pm. Last year there were definitely more vendors, chalk art, stage performances & food selection. Good family event if there were more for the families who attended to see or take part in. Lots of miss money opportunities due to shortage and bad planning in regards to food, and not offering more wine and beer options. Come on Martinez gets some more vendors and food selection or else the locals will go to the Walnut Festival instead. Martinez...sad showing this year.

Warm, quaint & fun. This was the second year for The Bay Area Blues Festival. I was told by the…read morefriendly shop owners that this festival was combined with the Italian & Chalk Festivals. Originally was in San Francisco, but is now being help in downtown Martinez. We strolled down Main Street, me sipping wine, & my date, (my eldest son) enjoyed a beer. The rhythmic sound of blues & jazz in the background. It wasn't too crowded, making it easy to navigate. There were many vendors selling unique items. A few chalk artists were showing off their skills. However, there are some areas that need improving. There were limited choices of both wine & beer. While the shops & restaurants were open, it would have been nice to have more food trucks and vendors as well. Being that this festival is still in its youth, it's on the small side. Hopefully it will grow larger as word spreads. I look forward to returning again next year, in hopes that they'll be more cool musicians & yummy food & drink to enjoy.

Brand new attraction alert! Winter Wonderland did not make its way to Sacramento this year so we…read morehad no where to go and see lights with the kids. This place was promoted via the web and social media so we looked into it. It is located right off the freeway (I-80) at the Fairgrounds right next to Discovery Kingdom and Marriott. Lots of parking and for the Saturday night we went it was not too packed. The line did stretch so I would say buy tickets online and plan to spend a little time to get in. You go through security and then get you tickets at booth or show your online ticket to entry staff. there is food and a carnival attached so there is something for those that are hungry or want to tire the kids out. Some free things and some decent priced things. I won't mention price point due to everyone has a different budget constraint. Also I'm cheap! When you have 4 kids gotta be mindful! Hope that helps. Overall the lighting was not too bad, I wish they had more, however that is an unfair comparison to the once Winter Wonderland we are used to. Still a fun experience, but bring your pocket book and take time and take pictures. I'm sure as they get feedback they will add more as did their competition. Check it out before they go its a nice change to get out and see something different and it is located in the middle of the Sac and the Bay. So take a peak and if anything hold your appetite if needed there are a lot of food choices around the area within minutes.

Such a fun weekend. My husband competed in the amateur competition and took 2nd in chefs choice…read more There is food to purchase from all the major BBQ joints, lots of booths with jewelry and other stuff. Glasses were 16 or 17 bucks and came with 2 drink tickets. ( we brought an ice chest ). did i mention parking and admission is free? See ya next year!

2013's fest was a bit underwhelming compared to the far more magnificent 2012 spread. Much smaller…read morethis year, and it might surprise newbies to see only 3 options for BBQ for sale to guests (no sampling of the competitors unfortunately). The local standbys of Kinder's and Back Forty are great, and in 2013 Smokehouse 10 was there. Their line was huge and prices astronomical, so I showed loyalty to my locals. They were also both wise to offer a rib sampler, 3 ribs for around $6, while Smokehouse only offered full meal platters. Kinder's ribs were tasty and smoky, and man does their sauce just ROCK. Back Forty's ribs were equally yummy and just a bit more tender. If I could get Back Forty's ribs with Kinders' sauce, oh happy day! Vendors were also scaled down quite a bit, only a small cluster of people selling more knick-knack items. 2012 offered multiple vendors selling homemade BBQ sauces and rubs, which was one of my main reasons for returning this year so imagine by disappointment when I couldn't restock! There were also more fun vendors selling quality knives and handcrafted soaps - the vendor quality was drastically reduced. So hopefully 2014 will bring the cool folks back, otherwise I might have to pass in 2015. : /

Definitely a fun run. Easy to get to, tons of parking lots. DJ was good with music and MC did a…read moredecent job hyping up the crowd. Registration lines for packet pickup went rather smooth, and the merchandise table was efficient with a good selection. The color packs had a good amount of volume to them, which was nice, and additional packs were only $3. They sent runners/walkers out in waves every 10 minutes or so. There were way more walkers than I had anticipated, and with a narrow course, there wasn't much room to go around them if running/jogging. We were hoping to get more of a waterfront run with nicer scenery, but instead it was dilapidated buildings and warehouses. The roads were in poor condition, and several of my friends almost tripped on cracks or uneven road surfaces. This should be a three star rating, but with the DJ, color throwing, and being with friends, this got a 4. My recommendation for them is to pick a better venue.