Trying to describe the best of the town of Fairfax would be most easily accomplished via a late…read moreSaturday afternoon photo of the Fairfax Festival in full bloom: Good, live music on a low stage underneath towering redwoods, happy members of the community with wine glasses raised as they dance in the grassy glen greeting neighbors and newly made friends, close at hand food booths serving fresh roasted corn, fully organic tacos, and just-squeezed lemonade, and a glimpse in the background, of unique crafts not found at every summer fair, peeking out from beyond the trunks of massive trees that entice you to wander amongst them to discover something you never knew you needed. Feel it? There's many more parts to the festival, which sort of meanders from redwood grove to community ball-field, to... oh, just discover it yourself when it comes back next year. It's what Marin might have been before all the towns 'cept Fairfax got a freeway plowed through them, a Starbucks on every corner, and huge feelings of entitlement amongst their residents. Fairfax and the Fairfax Fest are two of the really nice, special, unique parts of today's Marin. And even your dog is welcome here!

My friend and I thought we had been to just about every festival in the Bay Area but the Fairfax…read moreFestival was new to us. At first glance this event appeared to be rather small, but after walking around we realized the various events were really spread out and they had a lot of activities going on. The main part of the festival had a large stage for the band, some arts and crafts vendors (good products and some pretty unique items), and food/beer tents. The booths were set amongst the trees - pretty darned cool, if you ask me. A short walk up the hill from the main stage led to the Eco-Fest where various exhibitors and vendors set up spaces to educate, inform and sell products., all to support an eco-friendly existence. Everything in this part of the festival was organic and local, including the bands! We sat through a couple of sets, but I have to say that thanks to this event Spark and Whisper just gained a new fan (they were AMAZING!)!! Organic wine and beer tasting was available and their tent was CROWDED. I enjoyed sampling the large selection of good organic wines, sparkling wines, mead (honey wine), cheeses and olive oils showcased that day and we had a great time chatting with the folks about their products. Plenty of cheese, crackers and dark chocolate were provided and replenished by the local grocery store. There was a huge area on the ball field for kid-friendly events and activities. I'm sorry to say we never made it to the flea market or the parade so I cannot comment on those. The sun was shining, a slight breeze was blowing, people were in a really good mood and the overall vibe of this event is pretty mellow. Everyone was there to listen to some really good local bands, sit back and enjoy the day with their friends and neighbors. Overall I thought this fair was well organized and definitely incorporated the local flavor.

Stephane made the matching appetizers for my celebration of receiving my Court of Master Sommeliers…read morecertificate. It was a party with 11 stations matching food and wine....for 80 people! Stephane came to my house before the party, so that I could pour the wine that I wanted to match the appetizers. This allowed us to taste an array of components to see if they would (or would not) pair with the wine. Stephane had to pair 6 cava/prosecco/champagnes (2 "brioche-forward," 2 "citrus-forward," 2 "berry-forward"), 1 white (unoaked chardonnay), 3 reds (aged Napa cab, Spanish fruit-forward, Italian), and an aged port. He was very serious about getting the pairing "right" and was a lot of fun - we had a good time *doing* the pairing! He came to my house and he and his sous chef/helper Fred were like dervishes getting the food prepared out. It was *gorgeous* and *delicious.* Plus they left my kitchen cleaner than they found it! The event was a *raving* success! Stephane will make exactly what *you* want. This trumps any of the other companies or businesses that I myself could find. They weren't willing to be *so* specific or do a "pre-tasting" with the wine. Stephane came to the pre-tasting pretty sure about what would pair with what - but after our tasting, we were able to scratch some appetizers, craft others, etc. - each of us working to our strengths. Stephane cares about making your party an Event in every perfect detail!

Chef Stephan is a rockstar. Last night he catered our wedding and it was 100% plant based - a fully…read morevegan menu including all the wonderful desserts. Our crowd of 100 was pretty much all meat eaters but they raved about the food, how flavorful and delicious it was. We also didn't tell our guests it was a vegan meal and no one knew. Someone even asked me why I was eating meat when I ate one of the plant-based meatballs. Highly recommend him for any event. It's so wonderful to have plant-based options that make catering and events more sustainable.

I've known Zoë for a year now and she have done several tarots for me during my time of difficulty…read more She's intuitive, kind, and patient, literally the best tarot reader you can ask for, not to mention the accuracy of the readings. She's known for the unique "let go & grow" reading set, and it honestly helped me so much to grow as a person and clear things up... if you are ever confused or lost, please go hit her up!!!! She's amazing!!!!

Zoë's tent/booth was really beautiful - I could feel the magic right away! I was hoping that she…read morewould offer clarity and wisdom when reading the cards, but she went above and beyond. The insights she read from the cards were relevant and applicable, and the cards themselves were beautiful and fun. The let go card and then the grow card way of reading really was relatable, and I felt like I could really take her insights and carry them with me on my journey. I will definitely ask her to read for me again.

I have had 2 pieces framed here. So happy with the finished product…read more Ringseis does amazing work. Highly recommend if you want to preserve your art

Great people great service Only concern about the mount…read moreprice was too expensive, when Jim used to do mine he was charging me less then $100 ,I have did with Jim like lot of pic mount work ,, but this new guys are charging a lot $200 plus Great work Great Service Just too expensive to mount

It was 1 of those extremely rare events in all of human history, an aligning of the stars that was…read moreordained to portend an epic & fantastical coming of... well, of something. The 17th Annual Fairfax Brewfest was on March 17th, 2012, which also happened to be St. Patrick's Day. Oh come on, the numerological significance of this is undeniable. The 17th on the 17th & a Brewfest on St. Patrick's Day? Destiny. So it was written (on flyers posted in almost every business in Fairfax), so it was done. For $25 each, the girlfriend & I joined the beer-loving hordes that fine St. Patrick's Day at the Fairfax Pavilion for unlimited beer tastings of brews from 21 local breweries. It...Was...Epic. Iron Springs, Marin Brewing, Moylan's, Lagunitas, Pacific Brewing Laboratory, Broken Drum, Anderson Valley, 21st Amendment, Speakeasy Ales & Lagers, Lost Coast, Napa Smith, Drake's, New Belgium, Mad River, The Beach Chalet, Triple Rock, Beltane, Third Street AleWorks, Mill Valley Beerworks, Sudwerk, Pizza Orgasmica: drink all-you-can from all of that for $25! Add in traditional Irish & Celtic music performed live by the Gas Men & it was like discovering what Craic was for the 1st time all over again. It's said that everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day. Everyone at the 17th Annual Fairfax Brewfest most certainly was Irish on that day.

2014 was the second year I attended Fairfax Brewfest after 2013 went down as one of the best beer…read morefestivals in the last year. This relatively small beer fest takes place in picturesque town of Fairfax; probaly one of the cutest little places you will find anywhere. The only downside for us out-of-towners is that Fairfax is not anywhere close to the freeway...you have to pass through central San Rafael, drive some 5 miles on a narrow road before you get close enough to park to the Pavilion where the event is held. Coinciding with St. Patrick's Day weekend (and also my birthday), this year's event was a little bigger than the last year's. There were few more breweries present but also the crowd seemed a bit larger occupying the same exact space. Farifax Pavilion is not very large and it can get hot since all the beer is served inside. Unfortunately, it was even more crowded outside where they had several food vendors. Despite the congestion and the amount of beer served everyone had a great time and I did not notice any unfortunate incidents. As far as the brews served it was mostly again local breweries and some guests such as Stone and New Belgium: altogether about 25. There was nothing there that I haven't tried in the past that blew me off, but the waits were not horrible and most of the stuff the brewers brought was very tasty and fresh. The only reason for not giving 5 star rating is that Fairfax Brewfest is starting to outgrow itself. There are people (like myself) coming from out of town and spreading the word of mouth, so the lines for the bathrooms get really long and the main room gets too muggy. Outside area this year was crowded as well so it might be time for the organizers to look for a new venue as they can only expect more people in 2015.

Fabulous event for meeting like-minded people, excellent presentations and panels, plenty of…read moreparking, & new owners seem keen to make it even better; will return next year!

Fantastic. Though provoking and energizing! Great event. Very well curated. Great experience!…read more Looking forward to the next!