I enjoy checking out themed festivals, so I was really excited to check this out. It's in Woodland,…read moreso it is a bit of a drive from me near Roseville, so I almost didn't go, but my friend said he wanted to check it out too, so I figured okay, let's go! So first--the parking. Like any street festival, parking is a bit of a challenge. I drove around for a bit before I found a spot that wasn't too far, thankfully. Admission is FREE, which is nice, as a lot of festivals seem to charge in the Sacramento area I've noticed. There are PLENTY of honey vendors and quite a few I recognize from other festivals like Farm to Fork. They had a lot of that stuff for sale and thankfully, minimal MLM stuff. My one biggest complaint really is that there wasn't a whole lot of food to choose from at this festival, especially honey flavored/themed foods. Usually at fests like the Mandarin or Peach festival they have all these different themed foods. The best I got were some honey drizzled donuts, which were really good, but I was a bit disappointed there weren't many food vendors to choose from. That was kind of a bummer.

The BerryFest Strawberry Festival exceeded my expectations. I've been to Yolo Fairgrounds before…read morefor the Honey festival and others and wasn't too inpressed, but I didn't expect Berryfest to be so large and enjoyable! Parking is plentiful at $10 or you can park outside and walk in. There were SO many vendors selling all kinds of knick knacks, drinks, desserts, snacks, and strawberry themed stuff, and I was able to get craft unsweetened ice tea instead of sugary drinks. The vendors were outside and in two separate indoor warehouse areas. The best part was the Amazing Animal World showcasing their reptiles inside, for free!! We stood in line, which wrapped around their tables and we were able to hold slinks, snakes, scorpion, and bearded dragons. So cool! Thw toycar racing was also free inside and lots of tastings like the honey stalls. There was also an animal petting area and horserides for a cost, but I don't support those because those poor animals are so overstimulated. Although, the baby llamas were really cute. There were a good variety of food trucks and tents. On the lawn was a huge car show. Then there's the nook that takes you down various California farm's fruitstands, some from Santa Cruz. They had the sweetest strawberries and blackberries I've ever had, so of course we brought some baskets home. I wish there was more entertainment and more strawberry-infused unique foods. I was expecting strawberry ice cream at the least but didn't find any. Overall, the festival had something for everyone and it was great that they had the indoor areas to escape the heat. Great variety of food and fun.

What a fun time we had today. We weren't familiar with the festival till this year when my…read morehusband's barber gave home 2 tickets to the festival. We're always up to trying new things and free had our attention. With a predetermined temperature of 92 today we had to strategize. We couldn't arrive when it opened as we had a church BBQ to go to. We ended up arriving at 2pm, the peak of the day. We didn't realize the festivities wrapped up at 4pm. We parked our car in the JC Penny's parking g lot across from the entrance. So convenient. It was $10 cash. I'm glad I went to the website for the festival and knew to bring cash. The fair was a quick walk from our car. The entrance is on the street corner opposite the entrance to the parking lot. Soon as we arrived we ventured to the bathrooms. There wasn't a line and they were well kept and supplied and smelled fresh. Next we checked out the huge car show. So many beautiful cars from different eras. As we were passing the food venders I spotted a shaved ice stand with a line in front, but the line was in the shade do we hopped in line. It was a quick line and the lovely gal offered us a mini donut after I exclaimed that was our next stop. The donut was still hot, covered with cinnamon sugar and just melted in our mouths. As good as I remembered them. Back to the shaved ice. it was $10 plus tax. It was your typical fair shaved ice with many floors to choose from. It wasn't my first pick of a cold treat, but it worked. I was more in the mood for a fresh strawberry or berry smoothy, but we never did find that so I'm glad we grabbed the first cold treat that we saw. It was really refreshing and a fun sweet treat. We sat under the trees on a bench we shared with a gentleman who was also eating a snow cone. I wish it was the Japanese kind with the snow. If you haven't had it before you've got to try it. It's so finely shaved that it's literally like snow falling from the sky. It was warm out but not hot enough to melt our snow cone and make a sticky mess. Next we went to the indoor stage and watched a roping demo. That was a fun sight to see. After that we went on the hunt for the farmers market section. We found it all the way in the back, past all the craft and other vendors. All the vendors had samples and buy, were those strawberries sweet. Nothing like the ones at the store. There were so many to choose from. I don't know how people decide. We choose to buy them from the last vendor. It was $21 for 3 baskets or 6 baskets for $40. We chose the 6 baskets to share between 3 households. I think we ate a basket while resting in the shade before we made our trek back to our car. Overall it was a good experience. You can't blame them for the heat. You can thank them for all the shade trees and benches. Inside activities and stages. I highly recommend this festival.

UC Davis Picnic Day, Davis…read more (4/18/2026- UC Davis Picnic Day) First time here and had a great time! Although the lines are long for majority of the exhibitions, it was worth checking out! Upon arrival, I missed the parade so I could line up for the petting zoo, see some cows, watching some chicks being hatch and see some snakes. There were some animals we missed because of the long lines everywhere! It was hot as expected, there were many food trucks options available for everyone to enjoy! There were several Halal food vendors too! Highly recommended to come here but make sure you bring a hat and a fan, it's super hot! Stay hydrated too! Would come back next year!!

We had an amazing time--everything was truly wonderful. The entire day was thoughtfully organized,…read moremaking it easy for everyone to relax and enjoy. It was very family-friendly, with great activities that kept the children engaged and happy throughout. We had so much fun and created some really special memories. We'll definitely be coming back next year. Thank you to everyone who made this event possible--we truly appreciate all the effort and care that went into making it such a great experience.

I've been here twice for concerts and have been extremely pleased with the venue and the overall…read moreexperiences I've had. The campus is gorgeous that it sits on and the Center is absolutely beautiful inside. What I love most about the seating inside is that it's designed well with comfortable seats that aren't crammed together and you can actually enjoy the show. There are vents under each seat to keep you cool, which is also a plus on warmer seasons. The sound quality here is absolute perfection as well and I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't feel the same way as I do about this wonderful venue! What a true gift it is to have near us! Oh, the parking here is great as well and so are the attendants!!!

I'll start with a disclaimer: the Mondavi Center typically hosts classical and jazz…read moreperformances--great quality, just not the genres I usually listen to. Because of that, even though I've lived nearby for more than 20 years, I never made it out to a show. I finally made an exception to see the legendary Herbie Hancock at Jackson Hall, the larger venue that seats about 1,800 people. Even from the upper section, the sound was phenomenal. The acoustics are honestly some of the best I've experienced. The one downside to sitting up there is the seating layout: the rows are tight, and unlike other sections, there are no aisles. If someone in the middle needs to step out, the entire row--around 20 people on each side--has to shuffle to make room. Not ideal, especially for long shows without an intermission. Parking is close, but even on a Sunday (when parking is usually free), the lot across from the venue charged $19. Drinks are allowed inside only if they have lids, and there are no cupholders at the seats. Minor things, but they add up. Jackson Hall is a beautiful venue, and it definitely carries a "posh" or "elite" reputation that seems fairly accurate--it feels geared toward a more academic crowd. I probably won't return soon based on the current lineup, but seeing Herbie Hancock there was absolutely worth it.

I was in Davis for a half day trip on my way to sacramento and decided to stop by the UC Davis…read morecampus - the botanical conservatory is definitely a hidden gem, and I had the whole place to myself and a few student workers on an early Friday morning. The place is gorgeous and actually larger than it might seem from outside, with multiple sections or rooms within the greenhouse portion jam packed with plants in every direction. There's some nice signs with educational pearls throughout too and I really enjoyed spending a good chunk of time walking around and reading them. Definitely check it out if you have some time to explore!

As a plant hobbyist enjoying my plants at home, this conservatory was like heaven! Who knew a…read moreuniversity green house could be packed with so many varieties of plants ranging from tropical to carnivorous to dessert cacti and even plenty of orchids! I mean there was a corpse flower which had bloomed recently which I missed but that wasn't my main focus. I was more enthralled by the tiny endangered water lily that was in bloom that doesn't exist for sale anywhere after see it here and trying to seeing it here and trying to see if it was sold anywhere... The variations of plants, monsteras, hoyas, nepenthes, butterworts, oh the list could go on and on but I just enjoyed spending almost an hour there chatting with this guy who was more knowledgeable about the collect and just as enthusiastic! The staff and students were in the other room repotting but the professor gave us permission to enter and enjoy and I was like a child giddy with happiness in a playground taking in all the sights of the plants! Totally worth a visit!

After living in Woodland for over 10 years, I finally made it to the Scottish Games!…read more Had fun-favorites were the ceremony/parade, watching the Wicked Tinkers, seeing the highland cows/birds of prey, and watching the caber (log) toss. Knocked it down a star because of things not being quite on time and we really only needed a couple of hours to see everything, and that included some waiting around time for events to start. My advice is to check out the schedule online and plan your arrival time based on what you're most interested in seeing so you can keep yourself busy. All in all, probably won't be something we'll go back to due to the admission price($17), but glad we went. If you have Scottish heritage, it's a must-see event!

I was reminded this weekend that festivals are actually a celebration of lines. Lines at the…read moreentrance, lines for bathrooms, lines for beer, lines for food, lines for the ATM, rinse and repeat. Overall, I felt the festival was organized and well run. Things were going on throughout the entire Fairgrounds and I can see why it's a two day event! We spent most our day watching the Games and then the other part watching the live music. The Wicked Tinkers were really fun, they kept running around in the crowd and it added a lot to the atmosphere! Bring cash because naturally half of the places only take cash, including the beer tent area. You must buy tickets to get beer which was annoying at first but the line went faster because of it. Also, we ran out of cash half way through and the ATM machines went down, so that was fun. We spent five hours at the Festival, and that was plenty for me. They shut everything down promptly at 5pm to begin the dinner service and you have to pay extra. Go, eat, drink, be merry. It's a good time!

New exhibit is open! sole Italian: una nova Storia Italian…read moreAmerican communities in Solano County. July 25thNovember 14th

Came here to pick up tickets for the annual children's party. Was my first time here and it looked…read morelike it was a very cute museum from what I was able to see. The day of the children's party it was extremely packed. Not much space for walking or enjoying any activities unfortunately. I think more than 300 tickets were sold for the event which is awesome but I wish they would limit the number of people entering for certain time windows. That way people could enjoy the activities more. I will attempt to go next year possibly towards the end to see if it's less busy. I haven't been here for any other events yet.

Summer isn't quite Summer without a beer festival. Of course the same could be said of every other…read moreseason too. Which is why I had already gone to 4 other beer festivals this year before checking out the Davis Bike and Brew Fest with a fellow beer nerd friend. Being a brewfest veteran, there were quite a few things I noticed that the organizers of this brewfest got right. 1st of all, there was value. Ticket prices were reasonable for 4 1/2 hours of open beer tasting with a good selection of beer vendors to choose from. Additionally, lines for beer were short enough that it was possible to get beer faster than you could drink it. Outside fluids were not allowed in, but there was plenty of free, ice cold water for everyone. Davis' Central Park was a great place to hold the event. As good as it all was, there were a couple snags. There weren't enough porta-potties & the line to take a leak got to be pretty long at times. For food, some food truck/ food stand options were available but it would've been nice to have a couple more. 2013 was the 1st year for this event & hopefully not the last. Beer is big in Davis with UCD having 1 of the very few brewing schools in the entire World. For a town like this, the Davis Bike and Brew Fest is a natural fit.

Brew festivals are becoming an odd beast. First, you have major brew fests like California Beer…read moreFestival that charge a lot to get in, the crowds are equally large, and most of us never get our money's worth. Then there are small, local festivals that are cheaper but the selection of breweries and vendors is poor. Davis Bike and Brew Fest fits into neither of these categories or perhaps it is best said that it's a combination of both. The ticket price in presale is reasonable $25 and, since it takes place in early August as the highlight of the Davis Beer Week, the school is not in session and the crowds in 3 years that we attended have never been huge. The downside is, of course, the infamous Valley heat that doesn't spare anyone. Like previous two editions, this year was in triple digits again and damn, it was HOT. But the organizers did things right to make the best under the circumstances: - There was plenty of water - The time was 5PM-8PM. A lot of brew fests I've been to start early which is a bad idea - Enough port-a-potties. Might use a couple more but the wait wasn't too bad, if there was one. - There was a lot of seating and several food trucks and tents - The pours were appropriately sized for the heat and most of the breweries brought their lower alcohol beers, more suitable for the heat. - The crowds were civilized, I didn't see more than just few people wasted As for the selection of beers, Sacramento area was the best represented as expected. But surprisingly, plenty of San Diego was in the house as well. Unlimited pours of Alpine Hoppy Birthday (even if it's Green Flash brewed)? Hell yea! If there was an award for hidden gem, it goes to Boneshaker Brewery from Rocklin for their Blood Red Sky. At only 2.5% ABV and nice tartness, this blood orange Berliner Weisse style beer was delightful and a total surprise. And their brewer is a super-nice guy who took the time to answer all our questions with patience. Finally, if Chris White from White Labs is in attendance, this gives legitimacy to any brew festival. And Davis Bike and Brew fest was just the right balance between small and community and more commercial. There was something for everyone and at moments you could totally forget about the heat. Needless to say, we will be back. Even if the weather is the same again....