My review is based on my ticket purchasing/customer service (or lack thereof) experience with HSMF…read moreand not about the festival experience since I never had the chance to attend. I bought tickets for my husband as a 2019 Christmas gift, for the 2020 show. Then Covid hit and they postponed the 2020 show, as did everyone else, and I completely understood. We were so excited for the rescheduled festival in 2021. Then they "postponed" that show too, even though by that point everything had re-opened and all the other festivals and shows were on. I don't know about you, but I've never heard of a 2-year "postponement" and wish we could just call it what it is. Regardless, we planned to finally attend in 2022. And then I found out my brother picked the same weekend to get married, on the east coast. He wasn't even engaged at the time the original event was scheduled to have happened, so I had no way of knowing about this conflict 2 years down the road, and of course the *very* small window to receive a refund had already passed. I am not sure how HSMF got away with offering such a narrow window for 2020 refunds, and so early on (more than a year before the rescheduled show), but they offered zero help or support when I reached out to them about this issue. They informed me I would have to join their Facebook group to sell my tickets since they wouldn't refund me themselves. I joined the group, posted the tickets, and my post was removed so it was not a feasible means of resale. Then I got an email that HSMF was soon to be selling tickets for 2022, so I once again reached out to them and asked very kindly if they could please accept a return on my tickets due to the unprecedented TWO YEAR postponement, a family wedding that I cannot miss, and the fact that they'd be selling these tickets later the same week anyway- why not sell mine too?! But nobody even had the decency to respond to me. It takes a special kind of *insert favorite word for a mean person* to take over $600 from someone during a pandemic, "postpone" the event for two YEARS, not make an exception for such extenuating circumstances, and not even have the decency to reply. Just pocketing the money of music fans without offering any type of genuine humane support or understanding. Needless to say, going forward I will not be supporting a festival that operates in such a way. We've been to music festivals all over the country and never had a negative experience, so there's plenty of good music and festivals out there where people are treated right. Buyer beware!

My friend Jim co-founded this festival many, many moons ago, when I was a youngster. I used to help…read moreout backstage, once carrying two of Steve Kimock's legendary guitars off stage after an epic performance in somewhat cold weather. I remember Steve saying, "It's like playing chickens out there." At the time that made perfect sense. If memory serves, this was the first time a lot of us tried Sierra Nevada beer (back then a sibling on the emerging craft beer scene) and the entire experience was warm and friendly. I never made it back between the early 90s until this year. I am so happy I decided to finally return. The festival has changed locations (a couple of times since) and become a lot bigger and organized. There are scores of bands, too many to see as four or five are playing at once on the different stages, but it is easy enough to walk around and catch a few songs of each. If it's hot, there is a swimming pool $8, or so. And the camping is fun. Pulling in at the beginning can be a bit stressful in sorting out your space, but once the dust settles, it's all dandy. Folks say this is a music festival for musicians, and I agree. But of course all are welcome. I hope to return again.

This was my first visit to this area's pow wow but I've been to many pow wows throughout…read moreCalifornia. Entrance and parking was free (thank you!) but the parking lot was a complete dust bowl! My car was covered in inch thick red/yellow dust afterwards that inevitably got tracked inside the car too. The parking lot is not paved nor does it have grass, just dust! They had ample amount of quality, handcrafted art and craft work vendors selling a few things I had never seen before. Needless to say I spent more money than I normally do on knick knacks. Although there was only one fry bread vendor who sold very expensive fry bread at $6 for one or $8 for Indian taco (fry bread topped with beans, cheese, tomatoes), it was the BEST fry bread I ever had. It's likely from the fact it was being hand rolled on the spot before frying. Seeing a little old lady do this, I'm sure, makes it that much more authentic and convinced me to try it despite the cost. They had one other food vendor selling BBQ items. I didn't try as I figured I can always get that anywhere. I was disappointed to see there weren't that many dancers or contestants. It was absolutely fantastic weather on the Sunday I went and would have been great for those competing in heavy leather and bead clad costumes. There appeared to be less than 20 whereas I normally see 50+ elsewhere. Hopefully next year they can encourage more dancers to participate. Ps the MC had a great voice and did a great job.

So I have visited a few of these done in numerous areas. I've been to the Graegle, Reno Pumpkin,…read moreand Truckee 4th of July events. There are pros and cons Pros and cons together: The do tend to bring in artists from the general area BUT (also con) some come from as far away as the Bay Area so "Local" is a stretch Some booths are very reasonable in pricing for what is being sold while others are clearly not in touch with both prices and/or quality Some booths are truly crafts! I mean the dried flower demon head??? So cool, unique, and well done! Unique fall/Halloween inspired ceramics? Nice! Definitely what I consider worthy of a craft fair! But again, other booths were selling things not even crafty. Like keychains that looked like reject temu/wish items. I wasn't paying $10 for a crappy keychain! Typically, there's a decent variety but at my most recent visit to the one in Reno, there had to be at least 7 or 8 booths selling crochet stuffed animals and it appears more than half of them were using the same patterns. There are food options, but there is honestly nothing I remember standing out at any of these. The recent pumpkin fair was somewhat chaotic with no signage, no help in finding parking, no easily found disability accessible parking, and no actually planned pay out. Food vendors were kinda all over. There was a rock climbing wall and a mechanical bull for some reason. It just felt chaotic. Overall their fairs are about 3 stars. You'll definitely find some great vendors but you need to search. Parking is typically a free for all. Accessibility is difficult for those with mobility issues. Food vendors are meh and there are typically no places to sit and eat. If you happen to be around for one, go check it out but definitely don't make it your day.

7/17/2022 Just found…read moreout a few days ago, and really excited to attend. My neighbor says it's fun and to go early, as the last day, vendors pack up early. It's a nice 1 1/4 hour drive for me, and if I had my California fishing license, I'd take advantage of the lakes... I love yard art and hopefully I can find a souvenir..

We always have a nice time, always tons of vendors, but not a lot to do for small children (wish…read morethere were more games, rides, etc)

Thanks for checking out my review. I hope it was helpful. Penny Candy store is a great place…read morethat's? . When being home sick starts to depress me and its gets harder to pull off a smile. We go get shave ice n all of a sudden the world is a little sweeter, n as i order my Medium shave ice w/ my favs. coconut n blue vanilla, i take slurp n Life is Good. I love you Hawaii my only home. One day. GOOOO EEEASSY! GANG-A-LANGIES

Love it , great place to chill and enjoy music, fellowship and the environment , when is the next…read morevenue how do you get tickets,

What an amazing way to spend a summer weekend with wonderful people and eclectic, beautiful music…read more The days get hot, so between music sets is the perfect time for a dip in the river. Nighttime, as the sun goes down, the campgrounds are alive with impromptu jamming: Singing, instruments, and good times. I love you American River Music Festival! I will miss you and am sad 10 years is the end. Hopefully there will be a new incarnation?

I happened to see this advertised on Groupon and figured I'd check it out. It was normally about…read more$15 a ticket plus fees but I snagged a deal off of Groupon so it was pretty much free. Pro-tip: be sure to park further away as ANY event at the fairgrounds will cost you $10 and in CASH ONLY. In addition to the cover charge, you have to buy $5 vouchers which get you sample sized items from all vendors that were put on. It is somewhat of a glorified food truck event. There were only a few places that weren't food trucks. I didn't really like the voucher system as not all vendors accepted them for things like desserts. I ended up having to trade my voucher back for cash toward the end. It would just be easier to hand the vendors cash for all the items, but apparently the vendors only get like $3 out of the $5 paid for the vouchers. I guess the cover charge isn't enough for the event hosts? It's basically just like any other food festival but overpriced if you're paying for the cover charge and parking. It's not a huge event. You come, try a few things and leave or look at some of the little shops.

This festival had an awesome concept! It was a multicultural food tasting festival. There was…read moreexcellent entertainment with bands, drummers, and even dancers. Some of the food was better than others, but this was there first one. I expect this festival to grow into an even better experience with more time. The parking and alcohol were expensive and I discussed this with the owner, who noted the city was in charge of alcohol and parking, not them. I was pleased to learn they would be using a different venue for the next one to bring down parking and alcohol costs. I will definitely be going back.

California WorldFest was held at the Nevada county fairgrounds. It was a Mecca of music from all…read moreover the world and very unique foods. If you are gluten free, vegan or vegetarian this is a great festival for you! We tried Chinese food, gluten free pizza and Revive kombucha. The lime flavored was amazing!

It was definitly a good opportunity to taste Californian beers and wine!…read more Sierra Nevada 30th anniversary was my favourite that day! Unfortunatly, the line to get wristbands was a bit long and the staff was probably not enough numerous. I have a to say that the band was playing well, I was impressed on some covers... I enjoyed that day!

This event brought SO much happiness to my family's day and the memories will last forever! My self…read moreand my husband, plus my sister and her husband came up from Southern California to see our grandparents. (Side note: my grandparents raised me most of my life in Yuba City, they still live there).. It was also my sister's birthday... I happened to notice the event in the newspaper and thought that was perfect timing for us all to go do something together. That day is so special to us. We laughed, danced and drank! We are definitely looking forward to CBWF 2018!! This year our brother, mom and stepdad will also be joining us!