I've been coming to the Willow Glen Holiday lights for almost 10 years now, and it is pure…read moremagic...minus the crowds. It's amazing to see how all-out so many of the houses go, just about every single one has some sort of Christmas or Hanukkah display, light, or decoration. It's also amazing how much more crowded it gets every year. I used to drive it, but now I don't dare try. I'll typically park near one of the main streets and get out and walk. This is usually much more enjoyable since you aren't having to fight nonstop car and foot traffic. This year I went a little late in the season and even walking it wasn't all that enjoyable because of the groups of 15+ people together and the people running around doing a scavenger hunt, so lesson learned. This past year we parked a bit further and got to see some displays that I either haven't seen in the past or are newer, but it was nice to stroll the less crowded streets and still enjoy the holiday magic. Unlike in years past, there were even street dog vendors out this time around. Felt like I was leaving a concert or a sporting event!

We visited the Willow Glen Christmas lights after dinner to walk off our meal, and it quickly…read morebecame more than just a walk. What we thought would be a short stroll turned into a full holiday experience, one of those nights where Christmas feels alive. We have seen many decorated streets and cul de sacs before, but Willow Glen surprised us. Multiple neighborhoods followed shared themes, with streets labeled things like Candy Cane Lane and Santa's Sleigh and Reindeer. It felt like walking through a storybook, where each street had its own chapter. The decorations were beautiful and thoughtful. Some areas felt like a small festival, with trains, horse carriages, brews on bicycles, and families everywhere enjoying the moment. Vendors selling churros, hot chocolate, hot dogs, and light up toys added to the fun. These streets truly embody Christmas, warm, joyful, and full of wonder. The highlight of the night was meeting Mrs. Santa Claus of Willow Glen. She was kind, welcoming, and full of heart. She hosted the churro truck and clearly gives so much back to the community. She felt like the soul of the neighborhood, a reminder that Christmas magic often comes from people, not just lights. Bring your family and friends and take your time walking around, or enjoy it from your car. There is so much to see and feel here. This is the kind of place that turns a simple evening into a memory, and it will definitely be an annual Christmas tradition for us.

It was a wonderful day with excited and warm loving people. People were very warm with many…read morecompliments of Tracey Mitchem's artwork.

I wasn't able to go last year so I was even more excited to go this year for my 2025 art and wine…read morefest glass......only to be told there were none. If this is the trend, I won't be as inclined to come every year. No glasses = not coming anymore.

This is the big summer festival for Fremont. First the good. This festival has everything. There's…read morea section of rides for the kids. They have a nice selection of local services. You can maat and talk with the local emergency services employees (firemen,police, EMT). I like how the food vendors were all along the same row. It's nice to say some new vendors, along with same old usuals. Now the bad. No parking,or charging $10 for parking. I saw everyone parking in the shopping center. Even though there were signs stating no event parking. Otherwise you had to park way down the street. For such a large Indian population,not much if anything representation,no Indian food vendors. I personally feel there weren't enough garbage cans near the food row. Most were full or needed to be emptied. But still a great time.

IMHO 5 years since…read moremy last review. Went on a Sunday this year. Hoped it would be cooler. Nope. Still lots of vendors, but many were different and new. I missed my favorites. Understandably, prices are higher... but dang!!! Normally my hubby and I like to buy a Lockeford sausage roll but they weren't there! Nothing piqued my foodie interest this year. Before we left, I bought a medium Dipping Dots bowl for $8. It was the perfect way to end our visit. It was very refreshing. The only item I purchased was a colorful wind spinner for $15. It brings me joy when I see it spinning in my garden! Will we return next year? Probably.

This is an annual festival taking place the Friday after Thanksgiving, with a tree lighting at…read more6:00pm, followed by a delightful parade at 6:30pm. For the 2024 event, most people brought their own chairs, others just stood behind those seated. I arrived an hour early, and set up my chair to ensure a good view, situating myself near Niles Town Plaza, midpoint of the parade route. Then I walked around to explore the antique shops on Niles that were still open after 5pm, as well as a couple merchandise vendor tents outside. Entertainment before the parade included live music by Anthony Arya Band, street performers like jugglers, as well as costumed characters including the Grinch and SpongeBob SquarePants walking down Niles Blvd and posing for photos with kids. I also saw 4 food trucks on site, serving sushi, sliders, chicken sandwiches, and mexican food. And there was a drink stand selling hot chocolate, coffee, and tea for a dollar donation. The tree lighting was not your traditional christmas tree, it was just a regular tree along the street (the one with the stage set up next to it, across from Nature's ice cream shop). But they did make it look pointy at the top, with the lights, lol. Decorated vehicles and performers in the parade represented numerous organizations in the community, including little league teams, East Bay Regional Parks, and Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum. Golden Gate Basset Rescue had several dogs being walked with colorful string lights on the leashes. It was adorable. American High School color guard did a wonderful job with their performance, and marching bands from various schools and institutions created impressive sounds on percussion and wind instruments galore, including the bag pipes. There were plenty of cars in the parade too, adorned with beautiful designs, lighting, and props to put you in the holiday spirit. The crowds grew as it got later into the evening. But it never became chaotic or unmanageable. The event seemed to be organized well, yet still casual and flexible (like people could cross the street during the parade), even with a heavy police presence. It was such a laid back and joyful atmosphere, free to attend, and parking and traffic isn't too difficult if you arrive early and leave early before the parade ends. Otherwise, good luck.

I feel like the experience gets bigger and better every year! Been coming here for 3 consecutive…read moreyears now and have enjoyed it every time. I'm a big fan of local functions and activities and community involvement so this Christmas tradition is always a delight. My son loves seeing Santa and Mrs. Clause! He enjoys the entire parade full of cars and many lights with local performers. our friends and family always gather here every year now as part of our new tradition. We have a friend who lives on the street where they have the parade so her place is usually our usual spot. We've started bbq'ing and drinking before the parade as part of our festivities and then head over to Papillon's down the street for our dinner to celebrate Christmas season amongst friends. I appreciate Fremont a bit extra for having this tradition that I feel we are a little late in experiencing but now that we have, we refuse to ever miss it if we're in town. (We live in Southern California now.)

The Sunnyvale Art & Wine Festival celebrated its 50th year this past weekend, bringing good eats,…read morelive music, art and merchandise booths, and just a lovely atmosphere for individuals of all ages. The event was set up along East Washington, near Historic Murphy Avenue, and stretched to East McKinley (near Target), with the main food vendor and entertainment area taking over an entire parking lot and block. Seating was limited. But there were more than ten food trucks/stands offering pizza, bbq, vietnamese cuisine, ice cream from Mister Softee, and more. There were also drinks stands selling lemonade and alcoholic beverages (of course, wine). I snacked on some savory filipino empanadas from Tita Weewin's and a delicious sushi taco from Aki (a vendor based in SF). I also perused the amazing variety of merchandise tents and displays lining the streets, including some of the most beautiful collections of artwork I've ever seen, especially one of my faves, CatZooArt as well as as a vendor selling awesome vintage menu art. I enjoyed the live music taking place throughout the festival. On the main stage, Ryan Woodward & J Stewart played a variety of songs on the guitar and vocals, like Tom Petty and Dave Matthews Band covers, followed by the Sean Carscadden Trio entertaining the crowd on Saturday afternoon. Other tribute bands were scheduled to take the stage throughout the two-day event too, as well as street performers such as Bob Culbertson, a musician playing lovely tunes, including the Harry Potter theme song, on the chapman stick, a unique string instrument I was unfamiliar with until this day. In addition, the event offered art workshops and fun activities for kids, like a spider jump bungee trampoline and water ballerz (giant "hamster balls" for humans to climb inside and walk on water). No shortage of options for things to see, do, and appreciate. I certainly had a good time.

The festival is at the same place as the farmers market. So there is plenty of parking…read more The art just seemed ok. Nothing really stood out. Same with the food trucks. Nothing really looked good or smelled appealing. The line for soft serve was the longest..the high light was the many options for kids

This festival started out a couple of years ago as a really good one to enjoy. This year though,…read moreit was barely better than doing ones laundry. The amount of vendors selling crafts has gone way down and those participating here have to jack up their prices because the Milpitas Chamber was sucking 10% off the top for all money made by the vendor. This is a perfect way to keep the little guys away and to make the big guys really gouge the customers. As to beer or wine? What a joke. We are in the middle of Micro Brewery America and are offered Michelob and a couple of other tap choices. Wine was worse. If it wasn't for Schlossadler Wines being there as a booth trying to sell wine by the case but offering tastes of their great line, the fair only had Beringer which is about $13.50 a bottle. At the festival it was $5 for half a plastic glass. I go to an Art and Wine festival for the arts and crafts and for some wine. Milpitas lacked in every regard here. Try to do better next year. More variety for the wines and foods. Do something to attract as many vendors as you had three years ago.

This festival changed its name to Celebrate Milpitas. This was very packed and very…read morehappening...Then suddenly it wasn't so much...and cancelled it this year. The real story??? They changed the people planning the festival, and the traffic died and then no more...the economy probably added to it. The new people planning it didn't advertised it as much...it was a balloon over the Wells Fargo building on Calaveras...that was it! They didn't continue any of the signs all over Milpitas and in high traffic areas...real sad! Hopefully in 2010 they'll revive it...

We came, we saw, we left…read more Very few vendors. That's fine if there's a good selection of stuff, especially food vendors. But we found it almost impossible to find any vegetarian options! How many meat on a stick items can a night market have?! Even the hardcore carnivores in our group didn't see anything exciting and voted to leave too. Also, everything was really pricey. Potato curl on a stick (admittedly it was a large stick!) was the price of a whole noodle soup at a regular Asian restaurant. 1 star for it not being as crowded as the Pleasanton one. 1 star for relatively easy parking in the huge mall lot. 1 star for the nice weather lol. I'm feeling generous.

(Went April 2023) First time going to a mini night market and I have to say it was fun! There's a…read moresmall amount of vendors but you can see who the vendors are in advance so you can decide if you want to go to at that date or a different one. There's plenty of parking since the event is held in the parking lot of the Great Mall. After you're done eating, you can spend the rest of the day in the mall.

Ok I think they need to say Festival first & some BBQ and not the other way around! I came here…read moreexpecting a lot of BBQ places from different countries but it's not. Some good music and they do have tables and chairs to eat what food truck meals they had. It's mostly advertisement vendors and maybe 4 places that offer BBQ but that was only tri-tip or pulled pork... That was a disappointment! :-( The vendors were nice and what they sold were a little on the expensive side. Where's the BBQ people?? Where's the ribs? All I know is don't come here hungry!!

Good: Easy location to find. Parking along the streets. Trees provided shade to sit in the grass…read moreand eat, but might want to bring a towel or matt to sit on because the grass was a little moist. Live entertainment on stage where a young girl was singing and she had talent singing the pop songs you hear on the radio. Random flash mob did a dance in the middle of the street. That was the highlight. Most tables in the center of the street were vendors selling random stuff, knick knacks, art, etc. The far end looked to have a bouncy house for kids, but I didn't go that far to check it out if you have to pay or not. Beer available in clear plastic cups. Bad: Signs said "international" bbq, but all I really saw were a few local food trucks. This event seemed to focus on the art vendors rather than BBQ food. Mogo's, a Louisiana kitchen, and I don't remember the other trucks. This was my first time going to the Milpitas one, but I recently went to the Santa Clara BBQ festival, which was much bigger and much more legit with a LOT more BBQ vendors who actually specialize in BBQ and brought their grillers and smokers.