First time going and had the best time! The food and festivities were fantastic. I would highly…read morerecommend. I'll look forward to doing this again next year.

This was a beautiful festival. The young dancers were amazing. The food and desserts were so…read moredelicious. Everyone was so friendly. My son and daughter in law took me for the first time. It was well layed out and planned. Lots of young people serving tables. I was even invited to go to a church service. I look forward to next year. Don't miss this beautiful cultural experience. It was wonderful! Diane

In my opinion it was not as big or good as it could have been. In years past Oakdale always did it…read moreso big! I am very glad to see Chocolate there this year. We are slowly coming back from all the Covid stuff! I can't wait for next year, it's only up from here.

A small community event. This year was probably impacted by Covid. This is the first time I've…read moreattended and it was much smaller than I expected. And I didn't see many chocolate stands. Weird since this is supposed to be a chocolate festival. There was a small classic car show. The best part was talking to the owners and listening to them talk about their cars, the history, the smiles they get from strangers when they're driving, etc. There was a handful of artisans. I purchased a beautiful glass pendant from a vendor who mentioned she joined the festival last minute because another show had cancelled on her. Probably the reason there weren't too many there today. Overall a cute little festival with plenty of food and rides for the kids. Hopefully next year's will be back to "normal".

Totally amazing. Workers can't even speak English or understand the basics. Somehow my kids 13/12…read moreare considered adults? How does that make sense.

A few months ago we went to the car show and swap meet, unfortunately, staff could or did not…read moredirect us to handicap parking. When asked, the young lady told us there was no handicap parking anywhere, which didn't make sense to us since the event was a huge on-going for years event and this was our FIRST time. The owners are required to advise their staff that there is handicap parking and where to go. My friend did get upset with the lady as we were there for a few hours and leaving where we entered as we exited and saw her. Her manager did not use her customer service and communication towards my friend but was disrespectful him and in front of other workers. There is a way to handle this issue via being, cool, calm, collective with the customers.

How often am I in Modesto?! Practically never. Before recently, it had probably been well over a…read moredecade since I stopped by. Somehow I've found myself out here twice within the past year: once after wine tasting in Ripon, and another time coming back from Fresno. Daaaamn has this place changed! I remember coming down here to visit old friends many years ago. The only thing really poppin' at the time was the bowling alley and the Sonic Drive Thru. Fast forward to now and they've really built up the downtown area. I mean... it's no Oakland or San Francisco by any means. But for a town that's located deep in the valley, it does alright for itself. I really like the design of the downtown area. Trees line many of the streets and there are all sorts of flowers planted throughout. I ran across some really neat wall art that reminded me of the artwork that you'd see in downtown Eureka. There's a big movie theater on the main block that's surrounded by tons of cute shops and restaurants. It felt pretty safe to walk the streets at night and everything is so well lit. This isn't a town that I plan to spend a whole bunch of time in, but it's nice to know that there's a hip downtown area to stop through during my travels to and from the central valley.

I was set to give Downtown Mo only 3 stars, when I realized that I actually look forward to coming…read morehere. So then, I thought about why that is exactly. First, & very important, are the eats in this hood. Need a great old school sandwich? There's The Brighter Side. Looking for really good gastro pub fare? There's Commonwealth. Perhaps you're looking for a more refined establishment appropriate for the ladies who lunch? Galletto's & Dewz are perfect for that. What about pizza? Are you craving a really good pie? Chefs of New York has recently opened a new location on J street. And coffee. Every & any downtown needs good coffee. Preservation Coffee is the coffee gem of this town. They're also on J street. Speaking of J street... It leads straight to, then turns into, McHenry Avenue. The historical main drag for cruising. The very place where George Lucas dreamed & imagined, years before he created Star Wars. Maybe you want to see a movie. You've got not 1, but 2 options; State Theater & Brendan Theaters. How about going on your lunch break, then playing hooky & catching a movie instead of going back to the office? It's not a suggestion. It's just an idea. I wish there was a Chase bank around though. Not one single branch of the King of Banks in all of Downtown? Ridiculous, right? Parking can be, but usually isn't, a problem. Street parking is pretty reliable, unless it's during peak times (lunch & after 5). The 2 main garages (both on 11th street) are a good crutch, & about 1/4 of what it costs to park in a downtown SF garage. Between both garages you can count on smooth sailing, unless there's a Gallo event or conventions, etc. And predictably, this hood closes early. Most of the restaurants close at 9:00 or 10:00, so check first if you're looking for a later supper (Tresetti's serves a limited menu till midnight). And there's only a couple of bars open until 2:00 (Tresetti's, The Boardroom). It's downtown. Downtown is all about daytime. 4 stars.

This was my first time at this market. They had music. A couple of food options. We went with pizza…read morewhich was not bad. Everyone seemed pretty laid back and it felt semi festive for a Tuesday night. Not to sure if I would go back.

The Riverbank Farmers Market... There may be less produce than Modesto, but more than Oakdale. The…read moreRiverbank market makes up for that with live music or DJ, lots of food choices, and a fun atmosphere. You can find tacos, tamales, burgers, hot links, nachos, beef jerky, and drinks. It's a good place to meet friends and family and support the vendors who were hit hard by the shut down. There was strawberries, cherries, beets, peaches, fresh flowers, and succulents among the choices. Four stars for less produce than Modesto, but maybe that will change it's still early in the season. I also like that it's an evening market versus a morning like Modesto.

This is a fun, family-friendly, pet-friendly (pets must be on leashes) event. Conveniently located…read morenot too far off of the 99 Freeway in Ripon. Well organized. Plenty parking. Lots of volunteers to direct traffic. Rows of booths with interesting things/services. Lots of food trucks that offer a large variety of delicious options for a hungry tummy. A nice area with picnic tables available. Large area with carnival rides. Fun!

This Festival (compared to many others) was barely better than nothing…read more.. 1. Way too cold. The temps were in the 40s right after sunset, and the vendors were there until 8:00 pm (which was nice for people who work nights), but it really should be a bit later in the season for warmer temps. 2. The dust from the dirt parking lot spread out through the whole Festival. 3. The extremely bright lights pointing straight at you the whole way from the parking area into the Festival just made it really hard to see anything. They need more lights, higher up, pointing down like street lights. Or those big lamps they use in construction sites. 4. No Tilt A Whirl in the Carnival. 5. No Onion Rings, or Deep Fried Artichoke Hearts, or Thai Ice Tea, or anything else we normally get at Fairs and Festivals anywhere. 6. The Vendor Booths were OK, but a lot of them had cheap LED lights that do not light up things on tables. Strings of patio lights would be perfect hanging around the edges, inside the tents. They even make them with solar batteries.

On September 17-18, 2022, there was an event that took place at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in…read morePleasanton, CA from 1:00pm-11:00pm. I paid for tickets online September 3rd. This event was not advertised correctly to the public. It advertised there would be live music, vendors, concerts, food trucks and adult food. Not to mention this would be a 21 and up festival. That was not the case kids were everywhere on the first day of the event. The doors were suppose to open at 1:00pm, but opened at 1:30pm. The security was very confused as to what was going on at the fairground and was not able to answer any questions posed from the public. On September 16th, CA Soul-Food Festival emailed out important information to review for those attending the festival on the weekend. All of the items mention that were permitted, people were able to bring into the festival. I followed all of the rules and was not able to disregard anything. For example, chairs were not allowed into the festival and customer would need to rent them at the fairgrounds. This was not the case. Once, customers were admitted into the festival at 1:30pm all of the important information went out the window. People were then bringing in items that were on the prohibited list , which included about 10-15 items. On Sunday, September 18th, I emailed California Soul Food Cookout Staff, left a message and chat email requesting a refund of my money. This was a horrible event and it was very unorganized and not well-planned. What happened to the gates opening at 1:00pm? What happened to the performances starting at 3:00pm? Nothing happened at all. The entertainment was the radio and unidentified performers to satisfy the audience. Other individuals who attended the festival were extremely upset as well. I was very, very disappointed and mislead. There were less vendors as advertised. Food was not prepared and it was 2:00pm and to mention the festival was set to start at 1:00pm. the vendors were informing me and others to pay for your food and come back. WOW, the lines were so long and this was horrible. Lots of people were out on this nice sunny day and to the festival was a mess. There was no one at the festival to inform the audience of what happened or of what was going on. I left the Alameda County Fairground at 6:00pm and at that time not any of the concert singers lined up to sing were present. This was clearly a joke. I took lots of pictures and will forward them on Yelp. It's Monday and no one has contacted me yet. I am going to make sure this festival never takes place again. People paid money to attend this festival and to fall apart as it did on Saturday, Sept. 17 is very disappointing. I will never attend an event of this kind again. I an notifying the City of Pleasanton regrading this mess on Tuesday. I am hoping CA Soul Food Cookout and Festival Inc. refunds me and others our money. Just a damn shame and embarrassing to the Pleasanton community. Owner/CEO Annette Jackson, I am waiting for you to call and apologize for this cookout mess. Be the bigger person and talk to those who attended this unorganized and unplanned event. This business gets zero stars.