For the past twelve years of my life I've been going to see the 4th of July fireworks show in…read moreLivingston. The festival still impresses me to this day. The festival started out as a community fireworks show way back in the days of the of Y2K. As a youngling, I "ooh!"-ed, "awe!"-d, and "whoa!"-ed at such a spectacle. I was happy with just the fireworks show. BUT Livingston has gone above and beyond these recent years. They've added food vendors, live music and a carnival area filled with lights and rides. This festival does not disappoint!!! Especially with free admission!!! Nowadays I don't just feel happy with the fireworks show; I feel lucky This festival is a real attraction that anyone who is near the neighborhood should definitely check out and check in.

This used to be called the Tracy Dry Bean Festival. I guess the new name is catchier…read more Never attended the old event as I missed it last year and before that I wasn't in these parts. But it was a good time. Nice small town festival with local vendors and lots of yummy local foods. There were two stages playing music at opposite ends. One in the Great Plate parking lot and the other right up at the corner of Central and 10th. As you can imagine central was closed for that entire stretch of road. The Lockeford Sausage was delicious and the El Toro Tacos from the taco truck did not disappoint. I got to sample wines from windmill ridge and Ramon rios wineries. There were also a couple of beer/microbrew spots as well. There was an activity tent for the kids, a produce area so you can sample and buy fresh local fruits and veggies, and even a chili cook off. Good times for the whole family.

Super fun, small town festival with free samples of dried fruit, nuts, vendors barbecue, and…read moreclassic cars in the cute little town of Hughson. .

Excellent breakfast. Excellent food and service. Great prices. Nice variety at the store. Have…read morereturned several times for fresh fruit.

Worked a booth at the Stanislaus County Fair this past Friday. Fair staff was extremely friendly…read moreand helpful getting us to where we needed to be to set up the booth. We were in a prime location, close to rides, and the food court. We could hear the live music from around the corner. Had a large shade tree and breeze at our location, and in close proximity to the restrooms. The Fair opened at 4pm, but there were people in earlier than 4, maybe 4H or other vendors and their families. Even though it was a warm day it wasnt too bad being at the booth with the breeze. They had alot of food vendors, sale booths and rides. It was a good size Fair and the turn out was great. I enjoyed the vibe and people we interacted with.

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.

I've been going to the Alameda County Fair since I was a kid, and I truly don't think I've missed a…read moreyear. Even during COVID, when they couldn't hold the regular fair, they put on a special fall version instead. Getting to go to the fair in a Halloween costume was honestly such an awesome experience. I hope they do something like that again someday. I definitely have my traditions. Funnel cake is a must (always with strawberries ). Non-negotiables include the Sky Ride, the petting zoo, and the Model Railroad exhibit (ask about their scavenger hunt!). Before I leave, I have to stop at one of the old-fashioned photo booths too. I write the year on the back of every photo strip, so I've ended up with this little collection that's basically a timeline of my life at the fair. One of my favorite things is that it really feels like the community coming together, and the whole place has such a festive vibe. My dad has won a couple of blue ribbons over the years, I have friends who enter competitions, and I genuinely love walking through the exhibits to see what people have grown, baked, photographed, painted, and created. I always end up spending way more time (and money! ) than I planned, so now I just budget for it every year. The concerts have been incredible too. I've seen Bowling for Soup, Smash Mouth, the Village People, Flo Rida, and plenty of others over the years. Between the concerts, the demolition derby, the drone shows, the animals, the rides, and all the new entertainment they bring in every year, I usually end up going more than once before the fair is over. Speaking of food, the best (and most ridiculous) fair food appears every year. This year it was Spam fries. Did I try them? No. Did I absolutely stop to take a picture? Of course I did. Also, one year I somehow came home from the fair with a mattress. We weren't planning on buying one, but I guess that's just another Alameda County Fair memory. After almost 30 years, I still get excited every time I walk through those gates. I have to leave with my traditional photo strip, my feet tired and dusty, and already looking forward to next year.

We went to this fair on July 11th, and it happened to be one of the hottest day ever!! If I…read moreremember well, it was 96 degrees that day! Before my granddaughter went back to Bellevue, we bought tickets online and went to this fair. It was quite a fun experience! We arrived early, and parking was a breeze, well organized . We headed to one most wanted attraction, the Alaska pig racing!! The benches were full, but some very kind people squeezed in to make room for us. It was quite a show, and the host made the crowd participate too!! Then the petting zoo, the games, the food, the snacks.... Expensive, but it was fun. Then the heat got to us and we went home. It would be so awesome if the weather was cooler so we can enjoy everything!!! Guess we need to come back next year.

A lot of nice artists from the Bay Area bought me my first original artwork I reframed it on the…read moreway home at Hobby lobby can't wait to hang it up in my kitchen someday once I move

This festival has been going on for over 30 years! I enjoyed coming every now and then as a kid. My…read morefamily really enjoyed the music, art, and food. San Juan is a small town so it gets pretty packed. Come early since parking is limited. Bring cash since there are a few parking lots you can pay to park if you can't find a neighborhood parking. I could also only find one atm in town. Many of the merchants took cards. There was a lot to do for the kids and adults. There is a alcohol garden and vendors who offer non-alcoholic drinks. The restaurants get really packed. Wear your hat it's usually gets really hot! We will be back next year!

First time here, came here for the pumpkin patch…read more This place is Huge and parking is free To enter you can pay for your tickets online or stand in line and pay Weekend admission is more expensive than weekday admission Hours are 11am-8:30 pm on the weekends The entry to pay includes most of the attractions except for the pony ride, carousel, food and merchandise There are many food vendors to choose from and there is also CIDER HILL a spot were adults can order adult beverages from I paid $32.95 to enter as I went on a Saturday Overall this venue is well organized, and there are many things for everyone of all ages to do an enjoy

Went during the week for my child's elementary school field trip. Paid $23 and change to get in…read more It was my first time. Be me-arrive at main entrance to buy ticket. It is FREEZING. Realize the kids are gonna be at the Silo entrance further down so trek back to car and drive there. Grab my large jacket and thankfully mine and the kid's lunch in a foil cooler shopping bag and my now only half filled (with water) 40 oz Stanley. The trek from my car to the silo entrance to the kids meeting point inside was LONG. It felt like I had come from hot yoga at this point with all the walking and sun now coming out. It was the beginning of some regrets. But glad I grabbed everything because there was no going back to the car at this point with car over a miles away. Heavy jacket stayed tied around my waist for the rest of the day like a bag of heavy rocks. Add to this the shiny foil bag and my nearly empty 40 oz Stanley with no water fountains in sight. Aside from my large load I toted around all day, the activities around this pumpkin patch are very fun and plentiful. The haunted house is very scary and some little kids will cry from it so be warned. The staff were nice. I understand they want us to buy water but that is where I took away the star because no water fountains. I was chaperoning and some kids were thirsty and I said let's keep an eye out for a water fountain. We never found one. Overall though this place is cool like a mini Disneyland for Pumpkin Farms. Was pleasantly surprised!

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.)

I've been seeing so many ads for Enchant on Facebook and we saw the display last year but didn't…read moreget to go. This year I checked it out and told my husband we should go this year. The pictures looked so cool. The prices of admission are pretty expensive but we figured we would just try it. The parking was kind of insane. If you wanted to get a close parking space, you could've paid online for $60 for a VIP kind of stall. Not sure how far the parking was from the exhibit but it was a totally different entrance. There weren't any signs for parking for those non VIP people so all of us went down that one street. There was one guy out there telling us to turn around and go down to the next street to the next lot. Parking in that lot was still $35 which was insane. And you had to pay to a person as soon as you entered. $35 wasn't even that close to the exhibit but it was way better than paying $60 for parking. Along the way there were a lot of vendors selling all kinds of street foods so it made it a quick walk because we were observing and smelling all the yummy treats. Enchant is in the PayPal arena when the Quakes soccer team plays. It was nicely decorated and the whole arena was decorated in a whole wintry theme. They had bars and snack items and they even had a skating rink. My daughter wanted to go skating but I just couldn't. I don't think the enchant ticket covers the expense of the skating. I think it's an extra fee. Soon we reach the exhibit. It's beautiful inside. The lights and colors make it so magical. They hand out these scratch cards. If you want to participate, you have to locate all the winter animals listed on the card. Once you find them, you scratch off that portion of the card. We had fun taking pictures and doing our scavenger hunt for the animals. It was a great time. It was kind of pricey but it was definitely a memorable experience for all of us.

Finally decided to attend Enchant with some friends. For the price, it was mediocre especially when…read moreyou add on parking and any snacks/ ice skating/treats. We've attended some other holiday light events and this was probably the least exciting and most expensive of them all. The parking attendants were not very friendly nor were they directing traffic very well. One told me to keep pulling forward and not block the crosswalk until I was almost touching the car in front of me and then when that car moved one person said keep going and the other said stop. Very disorganized. The maze was a cute idea and finding the different statues was fun. If you complete the maze or scratch off all the boxes you get one piece of chocolate at the end. The lights were ok, they're all white and gold so nothing too exciting. Colored lights with move able statues were better at previous light/lantern events we've been to. It was crowded and if you wanted any pictures you had to wait in line. If you want to buy drinks go to one in the back, the one in front was so slow just to make a hot cider. Ice skating is extra and it's a small rink. The market is cute with different local vendors but paying to go inside to shop is not an ideal place to have a Christmas market. This was definitely a once and done kind of event. Luckily it was close by and I didn't drive far to attend.

The City of Oakley host's the annual "Heart of Oakley Festival". This event includes free admission…read moreand takes place along Main Street in front of City Hall (3231 Main Street) and in Civic Plaza. There will be live entertainment throughout the day including various cultural performances, vendor booths, food booths, an art exhibit and cultural booths. It's a good family event. They have several bouncy houses and arts and crafts for the kids to stay occupied. Try to come early because parking is limited. You can bring your own lawn chairs so you can enjoy the entertainment and hang out. There's lots of local businesses that give away free stuff.