I try to catch this fair every year. Of course who doesn't love the food. I actually got a chance…read moreto get my frog legs this time. Don't judge. Taste Like chicken lol. The fair has so much going on to keep you busy. Loved the monster trucks and motor sports. With so much more to keep you busy. Now for some reason. For parking and to take the exit to the park. We were in line for 90 minutes. Now this was the Friday before the fourth 2026 but That still was ridiculous. If I hadn't pre-purchased our tickets. I would have say no way. If you can avoid the holiday time. I highly recommend. Being a tourist. I really didn't have a choice. Nevertheless the fair was so much fun!! Can't wait to return next year!! 2027

The theme this year is storytelling; 'Once Upon A Fair'. They have a building dedicated to popular…read morestories and authors from around the world. The annual theme's started in 1980. During the fair's 100th celebration. The very first fair was in 1880. Designed to bring local farmers together and share ideas. A few of my favorite things this year: Flower show, craft artwork, quilts, plant shop and garden show. This year I picked three small plants to take home from Green Acres Nursery, Inc. Desert rose, thyme and jacaranda tree. Each plant I've purchased from Vivian over the years has flourished. So I always know whatever I pick will be a good choice. I look forward to next year!

We had a great time here at Del Mar Fairgrounds Right before…read morethe forth, What great summer night We all enjoy seeing the live stock The Scottish Highlands cows but they must weight a full size 1Ton. The calf's were so cute thou And the fun goats too Just walking around the flower gardens and saw all amazing colorful flowers and wine ribbons of our great winery's in San Diego which now Ramona has shows up with more winery's And to the food area We had some great Tacos al pastor that was so tender and with all of flavor plus the salsa it was a hit and cold beer too. And Ice cream was a must too And before we leave kettle corn to go Our daughter want Mimi cinnamon rolls to go I think I walked over 20, 000 steps that day it was fun day

Taco loco the fair coupon, so lame Not worth it…read moreGot three tacos barely any meat and tried the onions and jt was just more spice than flavor and people kept getting in front of the line and handing recit so they get their stuff before you. Wanted see monster trucks not enough advetised so missed their last showing Not really about fair but people. People cant multi task or task. Stopp right in middle of walking to look at their baby and stand near their stroller. Sad i couldnt find rabbits but i loved the live animals. Chickens and cows goats Had some bundle thing 40tickets Most rides cost 8 or so tickets Rode two rides with one other person and two by myself. Thats with a one doller purchase of an extra ticket, large ferris wheel had stupid long line and the high school with a T i think, not horse park or smth, had a 45 min wait around wvening to get to fair and to go home around 10pm. Watchout july4. Funnal cake bavanara or smth with the berries and custard was ok, custard taste like vanilla. The coupon book not worth it and foody friday didnt make stuff cheaper:/ Like 20$ a meal. 8$ candy half a pound bucket aint worth it either get that candy at 1$ tree or wherever. Jeff the old man, from new york or smth he a bus driver and he is amazing he is a great entertainer and driver

I always liked f Fiesta del Sol event when I lived in SD…read moreyears back and since I moved back 4 years ago I have been attending regularly. Always so alive, so many people of all ages enjoying this free 2 day event filled with concerts, shows, food, drinks, new thinks to try out and beautiful people. Oh, and the sunset at Fletcher Cove. I love Solana Beach and this festival, thanks to the organizers to have a civilized party town for a couple days.

A significant cut above the typical street fair, and my spidey sense (or really just common sense)…read moretells me that Belly Up's involvement is the reason why. The lineup was primarily a bunch of fun party bands playing popular music that everyone knows and (mostly) loves, especially the older crowd, which seemed to be a sizable chunk of the attendees. The location, sandwiched right between the 101 and Fletcher Cove beach is prime. The selection of vendors, food, and drink is vast. And the freebies were an especially nice touch -- in my first half hour there, I had already collected free tickets to shows at the Music Box and Belly Up and to the races at Del Mar. Not too shabby! Yes, the food is expensive and parking seemed to be insanely difficult. (One woman's friend was a last minute no-show after she couldn't find parking. Pro tip: The 101 bus drops you off right at the festival's doorstep, so take that or the virtually just as convenient Coaster.) But since the festival and all of the live music that comes with it are free, the other costs and hassles are still a pretty damn good trade off. I look forward to next year's edition.

+5 stars: You guy redeemed yourself and then some! This…read moreyears event was held at the brand spanking new, "The Sound" concert/events venue. What a delight! More than ample seating for this event and table/ bar top for every chair! Gone are the days of trying to balance your food/ drink on your knees in some crowded rodeo seating. With VIP tickets, my wife and I had access to gourmet food/ snacks,early access to the venue,exclusive offerings from the brewers, and a few cocktails to boot! Very much worth the premium. The venue was much cooler/comfortable than the rodeo area where the fest had previously been staged. A Jimmy Buffet cover band ( sorry folks I didn't catch your name :( ) provided just the right amount of laid back "margaritaville" vibe. If you couldn't have the real Jimmy Buffet, these folks fill the void nicely! When the general beer fest began, it was very easy to walk down the stairs from the VIP lounge to the general fest area. With the ample amounts/variety of food available, we were able to have both lunch and an early after beer fest dinner in the VIP area! This years offering seemed just a little bigger than last years, but the addition of a few distilleries and new venue made for a substantially better time overall. AWESOME!!! The organizers of this fest have raised the bar and set a new standard for beer fests! -1 star Despite the awesome venue and AC amenities, it missed the mark in just a few areas. Signage for the breweries was nice, but unlike previous years, there was no mention of what was being offered at said table. That is, one had to stand in line to get close enough to see if you were even interested in that particular brewers offerings. This made for a lot of wasted time as not everyone was familiar with every brewery and their respective offerings. In addition to having to stand in line only to discover there was nothing my wife cared for( she's not really into IPAs the prevalent offering it seems) but, unlike previous years, there was little representation from the breweries themselves. It seems most everyone behind the tables were volunteers who has little knowledge of what they were serving. I asked what they had to sample and they had to look at the can to see what it was. I asked for the pale ale and had to tell them " the red can" because they seemed to have no clue about what they were pouring. I appreciate someone sacrificing their time to serve beer to a bunch of strangers. I really do. I just miss being able to converse with someone who knows a little about the product and what other beers they have available or coming soon. For these reasons I would subtract a star. Fix these minor issues and it's 5 stars all day long. Overall, a " don't miss this next year" kind of an event. Well done!

This is the biggest beer fest in San Diego and happens every summer. This is my 4th time here and…read moreI can honestly say that there are better beer fests out there. It's definitely pricier than other beer fests but it does include admission to the fair ($65 general admissions) and comes with 1 oz pours. My friends usually get VIP ($110) which includes a 6oz glass tasting glass and access to free food. I don't think the food is worth it and even with the bigger pours, you can only drink so much in 4 hours anyways. There's tons of breweries that make it out but they're more so normal beers from these breweries, so don't expect any special beers. There's tons of vendors also selling food and merchandise. My biggest gripe about this beer festival is that there are mostly volunteers pouring beers and you don't really get to talk beer with the brewmasters or people from the brewery. Overall, I'd still go to hang out with friends, but it's definitely overpriced if you don't plan on going into the fair at all.

I arrived about an hour before opening because I knew parking and traffic would be crazy. There was…read morealready a line forming but I was still able to find parking easily and got in right at opening. There were lots of food and drink options to choose from. My friends and I shared most of the items so we could try as much as possible. Almost everything was very expensive, especially on top of paying for admission and parking. I was disappointed with the egg salad sandwich, but I enjoyed everything else we tried, including the lumpia, ube mochi, mango sticky rice, tanghulu, and watermelon slushie. It was a fun experience with friends and a good way to try a variety of foods and desserts.

Fun day out with all kinds of food. More Asian food than anything else…read more Food is expensive and there's no place to get a soda. Lots of different booths with almost the same foods. The weather wasn't too hot so it was tolerable to walk around and enjoy looking. It was very crowded. It's just a once a year thing. I'll probably be back next year.

I've been coming to this event every year since it started and it's my favorite event of the year…read more This year I went both days and had another wonderful time. The food, the vendors, the weather, the location, the libations, and the people who put it all together really make it special. Every year I have a favorite thing that I ate. The first year I had VIP so I won't count the fantastic things I ate in there, but outside it was probably Tanner's and all the Brandt beef. The second year was either an enoki mushroom taco or hamachi crudo. This year it was Matsu's yellowtail flown in from Japan the night before. I look forward to this event every year and every year has been a bit different but I never leave disappointed. Looking forward to 2026

The third annual Del Mar Wine + Food Festival was held last month at the Surf Sports Park on Via De…read moreLa Valle. The venue was the soccer practice fields of the local women's professional club, the San Diego Wave. Having also attended the previous versions, this year's Grand Tasting weekend was even larger with over 300 vendors and close to 10,000 attendees over the two days. I have volunteered each time to help with different aspects of the festival including some of the ancillary events earlier in the week. One of the benefits of setting up on these grounds was that there was plenty of open space. The walk to reach some of the displays was quite far, and I felt bad at how isolated those vendors were. The VIP tent was placed in the back unlike the inaugural year when it was closer to the main entrance. Another aspect that I appreciated was the nearby on-site parking. The charge was $20 per vehicle, but the proximity was worth the price. They may want to improve the dirt road leading to the lot as it was filled with potholes. An area of needed enhancement was a closer drop-off/pick-up zone for attendees using a ride share service. I witnessed many people being dropped off where the toll booths were located. That meant a walk of over half a mile to reach the festival entrance which was not a good situation for those who were nattily dressed for the occasion. Perhaps a dedicated section located near the vendor entrance on the west end of the fields would be a solution. Upon checking in, we each received a bracelet that permitted in-and-out privileges and a complimentary wine glass commemorating the event. There were several spots that had sofas, chairs, stools, high top tables, etc where you could relax and enjoy the food and beverages. I still think more seating and shade were needed given the amount of unused space that was available. A kiosk near the entrance displayed a map of the grounds with all of the participating vendors listed. The different zones were also shown on the map. What was missing was the identification of which vendors were in each zone. That linkage would have been useful to guide attendees of where to find their favorite businesses. More such kiosks would have been beneficial too. My observation was that the Saturday spread was better than the one on Sunday. The diversity of offerings was also not as impressive this time. For example, we noticed that there were minimal dessert samples offered. Other than Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, where were the sweet treats like cookies, donuts, and pastries? I was also looking for a greater variety of seafood items. I didn't find any vendors using lobster or scallop and yet, caviar was used by a couple of places. The Brandt Beef zone was popular as different meat cuts provided by the purveyor were utilized to showcase the creations of the restaurants. The weather cooperated nicely on each day. A strong breeze kicked up occasionally which made objects (e.g. business cards and pamphlets) that were not secured a risk of becoming a flying hazard at the booths. Several more health and wellness vendors participated including one where you could receive a complimentary stretching session. A live demonstration stage was also added where you could watch chefs show off their skills like carving up a bluefin tuna. Overall, the DMWFF was a nice outdoor exhibition of the local culinary scene that will continue to grow and improve.

Parking sucks, long lines to get in, whole place smells like trash and urine. What's new? Typical…read moremusic festival. Came here for 1 day during the most recent one and it was decent. The admission price was average for a music festival. There are several stages playing different genres of music to cater to everyone. Headliner was decent this year. I thought the sound quality at some of the stages were horrible. The hot air balloon ride was cool. The one wheelie area to try out the newest cool toy was cool. Overall it was a decent experience.

I waited until after the final day of Kaaboo to give my review as the first day like any soft…read moreopening has some kinks to be worked out. It's the same for a music/food/comedy festival. My review comes from the position as a hang 10 which is the level just below the Ultimate Hang. I had a wonderful time this year and after they got the first day kinks worked out it was great. I was able to get my meet and greets worked in, saw several sets, and had a lot of fun. Hang 10 has their own pit up front plus an on stage platform. This year only one stage had platform viewing. Last year both stages had the platform. We have the opportunity to meet the artists and possibly see them in the Artists lounge. We have up front seating for the Humor me stage set and the side of the Palate n play stage (chefs demos and some music groups). I saw Richard Blias there. We have golf carts with drivers that take us between the stages and valet parking. We have lunch and dinner service and drinks. I cant think of a better staycation than Kaaboo!

I spent a good portion of my Sunday at this festival. The festival ran from 9 in the morning to 4…read morePM. The festival had had hundreds of vendors, not including all the business that were open along Coast Boulevard. The festival had two stages for live music and other forms of entertainment. I was surprised when I saw carnival rides for those who may dare. I have to say, I really enjoyed myself. The locals were very friendly and high spirits. All the vendor were very cool, except for a few pushy ones trying to promote their products. I say many people buying clothes, sweets, and some jewelery. I focused on the food vendors. I check out the Tri-Tip being grilled. (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/g41a-jLeOEGZISSnXQQCXg?select=E7wRcYyi36hlj2YHXvfSqQ#E7wRcYyi36hlj2YHXvfSqQ) I tried a very good hot dog with bacon and spicy ketchup and Bitchin Burgers (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/g41a-jLeOEGZISSnXQQCXg?select=E7wRcYyi36hlj2YHXvfSqQ#Pr8AXRXUMr2v3xhZZVxvLA), and finally grabbed some kettle corn and lemonade. I had a good time, but I have to say, for such a large Fall Festival, I was surprise there was not as many food vendor. Other than that, good times.