It was very fun to get out and see people no masks required…read more They get five stars because of Covid they didn't have a lot of planning time and they did it. There were lots of vendors food music and even a puppet show for the kids. Not quite as big as the normal art and wine festival but nonetheless it was great!

This is my first year of adding the Novato, Art, Wine and Music Festival in my summer festival…read morerotation. Usually I'm a fan of the San Anselmo Art Festival, which was cancelled for 2017. Overall, this isn't a bad little festival. It's free and there is street parking nearby (2 hour limit) that is also free. You could do worse on a nice sunny, not too hot/not too cold Marin County Saturday. The booths were of similar style and quality as many other festivals in the Bay Area during the summer months. There were a few unique vendors and I ended up purchasing a tank top with a manta ray design (I mean EVERYONE needs one of those) and a small giclee print on canvas of a vintage Yosemite travel poster. I didn't partake in the food or wine, but it seemed like the usual street fare. The crowd was having fun and overall it was a nice little community event. I can't say I'd travel too far to attend but if you're in the area, it could be fun to stop by for a little while and see the sites.

Nice yearly holiday event to take the entire family to. I haven't been in a few years, but the last…read moretime I went, it was pretty and very festive. Amazing Christmas decorations inside and outside the ENTIRE house! I recommend at least one visit per holiday season here:-)

We'll miss our yearly tradition at the Rombeiro's Christmas house but am so incredibly grateful to…read morehave had them part of our celebration for so many years. I am saddened to hear of the passing of the patriarchs of the family but grateful to them for all the lives they positively impacted over the years

Attended this early this month and what more can you ask for with wine tasting, beautiful weather…read moreand food tasting? Located in San Rafael, the only bad thing was that parking meters ran whcih time was limited for me. Wines from Napa and they were pretty tasty! Pulle pork that they provided was delish! I shall come to another event when my friend notifies me but this is one I have to come again next year!

Another edition of this great festival in San Rafael. A bit far for me but with sister, went and…read moreenjoyed it. Talked to a lot of photographers, including one film 4x5 view-camera photog, which is a rarity these days! Lots of sculptures too, very colorful and very original. I love to see the paintings and the sculptures, which at one point both clash and blend today to offer visitors the best that a normal gallery can't ever offer! Admission fee charged ($10) but if you get on the mailing list of one of the festival's artists/vendor, you can get a postcard by mail to allow you FREE entry!! Lots of entertainment to keep everyone interested and content, along with food vendors to keep that stomach happy too!! If you're in the market for art for your home, walls or as a gift to a friend, you cannot beat the variety nor the selection in one place!!! HEY: FREE parking!!!! If you take your camera to snap away at the great sights, please remember this: RESPECT other artists' work by asking first if you can snap a pix. First off they will want to know WHY and PURPOSE of the picture. If you do post it, even if it's at MySpace (yuck) or something, at least take a card and list their email or URL of their site. DO NOT snap pixs of paintings/photography on display. Not considered cool at all unless of course you know the artist and it's been approved. NOTE: Pictures displayed with my review were with approval/knowledge of the artists. ;-)

A-OK way to spend a weekend afternoon. While not my favorite of the various local art festivals, I…read morestill think this one is nicely done and worth checking out. Pros: -Held on the grounds of the beautiful Marin County Civic Center (nearby pond with fountain, ducks and geese-great for a picnic lunch) -Free parking -Affordable jewelry and crafts for the home -Well laid out and easy to walk through and see everything you want to see -Nice to speak to the artists about their work Cons: -Honestly $10 admission is a bit steep for the quality of the artists. While there are some unique works and great artists, I've seen many of them at various Art Festivals in the Bay Area that were free to attend-I don't think this event is "juried." If I'm going to pay to get in, I prefer that it were. -Not a great assortment of food and drinks -I've been here twice and this year it seemed a bit "empty"-there was a ton of open space where tents and displays seem like they should have been but instead there was just a void. -Cash only for admission-they should have that on the website-I saw several fair goers who had no idea and had to leave to go get cash Overall, I'd say check it out-it's usually a beautiful day in June in San Rafael, but I think it's trying too hard to be like the Sausalito Art Festival, which just doesn't compare.

All of the Marin stereotypes are either put to rest or reinforced by a visit to Fairfax. It's a…read morelittle bit country, a little bit vegan/organic/gluten-free, both upscale (Village Sake), down-market (Nave's), and Rock&Roll (19 Broadway). For a taste of all that's Fairfax get thyself to the annual Fairfax Fest which runs for 2 weekend days each year. Before a visit it might help to do your reconnaissance. Look online for a music schedule lineup as well as a map of the place. This year I heard a couple say "no, that's all there is" but I knew better. They'd missed the whole part of the festival over by Peri Park as well as that on the baseball field and in the Fairfax Pavillion (the site of the Ecofest). This festival winds through redwood trees, has vendor tables tucked into groves, then sprawls out to unexpected places. It's by no means huge but there's not a logical path through it all which is why you'll benefit from knowing that in advance. The offerings are all over the map in a very Fairfaxian way: Hawaiian music on a stage tucked away in a redwood grove, rock music from a Fairfax mainstay (Danny Click & the Hell Yeahs) on the big, obvious stage, beer of course, BBQ oysters, the ubiquitous grilled corn-on-the-cob, and a farmer's market. I'd be remiss if I failed to mention the vendor booths at which you can get every tie-dye/hippy product you ever imagined (though this year the cat ear headbands seemed to be the best-selling product). Or the Ecofest, an oddly fascinating mix of do-gooder products and services that didn't quite make it to a booth at the county fair. The Fairfax Festival is a great reason to slip off to Fairfax for a few hours (or a day) and experience something that feels like the quintessential Marin experience. It's very home grown and uniquely Fairfax and if you don't know what that means, all the more reason to visit. * Free valet bike parking. * Street parking for all others (good luck). * Free admission * Dogs permitted

I attended the festival today. Absolutely no parking anywhere. Listened to four bands, each…read moremediocre. All vendors were ladies clothing, some jewelry. The ads keptl saying BRING CASH. and No dogs, although there were at least 30 dogs. Maybe the music I saw was coincidentally poor, but these singers weren't Ella. Walked a LONG time to find a bus stop and fortunately one eventually arrived. Bring cash, buy ladies clothing and ecoutrements, and expensive beer and everything else.

I can still almost remember that summer where I went to every county fair within driving distance…read more The entrance fees were cheap, the concerts were great, the rides were fun, and the exhibits were interesting and plentiful. NEWS FLASH: These times are not those times. Gone are the huge exhibit halls full of people hawking fascinating products that you didn't know you needed. (My Ginzu knives served me very well for many years). Gone too is the cheap entrance fee and my desire to wait in long, slow lines for any ride. But free admission (Senior Day) drew me to this year's Marin County Fair and there's a few good things to report. Here goes: * The price of admission here includes almost all of the rides. Admission generally runs $25/apiece so it's not an egregious price should you be someone who wants to go on rides. * If you can't finagle your way in on some sort of day that's free to you, purchase your tickets way in advance. That's when you get the biggest discounts. Get on their mailing list for advance notice of ticket sales. * The concerts are great (and also included in the price of admission). They no longer have seating for all and how you get a seat (other than arriving very early and sitting) and wristband is a mystery to me. Find out, then follow that lead. The Legendary Wailers show was fabulous. * I still enjoy looking at all of the art here, popping in to see the Livestock demonstrations (e.g. sheep shearing; I left with a huge bag of wool for mulching purposes), and eating (this year: corn on the cob, and kettle corn). And then there's the other stuff you should know: * Parking cost $20 this year. I avoided it by being local enough to now where I could park for free. Drive around a bit and you, too, can figure it out. * Nightly fireworks are included in the price of admission but these are what they call "low-level" fireworks. A description has never been so apt. If you've seen a real fireworks show you might not even want to stay for these. I did this time, but in the future? Probably not. Bottom line: I'd come back to the Marin County Fair again, but only on a day when it is again free to me.

I have been going to the Marin County Fair since my child was young and he is now a grown man . We…read morealways loved the gardens and the rides we felt safe we always had a lot of fun and it was always beautiful . However, tonight I just left and I can't even describe how disgusted and disappointed I was. I appreciate security officials and they are much needed in this world we live in now. I don't appreciate being monitored like I'm a shoplifter at Walmart. . My hubby is 66 and I am 60 we are clearly of drinking age and yet because our ID had an expired date we were not allowed to purchase alcohol at the fair . We wanted to look at exhibits but they closed early and the fireworks started without an announcement or anything to indicate they were beginning. It seemed like everything closed so quickly and we missed getting to see the animals or the art or the things that people made or children's creations. Hoping to rescue our night, we traveled over to the only spots open which were the rides and a few of the vendors that were packing up . We were unable to get on a ride because they went one more time and then they closed all of them even though the park was still very full . As we were leaving the amusement ride area to walk back to the parking lot across the lake, a large group of workers and security personnel shining flashlights at us informed us that the bridge was closed and we would have to walk all the way out and around . Unfortunately my husband had just had surgery and could not walk that far to the handicap parking. . We asked if somebody could escort us across and they refused, we asked for help and they seemed uninterested and told us to exit and talk with the parking officials. A group of younger folks that were volunteering tried to help find a a way to get us all the way around the lake to the handicap parking. As we were walking out there was security and people with flashlights ushering us to go faster to " move and dont stop". The grass is not grass it's dirt with holes and it was dark and I felt extremely uncomfortable hoping that my hubby wouldn't fall and screw up his leg again. All in all it was a really disappointing experience. We were there to have fun and enjoy the fair. it felt safe which was great but there was no fun, there was no excitement and even the people that were doing the games and rides seemed completely bored. Between the overwhelming security the dismissive attitudes and the basic rudeness of the people working there, it was just another disappointing change to a once loved tradition.

Came here back in October 2019 and my kid had a great time doing the hay rides during their…read moreHalloween Pilgrim event. Was thinking what to do this year thinking that they might had reopened due to COVID releases, but they are closed and possibly reopening next year if COVID numbers doesn't increase. I just didn't like the drive off road.

Great family fun fall festival! Runs two consecutive weekends in October. If you have a Sonoma…read morecounty park pass, you (and up to four family members I believe) get in for free! There were a number of activities and things to see! They provide a little book to fill with stamps at all the stations you visit. From candle making to a pumpkin seed spitting contest! And take a hay ride out to pick a pumpkin! There were a few food trucks, long lines / wait time for food, definitely recommend packing food!

Being a beer festival veteran, I'm giving the California Beer Festival - Novato, out at Stafford…read moreLake County Park, a nod of approval. Even despite it being on a 100°ish F, hot-as-Hell day. Because there was beer! Lots & lots & lots of beer! + a whole 4 1/2 hours of open tasting to sample as much & many of those beers as you could possibly suck down. It was like a beer drinker's Heaven. Variety was good, with beer vendors from NorCal, SoCal & Oregon. Many of the bigger-name, usual suspects of craft brewing were there like: Sierra Nevada, Bear Republic, Lagunitas, Anchor, Firestone Walker & Stone. But there were plenty of lesser-known brewers there too. Which is actually what I'm seeking out. Because, again, being a beer festival veteran, I especially appreciate the opportunity to discover a great unknown beer or a kind of beer I've never had before. At CBF-Novato, I found 2 beers I previously didn't know about that were very much to my liking: Carneros Brewing Company's IPA & Six Rivers Brewery's Chili Pepper Spicy Ale. Both were unique & nicely executed. Given the dichotomy of the high heat of the day versus all the delicious beer to drink, CBF-Novato ended up not being Heaven nor Hell but something in between. Like all things on this Earth, there were the flaws & imperfections. There was BBQ competition that was billed as free food for the event. But the BBQ participants repeatedly ran out of samples for us all to taste. & what I did taste, honestly, wasn't that great. For our salvation from the heat, free water bottles were given away for a while (see California Beer Festival - Hydration Station), which was great. But charging $10 for parking in a bumpy, grassy field seemed gratuitous. Ultimately, at its very essence, CBF-Novato was a beer festival. Not quite divine, but a really good 1. With lots & lots & lots of beer! California Beer Festival - Novato, I'm a fan. See you again next year. Even if it is on a 100° F or more, hot-as-Hell day.

Sunday Funday; this is one great option…read more "Sunday funday" was a new concept to the offerings at this year's event at Stafford lake. For a $10 fee for parking, and $10 dollars for entry, you gain access to a full day of fun in the sun complete with food vendors, Beer vendors and cover bands galore. Even on a super hot day, the venue offered plenty of shady spots to sit, relax and enjoy. I appreciated the low key atmosphere, saw a lot of families and people just enjoying the music and time together. That being said, if you bring kids, bring something to keep them entertained as I did not see any activities for them to enjoy. Sunday's focus was not on "all the beer you can taste" and more on savoring the experience so it made for a Brew- tiful day.