10th Annual Sacramento Aloha Festival 2021…read more Aloha kākou! This year the Aloha Fest was held at the Gold Country Fairgrounds in Auburn. I've never attended the location at the Cal Expo but the location in Auburn was a beautiful park-like venue with lots of greenery outside in the open air. It was a nice place to hold the event. The weather was sunny and in the low 80's. Perfect weekend for ending the summer! Folks were out in their lawn chairs just enjoying the day. There was no shortage of entertainment (live native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander), fun workshops, Aloha merchandise, and delicious Polynesian food!!! There were resource vendor booths, educational exhibits, and an arts and crafts Keiki Korner, and lots more. Restrooms were nearby and the grounds was wheelchair accessible. We attended to watch my boss's little keiki participate on stage with the KŪHAI HĀLAU O KANOHEAOKALIKOLAUA'E PĀ 'ŌLAPA KAHIKO dance group led by Kumu Hula, Nohea Macugay. We also participated (attempted) at the Tahitian Workshop with the VAIPUNA NO TE HERE dance group led by Director, Stephanie Manuel. My daughter belongs in the dance group and was part of the workshop. -whew- what a workout. Also, saw my favorite band, Island Sunset Band, on stage. My favorite because "Unko" is a guitar player (married to Yelper, "Aunty" Ronnie B) This was a much needed coming together and made me miss the islands. It's the next best thing in the mainland if you're not in Hawaii... Aloha... A hui hou! Review #2397

It's no longer held at Cal expo. It's held in Auburn during the month of September The new…read morelocation is a lot better than Cal expo

Beautiful Time Celebrating Ancient Cultural Diversity in Sacramento!…read morehttps://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/lantern-street-festival-sacramento?select=wSSUqMiUI0sCyIE8XEcSpw&userid=3mNz5nQFTIBQm0oU5mBR0w SITREP Fremont Park in Downtown Sacramento became the site of the lovely Lantern Festival. https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/lantern-street-festival-sacramento?select=Ay_BfKSvzAy8Nd9X9w4rzw&userid=3mNz5nQFTIBQm0oU5mBR0w THE SETUP Sacramento has a large Chinese community - and has had one nearly since the founding of this city, and definitely since the founding of The Great State of California. The Spring Lantern Festival ("Lantern Festival") is a Chinese festival celebrated historically on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunisolar Chinese calendar. It marks the final day of the traditional Chinese New Year celebrations. Fremont Park was the site for this year's festival and became a hub of activity with Decorated Lanterns, a music concert, a food truck convo, and so much more fun! https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/lantern-street-festival-sacramento?select=ud0mxk_sXgV9GGoSp91EdQ&userid=3mNz5nQFTIBQm0oU5mBR0w LIGHT TOYS! A festival such as this DOES inspire some marked "branch-offs" when it comes to pleasing the sensibilities of children: many lighted toys make their way into the festivals. Many kids brought their light-sabers contributing to the visual array of lights. There are also some creations that I swear are Harry Potter-inspired, such as the "Lighted-Wands" that come with their own lighted globe on the end of the wand. https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/lantern-street-festival-sacramento?select=a2aUOqyuUd10pTam9dVN9w&userid=3mNz5nQFTIBQm0oU5mBR0w ANCIENT HISTORY As early as the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC), the Lantern Festival has been imbued with great significance for children, who go out at night, carrying their paper lanterns, and solving riddles that adults have placed on the lanterns. In those ancient times, lanterns were plain, and often only the nobility could afford the making of large ornate lanterns. These days, lanterns feature many different embellishments with intricate designs, including being in the shape of animals or symbols. THE WEST Because of our significant Chinese communities all over the United States, including here in California, the Lantern Festival is a significant Cultural Celebration. It is noted in many other Western countries as well, especially in cities with a large Chinese community: for example, in London, the Magical Lantern Festival (the largest Lantern Festival outside of China) is held annually. THE LOWDOWN A beautiful celebration giving we Sacramentans to enjoy some more great cultural diversity with our neighbors.

This is my second time attending the Harvest Festival and it's just not worth it. I will say the…read morefirst time I came, it was $10 to park and $10 to enter but this time it was $10 to park and $5 to enter. Even then it didn't seem worth it. The space wasn't even at capacity for vendors and a majority of the vendors seemed like food items. I've purchased wholesale items before for my small business and a vast majority of the clothing is white labeled and marked up at a huge increase, which I get but don't try and pass it off as homemade. There was a sign for a full bar and maybe 3 food truck vendors as well as a live singer for entertainment. There is also a large sign stating no video or photography of vendor items which is kind of a bummer. Took me about 40 minutes to make my around the entire thing and I ended up purchasing nothing. Side note - the fliers they sent out to their mailing list says you can purchase tickets online for $6.50 but you also have to pay a processing fee BUT buying at the door is a flat $5, makes no sense. And there is no benefits to doing so online because you still wait in the same line as regular at the door ticket purchasers.

I was excited to be able to attend the Sacramento Harvest Festival this year after missing it for…read morethe last couple of years. And I guess so did a lot of other people, because it was super busy! Even though we arrived early, there were already multiple long lines of visitors! But I'm glad we came wearing our masks as required, but social distancing is a thing of the past. I was very impressed that they made announcements informing people that masks must be worn over the nose or they will be told to leave! As expected, some vendors that participated in the Sacramento Arts Festival were also present, displaying their crafts at the Harvest Festival.  So it was exciting to see them again and more of their merchandise in a different environment at Cal Expo. However, I was still disappointed that some of our favorite vendors were not present. I had high hopes at making some special purchases from them like I used to in the past. If you have an appreciation for arts and crafts at it's finest, this is a festival that should not be missed!  Local artists from Sacramento and beyond come to these shows to display their wares. You'll pretty much find one of a kind artwork here in a wide range of prices.  Best of all, it happens at the right time of year for ideal Christmas gift ideas! Of course, I always break down and buy something at the show.  Whether it be jewelry, clothing, glass sculpture, or some nick knack that I don't really need but have to have because they're too pretty to pass up. This festival offered so many great decorating ideas for home, garden, workplace or office.  Even if you can't afford to buy anything, it's still worth seeing all the wonderful hand made items and chatting with the friendly artists.   After having an enjoyable experience at the festival, I'm hoping we can return to making this a yearly tradition once again!

Normally, every summer we make our rounds to the different Japanese bazaars in the Bay Area. This…read morewas our first time going to the Sacramento one, and we were surprised at how crowded it was. We got there around 11:15 (it started at 11), and there was already a huge line of people waiting to get in. Parking was difficult -- we had to park in another neighborhood pretty far away. There was definitely a wider selection of food options compared to other bazaars -- karaage, teriyaki, curry, udon, sushi, tempura, Gunther's ice cream, mochi, anpan, and manju. The only downsides were that it was already very hot and extremely crowded, with people shoulder-to-shoulder- most of the food was outside. Sushi and udon were sold indoors. They also had taiko and some other performances throughout the day. Worth going at least once, especially if you've never been to a Japanese bazaar!

We have attended the Buddhist church Japanese food & cultural bazaar so so many many times. This…read moreyear 2025 it was expected to be 100 degrees. Thank goodness the band we came for started playing at 11 AM. Even then it was toasty already that we decided to leave early like before 1 PM. A suggestion is they need misters to combat the heat! We were at another different kind of festival where there were fan misters! My wife loved it! We ran into old friends. This year we didn't bother getting food bc the lines were crazy busy but my wife is on a special diet so she can't eat much of the food anyway. Many people around us bought food & the sizes looked smaller. We were even tempted to buy Gunther's freezes! Now that was super smart to have for sale, very refreshing! The teriyaki beef sammy was huge I heard this year. Inside the church gym they sold sushi & udon. Outside the food was for sale & the lines forked for days. So you must be patient. This year like the last year it was only a 1 day event. I think since Covid it has changed considerably bc before it used to be a 2 days event. I'm sure we will try again if we aren't gone traveling & the weather is cooler! I know fat chance that happens! It's like the live band Eastwind always brings the HEAT!!! There has been an occasional time that it was cool that day. That's very rare though. Maybe next year! Heehee. Watch my wife book a trip! We shall see...

This was the first year I attended the Farm to Fork Street Festival and I'm so sad I missed out on…read moreyears of fun. No worries though, this has become a must attend event for my family. The festival was Friday and Saturday for 2024 and we attended on the Friday. It's free to enter. We arrived on the earlier side, around 5pm and it wasn't too crowded and lines for food were short. We grabbed drink tickets, which were reasonably priced- $8 for beer, $12 for cocktails and I think $10 for wine (we didn't get any wine though). There was music, a silent disco, local vendors, and on Friday there was a private Grand Tasting event that costs extra and was sold out the day of the event. We ended up stopping for drinks with Midtown Spirits, grabbed some adobo bacon jerky with Baboy Boys, a chicken and rice plate with Sweet Mother 101 and a bucket of lumpia and chicharones from Lumpia Bucket. It seemed like prices were a bit more festival prices than everyday prices, but the food was good! We walked around for a while, visited some of the interactive booths/vendors and headed out after a few hours. As we were leaving the crowds were getting larger and the lines were getting longer. They had music going throughout the event, and it was fun to listen to. Next year we plan to come on Saturday and start early in the day again. We would also consider doing the Grand Tasting in the future.

Just ok. Not very many vendors as last year. Very disappointed, no good food to get. Went home…read morehungry. Music is really loud near food court. It's to be expected. Still ok walking around . Love the fruit drinks at Estillo.

After missing a few years of the Sacramento Arts Festival because of the pandemic, Joe K and I were…read moreexcited again to visit this once a year event! It only happens for three days in November. This time I felt like our lives were starting to have a semblance of routine and normalcy. We chose a Saturday to attend. Masks of course, were required and we were even asked to show our Covid-19 vaccine cards. I looked forward to seeing several of my favorite artists, but alas, they were not present this year, except for one. I did splurge on a lovely glass blown sea creature design by Shawn Tsai. But many wonderful artists did participate this year, making it an enjoyable day. We still made a point of visiting the regulars, seeing some new ones, and missing the ones that were not there this year.  But at least we had a full and enjoyable day making special purchases and conversing with some of the friendly people. It's nice to have more culture in our area and this show is one that makes you more aware of the beauty that people can create and inspire! The yearly tradition resumes!

It is time again to dust off the murse and head to the Sacramento Arts Festival for a great day of…read morelooking at art while listening to some mellow music. Hopefully I will find some great Christmas presents for the family at the same time. After a stop for banana nut pancakes and Belgium beer we finally made our way into the convention center while a band played some smooth jazz in the background. The first thing I noticed was that the venders had their noses stuck to their cell phones, i-pads, and Kendalls. No one seemed to be paying attention to their potential customers. Is this what our world has come to? I wanted to yell at them; "put down your phones, the real world is out here". This baffling behavior continued until I finally came across a tie salesman from Berkeley by the name of Mitchel Rubin. You might think there is not much interesting about ties, but that would be because your eyes have not crossed paths with these whimsical artistic masterpieces. Mitchel not only had regular neckties but had pre tied bow ties and bow ties that you had to tie yourself for the bow tie purest and if that was not enough to get you all excited he had whimsical artistic suspender masterpieces as well. This guy was talented! He even had matching sets. Of course my girl friend had to check out all of the handcrafted jewelry and we both enjoyed the various pottery and hand blown goods. Then my girl friend found a comfortable pair of sandal that she could not pass up and I found a couple of hand thrown coffee mugs with frogs and dragonflies to buy my sister for Christmas. We stopped for a couple of frozen mochas (this has become an annual tradition) before continuing on. It was not long before my girl friend came across a ceramic masterpiece she had to get for a family member and I came across a hand blown glass Christmas ornament that looked kind of like a sparkling avocado (I buy my daughter some kind of handcrafted ornament every year). That is when I realized that I had not bought my annual Todd Borg suspense novel yet so we went in search of the Novelist from Tahoe. After purchasing the latest "Owen McKenna Mystery Thriller" and having Todd Borg personally sign it, we had just about conquered the show when my girl friend decided that we needed to get a present for a very special friend of hers so we spent at least another hour looking for the perfect present that would most clearly express our love for this friend. It was truly another successful year at the Sacramento Arts Festival.

it was a wonderful experience to be involved in. Such a great turnout, good food, great crowds of…read morevery enjoyable people! I can not wait to go back again next year!

What a fun annual events for all ages!…read more There is free parking in the nearby lot if you get their early or you can park in the neighborhoods and walk into the park. There is also paid parking ($13) that you have to pre-pay online. Follow the signs for "PRE-PAY" and scan the QR code with the person at the gate. Paying for parking was the way to go, it was a short walk into the event when some of my family members had to park far into the neighborhoods. There are some chicken themed vendors and a few chicken dishes can be found at the food trucks. We witnessed a chicken call contest on stage where the person with the best chicken cluck got a gift card for $25! There seemed to be some chicken themed activities for the kids as well. Country music and hay bales as seats. 2 Beer/Wine gardens to ease you from the heat. I bought a load of jalapeno cheese bread from the cutest bakery vendor. We brought our camp chairs and set up under the shade to hear the music and check out the vendors. Beer tickets were $7 and there was a pretty good variety. Fun time!

This spot offers a delightful experience. We finally returned this year after not coming for a bit…read more You see lots of beautiful lights & original displays. On some streets, tree trunks wrapped in lights line the sidewalks. On other streets, strings cross from above. You can also admire the architecture of the neighborhood. Lots of walkers & cars visit, so be courteous & careful. You won't see too much in the way of over-the-top crazy displays of saturated decor or inflatables, but it's definitely worthwhile to enjoy a magical time here of lots of lights in one area.

December 7, 2025, East Sacramento…read more This was my first visit to the Fab 40s Christmas Lights, and it did not disappoint. We went a little ahead of this year's December 14 start date, but many homes were already beautifully decorated and fully lit. One of the highlights of the evening was a young boy selling excellent hot chocolate to benefit the SPCA--such a sweet and memorable touch. We arrived around 6:00 pm, which turned out to be perfect timing. It was fairly uncrowded when we started, but as the evening went on, the number of people and cars steadily increased. My recommendation would be to go early, park nearby, and walk the neighborhood. It's the best way to take your time, enjoy the lights, and really soak in the festive atmosphere. Overall, it's a lovely way to celebrate the holiday season.

So growing up in the Bay Area in the 80s and 90s, I never knew about the California State Fair in…read moreSacramento. There was no social media,barely any internet, so unless someone you knew went there was no means to ever knowing about it. Not sure how I heard about it but I remember when I was 20, someone mentioned it to me so I came up here on a Saturday and my mind was totally blown. It was so much fun-I've been coming back darn near every year ever since. The State Fair has been located at Cal Expo grounds for as long as I can remember. There are plenty of parking areas available, though on weekends it still can get kind of crazy. Admission is generally around $15 and parking is about the same. Though there are special days when the admission fee and the parking are drastically lower. Also there are many merchants that sell State Fair packs which offer discounts for admission, parking and food. Let's talk about my visits this year. This year, I was drawn to the State Fair for multiple reasons but I'd say the biggest reason was the musical acts. This year I was able to catch Ja Rule and Boys To Men on different nights at the fair. Seeing these musical acts comes with the price of admission, though they do sell seats really close to the stage for an additional cost. Now coming in at a close second as far as the reason I love the fair so much, the food. There is nothing quite like the food at the fair-it's so awesome. Though not cheap and some would call it overpriced-I like to think of it as more unique and is priced as such. My favorites year to year tend to be the cinnamon rolls and the various BBQ offerings. Something I look forward to every year at the fair are the county exhibits and the various vendors selling their wares at the State Fair. I'm always coming home with something I didn't plan on buying. This year the State Fair really expanded their cannabis exhibit as it's taken over major parts of the old water park area. It's a wild scene over in Cannabis-Land. Overall these are some of the reasons I fell in love with the California State Fair when I was 20 years old and why I continue to love it just as much today 30 years later.

I love a good summer fair! I enjoy the California State Fair. It's huge! It has a lot to offer. I'm…read morenot from Sacramento, so my boyfriend and I like to go right when it opens to make our moneys worth and to beat the heat as much as we can. We went to the fair during the last weekend and met up with a couple friends. I did some research beforehand, to see what the best foods were just because I didn't want to waste money and be disappointed on food items. I'm glad I did that because most of the food items I got from the recommendations I saw online, I enjoyed. We got hot dog on a stick (classic), pickle lemonade, chicken kebab, cinnamon roll, lobster fries... now I'm going to say hot dog on a stick was the best. Maybe I'm biased, lol. But, I do have to say, I didn't eat anything that made me say I would love to get it again next year. I knocked down one star because it is expensive. Be prepared to spend lots of money! Admission price is I believe $15 per person? I can't remember. Parking was $15. Each food/drink item ranges from maybe $10-$30. If you want to ride any rides and play any games, that is additional money as well. There are also vendors inside selling stuff. So, just make sure you come prepared to spend a lot but I feel like that is expected when you go to the fair. However, my friends and I made the most of it! So, we had a great time. There are lots of indoor exhibits as well that has AC, so you can take a break from the extreme heat. If you haven't checked out the state fair, I would recommend to check it out at least once. If it isn't for you, then at least you tried!

This Elk Grove Giant Pumpkin festival two day weekend event has been occurring since 1994 but when…read moreCovid happened in 2020 it happened online. It was only recently we attended if we weren't away traveling as my wife loves a huge festival that entails lots of walking, live music, shopping & food. It's an ideal place at autumn time with giant pumpkin weigh-ins. This year 2025 the top pumpkin weighed 2,147 pounds! Brian Werner from Gridley California won. This year they also had a scarecrow contest, pumpkin recipe contest, lil pumpkin cupcake & youth art contests. There were also multiple stages of entertainment & the pumpkin regatta happened on Sunday. We didn't arrive here until after an hour of opening yet they had plenty of parking at 20 dollars a pop. We did spend several hours here so it was worth our time. Also they do have kids rides & activities for them! That tractor tram ride for kids only looked so fun! It is really a family friendly event! This year we bought their Mediterranean food: chicken gyro & lamb salad. Service was good. My chicken gyro however was meh. Yet my wife loved her tasty spicy lamb salad as she ate the entire entree bc she was hangry! That value on that salad was worth it to her! My wife even purchased her favorite chocolate dipping' dots bc people kept walking past us eating them! We also observed some people dressed in costumes & lots of furry friends on leashes. An ideal place for people watching too! The weather was the most perfect right after a stormy week! Not hot as the temperature was nice & cool! Last Saturday it was odd though as the internet was down so they encouraged to bring cash! Cash is King! Now if you missed this year's festival make it a point to attend next year. It usually occurs the first weekend in October. You will be highly entertained. Seriously. My wife thought her pictures she captured were exceptionally pretty bc of the beautiful pumpkin orangey colors especially against the greenery background, bright sun & blue pond. It does make you appreciate our lovely sunny California weather. We are truly blessed.

Being a local Elk Grovenian and living here for 20+ years, I have never been to the ever popular…read moreand famous GPF. Why? I don't know but perhaps I was influenced by someone years back telling me it's not worth coming because there's hardly anything. Boy were they wrong!! I enjoyed every minute of the GPF. Sure it's mostly for kids but I as an adult, with no kids, I still had fun going. There are plenty of food vendors, coffee vendor and a variety of desserts (ice cream, kettle corn, shaved ice). The cooling desserts are much needed on a hot day in October like it was this past weekend. Don't forget to bring a water bottle, hat & sunglasses since you'll be at the park for a couple hours. The vendors are all spread out in Elk Grove Park so there's an ample amount of walking to experience all that there was to offer at the GPF. My friend and I got there close to opening on Sunday morning which is the last day. We did hit a bit of traffic, however, traffic was moving and we weren't stuck on the street for more than 5 minutes. If you go early, you'll find good paved parking. If you go later, you'll be parking in the unpaved areas. Parking was $10 and it is all day or you can chance it and park in the neighborhoods. I was most excited to see the pumpkin regatta but we didn't get to see it because I think they started rowing the pumpkin boats slightly before 12 pm (12 pm was scheduled time). I did see them carving the pumpkins when we arrived at 10 am. There's plenty of photo ops for little kids and adults in the pumpkin village and there was also a scarecrow contest. Many of the vendors give out useable freebies which can be used during the festival or later on. There were also other small businesses that had their own booths such as arts & crafts, trinkets, hand made soaps & bath bombs etc. Plenty of things to do for the whole family of all ages. Just a note, there are 2 different events for Saturday and Sunday. The pumpkin weigh-in occurs on Saturday along with some other fruits & veggies weigh-ins. Sunday is the pumpkin regatta and the big splash after the regatta. There are also different events at the main stage and smaller stages too. Next year, I'm coming on Saturday to watch the pumpkin weigh-in. The winners for the pumpkin weigh-in were present on Sunday with their awards, and there was a final standing for all participants.