The good: This is a long overdue review. I went to the…read morefestival years ago and had a blast. They had live cooking demonstrations, guest appearances, food stands, live music, people dressed up in weird outfits (medieval, Ronald Mcdonald for some reason) and photo opportunities. I enjoyed trying novelty food items like garlic ice cream. It was surprisingly tasty and not too garlicky. The cone is tiny and the portion is tiny as well. Garlic fries are a must. They definitely are overloaded with garlicky-goodness. The bad: It's usually really hot during the summertime when the festival takes place. The interesting: There are lots of other vendors here that sell things like art, decor, and clothes.

Great time today!! Had way to much garlic. Wish it was a little bigger. But I had a great time.read more

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!

I was so excited to go to the Strawberry Festival for the first time but was unfortunately very…read moreunderwhelmed. There's not enough strawberry if that makes sense. There's really only the main street that has food with strawberries in it like the strawberry tacos, strawberry tamales, strawberry pizza, etc. The rest of the streets are just full of assorted vendors and other food trucks. I was expecting stands with strawberry jams, jellies, candy, I mean the possibilities are limitless. I tried the big 3, strawberry tacos, strawberry tamales, and strawberry pizza. The taco line was the longest one at the entire festival and they were mediocre. The tortilla is just colored pink and I could barely taste the strawberry in the salsa and the strawberry bits on top also didnt add any strawberry flavor so it was basically just a sub par street taco. You get 4 per order but really not worth the $20. The strawberry tamale was the star and the only thing I would ever consider going back for. It was piping hot with whipped cream and fresh strawberry on top. There's no filling but it's still packed with strawberry flavor and I went back to get another before leaving. The strawberry pizza was good, fresh made so there may be a bit of a wait. I just wish there was more strawberry pieces and jam on top because it looked pretty much like a slice of cheese pizza with a sprinkle of strawberry. Parking was $10 in the city plaza structure, I recommend going early to get a spot as it was pretty full when we left. Overall I wouldn't go back again but good to experience the one time.

Strawberry Festival comes by annually and definitely brings in the crowd. You can tell everyone was…read morehappily strolling around taking it in. So many amazing foods and drinks to choose from, y first strawberry tamale!! Vendors selling crafts and advertising products! If you've never been, you've gotta go!

This review is for Country Fair Cinnamon Rolls specifically. They really are the best cinnamon…read morerolls ever! Huge, freshly baked, served warm, ooey and gooey, with the perfect amount of frosting (i.e., A LOT of frosting), surprisingly not too sweet, and the Tres Leches cinnamon roll was genius! Drenched with deliciousness. I'm drooling as I write this. The staff is also super friendly! If they're in town, you must go!!

I've been to the OC County Fair, Alameda County Fair, a bunch in the East Coast, and now this one a…read morefew times. I do enjoy the Santa Cruz County Fair, but it has its negatives and positives. Positives: - more local activities and exhibits (you can feel the pride!) - more little shops and carts - camels!!! - more agriculture (specific flower exhibits, specific tree exhibits, etc) - it has some of the same things you'd find at the other fairs, like the miniature pig races, a magic act, a Ferris wheel, some other rides, food vendors like funnel cakes and BBQ. Negatives: - no fireworks (like at Alameda County Fair) - high ticket price ($22/adult, $15 parking) - fewer daily promotions for lower entrance fees - smaller ride area (some fairs have 2 sections: one for older kids, one for younger kids) - smaller fair overall - fewer exhibits and shows (ie, no motocross, no horse racing) - no large concerts Overall it is very fun to attend with friends and loved ones, but it can be pretty expensive, and you don't need to spend all day here since there isn't that much to do compared to other County Fairs. I can't complain though... I always have fun here.

Kudos to the genius or geniuses that thought people would pay a $20 entrance fee to walk by stalls…read moreselling tjotskis and solar panels so they could buy ridiculously overpriced "food"! Upside is that we didn't have to cope with parking problems. Courthouse parking is empty!

If you are expecting anything like the Gilroy Garlic Festival, think again. There hasn't been many…read moreactual mushroom booths. Normally there is only 2: portobello mushroom burger and Gilroy Elks sauteed mushrooms. This year I was shocked to see about 6 booths that had mushrooms. They have live music in 3 areas: amphitheater, parking lot where they have farmers market and parking lot next to that. They have some jump houses for kids, lots of advertising for companies on the main walking area. They also ave arts and crafts and lots of yummy food. Make sure to bring plenty of cash, that's what everyone takes, There is maybe 1 or 2 atms, but good luck with those.....

Unfortunately, 2026 may be the last MH Mushroom Festival I attend…read more The added security was nice but inconsistent. Bag searches were done differently depending on what line you were in. Smoking was prohibited at this event so all cigarettes, cigars, vapes, etc were confiscated upon entry, but there were people who still had their vapes or e-cigs. How do I know? They were vaping in the port-a-potties. The $25 ticket price was steep considering the only thing included with the ticket price was the limited entertainment. Shane Dwight, who usually does some great, upbeat covers and original music, was feeling his country bone with some slower tunes and the dance floor was empty for most of his set. There was a good variety of food but, if not for Fungi Farms, the veg-heads would be out of luck. Lots of carnival-fare with fried foods, ice cream and beverages. Most food and drink was very expensive (I paid $15.63 for 6 small sesame balls and $15 for one large agua frescas). BUT Mansmiths was there and they (rightfully so) had the longest line. Their tri tip sandwiches are legendary but very pricey at $18 for a 4 inch sammie on garlic french bread. As you entered the festival, the row you had to walk down were all the home improvement/bank/club/business affiliates/etc who tried to grab your attention as a potential customer. Since the festival is no longer an open street plan, you're confined to walk down past the "hey, you got a minute to talk" folks and it could feel very uncomfortable for some people. The rest of the vendors were *just okay* at best. Brown Butter Babe and The Coconut Hut were two of the best (in my opinion), and should be at every festival. The awesome Mardi Gras has slumped into a very underwhelming Festival.

This used to be a great venue shop and no kick back and hear the music. But then all of a sudden…read morethey decided to charge a price to get in the venue and now there's food trucks and just not as fun as it used to be to be... to pay to get into this venue is not worth the price and to pay 12.00 a beer is outrageous... think about all the people that use to come to this venue and now prices out...if we go to a are and wine fest I can get the same type of beer for a cheaper price and listen to great music and not have to worry about a cover charge... they lost my business and will find another place to enjoy..i

Doing U-pick is fun: rounded up for the fun factor. The fruit is not organic. In case you want to…read moreeat the U-pick fruit on the spot: Bring a basket with holes in the bottom, and bottled water, so that you can rinse the fruit before eating. The lineup: 5/5: U-pick boysenberries: June 4: Blenheim apricots, June: $3.70/pound. About 70% were ripe. 3: Dutch apple pie. Kind of meh. 3: Strawberry shortcake. Bring your own maple syrup and pour some on top; it needs some sweetness. 2: Cherry pie. Kinda meh. For boysenberries, consider wearing latex gloves to keep your hands from getting stained red.

Every now and then, during strawberry season, we pop into Gizdich Ranch, seeking out a Strawberry…read morePie like one that we got about 8 years ago. While we didn't see it listed on the menu board, when my wife asked the order taker, she knew exactly what we wanted and told her that the wait would be 15 minutes as they made them to order. OMG, it was beautiful! Loaded with fresh strawberries and just enough glaze to bind it, the glaze did not overwhelm the taste of the strawberries. You can't really slice it as created. Instead, you pick off some of the fruit on top until it's down to a manageable height and then we use a large spoon to parse it out. Whipped cream? Ice cream? Both would be excellent accompaniments to be sure, but we used neither.

We were starving and badly needed a pit stop along 152 heading west. We stopped at Merry Cherry's…read moreFruit Stands after reading a few reviews. We bought the sweetest ever organic strawberries. They had a fruit washing station / sink! How cool is that, in the middle of nowhere? We gobbled up the washed strawberries in a couple of minutes, LOL. I usually don't use port-a-potties, but I really needed to go. I was surprised that it didn't smell, they had toilet seat liner, hand soap, and paper towels! Overall a surprisingly pleasant experience. I recommend stopping here for fresh fruits at reasonable prices, and, if you badly need to do number 1, try their port-a-potty... there are limited options on 152 between highway 5 and gilroy.

Worth a stop if driving through the area…read more A nice variety of fruits, vegetables, etc. The pickled garlic in a jar proved tasty. Friendly service as well.