10 tasty food festivals to attend in June and July
Foodies, mark your calendars for these gustatory jubilees throughout the region in June and July, featuring everything from tacos and craft beer to farm-fresh peaches.
Sacramento Taco Festival
June 3 This fourth annual fiesta will take over Del Paso Boulevard with over 50 taco vendors, such as Azteca Street Tacos, Tina’s Tacos and Masa Guiseria, slinging everything from traditional Mexican street tacos to Indian tacos (a Native American dish that uses a thick dough fried in oil called frybread instead of tortilla). Attendees can also expect Mexican wrestling bouts, a beer and margarita garden, and can participate in competitions like a taco-eating contest and a chihuahua beauty contest. $10. 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Del Paso Blvd. sactacofest.com
Taste of Summer
June 3-4 ’Tis the season for foodie fests, and the yearly Taste of Summer returns with gustatory gusto. On Saturday, downtown’s Cesar Chavez Plaza will host a new event called Sacramento Grand Tasting. A replacement for the previous years’ Grape Escape, this first-time gathering will still feature sips from area wineries, but have a broader focus to also include tipples and nibbles from regional breweries, restaurants and farms. A farm-to-table brunch, replete with mimosas, will be splayed out outside the Hyatt Regency on Sunday morning, courtesy of Dawson’s executive chef Michael Grande. Prices and times vary by event. farmtofork.com
Taste of Yolo
June 10 Come hungry to this first-ever celebration of Yolo County’s bounty, which will feature a smorgasbord of edible wares from more than 60 restaurants, wineries, breweries and food producers, including Full Belly Farm, Capay Organic, Upper Crust Baking Company, Pure Roast Coffee, Bogle Vinyeards, Clarksburg Wine Company and Blue Note Brewing. Meander through a maze of eats and drinks—which are clustered by location, so attendees can see what each community in the county offers—and catch cooking demos by chef Patrick Mulvaney and chef and former Food Network show host Tanya Holland, or get tips on DIY projects like canning and flower arranging. $15-$35. 3-8 p.m. Davis Central Park. 3rd St. and B St. Davis. tasteofyolo.com
Marysville Peach Festival
July 14-15 At this gathering in downtown Marysville, festival-goers will be able to stock up on various peach varietals—including yellow, white, Freestone and Doughnut—from regional orchards and taste a wide array of peach-infused foods ranging from sweet (peach milkshakes, peach cobbler, peach cheesecake, peach ice cream) to savory (peach salsa, peach tamales, and peach barbecue burgers). See who takes the crown at the Miss Peach and Little Miss Peach Blossom contests, or get your game on in competitions like the peach-pie-eating contest and water balloon relay. Free. Fri. 4-10 p.m. Sat. 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Downtown Marysville. 530-749-3954. marysvillepeachfest.com
Shortcake Sunday Strawberry Festival
July 16 You’ll be seeing red at this inaugural bash in Old Town Elk Grove, where strawberries feature large (as they should—California produces nearly 90 percent of the nation’s strawberries). Folks can indulge in foods like strawberry crepes, strawberry pies, strawberry muffins and strawberry popcorn, drink strawberry kombucha and strawberry mimosas, as well as taste the winning entry in the strawberry dessert competition, catch a (hands-free) strawberry-parfait-eating contest, and, of course, take home boxes of the sweet fruit. Free. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Old Town Elk Grove. 9615 Railroad St. Elk Grove. ilovemyfarmersmarket.com
Sacratomato Week and Festival
July 22-30 During this fourth annual restaurant week, Sutter District restaurants like Paragary’s, Ink, Centro and the Red Rabbit will have special menus that highlight the juicy red vegetable—menus of past years have offered everything from bright heirloom tomato salads with burrata cheese to a sundried-tomato-stuffed burger. The festivities will culminate on Saturday with a festival at Sutter’s Fort, which will feature a salsa-making showdown, a Bloody Mary bar, cooking demos and a tomato tasting garden. Free. 4-8 p.m. Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park. 2701 L St. 442-1500. exploremidtown.org
Capay Tomato Festival
July 22 The Barsotti and Barnes families, who own and operate Capay Organic, will open up their 350-acre farm to the public for this 10th annual festival in bucolic Capay Valley, celebrating their summer crop of ripe, colorful tomatoes. Vote for your favorite of the six to 10 varieties of heirloom and cherry tomatoes, sample olive oil and honey, take a ride on the tractor tram and listen to live music from the likes of rootsy country band The Golden Cadillacs. Little ones can harvest cherry tomatoes, visit barnyard animals at a petting zoo and get their faces painted. And if you’re still hungry after those tomato samples, grab a bite from the on-site pizza oven or from food trucks like Tacos 911 and Cali Love. $20 before July 22 ($25 at the door; free for children 12 and under). $35 online campsite reservation ($40 at the door). 3-11 p.m. Capay Organic. 23800 State Highway 16. Capay. farmfreshtoyou.com
Elk Grove Summerfest
July 22 This summer, drink up and chow down for a good cause at Elk Grove Regional Park during a night of beer, wine and good times in honor of two local charities. Your ticket grants you unlimited tastings of over 75 national beers and wines, including selections from Elk Grove’s Tilted Mash Brewing and Flatland Brewing Company. Grab a bite from nearby food trucks, including Slightly Skewed, Drewski’s Hot Rod Kitchen and Chando’s Tacos, join members of the Sacramento Blackhawks for a rugby toss, or lay out on a blanket near the pond under the park’s canopy of trees. The proceeds from the event will be split between nonprofits Runnin’ for Rhett and Chicks in Crisis. $35 ($45 for VIP; $10 for designated drivers). 3-7 p.m. Elk Grove Regional Park. 9950 Elk Grove Florin Rd. Elk Grove. elkgrovesummerfest.com
Courtland Pear Fair
July 30 Drive out to the bucolic Delta town of Courtland, where the Bartlett pear reigns supreme—the town helps California keep its status as the nation’s No.1 producer of the pear varietal—and there is a yearly get-together to commemorate the harvest. The festival will feature a parade with a brass band, a pear-pie-eating contest and bushels of pears from area farms, as well as kid-friendly activities like a duck-calling competition and pony rides. If you miss out on one of the highly sought-after pear pies (they often sell out, so nab one early), don’t worry—there’s plenty of other pear-infused treats to savor (or sip) like pear ice cream, pear fritters, pear cider, pear tarts and pear bread. Free ($10 for parking). 9 a.m.-6 p.m. 180 Primasing Ave. Courtland. 775-2000. pearfair.com
Sactown Wings
July 30 This fourth annual festival will be serving up over 40,000 chicken wings at Southside Park, where you can nosh on the addictive finger food and decide which local restaurant makes the best version as chefs from the likes of Blue Cue, Chicago Fire and Kupros Craft House whip up their favorite recipes (past creations have included wings in flavors like jerk chicken, peanut butter, and Thai chili). Compete in a wing-eating contest or watch the action as you sip craft beer from local breweries, whose pours that day will benefit Habitat for Humanity. Kids can get their faces painted and jump in bounce houses while you listen to live music and watch a performance by BlyueRose Dance Project. $10 in advance ($15 at the door; $45 for VIP; Free for children ages 5 and under). 2-6 p.m. (Opens at 1 p.m. for VIP). Southside Park. 2115 6th St. sactownwings.com
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