Bountiful Farm-Fresh Festivals and Events Will Delight Visitors to Sonoma County’s Biggest City
SANTA ROSA, Calif. (August 17, 2016) – There are more opportunities than ever during August and September for visitors and locals to dig into the agricultural roots of Santa Rosa. In the heart of Sonoma Wine Country, Santa Rosa is a foodie paradise without the pretense – where restaurant guests can literally request a table near the farm. With so many upcoming happenings in around Santa Rosa, the only hard part can be choosing between events that fall on the same day! The good news is, there’s truly something for everyone, from families seeking farm-fresh edutainment to fans of craft beer and cider looking for the coolest new brew.
Here’s a look at what’s coming up:
- A Day on the Farm at Marucci Farm and Winery – August 28 – The Marcucci Family, a 6-generation farming family in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley, invites the public to their farm and vineyard for a one-of-a-kind, intimate experience that explores Sonoma County’s agricultural history. Guests are invited to join the owners for a vineyard gondola tour, a screening of their historical 45-minute documentary titled, “From Grapes to Apples to Grapes” and an al fresco Italian meal prepared by Park Avenue Catering, featuring locally sourced ingredients and their own, limited production wines. Advance ticket purchase is required. http://www.marcuccifarms.com/applestograpes.html
- Bodega Seafood, Art and Wine Festival – August 27-28 – Enjoy a huge, rural pasture a few miles from the stunning west Sonoma County coast, outside a charming village famous for the place where the Hitchcock classic The Birds was filmed. Now in its 22nd year, the festival expects to see more than 10,000 guests visit to enjoy live entertainment, delicious local seafood, a wine and microbrew Tasting featuring 50+ companies and many arts and crafts vendors. http://www.bodegaseafoodfestival.com/
- Ready, Set, Growl Beer Festival – August 28 – Now in its third year, this festival is the largest of it’s kind in California. Staged in conjunction with the Santa Rosa Marathon for not only runners to enjoy, but anyone who loves top rated craft breweries! Ticket includes a 32-ounce custom growler, unlimited tastes of over 30 breweries and free food samples from great Sonoma County vendors, plus at least award-winning one out-of-state brewery will join in the fun. http://visitsantarosa.com/ready-set-growl-beer-festival
- National Heirloom Exposition – September 9-10 – This event has quickly become the world’s largest annual heritage food event. Thousands of people come from around the world to the Expo to celebrate traditional crops, foods, seeds, poultry, and livestock. Featuring the largest display of heirloom produce, many small gardeners and large farmers supply an abundance of fruits and vegetables for exhibiting and tasting. The National Heirloom Exposition is not-for-profit event with all proceeds above expenses being donated to local school and educational garden projects. http://theheirloomexpo.com/
- Kendall Jackson Heirloom Tomato Festival – September 24 – Showcasing more than 150 heritage varieties of tomatoes grown in Kendall-Jackson’s expanded estate culinary gardens. Enjoy a perfect fall day with, exceptional wine and food pairings, dynamic wine and garden seminars, live music, and the ever popular Chef Challenge, featuring some of our favorite celebrity chefs from wine country and beyond. Around the rest of the festival, nearly 30 Bay Area chefs will create tomato-inspired bites, vying for the coveted Critic’s Choice award. This year’s festival benefits the Redwood Empire Food Bank. http://www.kj.com/visit-tomato-festival
- Weekend Along the Farm Trails – Sepember 24-25 – Sonoma County Farm Trails presents a self-guided weekend to explore the region’s vibrant agricultural community. Dozens of Sonoma County farms, artisanal producers, wineries and agriculture-based businesses will host a weekend of self-guided tours, hands-on demonstrations, food tasting and more From hay rides to apple picking to wine tasting to cheese making, visitors will have a first-hand opportunity to experience life on the farm and meet the farmers, vintners and artisans who produce some of Sonoma County’s finest food and agricultural products. http://www.farmtrails.org/events/event/2016-02-29/waft
- Street Fair at The Barlow – Every Thursday through Septemer 29 – This weekly event features live music, artisan vendors and delicious locally-sourced food, plus great deals and special offers from the businesses within Sebastopol’s open air marketplace. http://thebarlow.net/street-fair/
Beyond these special events, there are farmers markets in and around Santa Rosa six days a week. More information can be found here: http://www.visitsantarosa.com/gallery/doc/SoCoFarmersMarkets.pdf
Many Santa Rosa wineries showcase more than wine. B.R. Cohn is renowned not just for its wine; they are also credited with helping to launch the California olive oil renaissance in 1990. Their oils and vinegars can be purchased in the tasting room. http://www.brcohn.com
Matanzas Creek Winery’s estate-grown organic lavender is hand-cut for use in culinary, bath, body and home products sold at the winery. http://www.matanzascreek.com/lavender-market
About Visit Santa Rosa
Located 55 miles north of San Francisco, Santa Rosa, California is the happening hub for all there is to see, do, eat, drink, hike, bike and explore in Sonoma County. Santa Rosa is the biggest city in Sonoma Wine Country, but the vibe is as welcoming as a small town. Central to Sonoma County’s 400+ wineries, Santa Rosa is also just 30 minutes from the stunning coast and even closer to California’s majestic redwood trees. Home to an impressive array of world-class restaurants and breweries, some of the best bicycling routes in the U.S., the Charles M. Schulz Museum, Luther Burbank Center for the Arts – and so much more – Santa Rosa has a little something for everyone.
Visit Santa Rosa is a partnership with the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce, providing assistance to visitors and groups seeking information about lodging, dining and entertainment opportunities in Santa Rosa. It also operates an Official California Welcome Center and helps to bring major events to Santa Rosa, such as the Amgen Tour of California. For more information, call (800) 404-7673 or (707) 577-8674 or visitsantarosa.com.
