1. Sonoma County Fair
City: Santa Rosa, CA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (707) 545-4200
Address: 1350 Bennett Valley Road
Description: This 10-day event begins the last week in July and features carnival rides, a flower show, horse racing, livestock competitions, lots of live music, and a wide array of food and other vendors. This fair is a long-standing Sonoma County institution, and it is not to be missed. General admission is $7 for adults, and free for children 12 and under; parking fees range from $5 to $8, depending on the lot.
2. Heirloom Tomato Festival
City: Santa Rosa, CA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (800) 769-3649
Address: 5007 Fulton Road
Description: The lowly tomato is elevated to superstar status at this annual festival dedicated to the enjoyment of the juicy fruit that comes in many shapes and colors. In early September, at the height of the tomato harvest in local backyards, as many as 170 varieties can be sampled in some fashion. For five hours, nearly 40 restaurants and purveyors of gourmet food offer tomato-inspired goodies in bite-size portions, along with cooking demonstrations, wine tasting, food and wine seminars, and even an art show. Amateur gardeners can enter their own tomato crop in a “beauty” contest with categories such as Ugliest Tomato. The 2008 festival was the 12th. Tickets are sold in advance only for $40 per person.
3. Sonoma County Harvest Fair
City: Santa Rosa, CA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (707) 545-4203
Address: 1350 Bennett Valley Road
Description: This harvest festival on the first full weekend in October features a world-championship grape stomp, wine tasting, produce exhibits, food, arts, crafts, amateur beer and wine booths, music, and kids’ exhibits. This bustling fair brings in droves of wine lovers from the Bay Area and beyond to taste many limited-production wines that just won gold medals in the Harvest Fair awards. Wine- and food-tasting tickets are extra, but you get a souvenir glass, and you will sip the top award winners in their specific categories—perhaps the only chance you’ll get, because the wines might be difficult to find after the event. General admission is $6, but it’s $2 for seniors on Friday and $2 for kids ages 7 to 12.