California Festivals

I love to attend California Festivals to get new art ideas, see my friends and enjoy the food. Here is a list I have compiled with the festivals my friends and I have gone to through the years.
The rating if on a scale of 1 through 5 where 1 is "Outstanding - and mark your calendar for next year"  and 5 is "We weren't impressed - yet".

Event:                 Courtland Pear Festival
Rating:              1
Date:                Last Sunday in July
Location:        Courtland, California outside of Sacramento
Fee:                    No Entrance Fee
Parking:         Parking Fees may apply
 Food:                 Good food, good variety - I highly recommend the breakfast and pear pie.
Children:        Carnival, face painting, crafts, rides, shows and more.
Adults:            Crafts and Artist, plants or book sales
The Courtland Pear Festival is wonderful. I recommend coming as early as possible, let's say 8:00 AM to get a good parking spot and enjoy the "All You Can Eat"  pancake breakfast with pear sausage, coffee and orange juice with a pear on the side. If you are not sure where it is located, ask anyone!
The crafts' fair and booths are wonderful. A good time to do your Christmas shopping early.
It  is kept very clean and  is a family oriented event. Bring plenty of sunscreen and water and a light jacket.
The booths are set up on grass and dirt so you might want to wear shoes instead of sandals.
You can enjoy the day for less than 20 dollars per person. There is no entrance fee but you could pay for parking depending on where you park
Remember, if you come early, you will beat the crowds and the heat.
  What can I say? It is a festival for crawdads. . There is plenty of drinking and eating going on. The food is always good and there are a lot of crafts and vendors.  There is also carnival rides for children of all ages. Great entertainment such as the parade and the crawdad races.
There are a lot of motorcylces on the streets and leather jackets.
You are primarily on asphalt so it does get hot. Bring a light jacket because it is next to the Sacramento River,  a hat and plenty of sunscreen.
You can enjoy the day for under 30 dollars per person. Come before 9:00 to get parking and before the crowds.

Event:                 Dixon Lamb Festival
Rating:              5
Day:                I don't remember
Location:        Dixon, California - outside of Davis
Fee:                    Entrance Fee
Parking:         Parking Fees
 Food:                 I don't remember
Children:        Petting zoo

It was hot and I was not impressed with the event. It was over priced and under developed. There was a sheep dog demonstration that was good. I have not returned.

Event:                 Prune Festival
Rating:              1
Date:                  September 9th and 10th, 2001
Location:        Sutter County Fairgrounds  - I think
Fee:                     Entrance Fee
Parking:         Parking Fees may apply
 Food:                 Good food, good variety
Children:        Carnival, face painting, crafts, rides, shows and more.

Yes - Prune Festival - You will be able to enjoy the company of the octogenarians and it is fun. There are wonderful artist, entertainment, crafts and more. I highly recommend this just for sake of saying you ate a frozen prune on a stick.
Bring light jacket and enjoy.
There is an entrance fee but it worth it. You can enjoy the day for under 20 dollars per person. Wonderful crowd!

Event:                Oakdale Chocolate Festival
Rating:             2
Date:                Start looking in May
Location:        Oakdale, California
Fee:                     Entrance Fee
Parking:         Parking Fees may apply but there is also parking on the streets
 Food:                 Everything you can possibly dip into chocolate
Children:        Carnival, face painting, crafts, rides, shows and more. Also a tour of the Hershey's' Chocolate Festival.
Adults:            Chocolate - what else do you need
There is so much to see you might want to stay over in Oakdale for another day just to do it all. It is also near Yosemite.
You are on grass, dirt and asphalt. Bring a light jacket and sunscreen.
You can enjoy the day for about 30 to 40 dollars if you are real chocolate lover. Good place to pick up Christmas presents for people like me who shop early.