Sacramento Harvest Festival

This is my second time attending the Harvest Festival and it's just not worth it. I will say the first time I came, it was $10 to park and $10 to enter but this time it was $10 to park and $5 to enter. Even then it didn't seem worth it. The space wasn't even at capacity for vendors and a majority of the vendors seemed like food items. I've purchased wholesale items before for my small business and a vast majority of the clothing is white labeled and marked up at a huge increase, which I get but don't try and pass it off as homemade. There was a sign for a full bar and maybe 3 food truck vendors as well as a live singer for entertainment. There is also a large sign stating no video or photography of vendor items which is kind of a bummer. Took me about 40 minutes to make my around the entire thing and I ended up purchasing nothing. Side note - the fliers they sent out to their mailing list says you can purchase tickets online for $6.50 but you also have to pay a processing fee BUT buying at the door is a flat $5, makes no sense. And there is no benefits to doing so online because you still wait in the same line as regular at the door ticket purchasers.

I was excited to be able to attend the Sacramento Harvest Festival this year after missing it for the last couple of years. And I guess so did a lot of other people, because it was super busy! Even though we arrived early, there were already multiple long lines of visitors! But I'm glad we came wearing our masks as required, but social distancing is a thing of the past. I was very impressed that they made announcements informing people that masks must be worn over the nose or they will be told to leave! As expected, some vendors that participated in the Sacramento Arts Festival were also present, displaying their crafts at the Harvest Festival.  So it was exciting to see them again and more of their merchandise in a different environment at Cal Expo. However, I was still disappointed that some of our favorite vendors were not present. I had high hopes at making some special purchases from them like I used to in the past. If you have an appreciation for arts and crafts at it's finest, this is a festival that should not be missed!  Local artists from Sacramento and beyond come to these shows to display their wares. You'll pretty much find one of a kind artwork here in a wide range of prices.  Best of all, it happens at the right time of year for ideal Christmas gift ideas!Of course, I always break down and buy something at the show.  Whether it be jewelry, clothing, glass sculpture, or some nick knack that I don't really need but have to have because they're too pretty to pass up. This festival offered so many great decorating ideas for home, garden, workplace or office.  Even if you can't afford to buy anything, it's still worth seeing all the wonderful hand made items and chatting with the friendly artists.  After having an enjoyable experience at the festival, I'm hoping we can return to making this a yearly tradition once again!

Smaller than in years past and no entertainment like years past. I guess that is what happens due to Covid. It is a bit pricey to get in when you are basically paying to shop and many vendors are not selling crafts that they made but things they bought for resale. We came at noon on Saturday and were told it might be up to a 90 minute wait to get in so we returned at the open on Sunday. A few favorite vendors where there and saved us money on shipping so it was almost worth the $10 to park. Lots of people really come prepared and buy a lot.

Parking is $10, then there is an entrance fee. I had VIP tickets thanks to Y. E. S. and Alex our CM. arrived around 2p, parked, short walk to ticket booth located at the Blue Gate. Was informed that the WILL CALL area was a white booth near the Expo building entrance. Waited in line (standing no seats-until you get closer to the entrance) for about 15-20 minutes. I came, saw and conquered. Various vendors, Knick knacks, snacks, etc. The vendors in the food court are a little steep in pricing. Hotdogs were $10, Turkey sandwiches $14, 3 street style tacos $13, bottled water $5. Nonetheless, enjoyed the experience and bought a few stocking stuffers for the holidays.

Hit up the Sacramento Harvest Festival for the second time in the past three years. It's a fun way to get in a festive mood for the holidays.Logistics of getting in weren't so smooth this year, but hey. It's 2021. Nothing's particularly easy these days, right? The signage for which parking lot was the right one for this event (CalExpo is a big place) was just not good and led to confusion for many drivers, not just us. Once we arrived, I admit I was a bit bummed to hear there was an estimated 1-hour wait to get into the event due to limited capacity, but was also grateful they were limiting the amount of people in the indoor venue at one time and for the fair warning about the wait before paying to park (there were definitely folks who bailed upon the news of the wait). We'd driven ~30 minutes to get there so we decided to just go in and do our best to be patient and wait it out. We made the best of the wait by grabbing a bag of freshly made (still warm!) kettle corn and watching the silly Santa on stilts amuse himself slightly more than he did the waiting masses. Turns out it only took us 29 minutes total wait time - and yes, I started my stopwatch! Actually did as soon as we parked. Totally not bad at all, although some people in line were having near meltdowns about this or that. Whatev. Let's enjoy this ~ it's supposed to be fun, right?!And it was! Once we got in, it was indeed fun. Tons of vendors selling all sorts of diverse goodies, from arts and crafts, foodstuffs to clothing and so much more! Live music wafted through the hall as did delightful scents and merry laughter of the patrons.I was quite pleased to see the high percentage of people abiding by the mask requirement while inside ~ we estimate as high as 90%. Thanks to everyone for doing your part for safer, healthier public places!We got a small but excellent haul this year: a beautiful framed print by Owen Klaas at Fiendish Thingies, a whimsical butterfly for our garden from the Flutter Gallery and the cutest little snowman wine bottle topper you've ever seen!Big thanks to Alex and the Yelp Elite Squad for the pair of free tickets to get us in the door! YES membership certainly has its privileges.

I attended this year's Harvest Festival as part of a Yelp Elite event. I was excited to check out the booths in hopes of finding some Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers for the holidays.Pros: The event was very busy and had lots of booths with holiday decor, soaps, bags, ornaments, clothes, jewelry, and freshly-made breads, honey, and sauces. There were food vendors as well as a bar with wine, beer, and canned cocktails. There was also a live band!Cons: We tried to enter at 11:30am and were told the event was at capacity with an hour wait to get inside. We decided to go get lunch and try our luck later. At around 1:45pm, the wait was estimated around 45 minutes, so we figured we'd try our luck. We only ended up waiting about 20 minutes, so it wasn't too bad! I had no idea that they would be limiting the number of people inside, but it could have been worse.

On 11/17/18 my boyfriend and I were fortunate enough to attend this year thanks to Yelp for sponsoring, Alex and Lucas gave away free Elite Perk tickets! I actually received a flyer in the mail about the event before hearing they were giving away free tickets and was planning on purchasing some, so I was excited to go! We even ran into a couple Yelp friends while we were there, which was a nice surprise! The Sacramento Harvest Festival is the largest indoor art and crafts show on the West Coast and it was packed with holiday shoppers, food, a great sounding live band and handmade items and goodies from various vendors! I would definitely recommend attending this awesome Christmas Fair, I purchased some unique and awesome gifts my family and friends loved and sampled some delicious eats from various vendors, we had a great time and I'd definitely go next year! It was a real treat talking to the crafters who handmade their items and vendors who homemade their goodies as well! You could really feel their heart put into everything they make, such passion and they cared to have a conversation with you! One tip, bring your own bag and a huge one at that, I was on a mission to finish my Christmas shopping before December all dressed up in my Christmas getup and I was successful minus my daughter's stocking stuffers! FYI parking cost $10.00 just so your aware!

This was my first year visiting the Sacramento Harvest Festival. I received two free passes thanks to Yelp! Parking was $10. The festival took place within the large Pavilion building (this is the building that houses all the farm animals during the State Fair). At 98,000 square feet this is the largest building on the Cal Expo grounds.There's a wide variety of vendor's offering mostly hand-crafted items including some that offer edibles like seasoned almonds, jerky, chocolates and jams. Prices, overall, were on the high side but I suppose this is due to the hand-crafted nature of the items and the vendor's cost to participate here.There were some truly unique and beautiful items and even a stage with live entertainment. I enjoyed the music performed by the Female trio in the style of the Andrew Sisters. There was also a vendor playing a hammered dulcimer and selling his wonderful original music.Overall, this is a great event for anyone looking to shop for unique hand-crafted items all under one roof. Bring a large bag and anticipate packed crowds!

I was pleasantly surprised at the wide variety of unique items being sold at the 3-day Sacramento Harvest Festival! Thanks so much Alex and Lucas for the complimentary tickets. I never would've known about this event had it not been for Yelp! Held at Cal Expo in the Pavillion near the West Gate, be sure to park closer to its entrance otherwise you'll find yourself walking quite a bit from the Main Gate like we did since we parked outside to avoid the $10 parking lot fee. We didn't arrive until almost 3:30 pm so we didn't encounter large crowds.My kids and I strolled through every aisle. There was beautiful glass-blown jewelry, interesting silk jumper/dresses, house-made dark chocolates, warm Welsh cakes (shaped like hockey pucks), fun vintage-inspired vinyl purses, handmade soaps, CBD lotions and oils, gourmet chocolate-covered apples, soup and dip mixes, Balsamic vinegars, candles, wreaths, children's clothing, leather ware, wooden bowls, ceramics, prints, paintings, fruit cobbler mixes, dog-themed items, wood-carved signs, glass-etchings, jewelry made of silver/gold/rose gold, tie-dyed clothing, children's clothing, houseware, and so much more!There was also a stage for entertainment plus vendors selling kettlecorn, coffee, smoothies, burgers, beers, and pizza. We didn't eat any food but we did go through all of the aisles within 2 hrs and went home with a case of peach and cherry cobbler mixes (8 for $64), dark chocolate bars, and a couple of bars of Grecian soap made with goat's milk (it was weirdly cool so I couldn't resist buying them out of curiosity). Go take a look for yourself on its final day: Nov 18! It's a great event to shop for uncommon Christmas gifts or "just because" gifts.

We got in on free tickets from Yelp. Thanks, Alex and Lucas!!!Cal Expo must rake in millions of dollars a year in parking fees. I think it has been $10 for years. At least it hasn't gone up.We got there at about 11:00 and the place was wall to wall bodies. We started walking the aisles checking out the booths. It was very well organized and the aisles were wide. There were just a lot of people there. It is a very popular event. Some booths were selling handmade items that were pretty cool. People were carrying huge shopping bags full of goods they had purchased and a few even were pulling carts or wagons. Pretty serious shoppers, I guessWhen I checked in I saw the Rachelle and Chuck had checked in also so I looked for them. It was about impossible to pick anyone out in the crowd. I hope they had fun. They ask everyone not to take photos inside and I respected that request.