Sacramento Farm-to-Fork Festival

With the nickname 'America’s Farm-to-Fork Capital', it’s only appropriate that Sacramento celebrates the bounty sourced from its 1.4 million acres of surrounding farmland with September’s Farm-to-Fork Festival, a free-admission food event that is like a farmers' market, county fair, music festival and beer festival all rolled into one.

Filling several streets of the city centre’s Capitol Mall and spilling onto side streets, this late-summer foodie festival doesn't focus on a single fruit or vegetable. Instead, it honours the full range of foods grown or produced in California’s heartland, the source of more than 300 individual crops. More than 80,000 people flock to this epic spread each year to sample locally sourced olive oil, cheese, fresh produce and wine. Graze your way through a varied selection of food vans and visit vendors representing many of the Sacramento region’s 40-plus breweries to wash it all down.

Though food and drink are at the heart of the event, those offerings only scratch the surface. Watch cooking demonstrations by area chefs, or discover how to use seasonal ingredients in artisan cocktails. There are interactive agricultural exhibitions from farms and ranches, and a Kids' Zone with family activities. Live musical acts performing country, indie rock and other genres of music take to the stage nearly every hour (all concerts at the festival are free).

The festival is part of the larger two-week Farm-to-Fork Celebration that takes place throughout September and opens with a tractor parade and concludes with a truly amazing gala dinner served atop Sacramento’s iconic Tower Bridge.