Summer 2011 Sonoma County Events (for June, July, August)

Summer is vacation time and if you're coming to the Northern California wine country maybe you want to plan your trip around a special event.   Many of these are about wine, but there are some other fun events listed, too.

Peggy Sue car cruise in downtown Santa Rosa

June

3-12  Healdsburg Jazz Festival.  Musicians play in wineries and other sites.

4  Beerfest at Wells Fargo Center for the Arts.  Okay, it's not wine but it's close.

4  Single Vineyard Night at Thomas George Estates in Healdsburg.  Hosted by grape growers and winemakers.

4-5  Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival at Infineon Raceway near Sonoma.  Old race cars, food and wine.  Sounds perfect!

11  Peggy Sue Car Cruise in Santa Rosa. If you like old cars you can watch them cruise by in the downtown area.

18-19  Sonoma Hot Air Balloon Classic.  Leaving from Windsor.  Good news: It's a kid-friendly event. Bad news:  It starts at 5 a.m.

22-26  Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma.  A summer fair with the highlights being the Ugly Dog Contest and Destruction Derby.  This year's musical entertainment:  Blue Oyster Cult, Rick Springfield, The Charlie Daniels Band, and Foghat (are all those guys still alive)?

24-26  NASCAR at Infineon Raceway near Sonoma where they have to turn left and right!  Note: The racetrack is about eight miles south of the town of Sonoma.  Traffic is very heavy this weekend and can back up for several miles along Highways 121 and 37 on Sunday.

July

Fourth of July - There are several towns offering fireworks and other events over the weekend including Santa Rosa, Healdsburg and Sonoma.

10  Pinot Family Reunion at the Vintners Inn in Santa Rosa.  A Pinot Noir tasting and dinner at John Ash restaurant.

16-17  Civil War Reenactment Days in Duncan Mills.

27-Aug 14  Sonoma County Fair.  Lots of food, stuff for the kids, and thoroughbred horse racing.

29-31  NHRA drag racing at Infineon Raceway near Sonoma.

August

5-7  West of West Wine Festival in Occidental.  Tastings of Sonoma Coast wines but the highlight is the Whole Hog Feast at the Union Hotel restaurant.

6  Eighth Street Wineries Open House in Sonoma.  Micro-wineries open for tasting.

13-14 Gravenstein Apple Fair in Sebastopol.  Most of the apple orchards have been replaced by vineyards -- that's why you can get a glass of wine with your apple pie.

19-21  Grape to Glass Weekend in the Russian River Valley.  Wine, food, music, art, tours.

20-21  Wings Over Wine Country.  Airshow at the Sonoma County Airport.

26-28  Indy Cars at Infineon Raceway near Sonoma.

27-28  Bodega Seafood, Art, and Wine Festival. Buy arts and crafts, eat, dance, drink some wine and beer.   Bring a jacket.

Thoroughbred racing at the Sonoma County Fair
Image from calfairs.com

Numerous wineries have their own special open house events.  I've listed only the ones of a broader scope.   Some wineries have movies, concerts, pizza parties, etc. in their outdoor picnic areas.  Check with your favorites to see what's going on.