Explore pedestrian friendly streets buzzing with joy, laughter, and human connection. Enjoy live music, dancing, colorful parades, elaborate art shows, theatrical performances, and food courts filled with delicious locally prepared food and drink for purchase. Plan your next visit around one of these Northern California street fairs in Nevada City, Grass Valley, and Truckee, and you’ll be hooked like the rest of us.
What Makes Them Special
Set in the beautiful, historic hearts of three mountain communities, the downtown streets come to life in a way that you won’t find anywhere else. Town squares become the center stage for massive parties with free entertainment the whole family will love.
Love Our Towns Like Your Own
Remember, just because you’re visiting doesn’t mean you should leave your manners at home. If you treat our little towns with respect and admiration, you’ll always be invited back for more!
Nevada City
Mardi Gras Parade and Street Fair
Learn more about Mardi Gras Parade and Street Fair
Got the winter blues? Grab your beads and festive attire and head to historic Nevada City for the Mardi Gras celebration! Held each February, this spirited annual event features a parade down Broad Street and a kid-friendly Street Fair in historic downtown Nevada City. Spectators crowd the streets to enjoy the floats, marching groups, Burning Man art cars, bright costumes, and to honor noteworthy citizens as the Mardi Gras King and Queen, Grand Duke and Duchess, and Grand Marshal. Plan to have some riotous fun at this light-hearted party with a nod to New Orleans.
Earth Fest
Celebrate Earth Month every April with Nevada City’s Earth Fest featuring live music, interactive booths and demos, kid’s activities, earth-friendly vendors, organic foods, and more.
First Friday Art Walk
Learn more about Friday Art Walks
Nevada City’s thriving arts community comes alive during First Friday Artwalk. Local artisan boutiques, shops, wine tasting rooms and eateries feature local artists at live events throughout the evening. It’s an opportunity for artists to showcase their work and engage with art lovers.
Hot Summer Nights
Learn more about Hot Summer Nights
Hot Summer Nights is a street festival of art and music held three Wednesday evenings in July. An annual tradition in this quaint, scenic – and sometimes quirky – community, for more than 30 years. Kids will love face painting, balloon animals, and bounce house. Enjoy a downtown meal, unwind with live music, watch belly or aerial dancers, and stroll craft booths and downtown shops. It’s the must-attend community party of the summer.
Victorian Christmas
Learn more about Victorian Christmas
Welcome the holiday season in a picturesque Victorian era town that transforms each year into a Christmas globe come to life. Bundle up and step back in time as part of Nevada City’s Victorian Christmas. Walk the city streets beneath the stars and breathe in the aroma of roasted chestnuts filling the air. Lamp-lit streets are filled with carolers singing on corners and purveyors selling their holiday treasures. The event takes place two Wednesday evenings and three Sunday afternoons in December. Add this to your seasonal bucket list.
Grass Valley
Grass Valley Thursday Night Markets
Learn more about Thursday Night Markets & other GV Events
Don’t miss this annual downtown street fair known as Thursday Night Market which begins the last Thursday in May and runs through June with craft and food vendors, a farmers market, and live entertainment.
Locals for Locals
Learn more about Locals for Locals Event
In August, get ready to celebrate like a local with street food, a skate ramp, graffiti park, live music, dunk tank, and wine and beer. Local for Locals invites the young and young at heart to participate in engaging activities, a place to display their creative talents and connect with others in vibrant downtown Grass Valley.
Brew Fest
Say cheers to the last days of summer with this annual Brew Fest in Grass Valley’s Mill Street Plaza each September. The event features craft beer, kombucha, hard cider and mocktails, food vendors, and live music!
Cornish Christmas
Learn more about Cornish Christmas
Kick off the holidays with Grass Valley’s traditional celebration, Cornish Christmas. This beloved annual street fair in the heart of charming downtown offers visitors a chance to step back in time. Stroll pedestrian-friendly Mill and Main Streets and shop for handmade and unique crafts, enjoy food from street vendors, and take in ye olde sights and sounds like carolers and street entertainment. This family event takes place rain or shine and begins the last Friday in November and continues every Friday through the third Friday in December.
Truckee
Truckee Thursdays
Learn more about Truckee Thursdays
You’re invited to the feel-good event of the summer that beckons locals and visitors to enjoy some downtown mountain energy. Truckee Thursdays is held every Thursday in historic downtown Truckee mid-June to mid-August. The event features live music, craft libations, a foodie paradise with local food trucks and vendors, children’s activities, and a wide variety of artisan vendors. Downtown merchants host sidewalk sales and other fun ways to shop at this must-do event of the summer.
Downtown Truckee Wine, Walk & Shop
Learn more about Truckee Wine Walk
In October, get ready to take a delicious tour of food and wine stops during the annual Downtown Truckee Wine, Walk and Shop in historic downtown Truckee. Started in 2004, the event has become a beloved autumn tradition celebrating the town’s unique history, culture, and community. Attendees receive a map and commemorative wine glass to sample wine at more than 25 venues and bite-sized snacks at downtown restaurants.
Downtown Holiday Festival and Bud Fish Tree Lighting Ceremony
Learn more about Downtown Holiday Festival
Celebrate the holidays with this fun community event celebrated for more than 40 years. Hosted by Truckee Downtown Merchants Association and Truckee Rotary, the event features small trees decorated by more than 600 local elementary students at different businesses in historic downtown Truckee. There is always hot cocoa to go around and a visit from Santa. The highlight is the lighting of the Bud Fish Tree in memory of a beloved community member.
Festive Fridays in Downtown Truckee
Learn more about Festive Fridays and other Truckee Events
Get in the holiday spirit in early December with Festive Fridays in Downtown Truckee. Enjoy free parking and festive events like a polar express pajama party, date night, sip and shop, and more! Plus stroll through downtown’s winter wonderland holiday lights and shop at our downtown stores staying up later just for the occasion.
