We’ve got a lot to look forward to this year in the City of Trees. Bust out the calendar and pencil in these important events happening in Sacramento in 2025.
City of Trees Parade and Mardi Gras Festival
Saturday, Feb. 22 | Downtown + Old Sacramento
Billed as “California’s biggest Mardi Gras parade,” this all-ages celebration will feature live music, a dance party, colorful floats, beads, a pet parade, art, food, and a beverage garden. The route rolls down Capitol Mall and into Old Town. Get tickets.
Sacramento Republic FC Home Opener
Saturday, March 8 | Heart Health Park
Our city’s pro soccer team will kick off its 2025 season with a match against New Mexico United, and tickets are still available. The team will go on to play 16 additional games at home through late October 2025, and more on the road, so you have lots of time to get yourself to the stands.
The A’s 2025 season
Monday, March 31-Tuesday, Sept. 28 | Sutter Health Park
The A’s have temporarily moved to West Sac’s Sutter Health Park while their permanent stadium is being built in Las Vegas over the next few years. While their home opener on Monday, March 31 is sold out, single-game tickets for the rest of the season are now available. The team will play 81 home games at the 14,000-capacity venue in 2025, and interest is already high among fans who have scooped up all of the 2025 season tickets.
The A’s are making Sutter Health Park home for a little while starting in spring 2025.
Photo via Quintin Soloviev + Wikimedia Commons
Sacramento Grilled Cheese Festival
Saturday, April 12 + Sunday, April 13 | Southside Park
At the risk of sounding cheesy, this weekend-long festival of the beloved comfort food promises to bring “camp vibes” in 2025. Expect a beer garden + wine tasting during Saturday’s 21+ event, and live music and activities for the kids during Sunday’s all-ages event. Get your tickets.
Sacramento Beer Week
Friday, April 25-Saturday, May 3 | Multiple locations
This annual event organized by the Sacramento Area Brewers Guild celebrates our region’s breweries, taprooms, and restaurants creating great craft brews. Expect lots of fun events at local breweries, from bingo and karaoke nights to special beer releases.
Sacramento Autorama
Friday, May 2-Sunday, May 4 | Cal Expo
Vroom, vroom. The 74th annual car show will feature hundreds of hot rods, custom vehicles, muscle cars, lowriders, and motorcycles, plus vendors, food, and maybe a celebrity cameo or two. Zoom over and grab tickets.
Concerts in the Park
Fridays, May-June | César Chávez Plaza
This Sac staple rocks. The free, all-ages event showcases local musicians alongside food vendors, artists, and all-around great vibes. Catch the 2025 lineup every Friday at 6 p.m. from May 2 through June 27 — we spy acts like John Wiilde, Discrete, and Winona Fighter.
Ready for this kind of energy to return to my life tbh.
Photo by @cipsacramento
East Sac Garden Tour
Saturday, May 10 + Sunday, May 11 | East Sacramento
This self-guided walking tour — which is a fundraiser for David Lubin Elementary School — showcases beautiful outdoor spaces, and has become a local Mother’s Day tradition. You can nominate a home with a beautiful garden or unique landscaping via email.
Country in the Park
Friday, May 16 + Saturday, May 17 | Cal Expo
The country music fest will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2025 with a star-studded lineup that includes Bailey Zimmerman, Billy Currington, Bryce Leatherwood + Chayce Beckham. Wrangle up your tickets — including “Y’all Access” passes.
Sacramento County Fair
Thursday, May 22-Sunday, May 25 | Cal Expo
The annual event will return with competitions, hands-on family activities, carnival rides, livestock auctions, live entertainment, and lots of food. Grab tickets.
Sacramento Pride
Saturday, June 14 + Sunday, June 15 | Capitol Mall
Our city’s celebration of the LGBTQ+ community, arts, culture, and activism includes the Pride March filled with colorful floats and the Pride Festival featuring vendors, food, and several stages of live entertainment.
California State Fair
Friday, July 11-Sunday, July 27 | Cal Expo
The Ferris wheel. The wild, fried food. The summer concerts. The beloved annual event will return for 17 days of exhibits, live entertainment, competitions, and more.
Banana Festival
Saturday, Aug. 16 + Sunday, August 17 | William Land Park
The Sojourner Truth African Heritage Museum will host this festival dedicated to countries around the world where bananas grow and their cultures, food, and music. The family-friendly fest will feature a kids zone with a game station and banana-themed art projects. The food court will also highlight all things banana — if that sounds a-peel-ing, peep the menu.
Expect performances from local groups at the South Sac Festival.
Photo via South Sac Festival
South Sacramento Festival
Saturday, Aug. 23 | Meadowview Park
Councilmember Mai Vang’s office organizes this event, which aims to bring together South Sac’s communities for a day of dance, music, art, and food. Register for your free tickets, or lend a hand and volunteer.
SacAnime
Friday, Aug. 29-Sunday, Aug. 31
Let your fandom fly at this annual pop culture convention highlighting anime, animation, and video games. Fans can expect exhibitors, panels, workshops, and cosplay aplenty. Peep the programing schedule and buy your tickets.
Chalk It Up
Saturday, Aug. 30-Monday, Sept. 1 | Fremont Park
Let’s paint the (Mid)town. The 35th annual chalk art + music festival will celebrate artists and community — don’t miss the art work being created live during the free event. Expect live performances and local vendors throughout the weekend, too.
California Brewers Festival
Saturday, Sept. 13 | Discovery Park
Sip on beer, wine, cider, kombucha, and sake tastings from top California makers while perusing food vendors, a marketplace, and an adult fun zone with lawn games. Don’t miss the showdown for the coveted California Brewer’s Cup, too.
Country in the Park 2
Saturday, Sept. 13 | Cal Expo
Saddle up for round two of this country music fest — this time, the lineup includes Jordan Davis, Mitchell Tenpenny, Locash, Avery Anna, and Vincent Mason. Wrangle your tickets.
Sacramento, you’re worth celebrating.
Photo via City of Sacramento
916 Day
Various dates | Multiple locations
Inspired by Sac’s area code, the city first acknowledged 916 Day in 2018 and formally adopted it a few years later. Today, the multi-day celebration of our city revolves around park beautification events. Volunteer for these Saturday clean-ups: Sept. 6 at Granite Regional Park; Sept. 13 at Del Paso Regional Park; Sept. 20 at Miller Regional Park.
Terra Madre Americas
Friday, Sept. 26-Sunday, Sept. 28 | In and around SAFE Credit Union Convention Center
In June 2025, our city’s beloved Farm-to-Fork Festival announced it would merge with Terra Madre Americas — a US version of Italy’s Terra Madre Salone del Gusto gastronomy exhibition — set to debut in Sacramento in September 2025. Watch the event teaser from Visit Sacramento.
The three-day event will come to Sac in the odd years to celebrate the Slow Food movement and showcase chefs, vintners, and artisans from across the Americas. Attendees can expect food markets, tastings, educational panels, and chef demos from culinary stars like Alice Waters, Jeremiah Tower, and Sean Sherman. Reminiscent of the Farm-to-Fork Festival, a robust live music lineup will also be a big part of this shindig. The 2025 lineup includes John Wilde, hotplug, Spoon, and The Golden Cadillacs.
By the way, InsideHook named Terra Madre Americas the “most exciting culinary event of 2025.”
Aftershock Festival
Thursday, Oct. 2-Sunday, Oct. 5 | Discovery Park
The largest rock and metal music festival on the West Coast will once again rock Sac. The lineup has not yet been announced, but you can start locking in your tickets now to score the best deals.
Aftershock is sure to be a headbanging good time.
Photo by @warren.b.mcleod
GoldenSky Festival
Paused for 2025 | Discovery Park
This epic, multi-day country music + beer fest has solidified Sac’s festival scene. Last year, it brought ~60,000 people to Discovery Park. In February 2025, GoldenSky announced it was “pressing pause” on its 2025 festival, with plans to return to Sacramento in 2026.
Just one of the many mind-blowing pieces you can see at Imaginarium.
Photo by @captain_inappropriate
California International Marathon
Sunday, Dec. 7 | Folsom Dam to California State Capitol
The longtime course is the No. 1 qualifier for the Boston Marathon and has been helping runners achieve their goals for 40+ years. Lace up those sneakers, start training, and register to participate this year.
Imaginarium
December 2025 | Cal Expo
This holiday attraction features 5 million lights synced to festive music across 20+ attractions, zones, and experiences. You’ll also love the carnival rides, games, and ice skating rink.
