Gravenstein Apple Fair

I drove over from Berkeley with two friends on 8.8.15 and we had an absolutely lovely day trip to this Gravenstein Apple Fair. Everyone was so friendly and pleasant. Food was excellent. There was a long line for one of the food vendors (sorry, I forget the name, it is a local restaurant on Highway 12 I believe) and we waited patiently, getting into conversations with local folks, and finally had delicious buttermilk chicken sandwiches with unusually tasty coleslaw, watermelon lemonade (very tasty and I could taste the watermelon), and fried green tomatoes that were really good, tart and warm with a tasty coating. First time having fried green tomatoes, I had wanted to try them since seeing the movie of that name many years ago. We found seating at the long tables that had been set up with white and red checked tablecloths, and haystacks and boards for benches. We sat under the shade of graceful live oak trees. A gentle breeze wafted through and the weather was perfect. A good selection of vendors with beautiful, high quality crafts at reasonable prices. I bought a very attractive handpainted batik bag perfect for carrying groceries for $ 45, and the vendor threw in free small pouch that can be attached to carry phone, keys etc. The vendor was Mila Design Studio. Milling around, hearing live music, watching very skillful and beautifully attired stilt walkers, watching an apple juggling contest, throwing darts at apples on a dart board (prize was a bag of apples but we didn’t win), having a lovely taste of ice cold Gravenstein apple juice, and eating delicious spicy chocolate ice cream, were other enjoyable activities. We enjoyed chatting with local folks and I found people to be friendlier and more approachable then in the urban area I live in where people are more guarded when interacting with strangers. A bit of a wait to drive in, but overall a great experience. Parking was well organized with lots of helpful volunteers. Well worth the trip from Berkeley and admission charge of $ 15 per person plus $ 5 per vehicle for parking for a very enjoyable afternoon. Bring cash, it’s useful to have as the handy ATM on site charges a fee of $ 4, a friendly stranger told me. Some vendors accept charge cards but food vendor was cash only.

We had a great time at the fair. There was so much fun stuff for kids to do. We had our 4 year old granddaughter who delighted in patting all the animals, climbing the tractors, jumping around in the hay bale maze, making lots of crafts for free, and dancing like a wild woman to the live music. We went for both days and felt like we truly got our money’s worth. I love the education part too, about food, bees, farming, and what not. Maybe I am simple, but this is exactly the kind of fair I love.

America at its best. Bands food beer wine cider and oh yeah the apple pie all in one great park setting

I volunteered this year and had a wonderful time, both while helping out and while exploring after my shift.
The vendors are friendly and offer some nice local products and gifts.
The coordinators are pretty scattered… took a few people to figure out where I was volunteering, then someone just ended up asking if I could help his area so I stayed there.
Food selection is pricey and portions are huge, so some smaller meals would be nice — but this is perfect for a family to share a couple things.
Good fair for families — lots kids would love. Maybe not for young adults looking to drink and flirt like they can at other festivals.
Definitely worth experiencing — next time, volunteer too!

I wish I had read the reviews before! I agree with most of them.
First of all, we got to pay $ 15 dollars to get in and we didn’t get anything for what we were paying for. For a family of 4 that’s already a lot of money. Plus, we paid more $ 5 to park the car in the middle of an open area (not a parking area) where they basically just set up a toll for it.
Inside, there were little tents selling overpriced food and drinks, many of them not even having anything to do with apples. What else? Oh you got to hear some very loud machinery, seat in hay and get dust from head to toes. There were a lot of bugs too and that’s how you get the farm feeling. Not what I was expecting from an apple fair. Hey, we didn’t even got home with a single apple, the bags they were selling didn’t seem to be any better deal than I would get at the store.
So back to the car after paying a lot to enter and too much for a bit of food. The car was dirty, so were we. And home we went to get a good bath to remove all the memories from this ‘fair’. It was not fair. An experience not to repeat on the following years. 41 years doing this? Really? Our bet is all visitors are first time goers!

This was my 1^st visit to this fair. it was okay. the parking was AWFUL! got my car really dirty and dusty and it was very uneven ground.
the fair itself was kind of cute and country like. i really didn’t see many booths that captured my imagination. i didn’t buy anything! the food was overpriced too.
unfortunately, since we were so hungry after getting to the fair, we settled for a sandwich at a tent and missed all of the other food tent choices like Gyros, indian, etc… The apple fritters were great though!
i’m afraid i won’t be back next year.

Disappointed as well. Basically a bunch of people trying to sell stuff not much of a Sonoma County feel to it.

Not sure what I should have expected with a title like Apple Fair, so perhaps my expectations were too high. I found most of the vendor booths to be completely unrelated to apples. I would have liked to learn more about apples and the various apple businesses and commercial production. Take the apple name out of this fair, and the name might be more apropos. Nonetheless, the kids had fun in the playground, the live music was good. Oh, and prepare for significant dust and dirt. Doesn’t seem like an event worth repeating.

I’ll have to admit it, I was a bit disappointed by this fair. But, that doesn’t mean it’s not worth checking out. It’s quite kitschy and cute (the use of hay bales for every other thing makes it al the more kitschy and cute) and has a country feel to it.
But this fair is mainly food, shopping, and music, so it got dull really fast for me. They have some of the healthiest food I’ve ever seen at a fair (considering fair food tends to be pretty unhealthy). You also have the opportunity to support many local businesses and farmers.
The fair in general was too loud. At times, there were more than one band playing at a time. The bands, of course, were very loud. When there was a space away from the bands, there was something else loud going on, like the use of old machinery and engines (which are pretty cool, but bothersome when you want some quiet). The bands were pretty talented, but their songs got annoying after a while.
In general, this is a must see if you like cutesy fairs with a country flavor to them.