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‘Keep it affordable’: Lodi Grape Festival returns Thursday for 84th year

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‘Keep it affordable’: Lodi Grape Festival returns Thursday for 84th year

The Lodi Grape Festival has been a local staple in the San Joaquin County community for more than eight decades and this year is no exception.

The festival returns to the Lodi Grape Festival Grounds from Thursday, Sept. 12 through Sunday, Sept. 15.

“The main purpose … is to promote agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley, predominantly grapes,” Mark Armstrong, CEO of the Lodi Grape Festival, told The Stockton Record Monday. “It was originally a celebration of the end of the harvest. Our goal is to always promote agriculture, promote grapes and wine and the things that are related to it.”

Armstrong said this years celebration marks the 84th year of the festival.

The festival did not happen in 2020 during COVID-19 but was back in 2021. There were also earlier years that were missed, he said.

What’s new at the Lodi Grape Festival?

Armstrong said this year there will be “some layout changes.”

“We really are focusing on agriculture, so in the pavilion we have a complete area that’s based on hydroponic gardening,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong said technology and security have been one of the biggest changes in the festival since its inception.

“We have better techniques for getting in the gate,” Armstrong said. “We have all the modern metal detectors. That’s all new.”

Armstrong said the facility has received roughly $1.5 million in facility upgrades such as paving, painting, and new roofs over the last five years.

“When they come out, they’ll see that the fairgrounds is clean, it’s a safe place, we have a lot of security,” he said. “We have plenty of places to sit. If you haven’t come in a while, you should come out and see how it’s changed. It’s a really family friendly event.”

Carnival rides, vendors: Lodi festival rolls out new entertainment

There will be carnival rides at the festival such as 1001 Nights, Alien Invasion, Ring of Fire, and more. Rides have been provided by Butler Amusements for more than 30 years, the website states.

“Butler Amusements has our carnival, which is one of the best carnivals in California,” Armstrong said.

Unlimited carnival wristbands will be available. Prices vary. The carnival pre-sale ticket is $30.

Aside from carnival fun there will be a petting zoo, a reptile exhibit, tractor town, competitive exhibits, and commercial vendors, the festivals website states.

At the festival people can also expect “great murals” put on by nonprofits. There will be six murals this year, Armstrong said.

“They make huge pictures using grapes, and they compete for prizes. We also have areas of where schools do commodity murals where they use commodity grown in San Joaquin County,” Armstrong said. “People can come and enter their grapes and compete against other people’s grapes for prizes. Grapes are judged by color, size, tightness of the bunch.”

Lodi Grape Festival beginnings

In 2012, the Lodi News-Sentinel reported the festival began in 1934 as a volunteer effort headed up by Lodi Police Chief Clarence S. Jackson. In 1934, 1935 and 1936, Jackson and his volunteers in the Lodi Mustachio Club raised money to put on the three-day festival held in various locations throughout the city.

It wasn’t until 1937 that the festival “was formally incorporated as the Lodi Grape and Wine Festival, Inc.,” the Lodi News-Sentinel reported then.

The celebration continues many years later.

Every year the entertainment lineup for the festival changes from local to including national acts, Armstrong said.

This year’s entertainment lineup will include Uptown Funk (Bruno Mars Tribute), Joe Nichols, Smash Mouth, Donovan Bryant, Los Originals de San Juan, Funky Tim & the Merlots, amongst others.

Not only will grapes will be celebrated but they can also be savored at “The Wine Cellar: A Wine Tasting Experience” available with a separate ticket starting on Friday, Sept. 13 through Sunday, Sept. 15.

Participating wineries include Barsettii Vineyards, Ironstone Vineyards, Twisted Barrel Winery and many more. Wine tasting tickets start are $20 for one session on both Friday and Saturday and $15 on Sunday.

Festival goers can bring their own water into the festival as long as it’s sealed, Armstrong said. No coolers are allowed though.

Lodi Grape Festival dates, tickets, parking

While regular tickets start at $12 for adults, $8 for youth, and free for children ages 5 years old and under. Pre-sale admission before the event is $8, the festivals website states.

“We’re trying to keep it affordable for people to be able to come and enjoy the fair,” Armstrong said.

There will also be daily discounts offered everyday.

Daily discounts:

  • Thursday, Sept. 12, is Family Value Day where everyone 16 and under enter for free all day.
  • Friday, Sept. 13, is Free til’ 5 Day where entry is free for everyone starting at noon until 5 p.m.
  • Saturday, Sept. 14 and Sunday, Sept. 15, is Two for $2 til’ 2 p.m, from noon to 2 p.m. anyone that brings two cans of food will get $2 admission.

There will also be parking changes this year, Armstrong said. Parking is $12 only cards are accepted only.

He said the change is for “safety” of who is working the parking lots and it’s also “cleaner, quicker.”

“When you come in, you’ll pay the $12 and we’ll give you a coupon card that’s worth $12 inside the event…it will tell you where to go to get these specials,” Armstrong said.

Parking will be available at Cherokee Lane and Lockeford Street and Lockeford Street across from the fairgrounds accessible behind the Grape Bowl on Calaveras and Stockton Streets, the festival website states.

Lodi Grape Festival: How to go

  • Location: Lodi Grape Festival Grounds, 413 E. Lockeford St., Lodi
  • Hours: 4 to 11 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12, Noon to midnight, Friday, Sept. 13 and Saturday, Sept. 14, Noon to 11 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 15
  • Information: grapefestival.com

Record reporter Angelaydet Rocha covers community news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at arocha@recordnet.com or on Twitter @AngelaydetRocha. To support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.

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