THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2026. BY STEPHANIE BOLTON, PhD, LODI WINEGRAPE COMMISSION.
Featured image above: 1936 Lodi Grape Festival, a three-day harvest festival kicking off under the city’s historic Mission Arch. Ralph Lea, Lodi Historic Society.
Once every year during harvest, Lodi grape growing history is brought to life in a big and special way while the Lodi Grape Festival Grounds (413 E Lockeford Street, Lodi) hosts a full-blown carnival, including rides and treats for all ages.
For locals and the ever-expanding crew of folks who have fallen in love with Lodi, the Lodi Grape Festival provides a rare treat: a glimpse into the unique, fascinating history of the Lodi wine region. You really cannot understand Lodi until you attend a Grape Festival. Now more than ever, it is important to teach the story of our beloved grapes to our children and to the world.
Though deep-fried Oreos are amazing in their own right, those of us who treasure Lodi vineyards and wines find greater satisfaction inside the huge Ole Mettler Grape Pavilion at the Festival. Here we step back in time to the days of the original Grape Festival called the Tokay Carnival (1907) and the first years of our Lodi Grape Festival (started in 1934). On display are beautiful handmade gowns of former Lodi Grape Royalty – literally, Grape Festival Queens and their Courts of Grape Festival Princesses. Real, non-digitized photographs of days past spark a warm feeling of nostalgia and resilience (see my favorite photo below and to the left). Local children submit lug boxes of grapes to be judged by experts along with huge traditional grape murals encompassing 8-10,000 grapes each.
1969 Lodi Grape Festival’s Queen Lana Mirko with hefty clusters of Flame Tokay. Lodi Grape Festival.
In the true spirit of a farming community, admission prices are kept low and can be further reduced by buying them in advance or bringing donations of canned food. Learn more about tickets HERE.
Lodi Grape Festival
September 17-20, 2026
413 E Lockeford St, Lodi CA
Thursday, September 17 – 4pm to 11 pm
Friday, September 18 – Noon to Midnight
Saturday, September 19 – Noon to Midnight
Sunday, September 20 – Noon to 11pm
If you need even more of a reason to visit the Lodi Grape Festival this year, headlining entertainment includes multiple concerts, a circus act, and daily Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Shows and Pee Wee Stampedes. We’ll see you there!
Photographers capture the essence of the Lodi Grape Festival over time (adapted from Randy Caparoso’s Lodi Wine blog posts):
Picture postcard (mailed out in 1909) depicting the nearly mile-long procession of grape growers entering the city beneath the Lodi Arch on the first day of the 1907 Tokay Carnival.
Today, the Carnival section of the Lodi Grape Festival is a main draw. Photo by Randy Caparoso.
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