August

  

Rengstorff House Arts Festival

With fine arts by local creators. Through Aug. 31; free. Rengstorff House, 3070 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View. 650.903.6073.

Begonia Festival 

A nautical parade of begonia-decked floats. The best viewing Starts Sunday at 1pm from Cliff Avenue, Wharf and Stockton roads. Aug. 29— Sep. 1, all day; free. Capitola. 831.476.3566.

Kings Mountain Art Fair

An annual event to benefit the volunteer fire brigade. Aug. 30—Sep. 1, 10am—5pm; free. Kings Mountain Community Center, 13889 Skyline Blvd., Woodside. 650.851/2710.

Chalk Art Festival

Chalk art, live music and face painting. Aug. 30, 10am—2pm; free. National Hispanic University, 14271 Story Road, San Jose.

Millbrae Art and Wine FeStival

Aug. 30—31, 10am—5pm; free. Broadway Avenue, downtown Millbrae. 650.697.7324.

Great Train Robberies 

Shootouts, and other Old West re-enactments. Aug. 30—31. Roaring Camp Railroad, Graham Hill Road, Felton. 831.335.4484.

Scottish Highland Gathering And Games

Caber tossing, kilts and more. Aug. 30—31, 9am—6pm; $17—$25. Alameda County Fairgrounds, 4501 Pleasanton Ave., Pleasanton.

Tapestry Arts Festival 

Arts, crafts and live entertainment with more than 350 booths. Aug. 30—31, 10am—6pm and Sep. 1, 10am—5pm; free. San Carlos and Santa Clara streets, San Jose. 408.494.3590.

Ardenwood Rail Fair

Explore local railroad history, see model railroads in action and give a hand car a try. Aug. 30— Sep. 1, 10am—4pm; $5—$8. Ardenwood Historic Farm, Fremont. 866.417.7277.

Labor Day Weekend Fireworks

Aug 31, evening; free with admission. Paramount's Great American, 4701 Great America Pkwy., Santa Clara. 408.986.1776, ext. 8858.

September

  

Labor Day Grill and Chill

A day of family, food and entertainment. Sep. 1, 10am—4pm; free. Calvary Church, 16330 Los Gatos Blvd., Los Gatos. 408.356.5126.

Dancing on the Square

Belly dancing with Marie Soderlund and Sabiba. Sep. 2, 6—8pm; free. Courthouse Square, Redwood City. www.redwoodcityevents.com.

Armenian Festival

Sep. 6, 11am—10pm. Live music, Mediterranean food, dancing and more. St. Andrew Armenian Church, 11370 S. Stelling Road, Cupertino. 408.257.6743

Claws for a Cause Lobster Festival

Hosted by the Los Gatos Morning Rotary Club. Sep. 6, 5:30—10pm; $85. CB Hannegan's, Bachman and North Santa Cruz avenues, Los Gatos. 408.354.3300.

Mountain View Art and Wine Festival

Sep. 6—7, 10am—6pm; free. Castro Street, Mountain View. 650.968.8378.

Capitola Art and Wine Festival

Sep. 6—7, 10am—6pm; free. Stockton Avenue and Esplanade, downtown Capitola. 831.475.6522.

Renaissance Faire

With theater, food and arts and crafts. Saturdays and Sundays, Sep. 6—Oct. 12, 10am—6pm; $10—$35. Casa de Fruta, 10031 Pacheco Pass Hwy., Hollister. 408.847.FAIR. www.norcalrenfaire.com.

Los Altos Summer Community Picnic

This year's even celebrates the 100th anniversary of the train to Los Altos and includes a model train display and train tales. Sep. 7, 11am—3pm; free. Civic Center, San Antonio Road and Hillview Avenue, Los Altos. 408.947.2790.

Banjo Jubilee Jazz Festival 

Trad sounds. Sep. 7, noon—5pm; $20/$25. San Jose Holiday Inn, 1740 N. First St., San Jose. 650.323.1605.

Dancing on the Square

Demonstrations and participation—swing dance with Redwood City Swing. Sep. 9, 6—8pm; free. Courthouse Square, Redwood City. wwwredwoodcityevents.com.

Children's Moon Festival

Annual celebration. Sep. 13; 10am—6pm. Plaza de Cesar Chavez, San Jose.

Sunnyvale State of the City

A celebration of the city and community and a first look at Town Center project. Sep. 13, 11am—2pm. Downtown Sunnyvale. 408.730.7535.

Cupertino Fall Festival

Previously known as the Jubilee. Food, music and a Health and Safety Fair. Sep. 13—14, 10am—5pm; free. Civic Center Library Field, 10300 Torre Ave., Cupertino. 408.517.9094,

Desert Dance Festival 

Activities and contests with an ancient Egyptian theme. Sep. 13—14. SES Hall, 1375 Lafayette St., Santa Clara, 510.667.9333.

Antique Autos in History Park

A display of vintage cars, motorcycles and bikes. Sep. 14, noon—5pm; free. History Kelley Park, San Jose. 408.918.1050.

Dancing on the Square

Demonstrations and participation—salsa with Vera Quijano. Sep. 16, 6—8pm; free. Courthouse Square, Redwood City. www.redwoodcityevents.com.

Fiestas Patrias

Celebrating Mexican Independence Day with mariachi music, folklorico dancing and food. Sep. 17, 6—8:30pm. Courthouse Square, Redwood City. www.redwoodcityevents.com.

Holy Family Parish Festival

Live music, plus a silent auction and kids' activities. Sep. 19, 6—11pm, Sep. 20, 10am—11pm and Sep. 21, noon—6pm; free. Holy Family Church, 4848 Pearl Ave., San Jose. 408.265.4040.

Taste of Saratoga

Food and wine vendors and live music acts. Sep. 20, 10am—6pm; free. Big Basin Way, downtown Saratoga. 408.867.0753.

Santa Clara Art and Wine Festival

With live music by Eric Blovin and the Hitman on Saturday, and Pamela Rose and the Joe Sharino Band on Sunday. Sep. 13—14, 10am—5pm; free. Central Park, 909 Kiely Blvd., Santa Clara. 408.615.3140.

Fiestas Patrias Festival and Parade

Celebrating Mexican Independence Day with two stages of continuous entertainment. Sep. 14; free. Discovery Meadow, Woz Way, San Jose. 408.288.9470.

Target Family Days

Fun for kids and parents with a Caribbean theme, and live music by the Harmonics Steel Band. Sep. 14, noon—4pm; free. Downtown Redwood City. www.redwoodcityevents.com.

Salsa Festival

A day dedicated to everything salsa. Sat, Sep. 20, noon—8pm. Courthouse Square, 2200 Broadway St., Redwood City.

To Life! A Jewish Cultural Street Festival 

Sep. 21, 10am—5pm; free. California Avenue between El Camino and Park, Palo Alto.

Almaden Valley Art and Wine Festival

Tastings galore. Sep. 21, 10am—6pm. Almaden Lake Park, San Jose.

Italian Family Festival

Italian food, live entertainment, arts and crafts and more. Sep. 27, noon—10pm, and Sep. 28, noon—6pm. Downtown Willow Glen, Lincoln Avenues, San Jose. 408.293.7122.

Redwood City Cultural Event

With European-style cabaret from Vagabond Opera. Sep. 27, 6—8pm; free. Downtown Redwood City. www.redwoodcityevents.com.

Pet Parade

Kids of all ages are invited to participate in this annual parade. Sep. 27, 10am; free. Pick of the Litter Thrift Shop (Parking Lot), 1127 Chula Vista, Burlingame. 650.342.2073

Willow Glen Founder's Day 

Featuring a community parade, plus food and entertainment. Sep. 27, 10:30am—noon; free. Lincoln Avenue and Willow Street, Willow Glen.

West Valley College PowWow 

Sep. 27, noon—midnight; free. West Valley College Learning Services lawn area, 1400 Fruitvale Ave., Saratoga. 408.741.4029.

Diwali Festival 

A Festival of Lights similar fashion to India's four-day celebration. Sep. 27, 11am—6pm; free. Memorial Park, Mary Avenue and Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino. 408.252.7054.

Taste of Morgan Hill

Food and entertainment. Sep. 27—28, 10am— 6pm; free. Monterey Road, Morgan Hill. 408.779.9444.

Moon Festival of Silicon Valley 

A community celebration of Chinese heritage. Sep. 28, 10am—5pm; free. Memorial Park, Cupertino. 408.865.6688.

Triton Museum Blues Bash

Live blues for fundraiser. Sep. 28, noon—5pm; call for prices. Triton Museum of Art, 1505 Warburton Ave., Santa Clara. 408.247.3754.

Great Glass Pumpkin Patch

A show and auction of glass works. Exhibit: Sep. 30—Oct. 1, 10am—9pm and Oct. 2—3, 10am—5pm. Sale: Oct 4—5, 10am—5pm. Palo Alto Art Center, 1313 Newell Road, Palo Alto. 408.993.2244.

October

  

  Harvest Fair

With a pumpkin patch, school projects, live entertainment and more. Oct. 4, 10am—4pm; free. Emma Prusch Farm Park, 647 S. King Road, San Jose. 408.926.5555.

Spirit of Japantown Festival 

With arts, exhibitions and cultural events. Oct. 4, 10am—6pm; free. Fifth and Jackson streets, San Jose.

Los Altos Fall Festival 

Live entertainment and a classic car show. Oct. 4—5, 10am—5pm; free. Parking plaza behind Main Street, off San Antonio Road, Los Altos. 650.948.1455.

Arts and Olive Festival

Oct. 5, 10am—5pm; free. Canada College, 4200 Farm Hill Blvd., Redwood City. 650.306.3428.

Arts Walk Santa Clara

Raise money for nonprofits arts groups with a 5K walk. Oct. 11, 10am—2pm. Central Park, Santa Clara. 408.248.2789.

Pumpkins in the Park

Make scarecrows, decorate pumpkins and listen to live music at environmental harvest festival. Oct. 11, 10am—4pm; free. Discovery Meadow, East San Carlos Street and Woz Way, San Jose. 408.298.7657.

Fall Festival of Arts and Crafts

More than 90 artists and craftspeople. Oct. 17—18, 10am—6pm and Oct. 19, 10am—5pm; free. Santa Cruz Avenue, at El Camino Real, Menlo Park. 650.325.2818.

Oktoberfest

  Campbell is turned into a German village replete with beer and traditional German eats. Oct. 18, 10am—6pm and Oct. 19, 10am—5pm; free. Downtown Campbell. 408.378.6252.

Spooktakular

Halloween fun events for kids in a safe setting. Oct. 25, noon—3pm; $5. Red Morton Community Center, 1120 Roosevelt Ave., Redwoodcity. www.redwoodcityevents.com.

Iranian Arts and Cultural Festival

Oct. 26, 11am—6pm. Quinlan Community Center, 10185 N. Stelling Road, Cupertino. 408.381.4268.

Steampunk Convention

The past gets a futuristic spin at a convention devoted to inventing, costuming and music in a retro groove. Oct. 31—Nov. 2. Domain Hotel, 1085 E. El Camino Blvd., Sunnyvale. www.steam punkconvention.com.

November

  

San Mateo Harvest Festival

Featuring more than 24,000 handmade items. Nov. 14—15, 10am—6pm and Nov. 16, 10am—5pm; $4—$9. San Mateo County Event Center, 2495 S. Delaware St., San Mateo.

Harvest Festival

Three days of arts and crafts with more than 300 artisans. Nov. 28, 9am—6pm, Nov 29, 10am—6pm, Nov 30, 10am—5pm. San Jose Convention Center, 408 S. Almaden St., San Jose.

Festival of Lights Parade

Greet the beginning of the Christmas season with this family parade in downtown Los Altos. Nov. 30, 7pm; free. Main and State streets, downtown Los Altos. 650.961.0394.

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