[Booths in the 43rd annual Santa Clara Art & Wine Festival. Photo Credit: Yujun Lee]

The Santa Clara Art & Wine Festival took place on September 13th and September 14th, 2025, at the Central Park of Santa Clara in California.

The annual event, now in its 43rd year, is organized by local groups and nonprofits to raise funds for the Santa Clara community.

Set up around a pond and trails in Santa Clara’s Central Park, the festival aims to embrace the winery industry local to the region.

The festival also features several artworks created by local artists to support their passion and work, as the name suggests.

The United States ranks as one of the top wine producing nations in the world, following Italy, Spain, and France.

In 2023, the United States produced over 640 million gallons, or 2.43 billion liters of wine annually.

California alone accounts for over 80% of the national production, producing about 609 million gallons, or 2.3 billion liters in 2023.

California’s wines are mainly produced in five different regions within the state: Northern California, Central Coast, Sierra Foothills, Central Valley, and Southern California.

The city of Santa Clara, located in the Southern Bay Area of California, is part of the Central Coast wine region.

Thus, wines presented at the festival are from wineries in the Central Coast region.

Due to California’s status as a huge wine producing state, several cities within California besides Santa Clara host art and wine festivals or similar events.

However, Santa Clara’s wine festival stands out as it takes place in Central Park next to the lake and trails.

Visitors can enjoy the scenic views while sampling wines and participating in various activities.

The Santa Clara Art & Wine Festival hosted multiple booths for visitors to check out and experience.

This year’s event included about 170 booths in total, featuring exhibits focused on arts, winery, crafts, entertainment, children’s activities, community engagement, diverse foods, and much more, all produced and brought by local businesses, organizations, and individuals.

As the festival’s main focus is to promote local wineries, each wine booth offered free wine tasting opportunities.

Meanwhile, art booths sold various products featuring handcrafts, such as paintings, clothing, glassware, jewelry, and photography.

Many of those products reflected local elements, such as paintings and photography of area landmarks and apparel representing local sport teams like the San Francisco 49ers, whose stadium is situated in Santa Clara.

Newly introduced this year, the Maker’s Meadow showcased handcrafted goods from local artisans.

Visitors could explore a variety of items and participate in DIY activities to create unique pieces.

The festival also proudly features local teenage artists, providing them with an opportunity to gain experience in entrepreneurship by selling their own handmade crafts, interacting with customers, and expressing their talents.

The children’s area included structures designed to appeal to young visitors.

Two main locations hosted performances throughout the two-day event: Kids Kingdom and the Pavilion.

At the Kids Kingdom, performances for younger attendees included dances, music, and martial arts.

At the Pavilion, several musicians performed a wide range of musical entertainment.

Food trucks offered foods from various cuisines to complement the wine selections. 

Best of all, entrance to the event was free.