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.