Angels Camp, CA…All year long Calaveras LOVES to celebrate our unique towns and history. We invite you to come discover our small-town charm and celebrate what makes Calaveras truly special!

January and February

Instagrammer @dannggdana enjoying wine tasting in Murphys

Even though some months don’t have specific special events, we welcome you to come up to soak in the natural beauty, Gold Rush era historic downtowns and museums, great restaurants, award-winning wines, ciders, and spirits, and exceptional lodging options. Attractions and parks are less crowded, skiing is great in Bear Valley, and temperatures are mild for lower elevation outdoor adventures! Come up for MLK Day in January or bring your special valentine for a long weekend in February! Check our calendar of events for local happenings, live music, live theater performances, and more!

March

So much is happening in March in Calaveras! Spring brings the hills to life with vibrant green, orange, yellow, and purple colors of beautiful wildflowers popping up all over the county.

• Calaveras Celtic Faire – the largest Celtic Event on the West Coast – Celebrating the cultures of Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and Great Britain, the Calaveras Celtic Faire is held in early March at the Calaveras County Fairgrounds with the rolling green hills as the backdrop for this family-friendly festival.
• Murphys Irish Day – Each year on the third Saturday in March, thousands of people from Northern California and beyond gather in the historic gold rush town of Murphys to honor its Celtic heritage. Our picturesque Main Street is filled with booths offering handcrafted items, original art, photographs, tasty food, wine, and other beverages. Kids, parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents all get in on the fun.
• The last Saturday and Sunday in March, the Calaveras Gem & Mineral Society proudly presents their Gem & Jewelry Show – fun for the entire family!

April

Inside the tasting room | Vina Moda

• Spring Wine Weekend – Enjoy two days of beautiful spring weather in Calaveras Wine Country! Come to Murphys the last weekend in April for barrel tastings, winemaker meet & greets, winemaking history, art, and love. Your 1-day and 2-day tickets include a commemorative wineglass, a wristband for special tasting flights at 19 participating tasting rooms, access to live music/special events, vineyard tours, and a weekend guide with maps. Advance ticketing is recommended as this event will sell out fast!
• Ragin Cajun Festival – Live Zydeco, Blues, and Jazz music, an authentic Louisiana crawfish boil, and lots of food and crafts booths line Main Street in San Andreas the last Saturday of April! Tickets are $5 in advance and $10 at the gate. Plus, you can feel good about supporting this event because ALL proceeds benefit the Hospice of Amador and Calaveras.

May

• Hot Copper Car Show – Car enthusiasts love the Hot Copper Car Show, a fundraising event for the Copperopolis Lake Tulloch Lions Club, which takes place on the first Saturday in May each year featuring classic, custom cars, trucks and motorcycles. Located in the picturesque Copperopolis Town Square, this event perfectly combines the classic building architecture with classic car architecture.
• Calaveras County Fair & Jumping Frog Jubilee – We may be small-town, but our fair is WORLD renowned! Paired with Mark Twain’s Jumping Frog Jubilee contest, people from all over the world come to the Calaveras County Fair to vie for the world frog jump record title that is still held by Rosie the Ribeter for almost 40 years! Held the third weekend in May, Thursday – Sunday, our fair is jam packed with all kinds of great family fun. Make sure to make your lodging & camping reservations NOW!
• Spring Peddler’s Faire – Situated among the pines and redwoods, the Peddler’s Faire occurs Memorial Day weekend and features over 60 booths of original art & crafts and antiques & collectibles. Whether you’re shopping for yourself, for your home or cabin, or your next camping trip, you’ll be sure to find it here!

June

Fireworks over the lake 2017 | John Fernandez

• Farmers Markets – When it comes to wine, food, and adventure, Calaveras pulls out all the stops. Calaveras hosts three different Certified Farmers Markets during the summer in Angels Camp, Murphys, and West Point. All with local growers and producers. All with the freshest food you can serve your family.
• Ironstone Summer Concert Series – Running June through October, Ironstone’s Amphitheater is one of Northern California’s premier summer concert venues. Come see country music, pop, and rock legends make their magic surrounded by beautiful rolling foothills and a million stars under a black velvety sky! What could be better?
• Fireworks Over Lake Hogan – This local favorite happens the last Saturday in June at Lake Hogan. Park your car or float your boat to see spectacular fireworks over the lake and celebrate freedom Calaveras style.

July

• Mokelumne Hill Independence Day Celebration – The Moke Hill July 4th Parade is a quintessential small-town-America Independence Day celebration, in the charming historic downtown of Mokelumne Hill. Taking place along Main Street in this pretty Gold Rush town makes this parade one of the most picturesque you can imagine. Enjoy food, live music, and vendors plus fun kids activities like a watermelon eating contest and water relay race for a celebration to remember.
• Arnold July 4th Parade & Sierra Nevada Arts & Crafts Festival – The Arnold Independence Day Parade charms as a classic, small-town parade with vintage cars, local businesses, emergency services, schools and civic organizations represented. It starts on the Saturday closest to Independence Day at 10:00 am from the Arnold Byway to the Cedar Center Shopping Plaza. The Annual Sierra Nevada Arts & Crafts Festival is held on Independence Day Weekend in the beautiful mountain resort town of Arnold, on Highway 4. Situated among the pines and redwoods, the Festival features over 60 booths of original art & crafts and antiques & collectibles.
• Ironstone 4th of July Fireworks Celebration – Ironstone’s spectacular annual Independence Day Celebration lights up the sky on the first Saturday in July and includes great food and wine, bounce houses, climbing walls and games throughout the entire Ironstone winery complex. Live music is provided on the amphitheater stage by multiple bands to keep you entertained. Bring your own sun umbrellas, blankets, and low-rise chairs.
• Bear Valley Music Festival – An annual summer event in Bear Valley, California, about 180 miles east of San Francisco at just above 7200 feet elevation in the Sierra Nevada, begins on the second-to-last Friday in July and ends three Sundays later, drawing a total audience of roughly four thousand attendees who enjoy the music festival, Bear Valley itself, and all the outdoor adventure the mountain offers.

September

Ironstone Vineyard Concours D’Elegance

• Logging Jamboree – Each Labor Day Saturday the Sierra Nevada Logging Museum next to White Pines Lake holds a sanctioned logging competition and show n honor of the logging heritage in White Pines and Arnold. The day’s entertainment other than the competition includes tours of the museum and restored Shay locomotive plus food, vendors, fun games, and raffle prizes.
• Labor Day Weekend Arts & Crafts Fair – Arnold’s end-of-summer festival is situated among the pines and redwoods, and features over 60 booths of original art & crafts and antiques & collectibles. Whether you’re shopping for yourself, for your home or cabin, or your next camping trip, you’ll be sure to find it here!
• Frogtown Classic BMX Days – This 3-Day Classic BMX Festival held each year at the historic Calaveras County Fairgrounds in Angels Camp, California in September features Old School Style Racing on original “Frogtown” UBR national downhill track, vintage, modern and Strider kids’ bike classes, Gary Turner BMX Triple Crown Bike Show, vintage BMX Swap Meet, BMX Legends Autograph Session, and great local activities to do before during and after.
• Blues & Bones Festival – Combine the evocative sound of Blues music, stir in a little barbeque and add your family for a fun summer event everyone will enjoy. This annual event promises award-winning, slow-cooked barbecue for the truly discerning palate, and a fabulous lineup of national and local Blues artists over two days. Lounge on the grass under the trees at the Calaveras Fairgrounds and watch the kids do cartwheels. Making it a weekend? Consider camping or bringing your RV to Frogtown RV Park or Angels Camp RV Resort.
• Concours d’Elegance – An annual antique & classic car show and race held at Ironstone Vineyards, attracting the best and most interesting cars, vintage trailers, motorcycles, race cars, and wooden boats. Some 350+ participants gather this event each year on the third weekend in September. Plus, all the proceeds benefit local high school scholarships for 4-H and Future Farmers of America as well as the California State Fair Scholarship Program. Perfect way to spend a beautiful fall weekend.
• Hermitfest – Ebbetts Pass Scenic Byway Celebration – Hermitfest offers the opportunity for music and mountain fans to “Come Play on the Pass” and enjoy one of the last free, outdoor, live music events of the year in celebration of the beautiful Ebbetts Pass National Scenic Byway. The day long, live music event in the meadow in Bear Valley is affectionately known as “Hermitfest”, but people definitely make a weekend of it, spending some time to check out the entire Scenic Byway from Arnold to Markleeville.

October

• Lumberjack Day – The annual Lumberjack Day celebration in nearby West Point takes place annually on the first Saturday of October, and is hugely popular with locals and visitors alike… they call it the “Biggest Little Celebration in the Mother Lode” for a reason. For over 40 years, this event has featured a day packed with fun, old-fashioned activities for the entire family. Highlights include the largest parade in the county (full of local color and humor), soap box derby (with contestants from all over Northern California), The Lawn Chair Brigade (performing now for over a decade), and of course the lumberjack show and competition that attracts competitors from all over the United States
• Calaveras Grape Stomp – The first Saturday in October people descend upon the historic gold rush town and wine destination of Murphys, CA to get down and dirty in the in the longest running grape stomp competition in California. The event is held in conjunction with a Gold Rush Street Faire on Main Street for a full day of family-fun and entertainment. Get your team of two and your costumes and come join us for a gut-busting and quad-burning heck of a good time
• All Hallows Faire – This fun, family-friendly two-day event on the last weekend of October celebrates All Hallows Eve and Samhain, Celtic New Year’s Celebration. Usher in fall with this festival that includes Live Music, Stage Shows, Fire Show, Costume Contests for all ages and costume designs, craft vendors and more. Saturday Night only: Check out the Burning of the Harvestman Fire Extravaganza brought to you by Phoenix Fire Family.
• Mark Twain Wild West Festival – The Mark Twain Wild West Fest celebrates Angels Camp’s essential connection to Mark Twain and California’s historic Gold Rush at the Angels Camp Museum the second Saturday in October. Join in for a full day of fun for the entire family with a Mark Twain re-enactor telling tall tales, some old west style bands, old time family entertainment in the Gold Rush Village kids’ zone, and animal petting zoo. Kids can try Wild West games, make old west crafts like corn husk dolls and candles, enjoy costume contests, goldsmithing, blacksmithing, printing press, and branding stations, as well as Henry Angell’s Trading Post – a tent trading post just like the one that the Angels Camp founder started in 1849.

November

• Dia De Los Muertos – Historic Murphys celebrates “Dia de Los Muertos” or “Day of the Dead” the Saturday following Halloween from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm.  Town comes to life with marigolds and vibrant colors as we celebrate the lives of people who have passed and are with us in heart and spirit. Activities in Murphys Park include Folk Art Mercado, Sugar Skull face painting, Ballet Folklorico, a Catrin & Catrina contest, Aztec dancers, and the final blessing of the community altar. In addition, you can explore the Walking Tour of Ofrendas on Historic Main Street.
• Klassen’s Klassic Turkey Trot – Fun, family, friends, and a little bit of fitness on Thanksgiving morning!  Show up at 8:00 AM to register if you think you’ll be in the top 10 finishers, otherwise just show up to this “free” event, ready to race at 9:00 AM.  A donation of non-perishable/canned food in lieu of a registration fee will be given to the Murphys Senior Center Food Pantry. The Klassen Klassic Turkey Trot is a family-friendly, annual community run held in Murphys on Thanksgiving morning that benefits local charities. Think Gilmore Girls or your favorite Hallmark movie!

December

• Murphys Open House & Christmas Celebration – Every year, Murphys celebrates the holiday season with the Murphys Open House from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Admission is free, the streets are closed, and we are ready to celebrate the season. Open House is a great time to peruse Murphys’ wonderful shops, tasting rooms and restaurants, see what’s new, visit with old friends, admire the community tree, and appreciate Murphys’ small town spirit. Main Street closes to allow Santa to arrive with the Parade and light the Christmas Tree on his way to the Native Sons Hall for photos with the kids. Businesses are open, treats are proffered, carolers are singing and the fire pits are blazing, so plan to join us this year to catch up with your friendly locals and get the holiday season started.
• Mokelumne Hill Holiday Open House – Mokelumne Hill’s Holiday Open House & Tree Lighting is a chance for everyone to join in and celebrate the spirit of the season. Feel the warmth of small-town pride and the rich heritage of this historic gold rush community. Enjoy horse drawn hay rides down historic Main Street, photos with Santa, face painting, ornament making, reindeer games, gingerbread house decorating, and live music throughout town.
• Angels Camp Gold Country Christmas – Straight from a Hallmark card or movie, Angels Camp has all that small-town charm! Downtown is lit up, all the businesses are decorated, and everyone’s holiday cheer is on full display! Visit with Santa, shop downtown and pop-up vendors from 12-4 then grab a spot along Main Street for the lighted Christmas parade at 5:00 pm
• Valley Springs Christmas Parade & Craft Fair – The first Friday in December, the Valley Springs Area Business Association lights the Valley Springs Christmas tree at the intersection of Highway 26 & Highway 12.  Santa will be on hand with hot chocolate, goodies, food, and live music from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Then, on Saturday, come watch the hometown parade down Daphne Street at 10:00 am and enjoy the Christmas Craft Fair from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm at the Jenny Lind Veterans Hall.