The following is a sample of special events for 2007:

(The California Travel and Tourism Commission (CTTC) recommends visitors confirm event details before attending as dates are subject to change.)

The largest Halloween street party in the world happens in West Hollywood, located in the Los Angeles County Region. The 20th Annual West Hollywood Halloween Costume Carnaval is scheduled for October 31, 2007. Each year, more than 500,000 people take to the streets of Santa Monica Boulevard to enjoy the craziest, most eccentric costume creations ever. The big draws of the evening are the Halloween Costume Contest and crowning of an Honorary “Queen of the Carnaval.” Visitors can also expect fantastic live entertainment (Pink and DHT are past performers), food vendors, pumpkin-carving contests and children’s activities. Admission is free. Every year, some of the best of American and international cinema is showcased during the Los Angeles Film Festival, when nearly 80,000 people screen more than 175 narrative features, documentaries, shorts and music videos. The 13th annual festival is scheduled for June 21 to July 1, 2007 throughout venues in West Los Angeles. Coffee talks, poolside chats and porch parties are held in conjunction with the event. Past festivals have presented the American debuts of “Fahrenheit 9/11” and “Kissing Jessica Stein.” Featuring the newest and best in smooth jazz, the 21st Annual Catalina Island Jazz Trax Festival takes place at the end of October.

The Placer County Strawberry Festival in Roseville, part of the Gold Country Region, will attract more than 60,000 spectators April 20-22, 2007 to the Placer County Fairgrounds. The festival has featured live performances by nationally recognized musicians. In fact, last year’s event headlined Chubby Checker. Other festival highlights include a classic car show, parade, and strawberry recipe contest. Immortalized by Mark Twain in his short story, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” is Angels Camp’s annual Jumping Frog Jubilee, May 17-21, 2007. This event hosts 50,000 attendees at the county fairgrounds. Some 400 to 500 frogs are expected to make a total of 2,000 jumps in various competitive divisions. The fair also includes rodeos, live rock concerts, midway rides, country crafts, and professional and amateur art exhibits. The 50th Anniversary of the Mother Lode Round-Up in the historic gold rush town of Sonora is May 12-13, 2007. More than 50,000 visitors are drawn to an event-filled weekend, which includes a professional rodeo and the state’s second largest parade. The excitement of the California Gold Rush is brought to life during Sacramento’s Gold Rush Days in Old Sacramento August 31 to September 3, 2007. The event includes living history characters strolling the streets, miner’s encampment, wagon rides and more. More than 60,000 will attend the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee in Sacramento May 25-28, 2007 to see more than 100 performing groups at 30 cozy locations.

Pull out your best pair of jeans, cowboy hat and fancy belt buckle for the 93rd Annual Clovis Rodeo, April 26-29, 2007. Thousands visit Old Town Clovis, part of the Central Valley Region, for old-fashioned rodeo action and extreme events, including bull competitions. An Old West tradition since 1914, the event is now a stop on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Tour. There is also a parade, open-air concert and Special Kids Rodeo. Experience and taste the rich culture of Sweden at the 42nd Annual Swedish Festival in Kingsburg, May 18-20, 2007. The event includes traditional Svenska Pancake breakfast, parade, raising of the maypole and food vendors. More than 400 arts, craft and food vendors will attend Crossroads Street Faire in Manteca April 14-15, 2007 in one of the Central Valley’s largest street fairs.

More than 110,000 attendees took part in last year’s Palm Springs International Film Festival in Palms Springs, part of the Desert Region. The next event, scheduled for January 4-15, 2007, is expected to draw even more visitors. In its 18th year, the film festival includes the premier of major films, many of which have gone on to win Oscars and Golden Globes. Those who have traveled to Palm Springs may know that the area offers the largest concentration of well-preserved buildings referred to as Mid-Century Modernism. The Modernism Committee will sponsor a weeklong show, titled the Palm Springs Modernism Show, February 16-18, 2007, including lectures, symposia and tours. There is also an exhibition at the Palm Springs Convention Center with more than 75 fine art dealers presenting their collections. The 5th Annual Indian Wells Arts Festival, March 30-31 to April 1, 2007, in Indian Wells will feature an outdoor artisan village created by 200 participating artists, offering thousands of fine art and quality craft.

High notes and great times in the High Sierra Region mark Mono County’s annual Mammoth Lakes Jazz Jubilee. With approximately 20,000 spectators, it’s one of the best attended alpine jazz festivals in the country. Celebrating its 19th year, the Jazz Jubilee is scheduled for July 11-15, 2007. More than 20 bands will perform a variety of traditional to contemporary jazz renditions in open-air venues. In Bishop, Bishop Mule Days offers the longest-running, non-motorized parade according to the Guinness Book of World Records. In its 38th year, the event takes place May 22-27, 2007 and offers horse shows, rodeo events, dances and concerts for 30,000 attendees. Snow Festival, March 2-11, 2007 in North Lake Tahoe, features a torchlight parade and fireworks show, polar bear swim, snow sculpture contest, parade and special celebrations. The cornerstone of Lake Tahoe winter events, this weeklong festival attracts hundreds. Get Spring Loaded ’07 at Heavenly Mountain Resort March 13-April 14, 2007 in South Lake Tahoe with host Glen Plake, pond skimming contest, terrain park camp and more.

A Santa Barbara tradition for more than 75 years, Old Spanish Days, in the Central Coast Region, attracts thousands of travelers from across the globe for a five-day celebration of history, customs and traditions of the American Indian, Spanish, Mexican and early American settlers that comprise the rich cultural heritage of the area. The 2007 event is scheduled for August 1-5. In Solvang, the 15th Annual Taste of Solvang, March 16-18, 2007, is not to be missed. The weekend festival includes a wine tasting room and walking smorgasbord with 50 taste stops, as well as live entertainment. Ticket sales are limited as the event typically sells out. The 14th Annual Oxnard Salsa Festival in Oxnard spices things up July 28-29, 2007. The event includes salsa tasting, salsa dance lessons and salsa recipe contest. The 3rd Annual Paso Robles Olive Festival, scheduled for August 25, 2007, offers olive-inspired foods and cooking demonstrations. 

Huntington Beach, located in the Orange County Region, plays host to the largest surfing competition in North America, the United States Open of Surfing, and the beach games that accompany it. This year’s event is scheduled for July 20-29, 2007. The best professional and amateur surfers compete for top honors in the men’s, women’s and junior competitions. Surfing legends also get inductions into the Surfing Walk of Fame and the Surfer’s Hall of Fame. People are transformed into life-sized re-creations of famous works of art at the annual Pageant of the Masters, July 1-August 31, 2007, in Laguna Beach. The re-creations are accompanied by a symphony of orchestra, sophisticated lighting and artistic wizardry.

It’s the Return of the Salmon Festival in Anderson, part of the Shasta Cascade Region, October 3, 2007. Visitors can view salmon spawning, wildlife art, salmon aquarium, fish tagging, recreational displays and information booths. There is also a Salmon Bake and free shuttles to the Coleman Fish Hatchery from the Anderson Outlets. Lake Red Bluff is home to the Nitro National Drag Boat Festival May 25-27, 2007, where visitors can view some of the fastest, high-performance racing boats in the world, including top fuel drag boats, top alcohol hydros, top alcohol flats, pro modifieds and a host of sportsman classes.

More than 50 iridescent canopies of color will dot the sky during the Temecula Valley Balloon and Wine Festival June 1-3, 2007 in the Inland Empire Region. Located at the Lake Skinner Recreation Area, the festival includes Evening Balloon Glow, Laser Light Spectacular and live concert (past performers have been The Doobie Brothers, The Commodores and Peter Frampton). Balloon pilots choreograph the dancing balloons by first inflating them and then simultaneously igniting the burners. The cars are the stars at the annual Route 66 Rendezvous. This event in San Bernardino, scheduled for September 13-16, 2007, includes a 35-block area of classics, muscle cars, hot rods and trucks parking and cruising the streets of downtown. The event attracts more than 500,000 spectators. Temecula will play host to the Old Town Temecula Bluegrass Festival, the only free bluegrass even on the West Coast, March 17-18, 2007. Every November, the Mission Inn Hotel and Spa in Riverside hosts the Festival of Lights, a colorful cascade of more than two million lights in all shapes and sizes, which has been ranked as one of the top five light shows in the United States.

The Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival in Half Moon Bay, located in the San Francisco Bay Area Region, will delight all members of the family. The yearly celebration, October 13-14, 2007, features pumpkin carving and pie eating contests, Halloween costume contest, haunted house, the Great Pumpkin Parade, and foods featuring pumpkin pie, ice cream and pancakes. There will also be 250 of the country’s top craftsmakers exhibiting their wares, as well as live entertainment. Pacific Coast Dream Machines, April 29, 2007, at the Half Moon Bay Airport is a massive and whimsical gathering of motorized mechanical wonders from throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. More than 2,000 antique, vintage, classic, custom and exotic automobiles ranging from hot rods, customs and muscle cars, as well as homebuilt aircraft, and steam-powered engines and tractors are featured. There are also bi-plane rides, live music, food, and entertainment for children. An extraordinary showcase of cinematic discovery and innovation, the San Francisco International Film Festival is April 26-May 10, 2007. 

In San Diego, Imperial Beach, located in the San Diego County Region, is home to the largest sandcastle-building competition in the U.S. Professional and amateur carving teams compete for more than $21,000 in cash prizes, July 27-29, 2007, while using the sand to create massive, intricate sculptures. Teams participate in theme categories, such as Castles of Your Mind, Best Sculpture and Creatures of the Sea. Thousands of onlookers can also enjoy the event’s live entertainment, evening fireworks and vendor booths. Celebrating its 10th year as one of California’s premier sporting events, the original Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon welcomes 20,000 runners and walkers to the coastal community of San Diego on June 3, 2007. Last year’s event hosted more than 40 live bands and hundreds of cheerleaders along each mile of the 26.2-mile course, creating a block party atmosphere. One of the largest Cinco de Mayo fiestas in America takes place May 4-6, 2007 in Old Town San Diego at the Bazaar del Mundo Shops and Casa Guadalajara Mexican restaurant with authentic Mexican food, folklore and fun.

Santa Rosa, in the North Coast Region, will host the 3rd Annual Peanuts on Parade Tribute to Charles M. Schulz, the creator of the Peanuts cartoon strip. Five-foot-tall statues of Snoopy will grace Santa Rosa’s streets between May 28-September 23, 2007. The program featured 55 Charlie Browns in 2005 and 76 Woodstocks in 2006. Each was sponsored by local businesses and individuals, and painted by Sonoma County artists. It’s a celebration of Petaluma’s agricultural heritage at the 26th Annual Butter and Egg Days Celebration on April 28, 2007. The event also features a parade of 2,000 people and travels through 12 blocks of the historic downtown area. For nearly 40 decades, the Kinetic Sculpture Race has human-powered contraptions racing for three days from Arcata to Ferndale. The next event is March 26-28, 2007. The World’s Ugliest Dog Contest, June 20-24, 2007, which received national media coverage last year will again be the highlight of the annual Sonoma-Marin Fair at the Petaluma Fairgrounds.

The CTTC is a non-profit organization with a mission to develop and maintain marketing programs - in partnership with the state's travel industry - that keep California top-of-mind as a premier travel destination. California is currently the number one travel destination in the country. According to the CTTC, travel and tourism expenditures total $88.1 billion annually in California, support jobs for 911,800 Californians and generate $5.3 billion in state and local tax revenues. For more information about the CTTC and for a free California vacation packet, go to www.visitcalifornia.com.