Buellton Fall Festival 2026

Buellton Fall Festival quick facts

Dates

Friday, November 6 to Sunday, November 8, 2026

Hours

Fri 4–10pm · Sat and Sun 12–10pm

Where

Avenue of the Flags, downtown Buellton (the beer tasting is at 501 Avenue of the Flags)

Admission

Free. Rides, food, drinks and the tasting are paid

Ride wristbands

$35 + $3 online until Thu, Nov 5 at 10pm; $43 at the event. One day, one person. With 40 game and ride credits: $55 + $3 online, $63 on site

Parking

Two free lots: Chumash Casino Resource Center, 585 McMurray Rd (Fri from 6pm, Sat and Sun all day) and Pea Soup Andersen's, 376 Avenue of the Flags (all day). No overnight parking

Organizer

En Fuego Events; the festival's fourth year

Music

Live music on 2 stages: 80s and 90s dance party Friday, reggae with Arise Roots Saturday, Fiesta Sunday and Country Night

Ales on the Avenue

Sat, Nov 7, 12–3:30pm, $35, 21+ with ID, souvenir glass included

Drinks

Beer, wine, mead and spirits sold on site

What happens each day

Pick your night by the soundtrack. Friday is the short one and the loud one: gates at 4pm, then an 80s and 90s dance party on the main stage with 90s Babiez and the Molly Ringwald Project until 10pm. Saturday opens at noon with the Ales on the Avenue tasting through the afternoon and turns into Reggae Night with Arise Roots once the sun is down. Sunday is Fiesta Sunday by day and Country Night after dark, noon to 10pm. Across the weekend the organizer promises more than 40 bands on two stages and more than 60 merchant and food vendors down the avenue, with the Century Wheel turning behind all of it.

Going with kids? Saturday or Sunday afternoon gives you daylight for the rides and the vendors before the evening crowds roll in. Going for the bands? Friday is the compact version, three hours shorter than the weekend days, and the easiest one to drive up for after work from Santa Barbara. Driving up from Los Angeles? Saturday is the full version: the tasting from noon, the rides in daylight, Reggae Night after dark, and a Buellton hotel so the drive home waits until Sunday.

Carnival rides and wristbands

Yes, a real carnival on a real main street. Buy the wristband before Thursday night; everything else can wait until you are standing on the avenue. The rides set up on Avenue of the Flags itself and keep festival hours: 4 to 10pm Friday, noon to 10pm Saturday and Sunday. An unlimited ride wristband is $35 plus a $3 surcharge if you buy online by Thursday, November 5 at 10pm; at the event it is $43. Each wristband is one day and one person, and it can't be shared. A second package adds 40 game and ride credits to the band for $55 plus $3 online, $63 on site, and the credits can be shared with family or friends. Single ride tickets are sold at kiosks near the Ferris wheel and the main stage.

Measure the kids before you buy. The Century Wheel needs 42 inches to ride alone (under 14 or under 42 inches rides with an adult). The big spinners, the Zipper, Kamikaze, Twister, Sky Flyer and the Star Dancer, start at 52 inches, and the Star Dancer bans open-toed shoes. Smaller riders have the Happy Pond and Dragoon from 36 inches, and the Beary Go Round, Crystal Lil's Glass House and Tilt A Whirl from 36 inches with an adult. Looney Airport and the carousel take riders of any height with an adult. The full list is on the festival's carnival page. You can also buy discounted wristbands in person at the Buellton Chamber of Commerce, 597 Avenue of the Flags, Suite 101, 805-688-7829.

Insider tip: the online price ends Thursday, November 5 at 10pm. Before then a wristband is $38 all in; at the gate it is $43, and the credit package goes from $58 to $63. Bringing more than one rider? The credits on the $58 package can be shared, so load them on one band and hand them around.

Ales on the Avenue tasting

The valley's brewers come to the festival, so you don't have to drive to them. If you are 21 and only coming for one day, make it this one. Saturday's Ales on the Avenue is the beer event: a 21-and-over tasting from noon to 3:30pm at 501 Avenue of the Flags, run by En Fuego Events. A $35 ticket covers samples from 12 or more craft breweries, seltzers, ciders and wineries in the tasting section plus the 3 bars around the grounds, with live music and a souvenir glass. Last pour is 3:30pm. Tickets are non-refundable and you'll need ID. The 2025 list included Figueroa Mountain, Firestone Walker and Solvang Brewing, 805 Beer, Enegren, Rincon, Honest Abe Mead and Cider, Ysidro Sake and Rock 12 Distillery; the organizer hadn't posted a 2026 list yet, so expect changes.

Who's driving? The tasting ends at 3:30pm and the festival runs to 10pm, so there is time for the pours to wear off before the road. Or skip the question: Buellton hotels sit within a short walk or ride of the avenue, and nobody has to go over the mountain tonight.

Eat before, drink after

Festival food is on the avenue. The lunch worth planning around is a few minutes away on Industrial Way: Industrial Eats for wood-fired plates, then Figueroa Mountain Brewing next door for a pint. After the rides, The Hitching Post 2 on Highway 246, the Sideways steakhouse, opens for dinner at 4:30pm, Wednesday to Monday, with everything off a red oak fire. More in Buellton restaurants.

Two more valley dates land the same weekend. The NatureTrack Film Festival opens Friday, November 6 at the Santa Ynez Valley Grange in Los Olivos, and Alma Rosa pours its Fall Harvest Dinner at the estate on Saturday, November 7. Stack them, or pick one: the valley events calendar has the rest. The festival itself is free to walk in.

Good to know

Is the Buellton Fall Festival free? Yes. Admission is free all three days. Rides, games, food, drinks and the Ales on the Avenue tasting are paid.

What are the Buellton Fall Festival hours? Friday, November 6, 4 to 10pm; Saturday and Sunday, November 7 and 8, noon to 10pm.

Can kids ride everything? No. Most of the thrill rides start at 52 inches. Five rides start at 36 inches, and Looney Airport and the carousel take any height with an adult.

Where do I park? Two free lots, per the festival's parking page: the Chumash Casino Resource Center at 585 McMurray Road (opens Friday at 6pm, all day Saturday and Sunday) and Pea Soup Andersen's at 376 Avenue of the Flags (all day, all three days). No overnight parking in either, and the organizer asks you to stay out of residential and permit lots and off driveways. Street parking in marked spots around the avenue is allowed. Santa Ynez Valley Transit drops off a few steps from the entrance; during the festival its Avenue of the Flags and 2nd Street stop moves one block west to Central Avenue and 2nd.

How do I get there? Avenue of the Flags is the old main street of Buellton, one block east of Highway 101 and just north of Highway 246. Buellton is the Highway 101 exit for the valley, so from Santa Barbara or Los Angeles you stay on the 101 the whole way (our getting here guide has the drive times and the airport shuttle). Leave the car at the hotel if you can: Buellton hotels sit within walking distance of the avenue.

Nearby: eat, taste, stay

• Buellton restaurants: Industrial Eats lunch, Hitching Post dinner
• Breweries in Solvang & Buellton: The year-round taprooms behind the Saturday tasting
• Buellton hotels: Walk back after Country Night
• Things to do in Buellton: Ostriches, the botanic garden and Highway 246
• Valley events calendar: NatureTrack Film Festival is the same weekend

Quick answers

When is the Buellton Fall Festival 2026?

Friday, November 6 to Sunday, November 8, 2026, on Avenue of the Flags in Buellton. Hours are 4 to 10pm Friday and noon to 10pm Saturday and Sunday.

How much are Buellton Fall Festival ride wristbands?

$35 plus a $3 surcharge online until 10pm on Thursday, November 5, or $43 at the event. A wristband with 40 extra credits is $55 plus $3 online and $63 on site.

What is Ales on the Avenue?

The festival's craft beer tasting on Saturday, November 7, noon to 3:30pm, at 501 Avenue of the Flags. Tickets are $35, 21 and over only, and include samples, 3 bars and a souvenir glass.