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Pebble Beach Food and Wine Festival. ©Pebble Beach Company

  • By Alison Plummer

The Spring calendar is packed with events and festivals on California’s Central Coast.

Enjoy seasonal events in March including whale watching and Santa Barbara’s Iternational Orchid Festival. In April, save the dates for epicurean indulgence at Pebble Beach Food and Wine, Santa Barbara’s Illuminate Film Festival, Earth Day, and San Luis Obispo SLO Film Fest. May brings the Carmel Art Festival, the Santa Cruz Wine Walk, Italian street art, and much more.

 

Events on California’s Central Coast: Worth planning around

 

Whale Watching
To April/May, 2026, Santa Barbara Channel

It’s the time of year to head to this whale heritage area to watch Pacific gray whales returning from Baja California with their  calves, hugging the coast as they head for the Bering Strait. (See Ventura’s Celebration of the Whales Festival on April 19.)

Santa Barbara International Orchid Show
March 20-22, 2026, Santa Barbara

78th Annual: This year’s theme is ‘Orchid Escape’, inviting you to immerse yourself in a lush paradise of rare and exotic orchids from around the globe. See stunning displays in the Exhibit Pavilion, see potting demonstrations, orchid floral arrangements, and buy orchids at the Vendor Hall.

Pebble Beach Food & Wine 
April 9-12, 2026, Pebble Beach

15th Annual:  The legendary Monterey coastline morphs into a vibrant stage for culinary visionaries for this festival, with tastings, seminars, and coastal experiences. The destination event features global chefs, wineries, sommeliers and mixologists during four days of West Coast indulgence.

Santa Barbara Kite Festival 
April 12, 2026, Santa Barbara

40th Annual: Go fly a kite at this lovely festival! This year’s theme is ‘You and Me’, celebrating the cooperation and fun in flying a kite together. Includes Children’s Tail Chase, family-friendly kite contests, Most Beautiful (handmade and commercial), Highest Flying, Most Unflyable Kite, and more.

Celebration of the Whales
April 19, 2026, Channel Islands Harbor

27th Annual: This much-loved Harbor tradition celebrates the annual migration of the Pacific gray whale and offers a fun, family-friendly day including hands-on marine education, and opportunities to get out on the water. Includes the Channel Islands Maritime Museum, Channel Islands Boating Center, Channel Islands Harbor Farmers Market, and the ‘Gray Whale Migration Trail’.

San Luis Obispo SLO Film Fest
April 23-28, 2026, San Luis Obispo

31st Annual: Six days of contemporary and classic film in this laid-back location, with filmakers and industry professionals celebrating the arts through events, workshops and panel discussions. events and workshops. Full program announced March 20.

Santa Barbara Earth Day
April 25-26, 2026, Santa Barbara

One of the largest of its kind on the West Coast featuring eco-friendly exhibitors, a plant forward food court, and conversations with climate leaders. Also a green car show, sustainable local food, music, art, and a beer and wine garden.

Big Sur International Marathon
April 26, 2026, Big Sur

Famous run (and an official Boston qualifier) from Big Sur to Carmel along Highway 1, the nation’s first designated Scenic Highway against the stunning backdrop of the rugged coastline of the Monterey Peninsula.

Carmel Art Festival
May 15-17, 2026, Carmel-by-the-Sea

33rd Annual: Celebrating Carmel’s artistic heritage and legacy. Admire the work of the juried plein air artists who gather in Carmel to paint over two days, after which their artworks are judged and sold. Also free demonstrations, and workshops to sign up for.

Spring Wine Walk
May 17, 2026, Santa Cruz

Sign up for an afternoon stroll through the Downtown shops, sampling top drops at pouring stations with wines from the Santa Cruz Mountains and beyond,  (Must be 21 or older.)

Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival
May 23-25, 2026, Santa Barbara

40th Annual: Reflecting its sister festival held in Grazie di Curtatone, Italy, street painters (Madonnari) transform the pavements of Mission Plaza at the Old Mission into a gallery of large-scale pastel  images.

 

Full Calendars of Events

Central California

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