The Great Valley Gathering is a free, three-day public event celebrating the living traditions, music, dance, storytelling, craft, and foodways that shape California’s Central Valley. Produced by the Alliance for California Traditional Arts and rooted in the region’s rich agricultural history, the festival highlights a broad range of cherished expressions from diverse communities—Indigenous, immigrant, occupational, sacred, and more.

This three-day event will be in Downtown Fresno’s Courthouse Park featuring 40 collaborating communities nationwide, in collaboration with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Center, and more than 100 cultural bearers, artists, community partners, vendors, and contributors.

Schedule:

• Friday, October 2, 2026 - 4:00 PM - 10:00 PM

• Saturday, October 3, 2026 - 10:00 AM - 10:00 PM

• Sunday, October 4, 2026 -10:00 AM - 6:00 PM

For more information, visit https://gathering.actaonline.org/.

For volunteer opportunities for this event, fill out the Volunteer Form here or contact Volunteer Coordinator, Patricia Wakida, at pwakida@actaonline.com.