Craft Shows & Fairs in San Jose, California
San Jose is home to SJMADE — one of the most well-organized and well-attended maker communities in California. While many California cities have fragmented craft event calendars spread across competing organizers, San Jose's scene is unusually cohesive. Three major annual SJMADE events anchor the craft calendar, drawing 250 to 350+ makers each time.
Upcoming events in San Jose, CA
Live listings with their sources. Always confirm details with the organizer.
Also within 50 miles of San Jose, CA
Harvest Festival Original Art & Craft Show - Pleasanton
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Pleasanton, CA
About 24 mi from San Jose · Pleasanton, CA
Renegade Craft San Francisco Winter
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San Francisco, CA
About 49 mi from San Jose · San Francisco, CA
Patchwork Show Oakland
Oakland, CA
About 43 mi from San Jose · Oakland, CA
SJMADE's following reflects how deeply embedded craft culture has become in San Jose. SJMADE's consistency and production values have made it a model for independent craft organizations across the Bay Area.
San Jose's Craft Show Scene
SJMADE Fest is the flagship outdoor event, held in late May or June each year at History Park San Jose in Kelley Park. History Park is an outdoor venue of restored historic buildings — a village setting that gives the fair a completely different character from a convention center or fairground. With 250+ makers, artists, designers, curators, chefs, and bakers, SJMADE Fest is San José Made's largest outdoor event of the year. Admission is free.Live K-Pop dance performances, a Kitten Lounge by Mini Cat Town, and food trucks make SJMADE Fest a full-day event. The outdoor village atmosphere sets it apart from any other Bay Area craft show — it feels like a community celebration as much as a market.
The SJMADE Summer Fair follows in summer (July 19–20 in 2025 and August 8–9 in 2026), featuring 350+ makers in 2025. The Summer Fair is held indoors at the Santa Clara Convention Center, keeping shoppers out of the summer heat.
The SJMADE Holiday Fair is held over Thanksgiving weekend (late November) at the Santa Clara Convention Center. It features 350+ makers, artists, designers, creators, bakers, and crafters, and SJMADE describes it as the largest winter holiday craft fair in the Bay Area. SJMADE's scale consistently draws South Bay shoppers who might otherwise make the trip to Fort Mason in San Francisco.
Beyond SJMADE, the Santa Clara County Fair at the County Fairgrounds (344 Tully Rd) runs each summer (a five-day fair, August 19–23 in 2026) with live music, carnival rides, food, junior livestock auctions, and traditional county fair programming. The fair maintains the agricultural traditions of the Santa Clara Valley — historically the "Valley of Heart's Delight" for its fruit orchards — even as Silicon Valley development has replaced virtually all of that farmland.
County Fairs & County Events Near San Jose
Santa Clara County's agricultural identity lives on in its fair, despite the dramatic transformation of the landscape. The orchards and fields that gave the valley its nickname are largely gone — replaced by campuses and suburbs — but the fair's agricultural exhibits and 4-H and FFA programming in south county maintain the connection. Morgan Hill and Gilroy still support active farming communities.
The Gilroy Garlic Festival each July reflects the remaining agricultural character of the southern valley. It draws visitors from across the Bay Area to celebrate one of the region's last major agricultural traditions alongside arts, crafts, and food vendors.
For a more traditional county fair experience, the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton (~22 miles north) shares its fairgrounds with the separate Pleasanton Harvest Festival and is one of the most complete county fair experiences in the Bay Area. Half Moon Bay's Art & Pumpkin Festival in October — about 35 miles northwest — ties harvest culture to a major coastal arts event.
SJMADE's Holiday Fair on Thanksgiving weekend effectively serves a community function similar to what county fairs do in other regions. It's the event that draws the whole community together for a single concentrated weekend of local shopping.
Best Times to Visit San Jose for Craft Events
Late May and June are the sweet spot for San Jose craft events. SJMADE Fest runs during the city's best outdoor weather — warm and sunny, without the extreme summer heat that arrives in July. History Park is an outdoor venue, so the timing matters. The Bay Area fog that makes San Francisco summers cool and damp is much less intense in San Jose, which sits inland and runs consistently warmer. August brought the SJMADE Summer Fair in 2026 (August 8–9), after a July date in 2025 that drew 350+ makers to the indoor venue. The indoor format is well-suited to San Jose's August heat (regularly 90–100°F) and makes this a comfortable mid-summer craft event option when outdoor shows in other cities are harder to enjoy. November is the other major peak, driven entirely by the SJMADE Holiday Fair on Thanksgiving weekend. If there's one event in San Jose to plan your calendar around, this is it — 350+ vendors, festive activations, and the Bay Area's holiday craft shopping energy concentrated in one place. Summer adds the Santa Clara County Fair at the County Fairgrounds (August 19–23 in 2026), mixing craft content with the broader county fair experience of livestock, entertainment, and agricultural exhibits.Nearby Cities for Craft Shows
San Jose sits at the hub of Silicon Valley and the South Bay, with several nearby cities worth exploring for craft events:
- Campbell, CA — ~5 miles SW; Downtown Campbell hosts street fairs and artisan events; strong neighborhood-scale craft culture
- Los Gatos, CA — ~10 miles SW; upscale boutique village with artisan retail; Montalvo Arts Center nearby
- Santa Cruz, CA — ~25 miles SW; coastal city with strong artisan and maker culture; First Friday Art Walk; Santa Cruz County Fair
- San Francisco, CA — ~50 miles N; Fort Mason craft events — West Coast Craft and Renegade SF — are the Bay Area's largest shows and worth the trip
Frequently Asked Questions
Where are the best craft shows in San Jose, CA?
SJMADE is the answer — three times a year, at different venues and scales. The SJMADE Fest at History Park (May/June) is the best outdoor option. The Summer Fair (indoors; August 8–9 in 2026) is the mid-summer option. The Holiday Fair on Thanksgiving weekend is the holiday highlight. The Santa Clara County Fair adds a county fair experience to the summer calendar. For smaller ongoing events, Willow Glen's Lincoln Avenue has a boutique artisan retail scene worth exploring.
When do craft shows happen in San Jose?
The SJMADE calendar defines the year: Fest in late May/June, Summer Fair in July or August, Holiday Fair in November on Thanksgiving weekend. The Santa Clara County Fair runs in summer (August 19–23 in 2026). These four events cover the core of the craft calendar. SJMADE also runs smaller pop-up events between major fairs, often listed on their website, and operates MOMENT retail storefronts.
Are there country fairs near San Jose?
The Santa Clara County Fair at the County Fairgrounds (344 Tully Rd) runs each summer (August 19–23 in 2026), with traditional fair programming. The Gilroy Garlic Festival (about 29 miles southeast) reflects the remaining agricultural culture of south Santa Clara County. For a larger county fair experience, the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton is about 22 miles north.
Is there a handmade market scene in San Jose?
San Jose's maker scene is unusually large and diverse for a city that doesn't always get credit for its creative culture. SJMADE has professionalized the local maker community with consistent events, curated vendor selection, and strong production values. The city's cultural diversity shows up at the market: Vietnamese craft traditions from the Little Saigon district, Japanese artisan heritage from Japantown, and makers from dozens of other cultural backgrounds contribute to a vendor mix that's genuinely different from what you'd find elsewhere.
Find Events in San Jose
CraftShow Events lists craft shows, artisan markets, and handmade fairs across San Jose and Silicon Valley. Search for SJMADE events, Santa Clara County Fair dates, or South Bay craft events by neighborhood or date.
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