The Santee Street Fair & Craft Beer Festival is the biggest single-day event in Santee. It draws over 30,000 people to Town Center Parkway and Riverview Parkway every Memorial Day weekend, and the 2026 edition runs on Saturday, May 23, from 10am to 6pm.
Produced by the Santee Chamber of Commerce, the event has become one of East County's signature community gatherings. It's part street fair, part food festival, part beer garden, and part car show. And it's all free to attend (beer garden tickets are separate).
What's at the Fair
Over 300 vendor booths line the streets, selling everything from handmade jewelry and art to kettle corn and local business services. The food vendors cover the full spectrum: Mexican, BBQ, kettle corn, lemonade, and whatever else the approved food trucks bring. Live music and entertainment run all day on the main stage.
The Craft Beer Festival is the anchor for the adult crowd. Local and regional breweries pour in the beer garden, and tickets for the beer garden go on sale ahead of time through the Santee Chamber of Commerce website. BNS Brewing and Distillery, which sits at 10960 Wheatlands Avenue in Santee, is a natural local representative. Oggi's and other local spots have participated in past years.
The car show is a separate registration ($25 per car, with a participation shirt and award included). Classic cars, hot rods, and custom builds fill a dedicated section of the fair grounds. Registration is handled through the Santee Chamber of Commerce website.
A kids zone with carnival games and rides covers the family side. It's the kind of event where you can bring a five-year-old and a fifty-year-old and both of them will have something to do all day.
Getting There
The fair takes over Town Center Parkway and Riverview Parkway, which means parking is the main challenge. The area around the Town Center, including the lots near Chuze Fitness, Board & Brew, and the Cameron Family YMCA, fills up early. Side streets and overflow lots absorb the rest.
MTS has been present at the fair in past years, and the Santee trolley station is within walking distance of the fairgrounds. If you can take the trolley, you skip the parking problem entirely.
For Vendors and Performers
Vendor applications are handled through Event Hub. Stage performance applications are submitted separately through the Santee Chamber website. Alcohol vendors register through a dedicated portal. Spots fill up, so apply early if you're a local business looking to participate.
The Santee Street Fair is a good snapshot of what Santee actually is: family-oriented, locally rooted, and not trying to be anything other than what it is. For the full entertainment calendar and dining scene in Santee, explore the community page on San Diego Lineup.
