![fresno-street-eat-Fresyes-1024x819 5 Things I Will Do at Fresyes Fest [2023]](https://i0.wp.com/thefresnan.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/fresno-street-eat-Fresyes.jpg?resize=648%2C518&ssl=1)
We can debate what our biggest festivals are some other time. But it might be Fresyes Fest. Biggest or not, I PLAN on going (I don’t get out much, so I am cautious with my optimism of leaving the house for something).
Fresyes Fes is this Saturday. It is centered around the Brewery District. Streets will be blocked. Beer will be drank. Music will be played. Tacos will be eaten.
Here are five things I plan to do, maybe you can to:
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If you are on ‘Fresno Internet’, I’m sure you have seen that FresYes Fest is Saturday.
If you haven’t been before, my number one tip is to go early. It starts at 1:00 so go at 1:00! (Unless you are not broken like me and enjoy large crowds then go whenever)
I plan to stick around for Bill Clifton & The Chicken & Whiskey Band’s set there in the 3-4 mid-afternoon sweet spot, then I will have one foot out the door – time to hit the road.
Reason being, that is the time (4:30ish) when the lines really start forming. The mess starts happening. The youth begin to takeover. People from weird places like Clovis start showing up.
And that’s totally cool and stuff – I just don’t want to be there for it. My curmudgeon self won’t endure.
The only thing that might get me to stay is Joshua Tehee hosting a stage:
I can’t say I have heard of any of those bands which is totally cool because I am ready to be impressed or whatever – it has been too damn long since I’ve seen some local talent live.
I also might stay for beer – if there are no lines. Also can stay for taco variants:
But again, you gotta be there early, even for tacos.
“Where the fuck do I park!?” Like, dude, wherever. Look at the map:
Alrighty, well, it doesn’t exactly hold your hand and show you where to park but just act like you’re going to a Grizzlies game or jury duty and you’ll be fine.
But also, maybe get your Uncle to give you a ride down there and just wing it for a ride home – make an adventure out of it. One year I walked over to The Raddison and got an Uber home from there.
Anyway, it will be fun, even for grumpy dudes like me. See ya out there EARLY. ✌️?
For the sake of this post, I will put aside the debate about if it is safe enough to go to a packed bar in the final (we hope) throws of a pandemic.
That said…
Tonight is Thanksgiving Eve. Traditionally a big night in the Tower District, where Fresno Natives (now living out-of-town) come back and mix with current Fresnans.
Those current ones have to listen to old friends pump up their post-Fresno lives, like they’re trying to sell us on bitcoin.
Livingstone’s traditionally has been the epicenter for these meetups. At this point, I am afraid to go.
Not because I am worried I’ll run into some weird person from my past. It’s because I likely would not run into anybody.
Like, not one person I know.
Been away from the Tower scene too long. And any old friends I might see hardly go out anymore either.
I might be too old for Livingstone’s. (ouch that stings)
Enjoy yourselves, younger Tower people. Enjoy Livingstone’s and Strummers and Goldstein’s and Vini’s and Fresbrew and Spokeasy’s and whatever.
Enjoy it while it lasts, kids.
Out in my backyard on the patio I can currently hear four different neighbors either on their patio or in their backyard, enjoying themselves.
Two different music streams (outside of my own). Lots of laughing and alcohol-charged loud talk. Pent-up partying getting released.
The outside lighting for the patio is starting to take effect and the stars are coming out.
It’s 8:49PM, 80 degrees and a damn nice Fresno evening.
Cheers to Saturday nights and peace to Fresno. ✌️
It’s time for Summer Sweat again!
My favorite music-related event of the year (well, since FUSE Fest is tucked away hiding in a Downtown basement somewhere).
I love Fresno events that fucking own that they are a Fresno event! That’s right, an outdoor event, during the hottest time of the year. Call it Summer Sweat. Bring the damn sweat!
I will check in on this in between sets on the Tioga Stage and getting Fulton Street IPAs. But I would be lying if I told you I knew what the hell was going on there.
DJ Burns will be there. I sure hope it’s my friend Doug from 3rd Grade whom we all still call “Burns” and he has secretly been DJ-ing for years. Probably not.
There will be food and vendors of various sorts, check the flyer above for the list. All I need to know is there will be food and I’m cool. I am here for the music and beer.
I’ll try to update this post when I know the set times and if there are any special beer releases Tioga has up its sleeve.
Oh wait, here are the set times:
I am definitely centering things around Pinkeye’s set with an eye on Macondo’s.
The thing I like about Summer Sweat above all the other music related events and festivals in Fresno is that it doesn’t get uncomfortably packed with Fresbros or anybody else, it’s about the music, it’s approachable, there is the good beer. Enough said.
See ya out there, sweating and breathing heavy.
I decided to ride my bike to a Fresno beer thing last week (Happy Anniversary, Pine & Palm Brewing). One, because obviously, it’s better to ride a bike with a couple pops in ya than drive. Second, because I always preach riding your bike in Fresno but don’t do it enough. So I did.
My destination? Pine & Palm Brewing. 2nd Anniversary Party.
My route? Fruit, North to Herndon. Herndon to Palm (via trail pictured above). Palm to Bedford. Bedford to brewery.
I begin on Fruit. The same section that some council asshat stopped a fully funded and approved road-diet on because he sat at a corner for an hour and allegedly didn’t observe any bikers. (Yeah, I’m still bitter)
As I was stopped at the light at Fruit & Bullard, I chose to rest on the white line dividing the two lanes because there was a car coming up behind me that wanted to turn right so I wanted to give them space to do that. As the light turned green, I went back into the lane knowing there we no cars behind me so I could safely use the lane. But the car that was turning right decided not to and is now directly behind me.
Normally, Fresno drivers get pissed-off that they are having to wait for a bike, even though said bike as a right to be using the lane. I got over quickly for fear of a bottle being tossed at my head. When the car passed, there was no bottle. No finger. No “Get the fuck off the road!” The car uneventfully went by.
Fresnans just might be getting more mellow with sharing the road.
At Pine & Palm Brewing, having some beers, celebrating two years of the brewery in their new taproom, getting slightly annoyed at the soccer fans that have taken over the Taproom.
I now get word that there is a group of Perfect Pour people over at the newest Fresno drinking spot, just around the corner. I leave the soccer fans to their fun and head over.
Yep. There is a new craft beer and wine bar in Fresno and it’s in an industrial park in Pinedale – well, I refer to it as Pinedale anyway. It’s called Tap & Cellar. Check it:
Great beer list. They have kegs of beer that you can’t find anywhere else in town. Good addition to the scene.
Before I get too deep into day-drinking, it’s time to bike home. I took a slightly different route back and discovered a small, but effective, path that comes close to the Herndon path:
This little trail runs along Harrison Ave, behind (to the West) of the Palm Bluffs area.
Finishing the ride at home, I was pleased with Fresnans because nobody seemed to get pissed at me – at least they didn’t make it known. There is hope. Maybe Fresno can be a bike-friendly place after all.