Featuring authentic Italian cuisine, live entertainment, bocce ball and plenty of vino, the Italian American Heritage Foundation is expected to bring 35,000 fans of Italian culture to downtown San Jose.

The annual San Jose Gay Pride Festival is split up into two days. Saturday is a community day in the park with family activities, pickup volleyball, bingo, local entertainers and DJs. On Sunday, a colorful parade kicks off activities at 11am before the festival begins with food booths, arts and crafts, informational booths and live performances (previous entertainers have included Cyndi Lauper, Joan Jett, Crystal Waters, CeCe Peniston, Margaret Cho, Pansy Division, the Cheeseballs, Orchestra de Soul, Silicon Valley Gay Men's Chorus and every disco diva there ever was). There's also a Country & Western dance floor, a ProLatino cultural garden, a Leather Alley and the ever-popular Watergarden Dance Tent.

San Jose Bacon Festival of America, one of the city’s largest annual food events, will return Labor Day Weekend for two days of carnivorous fun at Plaza de Cesar Chavez.

C2SV Technology Conference and Music Festival pairs the biggest names in the tech industry with world famous musicians over a long weekend in downtown San Jose.

"Tet”, or Lunar New Year, is an important occasion to the Vietnamese culture celebrating the first day of lunar calendar. With lion dances, beauty pageants, fashion shows, singers, dancers and comedians, the festival seeks to promote Vietnamese culture and heritage while embracing the diversity of Santa Clara County.

Winter Fest, a counterpart to the popular San Jose Jazz Summer Fest, features a variety of established Jazz musicians as well as exciting and innovative Jazz upstarts.

Cinequest Film Festival celebrates the bleeding edge of independent film making with more than 200 screenings over 13 days and more than 600 film makers in attendance. Each year a Maverick Spirit Award celebrates important film makers and actors (anyone from Jackie Chan to Harrison Ford).

Organized by Cheri Lakey and Brian Eder of Anno Domini, a long-time arts and cultural hub in the SoFA District, SubZero is a celebration of Silicon Valley's underground arts scene where "street meets geek" with artists, DIY artisans and technologists, bands, DJs and more.

Since 1981, Fountain Blues Festival has brought some of the biggest names in blues to San Jose, including Bo Diddley, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Canned Heat, Robert Cray and Elvin Bishop.

The oppressive heat of July only gets hotter in Gilroy during the last full weekend. That's when cooks fire up the gas grills in honor of the righteous garlic bulb. The assertive herb gets chopped, minced and pressed into pesto, scampi, french bread, mushrooms, french fries, ice cream and more. A highly coveted cooking contest, arts and crafts booths, demos, daredevil skateboarders and BMXers join live music and general food-coma laziness in an afternoon saluting the mighty bulb. A generous portion from the gate and food sales benefits local charities.

The Obon Festival celebrates ancestors and relatives who have passed away but it's far from a downer. Festive lanterns hang from the streetlights, making the party easier to find for the spirits. The teriyaki, sushi, shortcake and tempura booths offer good eats. And the Bon Odori dance offers entertainment all. Every year, the traditional dance draws hundreds of participants from young kids with happi coats and Pokeman fans to grandmothers in elegant Japanese kimonos. The Obon Festival is Japantown's largest cultural event filled with game booths, food, cultural exhibits and demonstrations, music by the Chidori Band, San Jose Taiko and dancers in full costume each evening.

Tahitian dance companies from America and around the world make the trip to San Jose for the largest Tahitian cultural exposition outside of the islands. Workshops in dancing, drumming, costume design, nose flute, language and music are part of the weekend. Groups and individuals compete for the coveted dance awards.

The Santa Clara County Fair brings a slice of Americana to Silicon Valley with classic activities, including farm animals and livestock, rides and carnival games a destruction derby and carnival food. It's also the place to watch bands either on their way up (both *NSYNC and Backstreet Boys played the Fair during their nascent years) or down (forgotten Latin, soul, country and rock & roll bands with or without its original members).

Viva Fest returns to San Jose with a Mariachi Mass at Cathedral Basilica of San Jose (July 26), workshops at San Jose City College (July 25-29) and concert at San Jose State University Events Center (July 30). This festival gathers the community together as a celebration of the Mexican culture.

Each year, more than 80 performers, including national headliners and local favorites, arrive in San Jose for San Jose Jazz Summer Fest. Performances take place at venues and festival stages throughout downtown San Jose, complemented by special events and great food vendors