Discover Vacaville

Vacaville is a people-oriented city and as such, takes immense pride in its community events, such as springtime’s Fiesta Days, the Christmas Festival of Trees, which raises money for the town’s homeless shelter, and Merriment on Main, which packs the downtown every year.

Sprinkled between these offerings are myriad events that draw the community together and attract others to the city to experience the city’s charm.

The city has a welcoming downtown with a host of small businesses, including stores and restaurants, with an active town square that hosts entertainment events on many weekends. The adjacent Creekwalk and Andrews Park are also often entertainment venues.

A thriving downtown and large, popular shopping areas – including Vacaville Premium Outlets and the Nut Tree shopping center – make Vacaville a popular shopping destination.

The city has always prided itself on being a forward-looking town, as evidenced by its biotech industry, the arrival of Icon Aircraft, large number of electric vehicle charging stations and its family oriented community with a network of parks and youth programs.

Vacaville was founded in 1851 by pioneer William McDaniel, when he bought part of an 1843 Mexican land grant held by Manuel Cabeza Vaca with the promise that McDaniel would name the town Vacaville. The city was incorporated in 1892.

Vacaville’s most famous restaurant, the Nut Tree, opened in the 1920s as a produce stand located under a large oak next to the main road that linked Sacramento with the San Francisco Bay Area. While the Nut Tree closed in 1996, its legacy continues in the Nut Tree shopping center, which opened in 2009.

Vacaville is not a city stuck in the past, but many residents are sweet on the old Nut Tree and what it represents.

When a sign along Interstate 80 marking the former business was taken down in March 2015, devotees of the old Nut Tree were there to mourn and memorialize the moment of cement and glass that took two years to build – and a day to take down.

Two of the 12-ton panels of the 72-foot-tall sign that marked the site of the Nut Tree restaurant, the historic site where a San Francisco mayor was once said – erroneously he insisted – to have met with the Mafia, were preserved.

Vacaville, like much of California, boomed after World War II. Population now puts the municipality at third in Solano County, behind Vallejo and Fairfield, although many Vacaville residents would say that’s a contest they’re not entering.

Rather than look at numbers, Vacaville’s boosters say its benefits include a thriving downtown and a quality of life unmatched in Solano County.

For the sizable population of commuters, Vacaville is equidistant from the Sacramento area and the San Francisco Bay Area, connected to both by Interstate 80, which cuts the town in half.

The hills west of town shelter Vacaville, giving it warm summers with average highs in the upper 90s and mild winters with lows that can drop into the mid-30s.

NUT TREE PLAZA

Nut Tree Plaza, next to Interstate 80 in northeast Vacaville, is an entertaining blend of the old and new, with a wide host of retail businesses sharing the land with a family oriented town plaza that features the restored Nut Tree train and a carousel. The plaza inherited the legacy of the original Nut Tree, which was founded in 1921 when the Power family set up a small fruit stand under a large oak tree beside the road that is now I-80. It grew into the most popular road stop between Sacramento and San Francisco, offering a restaurant, dried fruits, toys, children’s rides, aviation books, souvenirs, gemstones and a post office. The original Nut Tree closed in 1996, only to be reborn as the Nut Tree Plaza, which offers a mix of more than 40 restaurants and businesses that includes Fenton’s Creamery, See’s Candy and major businesses such as Best Buy. Nut Tree’s town plaza offers special events such as the Vacaville Jazz Festival.

LOCATION: East Monte Vista Avenue at Nut Tree Road MORE INFORMATION: www.nuttreeusa.com

DOWNTOWN VACAVILLE

Clustered around the intersection of Merchant and Main streets, Vacaville’s downtown is an active and entertaining neighborhood with activities that range from summertime farmers markets and town square concerts to major events such as Merriment on Main and the Art, Wine and Brew Festival. It is a historically well-preserved town center with more than two dozen restaurants, cafes and bars sharing the sidewalks with a healthy selection of small shops and businesses that run the gamut from bicycle stores and travel agencies to photo studios and fitness centers. The downtown’s businesssupported activities include the very popular Fiesta Days festival, the mid-spring to mid-fall Certified Farmers Market, the Singer-Songwriter Competition, the community’s Fourth of July celebration, the Merriment on Main Christmas spectacular, the Creekwalk Concert series and a host of smaller music and food events.

NUT TREE PLAZA

LOCATION: Area surrounding Merchant and Main streets MORE INFORMATION: 707-451-2100; www.downtownvacaville.com

VACAVILLE PREMIUM OUTLETS

It’s easy to spend an entire day shopping at the impressive collection of more than 120 retail outlets in the Vacaville Premium Outlets. The retail campus is one of the largest shopping destinations in the Sacramento/San Francisco Bay area. Reviews by shoppers laud its wide selection of stores that includes major names such as Calvin Klein, Nike and Polo Ralph Lauren, as well as some really good deals for those who are willing to hunt. Reviewers’ only downside is the sheer size and its popularity for everyone from local shoppers to tour buses, which can make finding weekend parking an adventure of its own. For those who want a break from all the bargain hunting, there is a good selection of sit-down restaurants such as The Olive Garden and fast food joints such as In-N-Out Burger within walking distance. LOCATION: 321 Nut Tree Road, Vacaville MORE INFORMATION: 707-447-5755; www.premiumoutlets.com

Saturday Mornings 8am-Noon

Creekwalk Plaza at Andrews Park

VacavilleFarmersMarket.com New to the Market!

Meet Me at the Market

VACAVILLE MUSEUM

Since it was established in 1984, the Vacaville Museum has prided itself on preserving and educating the public about all of Solano County’s cultural and historical heritage. The museum has produced more than 40 exhibits on the area’s history, from American Indian artifacts found in and around Vacaville to the region’s famous fruit industry. It does not offer any permanent exhibits and produces two temporary exhibits every year. It also hosts public events such as Sallie Fox Day, which teaches local schoolchildren about the life and times of California pioneer girl Sallie Fox. LOCATION: 213 Buck Ave., Vacaville MORE INFORMATION: 707-447-4513; www.vacavillemuseum.org

VACAVILLE CALENDAR OF EVENTS

VACAVILLE JAZZ FESTIVAL

Creekwalk Concert Series: 6:30 p.m. Fridays, through Aug. 5 at the CreekWalk Plaza, Andrews Park, 614 E Monte Vista Ave. Food, drinks, beer, and wine available for purchase from food trucks and food stands. Free admission for children 12 and younger; $3 for those 13 and older. Remaining calendar: July 1, Vinyl Ride; July 4, Project 4 Band; July 8, Fog City Swampers; July 15, Time Bandits; July 22, Gator Nation; July 29, Kingsborough; Aug. 5, Cut Loose. Info.: https://www.visitvacaville.com/events/creekwalk-concert-series. Vacaville Farmers Market: 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays, through Sept. 3. Creekwalk Plaza at Andrews Park. Info.: www.downtownvacaville.com.

Fourth of July Celebration: Vacaville celebrates the nation’s independence downtown at 6:30 p.m. July 4 with an old-fashioned evening of music and fireworks under the stars. The fireworks show starts at dusk. Info: https:// www.visitvacaville.com/blog/fourth-of-july-guide. Vacaville Jazz Festival: Sept. 14-16, Nut Tree Plaza, 1661 E. Monte Vista Ave., Vacaville. The annual festival features several bands performing at various venues in downtown Vacaville and at the Nut Tree Village. Free admission. Info.: www.VacaJazzSociety.com.