Your guide to drinking at the Date Festival

It’s Date Festival time again in Indio and that means plenty of shows, monster trucks, hurl-inducing rides, animals, deep fried everything, those amazing cinnamon rolls, and, perhaps, a beer or two. For those partaking in an alcoholic beverage at the fest, here is what’s happening in 2019.

You will find a few spots selling beer and wine throughout Date Fest – with all but one serving Bud, Bud Light, and Michelob Ultra for $8. You can also get a Bud or Bud Light Chelada for $9 – but do note, it’s one of the canned ones and not freshly mixed.

You can also get Chardonnay, White Zin, and Merlot, if you’re more of a wine person. (More on the one spot to find craft beers below).

Related: Here’s how to get discount tickets to the Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival.

This year you will find a couple of two-story bars at the Date Fest:

Which is great for enjoying a little people watching while you drink your beer or just make yourself dizzy with this view:

Or you can just hang out in hopes of catching a celebrity or two – as I happened to see the one and only Michael Jackson at the other two-level bar.

This bar will be very interesting once the huge, expensive jail overlooking it finally opens as, you know, possibly prisoners might be doing some people watching of their own.

Now, if you are into craft beer, the one spot you will find anything resembling it is on the west end of the festival in front of the Fullenwider Auditorium.

At this spot, you will find Golden Road’s Wolf Pup (session IPA) and their Mango Cart (wheat ale) for nine bucks – which might just be the best beers to pair with the corn in a cup you know you are going to have.

There is also Stella, should you want to drink something that tastes like Bud Light, but costs a bucks more.

Please remember to drink responsibly and…

Enjoy the Date Fest and cheers!