Meading at the Garden

Mead Festival to benefit Alta Vista Botanical Gardens

SATURDAY, APRIL 1, 2023. 
TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW!

Our Sponsors

Aloha printing - Meading at the Gardens - Sponsors 2023

About Meading at the Garden 2023

8th Annual Meading at the Garden is being held on APRIL 1, 2023

Exciting news, mead and beer lovers!

We’ve made some changes to the Meading at the Garden festival that we think you’re going to love! Now, with each admission, you’ll receive 10 drink tickets ($10 value) to use on your favorite meads and brews. And don’t worry, if you need more, additional drink tickets are available for only $1 each at two separate kiosks during the festival from 12pm-4:45pm.

We know that change can be scary, but trust us, this is the next logical step in our festival’s evolution. We promise that it won’t change the spirit of the event or its basic format. Plus, admission is even cheaper this year! And with $2 tasters and $5 full pours, you’ll still be getting an amazing value for your money.

So, what are you waiting for? Come out and enjoy the 8th Annual Meading at the Garden festival, where you can sample over 30 meads, ciders, and beers from some of SoCal’s finest breweries, all while supporting the Alta Vista Botanical Gardens. Get your tickets now and let’s raise a glass together!

Cheers!
Dave Nichols, Event Coordinator, AVBG

The 8th Annual Meading at the Garden is being held on APRIL 1, 2023 at the Alta Vista Botanical Gardens in Vista, CA. This year the event falls on April Fool’s Day, so come be a fool with us and have some fun!! As always, 100% of all proceeds are donated to the Alta Vista Botanical Gardens.

About Meading at the Garden

The largest mead festival on the west coast, Meading at the Garden features over 17 meaderies, cideries, and breweries. Come join hundreds of mead enthusiasts, homebrewers, aficionados, and local residents to sample modern versions of the world’s oldest fermented beverage — Mead! There will also be plenty of beer on hand from some of SoCal’s finest breweries. Enjoy food from local restaurants and eateries!!

Listen to live music! Win raffle prizes! Check out the mead-making demonstration and honey tasting!

Please note that this event is 21+ and no infants are allowed.

The Blindfold Monks, a group of devoted musicians and longtime friends, will be headlining Meading at the Garden 2023. The band started in a car park at the Oceanside Moose Lodge after a few too many beers and is comprised of David Lally from Brogue Wave, four members of The Drowning Men (Nato Bardeen, Todd Eisenkerch, Rory Dolan, and Gabe Messer), and when not touring with Flogging Molly, Matt Hensley. The band members honed their disciplines over many hours of listening and playing along with the great Ned Giblin at Tom Giblin’s Irish Pub. Rooted in the sounds of Irish traditional music and with the heart of a punk band, Blindfold Monks are sure to put a smile on your face and a tap to your foot.

The Custard Pie, Custard Pie is a high-energy band that will get you moving with their upbeat and funky sound. Hailing from San Diego, they have been entertaining audiences with their unique blend of classic rock, funk, and blues for over a decade.

With a talented and diverse group of musicians, Custard Pie delivers a captivating live performance that is not to be missed. Their repertoire includes a mix of covers and original music, all infused with their signature style and energy. Don’t miss their performance at Meading at the Garden from 1-3pm, where they will have you dancing and grooving to their infectious tunes. Get your tickets now and come experience the magic of Custard Pie live!
meading at the gardens_custardpieband.com-2023.03.13-10

The Custard Pie, Custard Pie is a high-energy band that will get you moving with their upbeat and funky sound. Hailing from San Diego, they have been entertaining audiences with their unique blend of classic rock, funk, and blues for over a decade.

With a talented and diverse group of musicians, Custard Pie delivers a captivating live performance that is not to be missed. Their repertoire includes a mix of covers and original music, all infused with their signature style and energy.

Don’t miss their performance at Meading at the Garden from 1-3pm, where they will have you dancing and grooving to their infectious tunes. Get your tickets now and come experience the magic of Custard Pie live!

meading at the gardens_custardpieband.com-2023.03.13-10

Beverage Vendors

  • Arcana
  • Barley Engineers
  • Barrel and Stave
  • Batch
  • Battlemage
  • Bear Roots
  • Belching Beaver
  • Booze Brothers
  • Breakwater
  • Chubby Cheeks
  • Golden Coast
  • Hidden Hive
  • Humboldt
  • Inzane
  • Laguna
  • Lost Cause
  • Mead Made Mod
  • Meadiocrity
  • Meteor
  • Moonlight
  • No. Co. Home Brewers
  • Propaganda
  • Raging
  • Twisted Horn
  • Wild West
  • Drinking Horn
  • Prohibition
  • Superstition
  • Wild Barrel

Food Vendors

Baby's Badass Burgers

Bread and Cheese

Dropout Pizza

Hawaiian Hippy

Sticky Chicken

General Vendors

Checkers Beard Co.
Dragon Breath Jerky

Partypop Popcorn
So Rich Chocolates

Steel Mill Coffee
Sunfire Hotsauce

The Cookie Duo
Vista Viking Festival/Sons of Norway

Thank You To All Our Vendors

We want to give a huge thank you to all the amazing vendors who participated in the 8th Annual Meading at the Garden event in 2023! Your mead, cider, and beer offerings were outstanding, and the food from local restaurants and eateries was nothing short of delicious. We also appreciate the time and effort put into the mead-making demonstration and honey tasting. We couldn’t have made this event a success without each and every one of you. Thank you for being a part of Meading at the Garden and helping us support the Alta Vista Botanical Gardens.

Stay Tuned More Sponsors Coming Daily

Ticket Options

Meading at the Garden 2023

VIP Admission* begins at 10:45 am.
General Admission begins at 12 pm.

Admission includes (1) 12 oz. taster glass and ten(10) drink tickets

*VIP ticket required for entry to the 6-Course Hawaiian-themed VIP Mead Pairing.

Admission does NOT include unlimited taster pours. Each guest receives ten beverage tickets with admission and additional beverage tickets may be purchased at AVBG ticket kiosks located throughout the festival. Beverage tickets can be redeemed for tasters or full pours of beer, wine, mead, or cider throughout the festival.

Admission Perks – Meading at the Garden

General Admission and VIP tickets include enjoying live music on the main stage with talented local bands, experiencing mead-making firsthand, and exploring the renaissance of the Viking Village.

  • This Viking-themed mini-village is back, featuring axe-throwing, live blacksmithing, and leatherworking.
  • Experience mead-making firsthand at the mead brewing demonstration with the North County Homebrewers Association.
  • Honey up close! There are periodic honey tastings throughout the day from Temecula Valley Honey Company. Check out the live bee hive presented by The San Diego Beekeepers Society
  • Enjoy many other fun activities including an Easter egg hunt, plant sale, and much more!

Raffle tickets can be purchased to enter to win valuable merchandise! There are dozens of prizes donated by local breweries, homebrewers, mead-makers, and businesses – there’s something for everyone. Buy a ticket and you could be the lucky winner!

All proceeds from ticket sales will help Alta Vista Botanical Gardens to pay for improvements, maintenance, education, and natural resources like water and power. So your purchase not only gives you a chance to win great prizes but also helps to support the gardens. Get your tickets today!

Meading at the Garden 2023

COME JOIN US ON SATURDAY, APRIL 1, 2023 AT ALTA VISTA BOTANICAL GARDENS IN VISTA, CA. FOR THE LARGEST MEAD FESTIVAL ON THE WEST COAST!!!

VIP Gourmet Benefits

Meading at the Garden 2023
Join us for a very special gourmet Luau – Themed Mead Pairing – Enjoy a delicious 6-course luau – inspired gourmet pairing before the event from 11am-1pm in the ceremonial rose garden! (VIP ticket required). Mead Made Mod and Chef Samantha from The Privateer will be on hand for a guided pairing of gourmet tropical flavors and exceptional local mead.
VIP Menu
A 6-Course Hawaiian-inspired Mead Pairing featuring tropical and luau-style themes & flavors.
Chef: Samantha Parker
(The Privateer Coal Fire Kitchen)
Primer
Yuzu Honeydew Granita w/Lemon Rind Garnir
Moonlight Meadery
“Wicked” (Ginger / Vanilla Mead)
Starter
Pitaya Lychee Salad w/Charred Basil Avocado Pancement
Meadiocrity & Mead Made Mod Collaboration
“Herbal Roots” (Acai / Basil Mead)
Appetizer
Grilled Cabbage and Shiitake Eggroll w/Lychee Aigre-Doux
Drinking Horn Meadery
“2022 Traditional” (Traditional Honey Mead)
Entree
Luau-Style Pulled Pork w/Spicy Pineapple Chutney & Roasted Hawaiian Yams
Lost Cause & Mead Made Mod Collaboration
“Tropical Rhapsody” (Mango / Passionfruit Mead)
Dessert
Blistered Pineapple/Guava Upside-Down Cake w/Rum BA Bochet Reduction
Belching Beaver & Mead Made Mod Collaboration
“Guava Lava” (Guava Mead)
Digestif
Superstition Meadery
“Tiki Tim’s Tickle Time” (Rum BA “Mai Tai” Mead w/Oranges and Mint)

General Admission and VIP tickets include enjoying live music on the main stage with talented local bands, experiencing mead-making firsthand, and exploring the renaissance of the Viking Village.

  • This Viking-themed mini-village is back, featuring axe-throwing, live blacksmithing, and leatherworking.
  • Experience mead-making firsthand at the mead brewing demonstration with the North County Homebrewers Association.
  • Honey up close! There are periodic honey tastings throughout the day from Temecula Valley Honey Company. Check out the live bee hive presented by The San Diego Beekeepers Society
  • Enjoy many other fun activities including an Easter egg hunt, plant sale, and much more!

Raffle tickets can be purchased to enter to win valuable merchandise! There are dozens of prizes donated by local breweries, homebrewers, mead-makers, and businesses – there’s something for everyone. Buy a ticket and you could be the lucky winner!

All proceeds from ticket sales will help Alta Vista Botanical Gardens to pay for improvements, maintenance, education, and natural resources like water and power. So your purchase not only gives you a chance to win great prizes but also helps to support the gardens. Get your tickets today!

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Course VIP Lunch
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Food Vendors
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Snack Vendors
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Beverage Vendors

Meading at the Garden 2023

COME JOIN US ON SATURDAY, APRIL 1, 2023 AT ALTA VISTA BOTANICAL GARDENS IN VISTA, CA. FOR THE LARGEST MEAD FESTIVAL ON THE WEST COAST!!!

Photo gallery

Meading at the Gardens 2023 Location

The Meading at the Garden 2023 Event will be held at the Alta Vista Botanical Gardens located in Vista, CA. 

Offering fourteen acres of botanicals, art and sculptures mixed together.  Our unique approach to Botanical Gardens features a wide variety of plants, walking trails, and event space.  Our walking trails display art and sculptures, throughout the 14 acres, from local talent. Our event space is host to many educational and enriching social activities.  One of our goals is the protection, preservation and care of various habitats of beautiful and rare variety of plants of the world.

Prohibited Items

Meading at the Garden 2023
  • No illegal or illicit substances.
  • No weapons of any kind including, but not limited to, pocket knives and self defense sprays
  • No flammable items including aerosols and fireworks
  • No open containers of any kind. Sealed water bottles are permitted.
  • No markers, pens or spray paint
  • No bottles, cans, canteens, flasks, thermos, or coolers.
  • No bicycles, skateboards, hover-boards, scooters, or personal motorized vehicles other than authorized handicapped transportation equipment.
  • No drones or unmanned aerial vehicles

  • No animals except for service animals assisting an individual with a disability. “Comfort,” “therapy” or “emotional support” animals do not meet the definition of a service animal and are not permitted entry to the festival.
  • No water guns, squirt guns, nerf guns, or any other projectile launchers.
  • No noisemakers or air horns
  • No professional cameras or professional video and audio recording equipment, camera poles, or selfie sticks.
  • No confetti, streamers, or loose glitter (wearable cosmetics are acceptable)
  • Additional items may be prohibited at the discretion of security officials.
 

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