The Benicia Waterfront Festival will make its return this year to the First Street Green. For two days, festival participants will be treated to tasty foods, craft beers and wine by the glass, a vendor village and a kids’ activity alley.

Among the foods to be served by various vendors this year are barbecue ribs, Philly cheesesteaks, corn dogs, lumpia, Bay shrimp cocktails, garlic fries, steamed artichokes and a whole lot of other items that are sure to send your mouth watering. Additionally, Sogno Tuscano will be on hand to sell olive oils, vinegars and prepackaged gourmet Italian specialty items.

Vendors will also be prevalent with an array of items to purchase and activities to take part in. Napa Scrubs will be selling bath products, Baja Nights Jewelry out of Oakland will be selling Southwestern-inspired bracelets and earrings, and Vallejo’s Bombshell Entertainment will be providing face painting, balloon twisting and caricature drawing. The Kids’ Activity Alley will feature a moon bounce and slide, courtesy of Benicia’s very own Jump Jump and Away.

The two-day extravaganza will also be filled with live music. From 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, San Francisco-based Southern rock band Fog City Swampers will take the stage to perform classic rock favorites from the likes of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Lynyrd Skynyrd and more. Afterwards, soft rock band The Blend will take the stage from 1:30 to 3:30. In turn, they will be followed by In Living Cover, a seven-piece group that covers party jams from the ’90s through today, performing from 4 to 6 p.m.

Sunday will also feature live musical throwbacks to the past. House of Floyd will kick things off from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. with their renditions of Pink Floyd’s repertoire. From 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., Billy Joel will take the stage. Except it won’t really be Billy Joel but rather Really Joel, the alias of a San Francisco man who calls himself “Bill Martin.” He will be performing some of Joel’s biggest hits and will be followed up by Tortilla Soup, an Oakland-based Latin funk band who will perform from 4 to 6 p.m.

The festival will be held from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, July 30 and 31 at the First Street Green, located at the corner of First and B streets. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for seniors and free for children ages 12 and under. There is also a $15 weekend pass available for those who want to attend both days. Sales end two days before the event starts and can be purchased at beniciamainstreet.org/benicia-events/benicia-waterfront-festival-2016. A “buy one, get one free” deal can be purchased at Benicia Main Street, located at 90 First St. For more information, visit BeniciaMainStreet.org.

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