A Four-Hour Coffee and Tea Fair in a Park the Size of a Backyard

Overview

The North Park Coffee & Tea Fair is on Saturday, January 9, 2027, from noon to 4 p.m. at North Park Mini Park on 29th Street — and it's free to get in.

Local roasters, handcrafted tea blends, drinkware and accessories, in a park that is genuinely about the size of a large backyard.

That last part is the whole character of the thing. North Park Mini Park is a pocket park — a single parcel on a residential block of 29th Street — and a coffee fair held in one is a different animal from a coffee festival held in a convention centre. You can see every vendor from where you're standing. You will end up talking to the person who roasted what you're drinking.

The organizers' own description: "Enjoy cozy, seasonal beverages and discover your new favorite beans and specialty teas. Plus unique drinkware and accessories."

January Is the Right Month For This

A coffee and tea fair in July is a hard sell. A coffee and tea fair nine days into January is exactly right.

It's the season for hot drinks, it's the dead zone of the social calendar when nothing else is on, and "discover your new favorite beans" is a far more appealing resolution than most of the ones going around that week.

And it's four hours in the middle of the day, which means it's a thing you do rather than a thing you commit an evening to.

What's There

Based on the fair's own description and the fuller version published for the previous edition:

• Local roasters — a curated selection, their word
• Handcrafted and small-batch tea blends
• Unique drinkware and accessories
• Cozy, seasonal beverages

The organizer is Viridian Productions, a San Diego outfit that runs a number of neighbourhood markets and describes its vendor roster as "a rotating lineup of diverse vendors offering the most eco-friendly food, products, and services in Southern California."

Admission is free, confirmed with the organizer — but register on Eventbrite anyway, because that's how they count heads for a venue this small.

One thing isn't out yet: there's no vendor list and no vendor count for 2027, so we can't tell you who's pouring until closer to the date. Watch their Instagram in December.

Rain or Shine

This is their own commitment, published for the previous edition: it's a rain-or-shine event.

Worth taking seriously on two counts. One, a January Saturday in San Diego is the most likely day of the year for this to be tested. Two, "rain or shine" from an outdoor organizer in this county is unusual enough to be a selling point — far more events quietly disappear at the first grey sky than will admit it.

It's also an all-ages event, by the previous edition's own listing.

It Benefits Feeding San Diego

The previous edition published that proceeds benefit Feeding San Diego.

That isn't restated on the 2027 listing yet, so we're telling you where it came from rather than presenting it as confirmed for January. But it's the kind of detail that's worth knowing about an organizer — a neighbourhood market that routes its proceeds to the county's food bank is doing more than filling a park on a Saturday.

How to Go

• When: Saturday, January 9, 2027, noon to 4 p.m.
• Where: North Park Mini Park, 3812 29th Street, San Diego, CA 92104
• Admission: free
• Register: via Eventbrite
• Organizer: Viridian Productions · viridianproductions.com · Instagram and Facebook @viridianproductionssd
• Rain or shine. All ages.

Good to Know

• It's a pocket park, not a festival ground. Expect intimate, not sprawling.
• Noon to four, so it's an afternoon rather than a whole day.
• It's free, but grab a ticket on Eventbrite so they know how many to expect.
• Rain or shine, and in January that might matter.
• All ages, per the previous edition's listing.
• Parking is residential North Park on a Saturday afternoon, which is to say: allow time, and consider not driving. 29th Street is a short walk from University Avenue.
• No vendor list is out yet. Watch their Instagram in December.
• Same day as the Resolution Run — see below.

Why It's Worth It

San Diego has an excellent small-roaster scene and almost no occasions on which it gathers in one place.

Most of the year, discovering a new roaster means driving to their one café and hoping you like it. Four hours in a park where a dozen of them are pouring side by side is a far better way to find the one you'll be buying beans from for the next two years — and tea, which gets even less of a hearing in this city than coffee, gets equal billing here.

The scale is the appeal. A pocket park on a residential street can't be anything other than friendly, and January is when you want a hot drink and somewhere to be on a Saturday afternoon.

One scheduling note that makes for an unusually good day: the San Diego Resolution Run is the same morning at Mission Bay — half marathon and 10K off at 7:15, 5K at 7:30. You'd be finished by half ten, which leaves plenty of time to shower and be in North Park by noon. A half marathon and a coffee fair is a genuinely great January Saturday.

And if you want somewhere nearby to sit down afterwards, our guide to Gem Coffee in Talmadge covers one of the better cups a few minutes east.

For more things worth doing, browse our events calendar.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the North Park Coffee & Tea Fair? Saturday, January 9, 2027, from noon to 4 p.m.

Where is it? North Park Mini Park, 3812 29th Street, San Diego, CA 92104.

How much is admission? It's free. Register on Eventbrite so the organizers can plan numbers.

Who organizes it? Viridian Productions, a San Diego company that runs several neighbourhood markets.

What vendors will be there? No vendor list has been published yet. The fair describes local roasters, handcrafted tea blends, and drinkware and accessories.

Is it cancelled if it rains? No. The previous edition was published as a rain-or-shine event.

Is it family friendly? The previous edition was listed as all ages.

Does it support a charity? The previous edition published that proceeds benefit Feeding San Diego. That hasn't been restated for 2027.

Where do I park? No parking information is published. It's a residential block of North Park a short walk from University Avenue, so allow time or consider not driving.

How long does it run? Four hours, noon to 4 p.m.