BottleRock kicks off Memorial Day weekend in Napa

NAPA, Calif. - The 11th annual BottleRock Napa Valley festival is now underway for its three-day weekend run at the Napa Valley Expo Center. In just over a decade, BottleRock Napa Valley has become one of the hottest and most sought-after tickets at festivals nationwide.

Five stages define the maze of the huge event. One stage is reserved for famous artists and famous chefs to put on cooking displays. It's the hottest ticket in the Bay, filled with music, art, food, wine, spirits and beers.

Entertainment is nonstop with the likes of Stevie Nicks, Ed Sheeran, Pearl Jam and Mana. Weekend tickets are sold out and as many as 40,000 will attend each day.

Local purveyors in the Culinary Garden provide local food fare along with local wineries, breweries and distilleries. It is a classy, well-run, world-class event, with more than ample security.

"The grounds are huge. It's clean. It looks beautiful; lots of food varieties everywhere. It's amazing.  This is maybe even a family thing," said Tim Fievig. It's his first time attending.

"For us, it's always felt like a family affair and I know it's gotten to be more so. But for us, it's something we do every year to start the summer," said Steve Beverage. 

"We know that they're safe when they're with us. Yeah, we feel safe," said Rochelle Beverage.

For the Beverage family, this weekend marks their eighth BottleRock attendance. 

Alicia Fogel came with some girlfriends: "This represents Napa Valley perfectly. There's people from all around the world that are here and BottleRock is second to one. We call it 'momchella,'

How does it rate on a scale of one to 10? 

"I would say an 11 if that can be said, It's a wonderful event. I've been coming here for the last four years. It's an amazing Mecca…you have everything to do with wine food and music," said Bisi Erioja.

Next weekend on June 1 and 2, the spectacular Latina festival La Onda will commence with stars Mana, Junior H and Alejandro Fernandez.