California Food Festivals--Eat Until You Drop

California is the nation's leading agriculture producer, rolling out more agricultural products than most of the world’s countries. We’ve even made our deserts productive so that what would otherwise be out of season can be obtained almost year round. The state's growers produce over 350 different food commodities and they are shipped to the whole world.

Think about it. Nothing is tastier than a plate of California's own baby lettuces, lightly dressed, or a fresh steamed artichoke served with garlic butter, or steamed asparagus served cold with lemon and capers.

One of the best ways to sample some of that fresh produce, at the source, is by spending a day at one of California's many food festivals. Combine it with a little vacation and enjoy the bounty we are so lucky to have.

There's garlic in Gilroy, of course, asparagus in Stockton, and even a carrot festival. Whatever your pleasure — fruit or vegetable — if it's grown in California, there's sure to be a festival that's too tasty to miss.

Here's a sampling of the festivals set for dates in the year after the date of this blog post. If you miss one and want to catch the next one, check the web site of the festival shown below for the next event.

· Almonds — September 11, 12 & 13, 2009
Oakley Almond Festival
Meet "Ben Toasted," Oakley's Almond Festival mascot.
For more: www.oakleychamber.com/almondfestival.html

· Apples — August 15 & 16, 2009
Gravenstein Apple Fair
Sponsored by Sonoma County Farm Trails, whose members promote local agriculture, and allow visitors to buy direct from the growers and producers.
For more: www.farmtrails.org/gravensteinapplefair/default.html

· Apples — October 197& 18, 2009
Springfield Apple Festival
And what apple festival isn't complete without baking and pie eating contests!
For more: www.springville.ca.us/applefest/index.html

· Apricots — May 29, 30 & 31, 2009
Patterson Apricot Festival
For more: www.patterson-ca.com/fiesta/fiesta1.htm

· Asparagus — April 24, 25 & 26, 2009
Stockton Asparagus Festival
"Catch the spear-it!!"
For more: www.asparagusfest.com

· Artichokes — May 16 & 17, 2009
The Castroville Artichoke Festival
"California's oldest agricultural and food festival"
For more: www.artichoke-festival.org

· Avocados — April 19, 2009
The Avocado Festival in Fallbrook
"Everything you ever wanted to know about the amazing avocado will be revealed. Taste world-class guacamole . . . ."
For more: www.fallbrookca.org/ChamberWebsite/AvoFestPageTemplate.htm

· Avocados — October 2, 3 & 4, 2009
The Avocado Festival in Carpenteria
Santa Barbara County is the third largest avocado producer in North America.This site has several years of its winning guacamole recipes: www.avofest.com/calavo'08-famous.html.
For more: www.avofest.com

· Carrots — Usually in February of each year , but 2010 dates not yet announced.
The Holtville (Imperial County) Carrot Festival
Holtville may well be the carrot capital of the world and celebrates as well as anyone.
For more: www.holtvillechamber.com/carrotfestival.htm

· Dates — February 14–20, 2010
Riverside County Fair & National Date Festival in Indio
Includes the "Blessing of the Dates" ceremony.
For more: www.datefest.org

· Dry Beans —Usually first week in September, but 2009 dates not yet announced.
California Dry Bean Festival in Tracy
Recipes over the years: garbanzos basque, Portuguese bean soup, baby lima con chilies con queso, bean ice cream, bean candies and bean fudge!
For more: www.tracybeanfestival.com/

· Eggplant — October 9, 2009
Loomis Eggplant Festival
For more: www.loomischamber.com/eggplant.asp

· Garlic — July 24, 25 & 26, 2009
The Gilroy Garlic Festival
This si grand-daddy of food festivals. 108,000 attended the Garlic Festival in 2008. No one knows how many garlic bulbs were used, but a conservative estimate would be at least one million. You could smell the festival for miles in all directions. Obviously a good time was had by all.
For more: www.gilroygarlicfestival.com

· Strawberries — May 16 & 17, 2009
The California Strawberry Festival in Oxnard, CA
“A tribute to the tasty fruit that wears its seeds on the outside."
For more: www.strawberry-fest.org/

· Tomatoes — Maybe September, 2009Carmel TomatoFest
The Carmel Tomato Festival was widely regarded as the premier tomato tasting event in the US, but the founder, Gary Ibsen, retired after the 2008 festival, and it is not clear whether there will be another. Keep an eye on the web page, however, in the hope that it will be held again.
For more: www.tomatofest.com/carmel_tomatofest.html