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What Is an Avocado Festival?

Angela Farrer
Angela Farrer

An avocado festival is a gathering dedicated to the many different culinary uses for this popular and nutritious food item. Many of these festivals present opportunities for chefs to demonstrate their skills and recipe ideas for cooking with avocado. Avocado farmers in some regions will also travel to an avocado festival in order to sell the best of their recent harvests. Festivals are typically held in the late spring to early summer due to the cycles of the avocado growing season, and they often include other attractions such as free music performances and art displays.

Some avocado festivals offer different varieties of the fruit, such as Hass, Reed, and Fuerte avocados. Some smaller scale festivals may have only one of these variations as a result of regional availability. Many growers at an avocado festival specialize in one of these types, and these experienced farmers can be good sources of information for properly selecting and storing avocados. Since these fruits are native to warmer geographic regions in Mexico and parts of the southern United States, early summer travelers to these areas often have several options for attending a local avocado festival.

Avocado festivals are held to celebrate the many culinary uses of the fruit.
Avocado festivals are held to celebrate the many culinary uses of the fruit.

In addition to buying freshly grown avocados, festival attendees can also sometimes purchase their own avocado seeds and grow them into plants. The seed of an avocado is actually the avocado pit, which will grow into a new plant under the proper conditions. Some growers at festivals sell these pits already set in potting soil, and others instruct interested buyers in how to correctly prepare an avocado pit for planting.

Like lean meat and low-fat cottage cheese, avocados are rich in protein.
Like lean meat and low-fat cottage cheese, avocados are rich in protein.

Food and cooking enthusiasts often especially enjoy an avocado festival for the new avocado recipes that they can later try at home. Entrees, salads, side dishes, and even desserts featuring avocado are usually some of the most popular purchases and samplings at festivals. Some featured festival dishes that may sound unusual but can be quite flavorful include avocado ice cream, avocado cream pie, and dehydrated avocado snack chips.

Promoters and vendors at many avocado festivals can also offer plenty of tips and advice on the numerous benefits of including this fruit as part of a healthy regular diet. Avocados are rich sources of nutrients such as vitamin C, vitamin K, and potassium. They are also known for their amounts of monounsaturated fats, which have been shown to help reduce levels of the harmful blood cholesterol that is frequently linked to heart disease.

Discussion Comments

sunshined

Many years ago I went to the Carpinteria avocado festival. I live in the Midwest, so this was a real treat for me.

The only kind of avocados I can find in the store around here are Haas. I don't have any problem with this since I love avocados, but at the festival I had the chance to try other varieties, and especially liked the Fuerte type for something a little different.

The avocado chips were also very good and is something I have always thought about trying at home.

I also thought about starting my own avocado plant from a pit, but since I don't live in a mild climate didn't think it would work. It also takes at least 7 years for an avocado tree to produce any fruit.

I am curious if anyone has ever started their own plant from an avocado pit, and if they were successful with it?

julies

We live in San Diego, and when some friends were visiting from another state, we took a day trip to the avocado festival in Fallbrook.

Since we are only an hour or so away, this worked out perfectly as we didn't have to worry about spending the night anywhere.

This was the first time we attended this festival and it was a lot of fun for everyone. You could tell there were many people who had been there before, because you saw a lot of people wearing avocado green.

My husband had fun entering the avocado pit spitting contest. You certainly won't leave this festival hungry, as there a lot of food choices available. There are also interesting cooking demonstrations going on throughout the day. I got some good ideas watching a few of those.

This festival was fun for all ages as there were a lot of different things going on all day. Since we don't live very far away, this is something I would definitely attend again.

ysmina

Avocado festivals sound like so much fun. I've never been to one, the only food festival I've been to is the Florida Strawberry Festival. But my sister-in-law and brother went to an Avocado Festival last month and brought us the best avocados from there.

They got them for an amazing price too! I couldn't believe how cheap it was at the festival, they bought two bags and gave us one. We had enough avocados for the whole month! They were really good quality too. I guess avocado festivals are the best place to get them. I can't believe how much I have to pay for one single avocado at the organic supermarket.

Apparently, the food stalls at the festival was good but a little expensive. But my sister-in-law and brother said that since they didn't have to pay to enter, it kind of made up for it.

SteamLouis

@alisha-- Did you go to the Fallbrook Avocado Festival or the one in Carpinteria? I think it must have been Carpinteria.

I've been to both, but I like the Fallbrook Avocado festival which I went to in 2010. The one in Carpinteria is a little smaller and had fewer events when I went.

The food choices are similar, lots of guacamole, ice cream, chips, sandwiches and beer. But I just love the contests that the Fallbrook festival had. The best ones was the best avocado dress-up and a children's race where kids tried to make race cars out of avocados. It was really fun to watch.

discographer

I've been to the California Avocado Festival twice. I enjoyed it the first time, but the second time was even better, because there was more food and better organization.

I think the best part about this festival is that you get to eat a lot of avocados! I had the best guacamole there. The avocado nachos and avocado ice cream was also fantastic. And I did see more additions to the food booth on my second visit. 'Avocado' beer was a hit with my husband!

The other great part is that the festival was very children friendly. My two daughters did not get bored at all. After we ate, they watched the puppet shows and listened to stories. So I think that it's a great family affair.

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    • Avocado festivals are held to celebrate the many culinary uses of the fruit.
      By: oriori
      Avocado festivals are held to celebrate the many culinary uses of the fruit.
    • Like lean meat and low-fat cottage cheese, avocados are rich in protein.
      By: MSPhotographic
      Like lean meat and low-fat cottage cheese, avocados are rich in protein.