My favorite time of year… The Fallbrook Avocado Festival! Every April, our town hosts an event in honor of the avocado. Fallbrook is the self-proclaimed “Avocado Capital” after all. 😉
Most of Main Street is shut down for the whole day, and vendors’ booths line the center of the street. There are several booth areas on some of the smaller side streets as well. I’m telling you, this is a really big thing for us Fallbrookians!
Since I know you’re dying to know, here are some of my Avocado Festival Favorites:
Holy Guaca-Moly!
This stuff is sooooooo yummy! That is actually the brand name of the avocado and I don’t think it can be found in stores, only California food festivals and street fairs. It’s delicious, but not cheap. We splurged on a serving for John, Logan, and myself PLUS 2 take-home containers. Holy Guaca-Moly makes the best guacamole on the planet. Even though they are not Fallbrook locals, they use local Del Rey avocados and the guac is amazing.
Avocado Fudge
Yes, there really is such a thing as avocado fudge. I’m not sure you can buy it anywhere else (and you may be wondering why would you want to?). The taste is very similar to regular fudge, only a teeny bit less chocolatey and a titch more creamy. You can actually buy it any time of year from the candy and novelty store on Main Street, Retro Candy and Toys. But if you’re just in town for the festival you’ve got to try it!
Via Village News, photo by Ken Seals
All the awesome vendors
You can find everything from unique art to real estate agents at this event. It’s way bigger than a regular street fair. The girls walked away with some battery-powered bubble-blowing animals and Logan fell in love with a rubber band gun. I think he gets another one of these every festival!
Locally-grown fruits, vegetables, and honey
Everyone brings their best harvest to the Avocado Festival. Farm-fresh citrus, plenty of avocados, tomatoes, and much more are available from local farmers. We always make sure to head home with a jar of golden organic honey.
Tons of things to see and do!
There is a “Community Stage” area with live entertainment and a “Little Miss/Little Mister Avocado Contest. A Festival Beer and Margarita Garden for those 21 and up offers frosty beverages that hit the spot on this toasty Sunday. Hometown classic car clubs show off their shined-up fancy cars. Kiddos can take a spin on a carnival ride, take a shot at winning the “Best-Dressed Avocado” (with an avocado decorated at home), or send their souped-up green fruits (yes, an avocado is a fruit!) down the speedway in the annual Avocado 500.
The thing that I love most about the Avocado Festival is that it seems to mark the beginning of summer in North San Diego County. The last few weeks have been gloomy, overcast,cold (we call mid-60’s “cold” in San Diego) and even a little rainy. But sure enough, as happens every year, the day of the Avocado Festival is nearly record-breaking hot. It was close to 90 at noon!
My poor little guys weren’t feeling the heat, so we didn’t last as long as I had hoped we would. We enjoyed our day in the sun, munching on creamy guacamole and supporting our avocado-infused hometown.
So now I’m curious, what is your town known for?
