2015 Avocado Festival issue
Village News Fallbrook & Bonsall
a l s o se rv i n g t h e c o m m u n i t i e s o f
D e L u z , R a i n b ow , C a m p P e ndl e t o n , Pa l a ,
a nd
Pau m a
www.VillageNews.com
April 16, 2015
50¢ Sales tax included at news stand
Volume 19, Issue 16
Fallbrook celebrates the avocado A-12
Art happenings in Fallbrook B-1
Exploring farm stands B-14
Delicious avocado recipes C-8
Debbie Ramsey Managing Editor When Fallbrook shares the love for its trademark fruit with the masses on Sunday, April 19 at the 29th annual Avocado Festival, education will be at the center, literally. This year, the organizing body, the Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce, is putting a learning center in the heart of the festival at Main Avenue and Alvarado Street. “We are calling it ‘Avocado Central,’” said chamber CEO Lila MacDonald. “The festival is our way of celebrating Fallbrook’s agricultural heritage. The chamber holds the event to introduce visitors to Fallbrook and we hope that they will return.” Placing representatives from the California Avocado Commission and local experts with an extensive educational display featuring dozens of varieties of avocados together in the center of the street festival is the idea of chamber communications director Linda Costello. “We are trying to create a central educational area about avocados and that should have been done umpteen years ago,” said Costello, who has heard comments from visitors that there was not much educational avocado information at previous festivals. MacDonald said the chamber’s information center and souvenir items will be located at the center as well. The premier avocado educational center is actually a collaborative
Shane Gibson photo effort by local Realtor Ralph Foster, the California Avocado Commission, and University of California, Irvine. Foster started the educational effort five years ago with a booth directly in front of his Main Ave. office, Sunshine Realty, on the very north tip of the festival. He explained how preparations are being made for Fallbrook’s big day. “Prior to the festival, a group of about a dozen of us will be going up to the U.C. Irvine test grounds where they have hundreds of varieties of avocados,” explained Foster. “We will have plastic bags with us and go around with docents who will explain where all the avocados are from – some are from Israel, South Africa, Chile, and more. We will come back with about 100 varieties.”
The festival is our way of celebrating Fallbrook’s agricultural heritage Chamber CEO Lila MacDonald
Free samples of Holy Guaca-Moly are real crowd-pleasers.
Ken Seals photo
Village News
Car Show on May 24
Making race cars out of avocados is part of the fun for children attending the annual Avocado Festival.
Attendance is expected to reach 100,000 at the 2015 Avocado Festival.
Ken Seals photo
In addition, Foster said he will gather another 25 varieties grown in Fallbrook.”Many of the varieties I know of here in Fallbrook are old, heirloom varieties.” With a total of approximately 120 varieties of avocados for festival-goers to see and learn about, Foster’s crew will also offer hundreds of bags of assorted avocados for sale (4 lbs. for $5, he said). All of the avocados Foster is offering are organically grown. “From one bag, people will be able to taste the difference between varieties,” he said. In addition to photographs and explanations regarding avocados, Foster said he will bring along a good part of his antique packing label collection, some local honey, and his famous guacamole recipe. Foster, 75, knows of what he speaks. “I’ve lived here my whole life; my Dad grew avocados; my Grandfather grew avocados; I picked, packed, and distributed avocados and still have 25 acres myself.” The festival will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., as is customary. Changes to this year’s event include the chamber taking over the organization of the Artisan Walk on Alvarado Street and establishing another live music venue. The Artisan Walk on Alvarado will feature local artisans showing and selling their variety of creations to festival-goers.
see TRADEMARK, page A-7