Thursday, October 24, 2013

Hanging out at the California Avocado Festival



Arriving at the Festival. Photo by: Andrew

Does anyone else flip through their local AAA magazine to the back? I usually discover a ton of events there. I've found the Greek Festival, the Highland Games at the Queen Mary, the Clam Chowder Festival, the Garlic Festival, Boo at the Zoo in Santa Barbara, and most recently, the Avocado Festival.

Who doesn't love a good guacamole? It was time for the boys and I to head out to Carpinteria, CA (an hour's drive north) and bask in the avocado glory.


Scoping out the food. Photo: Andrew

The festival was held 5-7 OCT. We went on Sunday, arrived at noon and discovered it was packed. They had an arts and crafts area and 3 or 4 stages were the local bands played.

Our first mission was to find the food area. My husband and I had a fish taco. The boys ate hot dogs and fries.

Big Green Monster Avocado. Photo: Joe

After we finished, we found the avocado stands. I learned there was more to the green monster than just Hass avocadoes. There was a ton of different kinds. Avocadoes are pretty recent to So Cal, introduced in the early 1900's.

Interestingly, the green beast is considered a flowering plant and in the same plant family as cinnamon and camphor.

Festival Guacamole. Photo: Joe

Just in time, we found the guacamole truck. It was tasty, but I assure you, Andrew and I can fix up some guacamole that will make you drool. 

We also found avocado smoothies and ice cream. We discovered you could put avocado slices on anything from salad to fish. I wanted to buy an avocado festival t-shirt, but the money ran out. Avocadoes ain't cheap.

Avocado stands. Photo: Andrew


Avocados are art, too. The boys' local PTA was sponsoring the yearly "Reflections" campaign and they decided to enter this year. Joe, my 7 year old, discovered he likes art after an art class this summer. They decided to enter the photography category. I gave them a couple of lessons in how to take pictures and print from a digital camera and they were off.

(We were supposed to go to Yosemite for our photo shoot but the government shutdown.)

Andrew checking out avocadoes. Photo: Joe

 Armed with our Canon Photoshot, the boys took a bunch of pictures, printed their favorites and made collages.  Cross your fingers for them. The Reflections display goes up 17 NOV.

All in all, the boys and I had a nice day trip hanging with the 'cadoes.

Hanging with the 'cadoes. Photo: Joe


Guacamole, anyone?  What do you like to "fix" up with your avocadoes? I'd love to hear it. If anyone wants my guacamole recipe, let me know, I'm willing to share.

Smiles
Steph

PS – these pictures were taken by the boys and used for their Reflections project. 

8 comments:

  1. Love all the festivals! I like them sliced in a sandwich. A lot healthier than mayo! I think some people think they don't like them until they try them because the color and texture doesn't always look so appealing.

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    1. Aly, I would agree with that - generally, for me, the color and texture is unappealing, unless it's guacomole. lol!!
      Smiles
      Steph

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  2. Ha! I never would have thought of an Avocado Festival...who knew? Sounds very cool, except that Guacamole hurts my stomach, so I can't eat it. :-( But it looks like you had a blast. I'm going to have to start paying attention to the back of my AAA book. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Thanks for popping in Alicia. I'm sorry to hear it hurts the tummy. It's always nice to get out of the house. Let me know what you find in the back of the AAA book. hehe

      Smiles
      Steph

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  3. Andrew looks cute and happy. The guacamole looks yummy!

    Morgan Mandel
    http://www.morganmandel.com

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    1. Morgan, awww...thank you. Andrew is always ready for a new adventure.

      Smiles
      Steph

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  4. Hi Steph,

    Your festival sounds like it was good wholesome fun. I've never been a 'cado fan, but I loved your slogan of "hanging with the 'cadoes." And how nice for your boys to make an art project out of their festival visit. The shots seem very nicely framed. They must have had an excellent teacher!

    Best wishes, Maggie

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    1. Thanks for stopping by. I agree - their shots came out really well. Believe me, I spent several hours with Joe practicing on how to take photos at Castaic Lake and then on his field trip to the nature center. Andrew took a photography class in 3rd grade and a lot of it came back to him. So I didn't need to work with him as long.

      Smiles
      Steph

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