2009 Almond Festival - March 15

History of the Festival

The Capay Valley Almond Festival began in 1915 and has been a Northern California tradition. The only five town event in Northern California, the festival is a showcase of the Esparto/Capay Valley Region. It began in the fall after the harvest and moved years later to the spring, in order to show off the lovely blossoms. Of recent years the festival has received large amounts of rain and wind and this year the festival moved to the month of March.

The Almond Tree is the most mysterious nut tree and is mentioned in the bible in the book of Numbers 17:8. Its crop is very valuable to our state and California is the only place in North America that grows almonds commercially. A $2 billion industry, more than 6,000 growers devote an estimated 530,000 acres in the Central Valley to almonds — California’s largest tree nut crop — in a stretch of land extending from below Bakersfield in the south to Red Bluff in the north. For more information about almonds and recipes go to www.almondboard.com.

The Capay Valley Almond Festival 2009 will be in the towns of Esparto, Capay, Brooks, Guinda and Rumsey. Entertainment, crafts, good food and fun for all members of the family are provided. It is a wonderful time to see the beauty of the whole Capay Valley and to meet many of the wonderful people who live and work in the area.

• Almond Festival Brochure

Slow Food

Queen Pageant

The 2009 Almond Queen Dinner is being held at the Newly renovated Guinda Grange. The Queen is selected on her ability to conduct herself in front of a crowd through a series of speeches and also private interviews. Each young lady is put to the test as she experiences the difficulty of presenting in front of family, friends and peers. The Queen pageant is a very important passage for many young girls and creates a sense of accomplishment for all those who run.

Date: March 7th
Time: 6:00 Pm to 9:00 Pm
Place: Guinda Grange on Forrest Avenue Guinda California
Cost: Dinner is $15 for adults and $10 for kids
Events: Queen Pageant & Raffle

Sponsors

Cemex Granite construction Co. Syar Industries, Inc. Teichert Materials Bzee Bee Pollination Capay Valley B&B Capay Valley Vineyards Chamberlain Farms Durst Organic Growers Inc. R.H. Phillips Road Trip Bar & Grill The Tremont Group, Inc. Viking Propane Yolo Federal Credit Union Yolo Pumping Service