Patterson, CA Travel, Photos Information and News

Patterson is the self-proclaimed "Apricot Capitol of the World!" To celebrate its distinction as a producer of apricots, for over 50 years the city has produced and hosted an annual Patterson Apricot Fiesta festival held usually in May/June on a 3-day weekend.

The festival includes an apricot eating contest, farm equipment displays, tournaments such as arm wrestling and cornhole, children's games and a beauty pageant with the crowning of an Apricot Queen.

Popular rock & pop bands perform on Saturday and Sunday in this free admission event which also includes a parade, usually on Saturday morning around 10 a.m.

Patterson also hosts holiday celebrations for the community to enjoy and in recent years has held a Farm to Fork fundraiser in the city Circle, inviting the public to purchase tickets and eat at outdoor tables in the heart of the downtown area.

The Circle came about with the establishment of modern day Patterson, named after landowners.  Thomas W. Patterson subdivided the land into ranches  and plotted the design of the town of Patterson. Determined to make Patterson different from most, he modeled his town after the cities of Washington D.C. and Paris, France, using a series of circles and radiating streets. Major streets were planted with Palms, Eucalyptus and Sycamore trees.

So that's how the Circle became the center of this somewhat rural community that prides itself on its agriculture base and crops that include apricots and other fruit orchards and nuts.

Located in Stanislaus County, the population is well under 50,000 as of this posting (closer to 25,000) though its convenient access to Highway Interstate 5 and 17 miles southwest of Modesto means that it will surely grow within upcoming decades.