California Olives

Olives have been enjoyed for at least seven thousand years. Native to the Mediterranean, their popularity quickly spread from Crete to Egypt, Greece, Palestine, and Asia Minor. In the 15th and 16th centuries, olives were introduced to America by the Spanish and Portuguese. Though all olive oil comes from the pressing and crushing of olives, the processes used determine the type of olive oil extracted.

CORNING: Corning Olive Festival Saturday, October 7, 2023
Corning Olive Festival Fantastic Parade, Bed Races, all kinds of incredible events. The fun never stops, nor does the tasting. Historic olive tours will be led by the mayor. Location: Woodson Park, Peach Street, Corning, CA

FREMONT: Historic Old Mission San Jose Museum Olive Festival October 7-8, 2023, 10am - 5pm
Parking: Parking is available at Ohlone College Parking Lot E
The Historic Mission San Jose, 43326 Mission Blvd.
Free admission, msjchamber.org

The Olive Festival is held every year on the first Saturday of October.
Fun for the whole family! The Olive Festival features food, live music, wine tasting, arts & crafts, entertainment, kids games, drawings, prizes and beer & wine available for adults. Parking is available at Ohlone College Parking Lot E. Do not bring pets!

Past events

KELSEYVILLE: Annual Kelseyville Olive Festival Sunday, April 28, 2019, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Chacewater Wine Co. & Olive Mill
5625 Gaddy Lane Kelseyville
facebook.com/KelseyvilleOliveFestival/
Free day of family fun and olives at the 9th Annual Kelseyville Olive Festival at Chacewater Winery and Olive Mill. This is a growing event in Kelseyville with more booths and grass field and shade pergola. You will see vendor booths large and small, food to sample and eat, and don't forget the fabulous olive and olive oils you will be able to enjoy. Olive mill tours from Mill Master Emilio De La Cruz are a treat. Hula hoop, face painting, pit spitting contest, and  wine & beer tastes  for $20. Benefit for Lake Family Resource Center. 

PASO ROBLES: The Annual Paso Robles Olive Festival May 4, 2019, 10 am - 5 pm
Downtown Paso Robles City Park 12th and Park Streets
Paso Robles, CA
Tasting tickets $15, pasoroblesolivefestival.com
The Annual Paso Robles Olive Festival, a Paso Robles Main Street Association is a free admission event  and fee for wine and beer tasting only. The Olive Festival features Olive Oil and Olive vendors both locally and outside our county featuring their products along with free olive oil tasting, tasting seminars, cooking demonstrations, and a head-to-head chef cook-off in our outdoor kitchen stadium. Local wineries and breweries will be feature tastings and a commemorative wine glass for a fee. There will be an olive-inspired cooking contest and delicious olive-inspired food sold in our Olive Festival Culinary Row.
Join the Paso Robles Olive Festival, bring the family for a day of Olive Inspired Fun!
Free Olive Oil and Olive product sampling
Producers from all over California
Culinary Row serving great food
Wine & Beer Tasting
Open Olive Dish Cooking Contest
Free Olive Oil Ice Cream

CHERRY VALLEY: Olive Festival October 18-20, 2019 and October 25-27, 2019, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
 hsresort.com
$7 admission approx.
Cherry Valley, California
Highland Springs Resort. Olive Pressing Demonstration & Lectures, Tours, Festive Food, Wine Tasting, Farmer's Market, Children's Games, etc.

OROVILLE: Annual Olive Festival June 15, 2019, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

"The House that Olives Built" Honoring Lodestar Farms.  Since 1993 Jamie Johansson, Owner

Tours of the Ehmann Home will be available Butte County Historical Society.

Ehmann Home
1480 Lincoln Street
Oroville, CA
Butte County Historical Society: (530) 533-9418
buttecountyhistoricalsociety.org

What better place to have an Olive Festival, but at "the House that Olives built."¯ Freda Ehmann came to Oroville in 1898, founded the Ehmann Olive Co. and started the canning industry of the olive.  It is expected that it will get bigger and better every year. This year it is being co-sponsored by the City of to the Ehmann Home and will be decorated with Olive Trees and tents with Olive and Olive Oil Growers of Butte County. The event is free to the public, with live music, a Beer Garden with beer tasting, olive and olive oil tasting and olive sales, gift drawings, door prizes, a silent auction, Gift Shop Sales of Olives and Olive gifts and an table of tasty delights, everything made with olives for a fee. There will be tours of the Ehmann Home-Admission by donation, of this lovely 1911 home, now 100 yrs old, which was built by Freda Ehmann and her son. She livid in the home with her son and daughter -in-law and two grandchildren until 1925. Then the home was the Butte County Annex for 53 years. When it was learned that the home was going to be torn down to make a parking lot, Butte County Historical Society became interested in it and it was deeded to them by the Butte County Supervisors and has been the headquarters of BCHS ever since. This Colonial Revival/ Craftsman Home is regularly open every Saturday from 11-3 and a tours are given by the Ehmann Maid, The Lady of Butte County-Alberta Tracy, for over 25 years. So come share the fun right here in Oroville. Let's celebrate the Olive at the home, " the house that olives built"¯.

LOS OLIVOS: Los Olivos Jazz and Olive Festival
June 8, 2019, 1-4 p.m.
losolivosca.com
Lavinia Campbell Park
Downtown Los Olivos, CA
$65 ticket approx.
The Jazz & Olive Festival brings together new and notable performers on the jazz scene. Twenty seven local wineries will be offering wine tastings and thirty amateur chefs will be competing in the "Olive in the Kitchen"¯ cook-off while providing samples to our guests. Olive vendors will be offering olive oil and other olive related products. Cooking demonstrations, using olive based recipes will be provided by local professional chefs. For more information go to www.losolivosrotary.org or call Peter Robbins at 805-895-0476.

CALISTOGA:Napa County Fair Olive Oil Competition napacountyfair.org

1435 North Oak Street
Calistoga, CA
(707) 942-5111

New this year, special divisions for those who produce less than 100 gallons in total production as well as separated co-milled from infused flavored oils. In addition to the judging, medal-winning producers have the opportunity to sample and/or sell their oils in our marketplace during the annual Napa County Fair & Fireworks. Gate admission: $10 day.

PASO ROBLES: Central Coast Olive Oil Competition at Midstate Fair Entries that earn medals will be showcased in Mission Square during the California Mid-State Fair which runs at California Mid-State Fair. Entries that earn medals will be showcased in Mission Square during the California Mid-State Fair and will feature over 150 olive oils produced in California. The overall goal of the Central Coast Olive Oil Competition is to provide a venue for California olive oils to be professionally judged and to educate consumers regarding the quantity and styles of olive oil produced in California. Olive oils are divided into extra virgin, flavored extra virgin, organic extra virgin, and flavored organic extra virgin olive oil and are separated into classes by varietal. The panel of competition judges evaluates each entry according to aroma, taste, and intensity ranging from delicate to robust.

ORINDA: Olive Festival October postponed in 2023
11 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 
Wagner Ranch
350 Camino Pablo, Orinda, CA
Free admission, fwrna.org
Olive Oil Tastings, Arts & Crafts, Cooking Demos and Tours of the Historic Ranch with Turtles, Baby Goats and a Pond. Enjoy tours of the historic Wagner Ranch Nature Area, homesite of Contra Costa Couny’s first surveyor general, Theodore Wagner, and picnic amidst Contra Costa County's oldest-producing olive grove. No dogs

SONOMA: Extra Virgin Festival (usually November) sonomavalley.com
B.R. Cohn Winery 15000 Sonoma Highway, Glen Ellen CA, 95442 (800) 330-4064 | sonomaextravirginfestival.com

SONOMA: Blessing of the Olives is held, Free. Harvested olives are blessed, music, tradition and refreshments. A beautiful, traditional ceremony at the historic Mission San Francisco Solano de Sonoma. Harvested olives are blessed. Live music, tradition, and refreshments. 707-996-1090 Mission San Francisco Solano de Sonoma, Northwest Corner of First Street East & Spain Streets, Sonoma CA

BROOKS: Olive Crush Festival October 
Capay Valley- Yolo Co. 

STOCKTON  St. Mary's High Olive Festival The St. Mary's High School campus is located at 5648 N. El Dorado St. in Stockton, California. It is near the intersection of Robinhood Dr. and N. El Dorado St. (east side), just north of March Ln.

REDWOOD CITY Annual Arts & Olive Festival Sunday

SYLMAR - Olive Festival September 
sylmarolivefestival.com
El Cariso Park
13100 Hubbard St.
Sylmar, CA
$5-up

TRES PINOS - San Benito Olive Festival October 14, 2017

Award-winning olive oils, premium chocolates, Hollister-grown dried Blenheim apricots, and acclaimed local wines are just a few of the artisanal creations that are produced in San Benito County in the Central Coast region. These local products and more will be showcased at the First Annual San Benito Olive Festival, a gourmet celebration that also includes cooking demonstrations, live music, and art exhibits, all at the scenic Paicines Ranch just 12 miles south of Hollister

Events are not guaranteed. It is your responsibility to confirm before going.