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Californians welcome June with a bounty of vegetables and fruits grown fresh in the fields, on farms and in orchards. While most of us don’t actually make out to the source where they are grown, we do like to attend the festivals where they’re served up with other goodies such as live music, entertainment, contests, parades, car shows, beer, wine and cocktails, and fun things for kids.<\/p>\n
An event that does actually offer trips to the farm where artichokes are grown is Castroville Artichoke Food and Wine Festival<\/a> June 1-2, 2019. Artichoke experts give guided tours of Castroville’s artichoke fields in an experience that educates about what it takes to grow this unique vegetable (which is actually an un-bloomed flower).<\/p>\n One of our favorite Artichoke Festival contests (in addition to artichoke eating) is the Canasta Race. Artichokes are placed at intervals along lanes. Competitors wear a canasta bag on their backs, retrieving artichokes one by one and tossing them in their bag. The person to collect the most artichokes wins prizes such as tickets to California Rodeo Salinas and keeping their artichokes from the race!<\/p>\n Avalon Restaurant Week<\/p>\n Beaumont Cherry Festival<\/a><\/p>\n Downey’s St. George Greek Festival<\/p>\n Huntington Beach Elks Chili Cook-off<\/p>\n McKinleyville’s Pony Express Days<\/a>\u00a0Chili Cook-off<\/p>\n Monterey’s La Merienda Birthday Party<\/a><\/p>\n Murphys Ironstone Throw Down in the Vineyards State BBQ Competition<\/p>\n Norco’s Horse Town Brew N’ Que Festival<\/a><\/p>\n Orangevale Town Fair<\/a><\/p>\n Taste of Pacifica<\/p>\n Palm Springs Restaurant Week (Greater Palm Springs area)<\/p>\nA Tasty June Weekend<\/a><\/h2>\n