Festival History

The idea of the California Avocado Festival began in 1986 at a meeting between community leaders Rob Godfrey, Connie Korbel, Debbie Murphy, Fran Puccinelli, Bob Ealee and John Franklin.

A brainstorming meeting was called to create an ongoing weekend event that would benefit the fundraising efforts of the local non-profit groups. It seemed the plan would also help promote Carpinteria as a Southern California weekend getaway destination and boost our local economy.

Why avocados?

Well, Santa Barbara County is the third largest avocado producer in North America, with Carpinteria being a major contributor. It seemed like a natural food festival in the making. Why have the Festival the first weekend in October? Oddly enough, statistics show that October is one of the sunniest months of the year with the least amount of rainfall.
And there it began...the California Avocado Festival.

The festival has evolved into one of the largest in California with three days of fabulous food, terrific music, and great safe family fun. It is one of only a few community festivals still operated in the heart of downtown.

As the Festival grows, so do the number of participants and festival-goers. This year over forty non-profit groups will benefit by catering to 100,000 avocado visitors. The California Avocado Festival itself is a non-profit group that generates it’s own operating revenue each year. The annual event is completely organized by a committee of volunteers, and includes one part-time staff person.

Thanks for joining us this year and celebrate our famous green fruit and the California Avocado Festival.