Almond Queen Katheryn England started the 102nd Annual Festival the same more than a hundred others did on Sunday with a breakfast prepared by FFA students in the Esparto High School Gym.
She was joined by First Runner up Ruby Virgen in dining on pancakes and specially cooked omelets, courtesy of their FFA friends.
England and Virgen were among thousands of people who made their way along a nearly 20-mile party that stretched from Esparto to Rumsey beneath brilliant blue skies with only a wisp of clouds.
Earlier fears that heavy rains which have drenched the region and played havoc with the white and pink blossoms for which the festival takes its name proved unfounded. Instead, the unique “travelling festival” pulled in people who traveled to the length of the Capay Valley to feast on a variety of food prepared by firefighters, drink wine or merely enjoy the bright sunshine.
Food and drink, music and entertainment, arts and crafts sales, and other special attractions all heralded the event, which centered around the Esparto Community Park, but spread to the Rumsey Town Hall and Guinda Grange.
The Capay Valley Almond Festival began in 1915 and has been a Northern California tradition ever since. It’s the only five-town event in Northern California, and has become a showcase of the Capay Valley Region. It’s coordinated by the Esparto Regional Chamber of Commerce.
In large part, the festival is dependent on the weather and whether or not almond blossoms are blooming. In some years, the Valley is blazing with the pink and white petals. At other times, nary a tree has budded. This year, it was a mixture of both. Almond trees were just starting to flower in orchards that were still muddy or mired in pools of water.
Nonetheless, people made the trip, crowding Hwy. 16, to stop in Esparto for breakfast, or to sample hamburgers and hotdogs cooked by firefighters, before moving on to Capay where the Road Trip Bar & Grill offered music and outdoor dancing, along with locally produced honey.
In Brooks, home of the Cache Creek Casino, visitors could take in the Seka Hills Olive Mill and Tasting Room, which offered wine and olive oil tasting along with music by Yolo Mambo, and guest exhibitors.
In Guinda, the Grange Hall had a variety of food and craft vendors live music and a petting zoo.
Finally, in Rumsey — beyond which people could not travel due to mudslides in Cache Creek Canyon — there were good and craft vendors, wood-fired pizza, and live music in the outdoor pavilion, which featured Bluegrass.
Aside from the food and music, one of the primary draws is a mini-midway in Central Park, where vendors sold crafts, specialty foods, or had games and rides for children. In addition there was also a classic car show with dozens of restored vehicles on display around the Esparto Firehouse.
The festival has also become a draw of sorts for motorcyclists of all types, as well, with dozens of leather-clad riders sharing stories and inspecting their rides as they traveled from town to town.
For a photo gallery of some of the Almond Festival events, go to Facebook.com/dailydemocrat
