Upcoming Food Festivals on California’s Central Coast by Ruth Paget
Gilroy Garlic Festival
July 24 - 26, 2026
Gilroy, California
Event information follows:
https://gilroygarlicfestival.com/
Strawberry Festival
August 1 - 3, 2026
Watsonville, California
Event information follows:
https://www.watsonville.gov/1117/Watsonville-Strawberry-Festival
Artichoke Festival
September 5, 2026
Castroville, California
Castroville claims to be the world capital of artichoke production.
Event information follows:
Food festivals which I always associate with Italy and Spain (see Carol Field’s book Celebrating Italy and Discovering Spain by Penelope Casas on this topic) are very much part of Central California’s culture as well.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France and developer of the Novgorod and Bento War Games
