Avocados to have company

People who love avocados will find plenty of booths offering guacamole and other avocado products on Main Avenue this Sunday, but Fallbrook's 33rd Annual Avocado Festival has more to offer than the green fruit also known as an alligator pear, 9 a.m. To 5 p.m., April 14.

According to Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce CEO Lila MacDonald, besides 450 vendors, there will be an expanded agriculture presence, new children's activities in the Fun Zone and sculpture demonstrations on the Artisan Walk besides all kinds of entertainment at three locations including the Univision Radio Stage at Ivy and Main, (for details on the other stages, see the music preview on page B-X).

In the agricultural department, Fallbrook Winery will have a booth for the first time at the festival along with a raisin company. Fallbrook 4H will have its own booth again with small farm animals on display. Offerings in the Beer & Margarita Garden at College and Main will also include the products of Prohibition Brewery and Green Flash Brewing Company.

While avocados are no longer the top crop in the Fallbrook area, they will still be featured at their namesake event. Three local packing houses will be represented: Del Rey Avocado, McDaniel Fruit Company and Canonita Canyon Farms. Besides eating guacamole, festival goers can also see the results of the annual guacamole contest where both amateur and professional chefs enter their culinary efforts at the Community Stage in Vince Ross Village Square.

Another popular Fallbrook product is art, so the Artisan Walk on Alvarado, just east of Main, is not to be missed. Besides local artists selling and demonstrating their art, new this year are sculpting demonstrations by members of the Green Art House. Entries in the Art of the Avocado competition can be viewed at the chamber office, 111 S. Main Ave. while the Jr. Art of the Avocado artwork is on display at the Fallbrook Art Association's The Gallery, 127 N. Main Ave.

The Fun Zone will have several new activities this year including a rock climbing wall, games, an obstacle course and Zorb balls (human hamster balls), as well as a paintball area run by the Paintball Park on Camp Pendleton, all in the parking lot of Joe's Hardware at the southern end of the festival.

There will also be several contests for children, including The Avocado 500 Races (cars made with avocados), the "Little Miss" and "Little Mister" Avocado Contest and the Best Dressed Avocado Contest (brought already decorated). For more information, visit http://www.fallbrookchamberofcommerce.org.

Car lovers will find the Vintage Car Club's display next to the Caboose at Main and Elder, with the Shafters Car Club on the other side of the street. So, there is something for everyone to enjoy at the festival.

MacDonald encourages visitors and locals alike to go in the shops while at the festival. Many of them also have avocado related items like avocado oil and avocado tea towels. She hopes they will check out the shops and "come back when there aren't as many people. That's the whole reason we do this," she said.

Besides free admission to the festival, there are also free shuttles with four pickup and drop off places with parking: Frazier Elementary on Gum Tree Lane, Fallbrook Community Center on Fallbrook Street and Heald Lane, Northgate Market on South Mission and at Fallbrook High School on South Stage Coach Lane. Drop off and pick up points with no parking are at the north and south ends of the festival on Main Avenue.

Note: No pets are allowed at the festival due to the large crowds. Pet owners should leave their pets at home.