Kat's 9 Lives

There is so much going on this month that I can't wait to join in on the fun. I also added info of the California Strawberry Festival in Oxnard below too because I am definitely attending in May. O=9 Sadly I won't be able to attend all the festivals listed for this month because they happen to coincide this year. I will link my past year experiences to give you a glimpse of how fun they are. Just looking at the pictures makes me want to drool and sad that I can't go to all of them this year!

Also to remind all my loyal readers, I am giving away 2 pairs of tickets to the ZAP Zinfandel Grand Tasting and Cookoff so be sure to enter! Two lucky readers will win a pair of tickets to enjoy great food and wine. Hope to see everyone at the festivals!

Date : 8th - 11th
Event : Pebble Beach Food & Wine Festival
Location : Pebble Beach, CA
Website : www.pebblebeachfoodandwine.com/
Ticket Price : $100 and up
Description : Hosted on one of the most pristine strips of coastline in the world, Pebble Beach Food & Wine celebrates 60 celebrity chefs and 250 wineries during this unforgettable four-day event. There will be internationally acclaimed wineries and chefs together with California's regional superstars to create an unbelievable series of luxurious luncheons, delectable dinners, cooking demonstrations, wine tastings, and one of the most decadent grand tastings in the country.


Date : 10th - 1th and again 17th - 18th (Note : The Grand Parade is Sunday the 18th)
Event : Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival * click to see last year's experience =) *
Location : Japan Town - San Francisco, CA
Website : http://www.nccbf.org/
Ticket Price : Free! O=)
Description : The Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival now celebrating its 43rd year, is one of California's most prominent celebrations of Asian traditions. Each year, over 150,000 people attend this dazzling display showcasing the color and grace of the Japanese culture and the diversity of the Japanese American Community. Please join us and become a sponsor of this popular Japanese American community event.

The festival will be held on Post Street between Laguna and Fillmore Streets. There will be food booths, cultural performances, martial arts, live bands, the annual Queen Program, and more. The Grand Parade will be held on April 18, beginning at City Hall and concluding in Japantown.

Date : 18th
Event : ZAP Zinfandel Grand Tasting and Cookoff
Location : The Palm Garden at the Island Hotel
660 Newport Center Drive
Newport Beach, California 92660
Time : 4:00-7:00 PM
Website : http://zinfandel.org/default.asp?cid=1&n1=10&n2=581
Ticket Price : ZAP Members - $39, Non-members - $49, Annual ZAP Advocate Membership - $44
Tickets at the door - $60
Description : Taste spectacular Zinfandel wines from over 40 premier ZAP member wineries.
Mingle with top winemakers and principals in an intimate setting.
Learn about the remarkable richness and versatility of Zinfandel.
Discover why Zinfandel is "America's Heritage Grape!"
Sample hors d'oeuvres prepared by future chefs.


Date : 18th
Event : Fallbrook Avocado Festival * click to see last year's experience =) *
Location : Fallbrook, CA
Time : 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Website : www.fallbrookca.org
Ticket Price : Free! ^_^
Description : There is more to the annual Fallbrook Avocado Festival than guacamole. The popular street fair, held along Fallbrook's Main Street, celebrates the versatile fruit with over 300 vendors, numerous family-friendly activities, cooking competitions, a farmers market and an art village.


Date : 24th
Event : The Grilled Cheese Invitational
Location : Los Angeles Center Studios
1201 West Fifth Street
Los Angeles, CA
Time : 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Website : http://grilledcheeseinvitational.com
Ticket Price : $10 + $2.40 processing fee
Description : Mountains of Grilled Cheese, amateur and professional grilling competitions, multiple food vendors with samples for sale, free samples, beer garden, trophies, poetry, music prizes, yelling, kittens, and tons of fun~!


Event : California Strawberry Festival in Oxnard * click to see last year's experience =) *
Location : 3250 South Rose Avenue
College Park in Oxnard, CA
Time : 10:00 AM - 6:30 PM
Website : www.strawberry-fest.org/
Ticket Price : $12 for normal entry, $8 for Seniors, $5 for Children 5-12
Description : Awesome and amazingly sweet strawberries! Beyond the bountiful berries served every imaginable way, wherever you go on the Festival grounds you’ll find multiple ways to ripen your experience with participation. From the free rides and shows in Strawberryland to the exhibits and presentations in the Strawberry Promenade, and more, everything is always sweeter when strawberries are the main ingredients.

I must give a shout out to Gourmet Pigs for driving from LA and it was great hanging out with everyone. It's been a while since I have seen Hellobear and Tiramisu. We all journeyed fall and wide to Oxnard for their infamous California Strawberry Festival on May 17th. The weather was all over the place with the sun hiding most of the morning. I actually enjoyed it better without the heavy sun in the afternoon. At least I had sun block this time around! O=) The festival was PACKED this year. We were parked super far away on rough dirt. It definitely was not a good idea to wear flip-flops as my feet became super super dirty trudging through the parking lot.
The entrance fee is $12 for adults. Somehow Hellobear got in for free! I am going to use that tactic/secret next time! lol Parking is $5. The first thing that we did after we got to the festival was grab some grub! ^_^ Gourmet Pig and I set out for the Corn on the Cob stand. We saw that they offered Strawberry Cream Lemonade and we couldn't resist trying it out. Man, was this a heavy price to pay for not shopping around a bit more. The bill came out to be $8 for corn and lemonade... YIKES! lol What can you expect at a festival. *sigh* The corn was good but I wished there was more roast flavor and tastier butter. Still, they were sweet.
I thought the Strawberry Cream Lemonade looked super pretty. The strawberry that they throw in really makes it beautiful. I didn't really taste the "cream", but it was a very good and sweet lemonade. If only it wasn't $4! lol I saw at the other food stands that they sold it for $3. Oh well!
Later on we noticed that it would have been a better deal to get the Strawberry Smoothie drinks as they were the exact same size and half the price! It was sweet and filled with blended strawberries. Deal wise, this was much more worthwhile but I still prefer the lemonade. It's much lighter and brings out the flavor of strawberries versus a thick syrupy sweet smoothie. I have been pondering about taking some of the strawberries I bought to make some delicious homemade strawberry lemonade. O=)
After that we moved on to the other food stands. Hellobear and I decided to share a Pork Kebab smothered in Garlic Soy Sauce, but the meat was overdone. Kind of sad! We waited there for a long long time breathing in all the bad smoke from the grill. *cough cough* Everyone else abandoned us to do their own things! lol Gourmet Pigs tried out the Strawberry Crepes. The crepes looked decent but loaded with cream! lol We all got split up after a while and ended up seeing each other at the Funnel Cake line. How dare Gourmet Pig not call us to ask if we wanted one! lol They got their share while we were stuck at the end of the line. It's all good though because I made hand signals at them and got to share with them. O=) Got to work the magic! lolThey also had a Cajun stand that looked tempting. I played it smart and waited for Gourmet Pigs to test out the food before I made my purchase. Curious that their line was never that long... she got the Jambalaya and at first I was going to get one myself but the "sausage" part looked like hot dog meat. That sealed the deal for me. I think the best cooked food was the Smoked Turkey Leg and I don't even like turkey!Let's not forget about the delicious Chocolate Covered Strawberries sold by the Buddhist Temple. The strawberries were beautiful gigantic long stems covered in either white, milk, or dark chocolate. They were $2 each or slightly cheaper if you buy more so we did. I thought the dark chocolate was the best combination to bring out the flavors of the strawberry as well as compliment the chocolate. When I had the milk chocolate I just felt it was disjointed in taste and didn't enjoy it as much. Needless to say we gorged out on festival food. ^_^
Of course that was more to the festival. I had to bring back 2 flats of beautiful strawberries. I have been giving them out to people left and right, but of course I save the best for Ms. Lin when she comes home tomorrow! The strawberries are sweet and juicy. They taste almost like candy! ^_^ We bought some arts and crafts there as well. I almost wish I made my own candle! We should have made our own Strawberry Short Cake as well! lol They had live music, but from what I heard while standing in line for the Funnel Cakes... oye! lol Still, a good time was had by all and I got to catch up/meet up with many great friends. Good times!