26th annual Mountain Mandarin Festival

From 26th annual Mountain Mandarin Festival Website:

The Mountain Mandarin Festival marks the official beginning of Placer County Mountain Mandarin season. The event takes place the weekend before Thanksgiving every year at the Gold Country Fairgrounds in Auburn. This 3-day celebration draws 30,000+ visitors from as far away as the San Francisco Bay Area and Reno.

Festival attendees can sample fresh mandarins hand-picked by Mountain Mandarin Growers' Association members, as well as a variety of mandarin-based products including olive oils, marinades, marmalades, syrups, and mandarin blossom honey. Growers will have plenty of 3, 5 and 10 pound bags of mandarins for sale, ready for holiday enjoyment. Most growers can also ship mandarins to your friends and family.

Aside from fresh, whole fruit, a variety of food vendors serve up mandarin infused drinks, mandarin milk shakes, chocolate-dipped mandarins, mandarin fudge, mandarin popcorn and lots of other fun creations. More traditional fair food is available too, like hot dogs, corn dogs, hamburgers, barbequed and grilled meats, glazed nuts, kettle corn and frozen treats.

Learn new, exciting ways to use mandarins at cooking demonstrations. Be sure to enter your own favorite mandarin recipe in the Mandarin Recipe Contest, which attracts dozens of amateur cooks each season. Or purchase a Mandarin Festival Cookbook featuring festival favorites, growers own family recipes, and dishes developed by professional chefs.

Wander the grounds and buildings and purchase quality hand-crafted items just in time for holiday giving and home trimming from more than 150 crafters and vendors. There's also activities for the kids including clowns and rides.

Visit the Mountain Mandarin Festival website for more information, to enter a recipe or for vendor information.