KELSEYVILLE — “Pear” is the word this Saturday along Kelseyville’s Main Street.
Pears will be everywhere that day: baked into pies, cakes and turnovers, rounding out sparkling wines and drinks, pictured in paintings and crafts, and even shown in the form of a children’s book character named Paisley.
In fact, “pear” isn’t just the word, it’s the very spirit of the Kelseyville Pear Festival, which kicks off on Main Street Saturday morning.
Now in its 27th year, the festival has grown from modest beginnings into one of the most well-attended annual events in Lake County. In 1993, the festival’s first year, it was just a few street vendors, a barbecue, a scarecrow contest and a music stage. About 1,500 people came.
These days, 10,000–12,000 people visit the packed one-day festival, which is free of charge. They come from all over California and “many different states” too, said festival chairperson Cindy Bain, who’s helped organize the event for the past four years.
The festival is a display of the camaraderie of the Lake County community as well as its support for a commodity that’s a local point of pride.
“My favorite part is just the incredible sense of community that we have,” said Bain. “People get along. You walk around and you see people greeting old friends with a big old hug. It just comes out in full force that day.”
Bartlett pears—the predominant variety here, recognizable by its yellow-green color and bell shape—were first introduced to Lake County by gold rushers in the 19th century. Kelseyville resident Diane Henderson’s great grandfather planted Lake County’s first large commercial Bartlett orchard in 1891. Today, the county remains a major producer of pears. In 2017, Lake County produced about one-quarter of all California Bartlett pears.
“We’re proud of the history in Lake County and just the fact that the pear festival has been a part of that,” Bain said.
As in past years, the upcoming pear festival will feature a parade down Main Street, a horse show, a craft market, an antique tractor and farm equipment display, and a bounty of pear-y things like a pie eating contest, a pear dessert contest and an historical exhibit showcasing the pear’s development in Lake County through the years.
More than 130 booths are lined up to display all kinds of wares and services, said Bain.
Some festivities will begin Friday, with a popular “Farm to Fork” dinner featuring catering from three local chefs, a street dance and a dessert contest to select the best pear-centric treat in Lake County.
Bain said the dinner’s roughly 500 tickets sold out in a flash this year.
“I put the tickets up just after midnight June 1,” she said. “The next morning, I got up to let my dogs out at 5:30, (the tickets) were all gone!”
Dessert contest organizer Lori Baker said she never knows what will be the best pear confection. Last year it was macaroons, she recalled.
But Baker’s favorite part? “The people, of course,” she said. “When they come in with their desserts and they’re all excited to win…Without participation, you don’t have it.”
Saturday kicks off with a pancake breakfast at the Kelseyville fire station on Main Street, beginning at 7 a.m. The parade sets out at 9:30 a.m. For more information about this event, check www.pearfestival.com.
