Zoe Flint '25
The sounds of live music and loud voices could be heard all the way from the intersection of Casitas Pass Road and Carpinteria Ave, where the Cate bus dropped off its students Saturday morning. Just during the walk from Albertson’s to Linden, it was clear how much more crowded Carpinteria’s main drags had become in time for the 2022 AvoFest. Lucky Llama and Teddy’s By The Sea seemed to have entered an alternate universe, one that looked exactly like Carp, but was far more populated than the one we know and love. Once you reached Linden, the most noticeable things were the multiple bands playing, the large crowds, and the giant blown up avocado with multiple families posing for photos. The entire street emanated a very joyful feeling, with the sun shining and the smell of food- lots and lots of chips and guacamole- filling the air.
The set up of the festival was simple. In the back, towards the beach, vendors were selling clothing and other homemade and locally sourced items. In the middle were the stages and the food stalls, and there was more shopping in the front, next to Carpinteria Ave. For example, a tent filled with beaded accessories, quilted satchels, and loose cotton dresses. It gave off a bit of a hippy, Tibetan gift shop vibe, which was a running theme for most of the clothing stalls at the festival. Further down, there was a slightly overpriced boutique stall, filled with what the vendor was eager to tell us were fully reversible clothes made of recycled materials, which may or may not have been true. Moving on, there was a tent selling pearl jewelry and a collection of chairs and hammocks. A popular spot was Spirit Spa Soap, a wife and husband who made all of their soaps themselves and had been coming to the festival for years. Their tent’s scent was a bright, white reprieve from the smells of fried food and guac. The free lip balms offered with each purchase were truly the cherry on top.
Another favorite shop was a dress shop run by a man named Raav, who has been coming to AvoFest for the last 15 years. Clearly, customers were immediately drawn in by the clothing he was selling, but also by his warm and bubbly disposition. I watched as he instructed customers on which dress to buy- not the one in their hands, but instead this one that was made of more sturdy material. He offered his expertise on flattering colors and styles as well, making sure each shopper got the best dress for them. My conversation with him was short but sweet. When I asked what kept him coming back, he told me it was the people. The community of the festival each year was amazing to him. Over the years he had made friends, and each year they visited him in his tent. He’s a traveling salesman, he's been to a lot of these festivals he continues, “but this one’s special. The people here are what make it what it is.”
Past the shops, was a game section with mini basketball hoops and what might have been the most exciting attraction of all. There was a ferris wheel in the middle of the street, with an unfortunately long line that stretched to the end of the block. Past the wheel, was the large food section, which held many options like Mexican- with many competing chips and guac stands; Chinese; as well as your typical festival food- hotdogs, burgers, etc; as well as beverage options like a lemonade stand with blueberry and strawberry flavors. The busiest vendors were probably the ones offering desserts and sweet treats; the festival was visited by the classic Carpinteria snow cone van, as well as another ice cream shop and even a tent selling avocado brownies the size of small bricks. And of course, all of the usual restaurants were open as well, many with altered AvoFest hours. My friends and I held a guacamole competition, in which Holy Guac came out on top, with the supposedly “world famous” guac served by the Carpinteria High School cheerleaders coming in second. According to Ava Everett ‘25, “It wasn’t even close. Holy Guac was definitely better.” Another food highlight came from Pacific Health Foods, who offered special AvoFest smoothie flavors. Avocolada and Pink Avocado were both delicious. AvoFest only got livelier as the night went on. The setting of the sun brought crowds of listeners to the Guac N Roll stage, with the music pounding until 10:00 on the dot. The music throughout the day was incredibly popular and the favorite part of the festival for many Cate students, including Ethan Gibson ‘25 and Babacar Pouye ‘23 who said the music was the most entertaining part of the day. The ferris wheel was busy well into the night as well, turning on LED lights that bathed the closed stalls in bright hues of green, pink, and blue.
Looking back, Raav was right. The people at AvoFest are really what makes it special. From the Carp High cheerleaders performing in the center of Linden, to the helpful shop owners, it was the people and volunteers putting in their time and effort that made the festival so great, even if there was less avocado than I expected.
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