The Asparagus Festival in Stockton will return next year even though organizers called it quits last month. The festival will have a new names, a new location and a new organization backing it.
The festival will return for a 30th year as the San Joaquin Asparagus Festival.
It will move from downtown to the county fairgrounds.
The Noceto Group which also runs auto raceing has secured a five-year contract to stage the festival.
San Joaquin Fair Chief Executive Kelly Olds says the new location will mean lower operating costs than when the festival was held downtown.
"We don't have to rent fencing, and we don't have to put a lot of, you know, a thousand porta potties out here or that kind of stuff. I really think we have the facility that can handle that kind of crowd over a three-day period."
Olds says like the previous festival, the new one will depend upon volunteers whose work will benefit local non-profits.
Meanwhile, Heather Duffett of the Stockton Visitor's Bureau says memorabilia from the old festival goes on sale Friday...with most prices ranging from one to two dollars.
"There's a big stock of the T-shirts, there's a lot of drinkware, there's also some of the crates that have the asparagus logo burnt into them."
The San Joaquin Asparagus Festival will be held April 17 through 19 next year.
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