Port of Hueneme hosts 10th Banana Festival

PORT HUENEME, Calif.-The deep sea Port of Hueneme opened its gates to the public for just one day on Saturday.

The opening marked the port's 10th Banana Festival.

Visitors not only entered the festival for free, they had a chance to take free boat rides to see the Del Monte Harvester container ship docked at the port known for its green energy.

Port Director and CEO Kristin Decas said the port has seen record growth.

It is considered to be the 16th largest container port in the country.

Chiquita's Director of Logistics Manrique Bermudes said they import enough bananas to circle the globe end-to-end 3 times.

Some people dressed up for the festival.

There was a woman dressed up like Carmen Miranda.

Jonathan Neira and his baby Emmi wore banana inspired outfits.

Andrew "Banana Drew" Nelson of Ventura did, too.

He said he loves bananas.

They had a chance to eat banana treats and wash them down with Ventura Coast Brew's banana beer.

They also had a chance to watch dancers, bands and artist Kontra Mantis of Saticoy paint a container.

People didn't leave empty handed.

Dole gave everyone bananas to take home.

"We all hope you don't slip on bananas, but it is one of the most nutritious fruits for the cost, " said Dan Boyes of Dole.

He said it has potassium, fiber, and vitamin B.

"You can't go wrong and it is the most portable snack you can have without packaging, so environmentally friendly as well, " said Boyes.

Shannon Denham of Dole recommends peeling them from the top even though monkeys are known to peel them from the bottom.

The annual Port of Hueneme Banana Festival is only held for one day a year since the port needs space for all the containers full of bananas coming off ships.

The containers full of bananas are trucked to more than a dozen states.

For more port information visit https://bananaportfest.com