When life gives one lemons, the Goleta Lemon Festival is created, celebrating three decades

GOLETA, Calif - Whether it be lemonade, lemon bars or lemon-flavored churros, when life gives you lemons, you create The Goleta Lemon Festival.

The two-day event had plenty of photo ops and shops for lemon lovers.

"So we got the lemonade with the reusable cup and we got some lemon tote bags," said festival attendee Sophia Sharp. "I also got a whole lemon pie," said Tammy Pham, attending with Sharp.

 Some festival-goers didn’t leave without some kind of lemon treat to taste or drink while others purchased a whole lemon meringue pie.

"You know I do several lemon festivals throughout California so I thought what better treat than to bring our lemon-flavored churro out to Goleta," said food vendor, Aurora Mendoza. "We've been doing this for a few years now, for five years and we've been participating at the Goleta Lemon Festival for five years and every year we sell out and it's you know a fan favorite."

The citrusy fruit has a rich history in Goleta, dating back to the 1800s when Sherman Patterson Stow of Goleta’s Rancho La Patera planted the first known lemon orchard in California.  

Today, locals and visitors celebrate three decades of the festival at Girsh Park in Goleta.

However, it's not the Goleta Lemon Festival without the famous pie-eating contest that takes place every year.

The weekend-long festivities is the year's largest community event held in Goleta and with plenty of activities for kids and families, it was the "zest" time for many.

The beloved festival is run by the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce.