Mountain Mandarins: A Sweet Crop

WHEN ORGANIZERS IN NEWCASTLE — nestled in the foothills near Auburn — held their first Mountain Mandarin Festival 26 years ago, they never imagined that it would grow to a three-day event that now attracts up to 35,000 people from throughout the West. Visitors to the Mountain Mandarin Festival — held on the weekend of […]

Fresh & Local Craft Beers

AMERICA’S CRAFT BREWING BUSINESS is booming. Some 7,500 small and independent brewers are churning out over 25 million barrels of craft beer annually. The past — where “one size fits all” beers are sold coast-to-coast — is giving way to an era where craft breweries churn out local, special-release beers; beers named after local places; […]

The Sweetest Season: Mountain Mandarins

As fall arrives, Placer County’s hills are aglow with ripening Mountain Mandarins. More than 40 Mandarin growers are nestled in the hills around Penryn, Newcastle, Loomis, Lincoln and Auburn. They have been providing tree-ripened, hand-picked Mandarins since the 1880s. “Mandarins are the signature fruit of the foothills,” observes Cindy Fake of the UC Cooperative Extension […]

‘Tis the Season: Holiday events in the foothills

Cornish Christmas Fridays, Nov. 25, Dec. 2, 9, 16, 23; 6-9 p.m. Recapture the spirit of Christmas past in historic downtown Grass Valley during the annual Cornish Christmas Celebration. Started in 1967 to preserve Grass Valley’s Cornish heritage and holiday traditions, Cornish Christmas remains one of the region’s most popular events. Mill and West Main […]

Mountain Mandarin Festival is November 21-23

THE MOUNTAIN MANDARIN Festival marks the start of Placer County Mountain Mandarin season. This three-day celebration from November 21-23 draws more than 20,000 visitors from as far away as the Bay Area and Reno. Festival attendees can sample fresh mandarins hand-picked by Mountain Mandarin Growers’ Association members, as well as a variety of mandarin-based products […]

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