Fruit Tree Festival

If you like fruit--fruit of any kind from mulberries to sapotes--plan on attending the Festival of Fruit being held at the Arboretum of Los Angeles County on Oct. 4.

Put on by the California Rare Fruit Growers, the daylong event will feature tastings of fruit, plus noted speakers on a variety of subjects, beginning at 9 a.m.

There will be talks on rare fruits from around the world, including mulberries and papaws, on pollination problems and bees, and on Luther Burbank.

The selection of member-grown fruit at the tasting area promises to be extensive, and plants of many will be for sale.

The day’s events cost $25, payable at the door or in advance by sending a check to Foothill Chapter, California Rare Fruit Growers, 2955 Gainsborough Drive, San Marino, CA 91108.

You can also join the Rare Fruit Growers for $16 (a one-year membership includes their magazine, the “Fruit Grower”)--in advance or at the gate--and attend the Oct. 3 events, which will be held at the nearby Huntington Botanical Gardens beginning at 12:30 p.m.

Membership also allows you to go to the Oct. 3 dinner, featuring rare fruit champion Frieda Caplan, owner of her own pioneering produce company. The dinner will cost an additional $16.50. Members can also go on the various garden and orchard tours on Oct. 5. Additional information of the group can be found at https://crfg.org.