Earlier this month I dragged my family up to the Mission San Jose annual Olive Festival in Fremont. I say I dragged them because they don’t even like olives. Me, though, I love ’em. I was a wee bit disappointed then that I didn’t get to taste any.
The Olive Festival is put on by the Mission San Jose Chamber of Commerce. The mission was founded in 1797 by Fr. Fermin Francisco de Lasuen. It sits today right on Mission Road in Fremont. As the literal road to the mission, Mission Road is the nexus of El Camino de San Jose, my name for El Camino Real’s eastern branch. In the last century the area around the mission has developed into a charming little district. In 1909 the businesses, landowners, and residents of the area formed the Mission San Jose Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber holds two big annual events at the mission: the Olive Festival and the Christmas Tree Lighting. This was the ninth year for the Olive Festival, which occurs the first Saturday of every October.
Why olives? It turns out the Franciscan padres and native Ohlones planted olive trees at the Mission, taking advantage of California’s famous Mediterranean climate. Some of the trees are still there, having lasted over two hundred years.
We arrived that Saturday after lunchtime. We parked at Ohlone College and walked the long block to the grassy slope behind the mission. A shaded bandstand anchored the festival which was enclosed by a ring of vendor booths. About a third were selling arts, crafts, and jewelry. About a quarter offered food, raffle tickets, and kids’ activities. The rest (don’t ask me to do the math) were selling a variety of olive-based products. I saw olive soaps, literal olive branches, and some beautiful objets d’art carved from wood from the mission olive trees (dead wood only). I saw everything except olives, meaning fruit ready to eat. I found out later on Twitter from @aroundfremont that the mission itself did sponsor a booth with olives to taste but somehow I missed it. If you ask me, one booth isn’t enough. I arrived with my palate all set to sample a variety of olives in a rainbow of flavors: garlicky, spicy, au naturel, you name it. I was ready to spit some pits, but it wasn’t to be. All was not lost however because what the festival lacked in olives, it more than made up in its culinary essence: oil. Olive oil, that is. Greek gold. Tuscan tea.
Nearly every food vendor had a wide range of olive oils to taste. Some were plain extra virgin and some were flavored. The oils didn’t have to go it alone though. The vendors also offered matching samples of balsamic vinegars, olive oil’s favorite grape-based emulsion partner. I worked my way from one end of the festival to the other, dipping little bread chunks on toothpick skewers into oleic and acetic sample pots, savoring all. One booth, Lucero Olive Oil, was hardcore. They didn’t mess with bread chunks; you sip their wares neat, straight from their stainless steel dispensers. I made the mistake of chugging a sample of vinegar too fast, causing my throat to seize up and my nostrils to ignite, launching me into a fit of gasping and sputtering. Yeah, I’m a balsamic lightweight.
We purchased a basil/lemon/garlic olive oil gift sampler from Lucero and some hot Tuscan olive oil and dark cherry balsamic vinegar from Big Paw. We also purchased a dry salami from P. G. Molinari & Sons and some fresh pesto from Home Maid Ravioli Company. Yeah, life is good.
We finished out the afternoon bopping along with swing charts from Ohlone’s own Chops Big Band, enjoying non-olive-inflected hot dogs and sodas from the only hot food seller, and stuffing raffle boxes for prize baskets donated by Chamber of Commerce member businesses. (I didn’t win anything. I rarely do.) We loitered in front of the mission while I took some pictures but we didn’t go inside this time, deciding to leave that visit for another day.
The Olive Festival was really cute. It wasn’t like the monster street festivals we occupy ourselves with in the summertime; it was closer in spirit to a local church carnival. I loved all the tasting but I felt a little…lubricated…afterwards from the half pint of vinaigrette sloshing around my stomach. Next time I’ll bring my own baguette to sop my insides with. I would have liked to see more solid olives featured. The alcohol tent was selling beer with olives in it which was a nice touch, but martinis would have been fun. I’d like to see a signature dish, like maybe a simple olive sampler plate, or something gourmet like a lamb burger with olive tapenade. (I just made that up. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Ooh, I just found a recipe. Dang, sister, bring me my keys!) Still it was a great event and I have my calendar marked for next year. I hope to visit the area again sooner than that to patronize the businesses up there like the Olive Hyde Art Gallery or Mission Coffee. There’s a lot of heart and character in the East Bay’s kinder, gentler Mission District.