My thoughts on the 2023 Chula Vista Lemon Festival

• The 26th Annual Chula Vista Lemon Festival in Chula Vista was a success with a larger turnout than last year.
• The event drew famous vendors, including Toyota, Dunkin Doughnuts, CBS8 News, and Tesla, who showcased their products.
• The food selection was vast, with a special mention of the woodfired pizza food truck and delectable lemonade. A Tequila tasting cart was also present.
• For the 2024 Lemon Festival, suggestions include featuring low-riders and classic cars, more performances by community groups, and fun contests such as pie-eating or lemon-squeezing.
• Community input is encouraged for future event planning, with a call to action to leave comments or engage on social media platforms.
• Chula Vista Living will continue to update followers on upcoming community events.

What an amazing event yesterday. The 26th Annual Chula Vista Lemon Festival took place on Saturday, another great event in the community. So many people turned out for the festival. The weather was perfect, and it made for a fun lemon-filled day. I love attending this event every year. It has become a community staple in August and I can’t wait to see how much more this grows.

As you know, Chula Vista has a long history of being the lemon capital of the world a long time ago. Before there was the Chula Vista Center Mall or The Chula Vista Nature Center, there were lemon trees as far as the eye could see. This festival is a great way to honor that history and remind us of the roots of our city.

For those who missed out on the event this year, I wanted to give you an idea of what I liked and would love to see in future events. I will also post this question to Facebook, so if you went to the event, let everyone know what you thought of the event. Maybe the Third Avenue Association organizers will hear our ideas and implement them next year.

What I loved at the 2023 Chula Vista Lemon Festival

First, the biggest thing I loved to see was the turnout. The streets were filled with people enjoying the event. It was great to know that we are getting the word out and people are listening. Last year was tough and they didn’t get a huge turnout. This year it was 100% better, and everyone was having a good time.

I also loved they had so many vendors there. Up and down Third Avenue, you had so much to see and buy. I saw all kinds of vendors, and they were all busy. Even some of the more prominent name vendors, brands like Toyota, Dunkin Doughnuts, and CBS8 News, were out there. Even Tesla was out there showing off their cars. It’s great to see big names like this participating in and supporting Chula Vista events.

Live music is always a big part of the Chula Vista Lemon Festival; they had two stages this year. Everyone loves to grab a drink and listen to some good live music. Well, this year, they had two locations, each with a different genre of music. I wish they had more local artists, but we will go over that later.

The delicious food!! You can not go wrong at the festival with good food. There were so many options to choose from, along with the regular downtown restaurants. I went with this woodfired pizza food truck, and it was delicious. Of course you can’t go to the Lemon Festival without getting the freshly made Lemonade; so good. This year they even had a Tequila tasting cart which was super cool.

What I want them to have for the 2024 Lemon Festival

There are only a few things I want to see them have next year, and these are just suggestions. One of them is low-riders and or classic cars. I think this would be a big draw for people. Everyone loves to look at shiny classic cars. They don’t need to have a lot, just a single-car club out there showcasing their member’s cars. We have so many in the south bay that I’m sure would love to come out.

More community groups performing on the stages. In years past, the Lemon Festival was the premier location for many school and community groups to come out and perform in front of the public. There would be dance groups, Folklorico dancers, and more putting on a show. It didn’t take much to setup or get going, so they could easily have five groups taking turns performing. It’s also an instant crowd with family members coming out to see their kids participating in the festival. They could have this in between bands so there was still something to enjoy while they moved around the equipment.

The last thing I would love to see at the Chula Vista Lemon Festival would be a fun contest people could take part in. While there, I bumped into a good friend, and he missed the pie-eating contest they used to have. That was a fun contest that everyone would stop and enjoy. I heard there was a lemon-squeezing contest, but I didn’t see it. I know they also had a best dressed for the Lemon Fest, but that was not on the main stage; it was just a voting thing. I’m not even sure who won. Fun games or contests on one of the stages would be a perfect crowd-pleaser. If they did bring back the pie-eating contest, I might even give it a shot.

What were your hits or misses at this year’s Chula Vista Lemon Festival?

Now that you know my list, what would you like to see next year? Comment below and let us know your ideas. I’m sure the organizers are listening, so don’t be shy! Let’s make this next festival even bigger and better than before. You can check us out on Facebook, Instagram or even YouTube and let us know your thoughts.

Make sure you keep following Chula Vista Living. Many more events are coming, and I will keep you posted on them.