SeeCalifornia.com

If there’s a reason the people in Ripon, California seem so healthy you can blame it on almonds. Home to farms such as 4th Generation Almond Farmers, Ripon is not a very big city (less than 15,000) in the San Joaquin Valley, but it’s lucky to have the ideal climate for almond growing. Each spring the town puts on the Ripon Almond Blossom Festival & Parade which includes a beauty contest with a queen and her court, a parade on Saturday, and a big carnival all weekend long. Produced by Ripon Chamber of Commerce ( riponchamber.org), the event attracts people from all around the area to celebrate. It is held Feb. 23 – 26, 2012. The Almond Blossom Festival Parade takes place February 25, 2012  at 1 p.m.

Almonds offer many benefits and California is lucky to be the largest US specialty crop exporter. Almonds are California’s largest tree nut crop in total dollar value and acreage. If you haven’t begun eating almonds, you might try them. California offers the freshest crops and the best way to enjoy them is to take a drive to the farms where they are grown and purchase them fresh at roadside stands. Talk about melt in your mouth!