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March 29, 2024

Begonia Festival organizes new event

CAPITOLA — Organizers of the Capitola Begonia Festival, which concluded in 2017 after 65 years, have formed a new event.

At the conclusion of the final festival, the Capitola Begonia Festival Board of Directors developed a plan to honor past festivals and launch a new festival.

The board formed the Capitola Beach Festival Committee.

Scheduled for Sept. 29 and 30, the Beach Festival will continue the traditional Sand Sculpture Contest, Fishing Derby, Rowboat Races, and Horseshoe Tournament. Plans are also underway for a three-mile foot race and a Nautical Parade.

Replacing begonias, the committee hopes to launch the first lighted boat parade on Soquel Creek. Volunteers are welcome at the planning meetings on the first Monday of the month, 6:30 p.m. at Capitola City Hall Community Room.

To honor the past, the Festival presented a check for $10,000 to the Capitola Historical Museum to archive and curate the history of the Begonia Festival.  

The Begonia Festival ended in 2017 with the retirement of the Brown Family at Golden State Bulb Growers. All of Capitola’s begonias came from Golden State’s tuber growing fields. They recently sold their AmeriHybrid and Antonelli tuberous begonias to Pan American Seed (PAS) based in Chicago, Ill.

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