This community event acknowledges the rich history of the olive industry, which has a significant impact in Oroville economically
OROVILLE, Calif. – Butte County hosted its 14th annual Olive Festival Saturday, celebrating the rich history of olive production in the area.
The event was organized by the Butte County Historical Society and highlighted the significant economic impact of the olive industry in Oroville.
“Freda Ehmann is considered to be the mother of the California ripe olive because she’s the person who figured out how to make olives a uniformed black color instead of that ugly modeled gray color,” said Nancy Brower, a board member of the Butte County Historical Society.
Brower emphasized the importance of the olive industry to the local economy, noting its support for local businesses and contribution to agricultural heritage. Attendees had the chance to hear from local olive oil producers, including Mission 52 LLC.
“This orchard was planted in 1952, so it’s 73 years old, the fruit all comes from that orchard, these trees have been growing up and dropping together for the past 73 years. It’s really created a unique fruit, it’s all mission olives, we hand harvest them,” said Sanju Sharma and Kristy Hicks of Mission 52 LLC.
Susan Sims of Sims Trees Olive Oil also shared insights into her local production efforts.
“Our olive oil, well we have two varieties which is mission, a variety of olive and then we have manzanita which is another variety of olive, and then we take mission olive through mandarin oranges while it’s being crushed and then we have a mandarin olive oil,” said Sims.
Visitors enjoyed various olive products at the festival, with many expressing plans to return next year for more tastings and purchases.
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