21st Annual Olive Fest features treats, crafts, entertainment

Olives will have their place in the sun on October 5th and 6th. Visitors to this year’s 21st Olive Fest at Mission San Jose will get to meet dozens of local artisans and purveyors of fine foods in celebration of the olive, an important California crop with roots more than 200 years in the past.

The Festival, a project of the Mission San Jose Chamber of Commerce, first celebrated in 2001, features live entertainment, arts and crafts, kids’ activities and more. New this year is a display of classic cars.

Chamber of Commerce Board member Sylvia Rodriguez says a key goal of the festival is “to foster community engagement with small business artisans,” a goal in line with the Chambers’s mission statement, which includes “creating, enhancing and promoting business activity, fostering civic advancement and the preservation and perpetuation of Fremont’s historic district of Mission San Jose.”

Expected attendance is 500 to 600 people per day. Proceeds from the event support the annual Holiday Tree Lighting and spring Arts Mosaic Fair, both Chamber of Commerce productions. Long-time board member Valerie Tavares says that “more vendors than ever are expected this year.”

Olives have been a staple of Mediterranean life for thousands of years and oil was a major component of trade for the Greek and Roman civilizations. However, olives are also useful for more than oil. Festival attendees can expect to see artisanal soaps, skincare products, candles and olivewood products for the home.

Technically a fruit, olives have been grown in 41 different countries and though Italy is perhaps the country most associated with olive oil today, Spain is actually the leading producer. In the first quarter of 2023 it exported nearly 167,000 tons.

The Spanish are also the ones responsible for the Bay Area having olive trees today. The Spanish brought cuttings to Peru in the mid sixteenth century; eventually, Franciscan Friars brought olives north as they established missions, with the first California trees planted at Mission San Diego in 1769.

The site of the event, Mission San Jose’s olive grove, was already thriving when the Dominican Sisters arrived in 1891. It was Ohlone people who planted the 334 trees under the direction of the Franciscan Friars decades previously. In 1894, the Sisters began to harvest the olives and process the oil. Today there are about 200 trees left, the largest remaining grove of Mission Era olive trees in California.

The Sisters still do their own olive harvesting with the help of local volunteers, but a partnership with the Sciabica family of Modesto has lightened their load and expanded their production. Since the year 2000, the Sciabicas, who produce their own olive oil, vinegars and food products, do the pressing, storing, bottling, labeling and delivery of the Dominican Sisters’ olive oil.

Not only will the Sisters’ olive oil be available, so will their renowned honey. Sister Evangelista Grisez began keeping bees at the Motherhouse in the 1930s. Today, not only do the bees produce the widely-praised and delicious “Holy Honey,” they also help pollinate the 5,000 square foot vegetable and community garden at the Mission Motherhouse.

If you’ve never visited the Mission, don’t miss out on this opportunity to celebrate California history and a beautiful day in the olive grove —kindly leave pets at home.

Entertainment lineup

Saturday, Oct 5

10am to 5pm – DJ Alex

10am – Indian dancers

11am – Taiko Drums

12pm – Dream Achievers

1pm to 3pm – The Canyon Band.

Sunday, Oct 6

10am to 5pm – DJ Alex

11am – 12pm – Indian dancers

1pm to 3pm – The Canyon Band.

21st Annual Mission San Jose Olive Festival

Saturday, Oct 5 – Sunday, Oct 6

10am – 5pm

Mission San Jose

43326 Mission Blvd., Fremont

(Behind the historical old mission)

Street parking and limited on-site parking

Free admission