Crowds enjoy a wide variety of food at Stockton's 19th annual Asparagus Festival on Friday. The three-day festival is being held at the Weber Point Events Center in downtown Stockton. (Casey Freeman/News-Sentinel)

Asparagus Festival kicks off at Stockton's downtown waterfront

If somebody had told Stockton resident Ray Pease a few years ago that the city's biggest annual event -- the Asparagus Festival -- would move from Oak Grove Regional Park to the downtown waterfront, he probably would have laughed it off.

The surrounding buildings were deteriorating. Vagrants and panhandlers outnumbered pedestrians. Even the marina had fallen into ill repair.

"There was green stuff floating in the water," Pease recalled on Friday while standing less then 100 yards from the marina. "It's really amazing what they've done."

Downtown Stockton has undergone a facelift during the past five years, with new and redeveloped buildings and roadways injecting life into a once-downtrodden district. The fruits

-- or vegetables, if you will -- of those efforts were on display Friday when the city's 19th annual Asparagus Festival kicked off its first year at the downtown's waterfront.

Thousands of festival-goers swarmed the Weber Point Events Center starting at noon to enjoy live music, games and all things asparagus. In plain view was the new City Centre Cinemas, a 16-screen movie theater that has attracted restaurants and retailers to the area, and the Hotel Stockton, a historic building currently receiving a complete remodeling.

Other projects in the works include a $113 million Waterfront Events Center, which will include a ballpark and an indoor sports facility, and the remodeling of the historic Fox Theater, which is being renamed in memory of the late entertainer Bob Hope.

The city has pumped hundreds of millions into the revitalization effort, and hopes to show off the results with the attention from the festival, said City Manager Mark Lewis. The festival is expected to draw more than 100,000 people before it winds up on Sunday.

"It couldn't be a better time," Lewis said. "We've got a lot to show off (this weekend)."

The new location was a big hit with many festival-goers, who enjoyed the waterfront scenery and sprawling grounds. Dolores King, who was at the festival to hear her granddaughter, Christina, sing with the Lincoln Jazz Band, said the absence of Oak Grove's packed dirt and straw parking lot made the hike from her car much more enjoyable.

"I hated having to walk through that long, dusty parking lot," King said.

Pease, who remembered downtown's shabby condition of a few years ago all too clearly, said having the festival in the heart of Stockton's revitalization is a nice touch.

Alania Jenkins is covered in dipping sauce after she devoured deep-fried asparagus at Stockton's 19th annual Asparagus Festival on Friday. (Casey Freeman/News-Sentinel)

"With the hotel under construction and all the new buildings, I think it's neat to have the festival come down here," Pease said.

Not everyone was thrilled by the festival's new downtown address. Stockton resident Chris Coley said the blocked-off streets filled with vendors and people felt more cramped than the festivals at Oak Grove.

"I'd rather be at Oak Grove," Coley said. "It's more spread out. You don't feel as congested with all these people."

Another patron, Stockton resident Stephanie Poulivaati, blamed the revitalization effort for putting a damper on the festival.

"It's almost like you're forced to be downtown and be part of this new downtown atmosphere they have," Poulivaati said.

David and Rhonda Castagna were mostly happy with the festivities once they arrived at the front gate. Getting there, however, was a different story.

The couple knew parking was going to be an issue, but they still weren't prepared for the confusion they encountered surrounding the Events Center. Traffic moved slowly, and it was difficult to locate a parking garage, David Castagna said.

"We even tried to do the research beforehand, because we knew it would be a pain," he said. "You still couldn't find anything."

While the locale was different, the festival's annual fun-with-asparagus atmosphere was in full swing. Folks drank Aspararitas (blended margaritas made with pureed asparagus), thousands lined up to get baskets of fried asparagus spears, and people looking to cool down enjoyed asparagus ice cream.

Steve Altimari, a brewer with the Valley Brewing Company in Stockton, offered up an Asparagus Wheat Ale to thirsty customers. The brew started out as a joke, but he ended up making six kegs for the festival, replacing the usual hops with boiled, blended and filtered asparagus.

The results? Altimari said most people enjoyed the brew, despite reservations at the beginning.

"I haven't had one person not like it," he said. "People say it's better than they thought it would be."

The festival continues today and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. While folks will be coming into town for the fun and festivities, Lewis, the city manager, hopes they'll take away a sense that downtown Stockton isn't what it used to be.

"Every great city needs a great festival," Lewis said. "We are the great urban city of the valley, and it was just made sense to bring the Asparagus Festival to the downtown."