Tracy Press - Forget Boston — Tracy is bean town

December 2, 2008 Tracy, CA

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Forget Boston — Tracy is bean town

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Written by Aaron Rognstad
Saturday, 06 September 2008
Despite heat, crowds come out to bask at the bean festival. Visitors make their way down Central Avenue as they explore the Tracy Dry Bean Festival this afternoon. Glenn Moore/Tracy Press The 22^nd annual Tracy Dry Bean Festival kicked off to good-sized crowds today in sweltering, 100-plus-degree heat, as musicians and street vendors provided the bulk of entertainment. “We’re already seeing more people and activity than last year at this time,” said Dave Tillman, the sponsoring Chamber of Commerce’s executive director. “We’ve got four great stages of entertainment with a lot of local talent and 16 to 18 different samples of beans on hand.” Delta College Psychology Club’s Brian Ratto serves a sampling of vegetarian beans to Kurt Gross of Patterson during a visit to the Bean Pavilion today. Glenn Moore/Tracy Press Bean Town, an area on Central Avenue that showcases the roots of the festival, offered bean tastings and sales. Trevor Gatz, a San Joaquin Delta College student, served beans to raise money for the psychology club. “I like working with people and interacting,” he said. “This is a good fundraiser for us.” Gatz sweated it out along Central Avenue and 10^th Streets along with thousands of others, who sold everything from chicken kabobs to coconut lotion. Johnny Webber, owner of The Coconut Hut, said the festival was rough for business last year, but this year’s larger crowd might help correct that. Many varieties of dry beans were on display and sale at the Bean Pavilion today. Glenn Moore/Tracy Press “It’s not as much of an artisan festival as it is a commercial festival,” Webber said. “But we are in a better location this year than last.” No matter what their location today, it’s safe to say festival-goers were always near some live music. More than 24 performers took to the stages today alone, with music ranging from mariachi and Latin jazz funk to southern rock and roll and pop punk. “I’m liking all the music,” Dave Sawyer, 22, of Tracy said. “It’s definitely worth coming for that and all of the cars out here.” Crowds flocked to see the classic cars lined up along 10^th Street. More than 65 cars ranging from a 1932 Ford to a 2008 Dodge Nascar stockcar from the Altamont Speedway were on display. Visitors get a look at some of the classic and hot rods on display at the car show today. Glenn Moore/Tracy Press “I think the majority of the people that come to the fest, come to the car show first,” said 15-year bean fest veteran Dean Kacludis, proud owner of a 1968 Chevy Camaro that gleamed in the hot sun. “I enjoy putting the car out there to show the younger generation as something that endures time.” And so it was with the annual festival — something that’s endured time. Mayor Brent Ives summed up the festival by saying it’s all about community. “It’s a place for all of us to connect,” he said. “For 22 years, it’s been where friends and family come to celebrate and promote their community.” Set as favorite Bookmark Email This Hits: 1896 Trackback(0) TrackBack URI for this entry Comments (0) Subscribe to this comment's feed Show/Hide comments This content has been locked. You can no longer post any comment. You must be logged in to post a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet.
Last Updated ( Saturday, 06 September 2008 )