(Photo JT Gomez, Clovis Roundup)
On Friday night, the last day of the month of September, American Pistachio Growers, a non-profit trade association that represents over 800 growers in California, Arizona, and New Mexico, made their way to the Clovis Farmers Market.
This invitation from the Farmers Market was marketed to the public as a “Pistachio Party”, in which pistachios were the main attraction.
However, as a part of that, Valley boxer Marc Castro was also invited to the Farmers Market by APG, and took part in podcast, “Bring the Juice” with owner Frank Dalena.
Castro, a graduate of Fresno State, lured a large crowd to the live podcast, held in the heart of the farmers market, including fans of his traveling from all over the Valley, including Farmersville and Bakersfield.
Director of Membership for APG, Wes Wilson reiterated that about 800 pounds of pistachios were being used at the market on Friday night. Pistachios were used for at least seven different dishes that were being passed out as samples to the large crowd.
On why APG decided to come to the Clovis Farmers Market, Wilson stated, “It’s just an easy, safe, fun, clean environment where everyone feels good bringing their families out.” He stated that this was the eleventh year that APG has sponsored the Pistachio Party for the Clovis Farmers Market.
“It’s always been the last farmers market of the year for us….We had fifteen vendors that used pistachios for various recipes.”
According to Wilson, APG has ambassadors all over the world that work on marketing pistachios. With events like the Farmers Market and the “Pistachio Party”, these events become an important way to highlight pistachios grown locally as they are in the San Joaquin Valley.
At an hour into the event, Wilson called the turnout to the Pistachio Party, “Unbelievable,” and attributed a lot of the crowd to Valley boxer Marc Castro and his promotion of him being present at the event.
“It’s nice to be able to promote a local professional athlete but also get people to try out our pistachios and see something new and kind of connect the whole valley.”
In addition to the centralized position of the Pistachio Party, booths, those spotlighting pistachios and those who were not, lined the streets of the Farmers Market, and spectators filled their areas.
Along with live music, onlookers were greeted by friendly faces and lively conversation as the sights, sounds, and smells of pistachio filled their atmosphere and flooded the senses.