CULINARY CALIFORNIA

FEB. 15 TO 24

INDIO

Riverside County Fair & National Date Festival

A different date concoction is whipped up daily at the annual fair by area chefs who stop in for a cooking show. Amateurs can compete for best date recipe, amble the grounds munching on date pastries washed down with date shakes and watch camel and ostrich races. Plus: big-name entertainment, with concerts included in the fair admission. This year, it’s LeAnn Rimes.

Where: Riverside County Fairgrounds, 82-503 California 111.

Cost: $8, $6 ages 5 to 12, 4 and younger free.

Info: (800) 811-3247, www.datefest.org.

MARCH 1

SAN FRANCISCO

6th annual Celebrity Crab Cracking

Players for the San Francisco 49ers show they have finesse as well as muscle when they team with Bay Area chefs to provide a crab-cracking how-to demonstration. Visitors can sample Dungeness crab.

Where: 301 Post St.

Cost: Free admission; tickets for tastings of food, beer and wine are $5 each or six for $25.

Info: (415) 781-7880, www.unionsquaresf.net.

MAY 17 AND 18

OXNARD

California Strawberry Festival

Several publications have ranked Oxnard’s event among the nation’s top outdoor festivals, and this is its 25th anniversary year. The goings-on are going to get gooey with the Tart Toss, the Strawberry Pie Eating Contest and the Strawberry Stomp. Try the strawberry pizza, strawberry nachos, strawberry funnel cakes and fresh-brewed strawberry beer.

Where: Strawberry Meadows of College Park, 3250 S. Rose Ave.

Cost: $12, $5 ages 5 to 12, 4 and younger free.

Info: (888) 288-9242, strawberry-fest.org.

JULY 12 AND 13

SANTA BARBARA

Santa Barbara French Festival

Little tables with checkered cloths set the mood for this Bastille Day celebration, as do cancan dancers, artists in berets and the Poodle Parade (costumed poodles welcome).

Where: Oak Park, 300 W. Alamar Ave.

Cost: Free.

Info: (805) 564-7274, www.frenchfestival.com.

JULY 26 AND 27

OXNARD

Salsa Festival

The Chile Kitchen has how-to’s on salsa preparation and cooking with chiles. At the Salsa Tasting Tent, visitors can sample and purchase salsas. The salsa dancing is continuous, with three bands a day, a large floor for dancing and contests.

Where: Plaza Park at Plaza Park, 5th and B streets

Cost: Free admission; $4 for salsa tasting (10 tastes plus tortilla chips).

Info: (800) 269-6273, www.salsafestival.com.

SEPT. 6 AND 7

VENTURA

Lemon Fest

Pucker up. Lemonade, lemon bars, seafood with lemon, funnel cakes with lemon topping, lemon chicken, lemon cheesecake and lemon-and-chipotle braised short ribs are on the menu at this citrusy fair.

Where: Pacific View Mall, at East Main Street and Lemon Grove Avenue.

Cost: Free.

Info: www.lemonfest.com.

NOV. 12 TO 15

SAN DIEGO

San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival

Billed as one of Southern California’s largest wine and culinary events, the weeklong festival has celeb-chef cooking demonstrations, master sommelier wine-tasting seminars and the Reserve & New Release Wine Tasting.

Where: Various venues.

Cost: Tickets $40 to $450 for a weekend package.

Info: (619) 342-7337, www.worldofwineevents.com.

DEC. 6 AND 7

INDIO

Tamale Festival

Indio’s tamale-eating, tamale-judging, folklorico- dancing bash has been ranked by Food Network as among the top 10 All-American U.S. food festivals. In 1999, it made it into the Guinness Records with a 40-foot-long tamale. And big things are also being cooked up for this winter.

Where: In the area of California 111 and Indio Boulevard.

Cost: Free.

Info: (760) 391-4175, www.tamalefestival.net.