Zingy: Zucchini Festival in Hayward

Prepare to savor lots of on-stage sounds and lots of succulent squash.

THERE'S NO USE DENYING IT: The zucchini is among the coolest of fruits. Yes, that's right, on the botanical end of things, the green and/or yellow tubular icon is a citizen of Fruitdom, or at least BotanicalBerrytown, and not of Vegetableville, and quibbling will not advance any arguments. Also? As far as that "coolest of fruits" claim goes? Consider that this superstar squash comes with its own little hat, which is as fashionable as most fruits come, save, perhaps, the strawberry (though, yes, cooks have a way of tossing the zucchini's charming chapeau into the trash as soon as a squash hits the cutting board). The zucchini can be sliced, diced, coined, and, yes, scooped out and made into tasty boats meant for holding other delicious foodstuffs, from calabacitas to cheeses to various meats. There's no doubt that the zucchini deserves its own food festival, like the other major fruits of California, and it gets one, each August, in the East Bay. In fact, the...

HAYWARD ZUCCHINI FESTIVAL... is rolling this way, rolling with all the tenacity of a zucchini leaving its produce bag and rolling down the counter (truly, the zucchini is a highly rollable edible, another can't-be-quibbled-with fact). The 2017 dates are Saturday, Aug. 19 and Sunday, Aug. 20, and a Zucchini Growing Contest is one of the centerpieces of the weekend. They do grow big, which is one of their many pluses, in addition to their little hats and their impressive scoop-out-ability. And, as you are likely hoping, zucchini bread will be available, as well as zucchini cookies and the other flavorful baked items that zucchini so effortlessly adds to and enhances. Looking for things to anticipate beyond the lovable squash? Games and activities, too, are on the schedule. Admission is ten bucks, and there's a caboodle of info right here. Continue, if you'd like, calling zucchini a veggie, as long as you asterisk and explain that it cooks and looks like a veggie, for the most part, but its family tree is flowery and fruitful.

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