Begonia Festival Recap: Attendees Dance the Weekend Away

The 59th Annual Begonia Festival took place in Capitola over Labor Day weekend, with visitors and locals alike taking advantage of the festival's numerous activities and events that grace the Capitola Village once a year.

With the festival theme, "Let's Dance," and so many activities available, every attendee seemed to take something special away from the event, whether it was a memory from the iconic Nautical Parade on Sunday, the excitement of creating a sand sculpture on the beach from Saturday's sand-sculpture competition or the thrill of decorating a hat with begonias during the festival's "Begonias to go, Head to Toe"event on both Saturday and Sunday.

Other highlights included a horseshoes tournament on Saturday and two concerts in the park, performed by local bands Extra Large and Mike Hadley & the Grove, giving visitors the chance to hear the popular sounds of Santa Cruz County musicians.

Children also had plenty of fun distractions, such as Saturday's Budding Artist event, where kids had the chance to view art from local schools and were able to experiment with painting as well.

The festival's deep roots, which date back to the 1950s, undoubtedly provide locals and visitors with something special to look forward to each year in Capitola, and Lin Banks, festival president, said the Begonia Festival will include even more festivities next year, for its 60th anniversary.

“Next year is the 60th year, and it's going to be something else. We'll pull out all the stops,” Banks said.

Check out what festival attendees said about this year's four-day event, below.

Lin Banks, Begonia Festival president:

“The Begonia Festival is a very unique, eclectic part of Capitola, and it's our montage to the end of summer and a way for Capitola to give back to the people who come to Capitola.”

Deborah Cunha, 53, of Livermore:

“I love the festival and just the fact that it's a creative, artsy boat-decorating event. I liked the pig decorated in roses, but I really liked the ballet float.”

David Byron, 48, lead guitarist of the band Extra Large:

“It's very nice to see all the families coming out and enjoying themselves on labor day weekend. One of my favorite things is to watch the float building on Saturday night, especially with all the lights that are strung; I just like the whole vibe.”

Samantha Labrador, 24, and Foster Davis, 23, of Walnut Creek:

“We got here really early and took the shuttle down, and then we saw the begonias. We came here last year as well and we didn't actually get any begonias, so this is pretty much the highlight for us,” Labrador said.

“She's having a really good time; she's busy during the week so it's fun to get out here and do something together where we can both relax,” Davis said.

For more information regarding the Begonia Festival, including volunteer info for next year's event, visit the Capitola Begonia Festival website.