FALLBROOK, Calif. (KGTV) — Thousand filled the streets in downtown Fallbrook on Sunday afternoon, all for avocados.
Hundreds of vendors set up shop, many featuring avocado art, guacamole and avocado farmers themselves.
“It’s hard work," said Donovan Kisling, who is in his second year of avocado farming and owns Kisling Farm.
He was dressed in a black t-shirt that read "Avocado King" and his booth showcased avocado balloons and an abundance of produce he grew this season.
“Last year we were one of the only main people selling avocados, so we finally got a neighbor here," said Kisling, gesturing to the booth next door where Valeria Escobedo was hard at work.
Escobedo's family has owned Rancho De Los Sueños in Temecula since 2004.
“We have been working since we were really young," said Escobedo.
Escobedo's farm relies on well water, which is why an exceptionally rainy year for San Diego County benefited them.
“We went about two months without watering the grove from all of the rain that we got," said Escobeda, who typically helps water the grove once a day during a normal year.
As for Kisling, the well on the property he recently purchased would cost roughly $50,000 to complete. Instead, he gets his water from the city.
Kisling says his water bills are typically the cost of a "mortgage," but being able to rely on the rainfall brought it down.
Both farms try to sell at farmers markets to optimize profits, saying grocery stores and packing plants are not as cost effective.
Rancho De Los Sueños attends several farmers markets in San Diego each weekend, including the ones in Hillcrest and Little Italy.
