Rio Linda Grange presents Zucchini Festival on Saturday
Hey, Zuke, wanna race? The Zucchini Festival in Rio Linda this weekend welcomes big squash -- maybe much bigger than these -- to its Zucchini Races event. Kathy Morrison
The Rio Linda Grange may have created the most delightful use for giant overgrown zucchini squash.
The fun will be on view this Saturday, Aug. 10, as the Grange presents its annual Zucchini Festival & Races.
The festival of course will have food and vendors and kids activities, running from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Rio Linda Library parking lot, 6th and M streets in Rio Linda.
But the big draw undoubtably will be the races. These are somewhat like pinewood derby races, although the dominant car material is not a block of wood but a giant, woody zucchini (or other variety of summer squash). They are attached to wheeled toys, skate wheels or anything else that falls within the guidelines (see below) and decorated.
Registration will start at 9 a.m. Anyone who brings in a ready-to-race vehicle will be registered free; zucchini-less entrants can pay $5 for creation supplies while they last.
Here are the guidelines for building a zucchini car:
-- Maximum height is 14 inches; maximum width is 12 inches; maximum length is 14 inches.
-- No motorized vehicles; gravity is the only "power" allowed.
-- No intact skateboards.
-- No added weights.
-- One entry per person.
The builder tables open at 9 a.m. with registration. Between 10 and 10:15 a.m. judging for Best in Show creation will be held, along with the public-voted Greatest of All Time (GOAT) Award.
The races will kick off at 10:15, with kids' entries first, followed by adults' entries.
At 12:30 p.m., the judged awards are handed out, as well as an award for the heaviest zucchini. (If you have a big one growing right now, give it some extra water!)
The finale will be a face-off race between the top youth entry and the top adult entry.
Admission and parking for the festival are free.
For information on Rio Linda Grange #403, which is celebrating its 100th year, and the festival, go to https://www.facebook.com/RioLindaGrange
And by the way, Happy National Sneak Some Zucchini onto Your Neighbor's Porch today to all who celebrate ... but keep the biggest one for the races.
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Your garden doesn’t mind April showers. Get busy now to enjoy those future flowers.
* Get ready to swing into action in the vegetable garden. As nights warm up over 50 degrees, start setting out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.
* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, radishes and squash. (Soak beet seeds overnight in water for better germination,)
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* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.
* Smell orange blossoms? Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.
* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.
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