Love peaches? Here's the place to enjoy this summer fruit

It’s peach season and what better place to sample this summer favorite than the Marysville Peach Festival.

This Friday and Saturday, July 18 and 19, Marysville celebrates all things peachy at its 25th annual festival. Several historic downtown Marysville blocks – from B to E streets and from Second to Ninth streets – will be closed off as more than 150 vendors share their fresh fruit and peach products.

Festival hours are 4 to 10 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday. Admission and parking are free.

Among the highlights: Plenty of peachy treats. On the menu for this silver anniversary festival: Peach pie, cobbler, parfait, milk shakes, ice cream, glazed ribs, glazed tri-tip, glazed chicken wings, mocktails, puff pastries and so much more.

At noon Saturday, don’t miss the peach pie-eating contest. Registration starts at 11:30 a.m. in front of Casa Carlos Cantina, 413 Sixth St., and the free contest is limited to the first 20 entrants.

Several bands will perform live at three festival stages, providing almost continuous music.

Of course, this is a wonderful opportunity to learn about peaches, too. Many Yuba and Sutter county farmers will be on hand and available to talk peaches – which varieties to grow, how to pick a ripe peach and more.

Here’s a fun fact: Contrary to popular belief, California is the Peach State, producing more than 70% of the nation’s peach crop. (South Carolina is a distant second with Georgia third.)

Peaches come in dozens of varieties, divided by characteristics – yellow, white, donut, cling or freestone. Yellow and white refer to flesh color; cling and freestone refer to how the fruit’s flesh attaches to its seed or stone. Donut peaches are known for their unique shape and are growing in popularity.

Most peach research and breeding are done in California (particularly at UC Davis). What’s the best variety to grow in our region? It depends on personal preference, but ‘O’Henry’ – a late-season freestone yellow variety developed in California for California growers – remains a versatile favorite.

Other varieties recommended by UC master gardeners: ‘Autumn Flame,’ ‘Elegant Lady,’ ‘Sweet Dream,’ ‘July Flame,’ ‘Brittney Lane,’ ‘Crimson Lady,’ ‘Rich Lady,’ ‘Spring Snow,’ ‘Summer Sweet,’ ‘Super Rich,’ ‘Zee Lady,’ ‘September Sun’ and ‘Snow Giant.’