The Kingsburg Swedish Festival has been held annually in May since 1921, making it one of California's longest-running ethnic heritage festivals. The event celebrates the town's Scandinavian roots with folk dancing, traditional costumes, Swedish food, craft stalls, and a parade through the downtown. At its peak the festival draws tens of thousands of visitors from across the Central Valley and beyond.
The folk dancing performances are the centrepiece — groups in traditional Swedish costume perform the polska and other dances in the street. Swedish meatballs, lingonberry jam, and the local stone fruit preserves are staples of the food stalls. If your trip coincides with the third weekend of May, Kingsburg is worth a deliberate detour.