Huntington Beach

Old World's Free Plum Fest Is a Sweet Family Tradition

The annual Huntington Beach bash is turning 27, with fruit-fun desserts and plum cocktails in tasty tow.

Diana Miller

What to Know

  • Sunday, Aug. 21
  • Old World in Huntington Beach from 1 to 6 p.m.
  • Free admission; all ages are welcome

Plums? The purple-perfect, speckly-of-peel, red-of-flesh jewels of sheer juiciness can be tart, tangy, tasty, and especially sweet, all in one drippy and delicious bite.

But finding festivities that give these awesome palm-sized orbs their due isn't always easy, even in a fruit-forward state like California.

True, our region boasts a number of splendid strawberry festivals, and even multiple avocado-themed affairs, but locating a luscious party devoted to the plum?

At first glance, you may think your schedule will remain forever plum-less, but wait: You only need to circle August on your calendar and Huntington Beach on the nearest map.

For Old World Huntington Beach, that quaint quarter for live music, Oktoberfest fun, and adorable Dachshund races, has become synonymous with the succulent stone fruit over the last quarter century.

Make that quarter-century-plus-two-years: Plum Fest, one of the best-known bashes on Old World's annual calendar, is turning 27 in 2022.

The Sunday, Aug. 21 festival will include tunes, German dancers, and a host of plum-perfect pastries, including "plum cakes, plum crepes, plum puff dough strudel," and many more goodies, like plum Berliners (mmm, think doughnuts with a plum filling) and plum martinis.

Admission is free, foods are available for purchase, and families are most definitely welcome. Family spirit and pride are in fact at the heart of Plum Fest, which is a tribute to the memories of Elly Schwarzer and her daughter Dolores R. Bischof, "The First Lady of Old World Village."

Pflaumenkuchen, or plum cake, was long an important homemade treat for the Old World household, and the chance to share that meaningful connection with the public is one that the team behind the celebratory European-style destination couldn't pass up.

Juicy, beautiful, storied, and sweet: Plums will roll into the celebratory spotlight at this fruit festival, one that pays homage to family cooking, the wider community, local pastry chefs, and a quintessentially tangy taste of summertime.

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