Peanut Butter Jam Festival

This festival was exciting and fun when they first started in 2002 (4 stars). Little jars of Skippy peanut butter were handed out back then. There were fun activities for the kids… face painting, games, etc. As the years rolled along to at least five years ago, there was no trace of Skippy in town… I guess Skippy done skipped out on us here in the West End of Alameda… no pun intended here. This time around… hey, Kenny the clown is still in town, twisting the balloons into animals, flowers, headgear… whatever one’s heart desires. I strolled down Webster to see the different vendors selling their crafts (books, soaps, jewelry, etc) and food (garlic fries, Lockeford sausages, BBQ, lumpia, snowcones, etc.). The bands are always entertaining and I regret that I missed the performance by Earl Rivard, the troubadour singer and songwriter. I won a Walgreens red tote bag and red mug after spinning their wheel for a good cause ($ 2.00). Robert Raburn, District 4 BART Director, was there with info on the newly designed seating for the trains and the Estuary Crossing Shuttle. Food wise, I decided to support a local business in town… bought Calafia’s carne asada burrito, three chicken tamales and a large watermelon agua fresca to go. However, before going home, I made a pit stop at Narsai David’s booth to sample the decadent chocolate and caramel sauces… delish…yummy for ice cream and a banana foster and as a sweetener for a cup of morning joe; the nectarine chutney and the mustard dill sauce… good complements for meat and fish. Yep, I bought the jars of sauces and condiments to enjoy later on. The mustard dill sauce is also good for dipping pretzel sticks (snack). Without Skippy around, this festival seems to have lost some of its luster. I would give this event slightly better than A-​OK, but there’s no such thing as a 3.5 stars on Unilocal

Where the hell was the peanut butter this year!!! Without it, this is just a regular run-​of-​the-​mill stret fair… granted, it’s Alameda, so it automatically is a five-​star street fair. But don’t advertise it as a peanut butter street fair, and then leave the peanut butter at home!
I’m boycotting Skippy… after I finish the four jars of it at home.

This happens every September. It is my favorite of all of Alameda’s many street faires. Two days celebrating that Alameda is the «birth place of peanut butter» with live music, tons of food, wine, beer and art. A special area for the kids features games and storytelling.