A Rare and Juicy Event Pops up at Tanaka Farms

There's so much berry-beautifulness in the springtime, at least around Southern California, but deciding how to find your particular brand of fruity bliss can be a bit of a sticky wicket.

Of course, "sticky," at least when we're talking about berries, is an incredibly good and desirable sensation. For your fingertips should get rather sticky, and your hands gooey, and if you've eaten several juicy and slightly messy gems in a row?

Your face should probably show it, too.

But where can you go to get your berry on?

The California Strawberry Festival has long been a main source of juicy, face-messy merriment, but organizers just canceled the 2022 event, which had been scheduled for May 14 and 15 in Oxnard.

The Knott's Boysenberry Festival is proceeding, over several succulent weeks, with dozens of dishes themed to the famous fruit (think tamales, hot dogs, spirited beverages, and, yes, desserts).

But if you can't wait for the fruity fest to open at the Buena Park theme park on March 18, there's a way to find sunshine, sweetness, and berry-tastic flavors at an Orange County destination.

It's Tanaka Farms we're sunnily shouting about, for the Irvine landmark, one of our region's most historical agricultural centers, made a delicious, act-fast announcement on March 14.

The airy expanse, which is famous for growing all sorts of vegetables and fruits, will open its blackberry fields, for "one day only," to people who'd like to pick the berries straight off the vines.

Oh yes: And enjoy a few blackberries while standing out in the sunbeam'd stretch of verdant farmland, too. (That is totally allowed, and the mere idea of it sounds exceedingly pleasant.)

But public blackberry picking is a rarer thing at the spacious farm, which means only 70 spots will be open, and you'll need to reserve your place for the Tuesday, March 15 event as soon as you can.

Oh yes, this is all happening on a Tuesday, which seems like a nice and unusual way to up the general effervescence of the second day of the week, which sometimes needs a little boost in the effervescence department, seeing as how it is far closer to Monday than Friday.

The cost is $10, and "(e)ach person can pick and eat as many as they like in the fields and will fill a 6-ounce container to take home."

Is this just the sort of spring-forward, fruit-it-up way you'd like to spend one of winter's final days?

Sign up here, as fast as it takes to pop a whole blackberry into your mouth, and get the info you need on the March 15 Tanaka Farms fun.