Food, fun, entertainment, and one big pizza highlight annual Central Valley Pizza Festival

The Festival was scheduled to run from Friday night to Sunday afternoon in the Downtown City Park. The highlight of Saturday’s festivities was the annual pizza building contest. On Sunday, pizza lovers gathered for the annual pizza eating contest.

While there was just a little bit of everything available for kids from two to 92, the highlight of Saturday’s festivities had to be the building of the large pizza. While no doubt Lemoore’s pizza probably won’t appear in the Guinness Book of World Records, the Central Valley Pizza Festival pizza is one to behold. This year’s version was no different as a variety of local teams gathered to construct their own unique slices to be added to the 12-foot pizza.

Hardly anyone disagrees that the pizza contest is one of the major highlights of the Festival.

“Sure, I think it’s the giant pizza decorating contest,” said Lemoore Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Maurine Azevedo in describing the highlight of the Festival. “This is the first year we’ve changed it, and this year we wanted to give it a very level playing field so now everybody has the same ingredients.”

This year everybody has the same tools and it’s up to each team how it plans to use those ingredients.

Azevedo was pleased with the turnout of vendors and the support the Central Valley Pizza Festival has received. “Everything has been so positive,” she said. “There are some great events again this year, and some are here every year.”

She also said this is the biggest Festival ever. “This is the most vendors and booths we’ve ever had,” Azevedo said. “With all the carnival rides and everything else there have to be about 80 participants.”

Beginning at noon 16 teams had a shot at a $50 cash prize based on the most creative design. Never mind about eating the pizza, it was all about the design when it was all set and done. The afternoon’s big winner was a team of Dairy Princesses led by Kings County Dairy Princesses Alexis Mello and Emily Rosa who, dressed in crowns and sashes, went on to build the winning slice.

“The team spirit was definitely the secret weapon,” said Rosa in describing the effort that went into building their slice. “That’s what helped us out a lot.” Helping out were Allison Rosa and Carolina Evangelho and Karen Rosa.