National Baby Food Festival

Fremont is the Baby Food Capital of the World - home of Gerber since 1927, when Dorothy Gerber got tired of hand-mashing peas for her infant - and every July the town of 4,000 throws a party for it. Baby-crawl races, a Gerber-baby photo hunt, and an adult baby-food-eating contest anchor a week that's equal parts county fair and lovingly absurd tribute to strained peas.