California Poppy Festival™

at the AV Fair & Event Center

April 19-21, 2024

April 19, 4 - 10 p.m.
April 20, 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.
April 21, 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.

The #CaliforniaPoppyFestival™ is the City of Lancaster’s annual celebration of California’s state flower. Now, for three full days, this event will honor the beauty of the Poppy with live entertainment, amusement park rides, displays, festival food, live animal exhibits, and countless activities for all ages. This year, the California Poppy Festival™ will call the AV Fair and Events Center it's new home. We can't wait to see you there!

Learn more about the California Poppy Festival™ on the City’s website at PoppyFestival.com

 California Poppy Festival History

Lancaster boasts one of California's most abundant crops of the vibrant poppies that are the state flower. For several years, the City of Lancaster co-sponsored the Wildflower Information Center with the Lancaster Woman's Club to cater to the interests of thousands of visitors who flocked to the Antelope Valley for a glimpse of these brilliant, beautiful flowers. Held at the Lancaster Museum/Art Gallery, visitors could pick up free wildflower maps and learn about the best viewing locations before heading out to the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve.

It seemed only natural to create an even larger event to welcome and introduce visitors to the Lancaster area. The annual Festival plays host to the colorful poppies, which are an Antelope Valley springtime attraction.

The California Poppy Festival™ also began in part as a portion of the Earth Day celebration. Since the Golden California Poppy blooms each year around the time of Earth Day, it seemed appropriate for Lancaster to combine the two events into the California Poppy Festival™. The first Earth Day was held in the spring of 1970 with an estimated 20 million people participating worldwide. Through the years, the annual Earth Day celebration has grown in popularity; in 1990 an estimated 200 million people in 141 countries participated in different celebrations. The California Poppy Festival™ carries on the Earth Day tradition of concern and caring for the environment.