History

The Arts & Olive Festival at Cañada College began in 1998 as part of Cañada's 30 year anniversary celebration to benefit student scholarships. The festival has since grown to be one of the largest scholarship fundraisers of the year providing much needed financial assistance to students. The celebration now brings together more than 70 vendors consisting of some of the olive industry's top experts to provide the community with olive education, olive and olive oil tasting, olive related products, and an abundance of quality art works and gifts. This year's festival will also serve as a kick-off to the Cañada College Performing Arts Series, sponsored by the Associated Students of Cañada College, bringing some of the Bay Area's most spectacular performers to the Peninsula.

Cañada College has had a special relationship with olives since its inception. When the college was built in the late sixties, the olive trees were carefully removed during construction and planted in a temporary location under the protective custody of the San Mateo Community College District's Buildings & Grounds experts. The olive trees were replanted in time for the college's official opening in 1968. Thirty-five years later, the trees are thriving and are an integral part of the campus. The graceful leathery olive trees bearing gray-green leaves haven't changed much in thirty-five years. However, the college has charged into the future with a brand-new look for its classrooms, state of the art facilities and innovative programs that improve access to higher education and provide local industry with a highly qualified workforce.