The annual Stockton Asparagus Festival begins today. About 100,000 people are expected to attend the three-day event.

Kate Post is the festival's executive director. She says people come for the live entertainment…which, this year, will include the band Smash Mouth…and activities like cooking demonstrations and a five-mile run.

And of course, that's not all…

"Number one reason people come to the event is for the food. So let's talk about asparagus. We have the best asparagus in the world grown right here in the Stockton-Delta region. Deep-fried is the most popular dish of course. They'll do 40,000 servings of deep-fry over the weekend. And of course we have our asparagus ice cream back." 

Last year, the festival ran out of asparagus ice cream. So Post says, this year they've quadrupled their order. The ice cream has fresh, pureed asparagus in it which gives it a pistachio color.

The festival is San Joaquin County's biggest charitable event. Over its 26-year history, the festival has raised about $5 million for local charities.