UPLAND LEMON FESTIVAL PLANTS SEEDS APRIL 29 - MAY 1

An entire swath of the Inland Empire will be aglow in yellow as the Upland Lemon Festival plants its seeds April 29 - May 1. Carnival rides, games and prizes, an American Idol-inspired talent show, pie-eating contest, arts & crafts booths and live music by tribute bands that will bring to life the music of KISS, Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi are among the festivities.

Attendees may enjoy a wide variety of fun foods with lemon as a key ingredient including lemon garlic wings, lemon corn dogs, lemon cake and freshly squeezed lemonade. There is no admission cost. The festival is being produced by The Learning Centers at Fairplex, the community-focused, nonprofit, philanthropic arm of Fairplex, home of the LA County Fair. A portion of the proceeds will benefit designated nonprofits in Upland.
Among the scheduled events:

- Entertainment by local community groups at the Lemon Tree Stage throughout the day
Lemon pie-eating contests Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
Tribute bands at the Citrus Grove Stage
- April 29 - Rock & Roll Over (KISS)
- April 30 - Springsteen Experience (Bruce Springsteen)
- May 1 - Wanted (Bon Jovi)
Lemon Idol Competition
- Semi-finalists Friday and Saturday throughout the day
- Finale on Saturday at 5 p.m.

Auditions for the Lemon Idol Competition will be held at Moultrie Academy of Music, Voice and Dance (405 W. Foothill Blvd, Suite 201, Claremont) on Thursday, April 21 at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, April 23 at 2 p.m. First-round auditions are open to all soloists ages 5+. Each contestant must sing with a CD background track (karaoke with no lead vocals) or they may accompany themselves. Semi-finalists will be notified on the Upland Lemon Festival website by noon April 25. Prizes will be awarded to the first-place finisher $500, second place $250 and third place $100.
Sponsors for this year's Upland Lemon Festival include ALDI, DirecTV, Deep Eddy Vodka, Metro Nissan of Montclair, Shock Top & Bud Light, Sleep Number®, SolarCity, Southern California Gas Company and Welk Resort.

Tickets for rides and games may be purchased in advance by visiting uplandlemonfestival.com
Among the programs sponsored by The Learning Centers at Fairplex are the Child Development Center that offers early education to toddlers, preschoolers and kindergarteners; FairKids Field Trips that open the doors to 150,000 students each year to teach them everything from agriculture and history to math and sciences during the LA County Fair; and the Junior Fair Board Leadership Program that pairs 32 junior and senior high school scholarship students with local nonprofits to perform community service projects. For more information about the UplandLemon Festival, visit uplandlemonfestival.com.

About Fairplex:
Fairplex is a private, nonprofit 501(c)5, self-funding organization that is not governed by the county or state, and receives no government subsidies for daily business operations. Under the direction of the Los Angeles County Fair Association, we exist to build stronger communities and, through our businesses and The Learning Centers, provide education, entertainment and fun to Southern California.