Golden Opportunity to See State Flower : Brilliant poppy blooms will draw thousands to the two-day event, featuring crafts, a carnival and races.

LANCASTER —  In some towns there are celebrations centered around fruits. In other places, people gather in recognition of vegetables. In Lancaster, a party is held for one of nature’s miracles, the California Poppy.

The city’s California Poppy Festival this weekend will feature the state flower as the guest of honor. And what an abundant guest it is.

Heavy winter rains are responsible for one of the best wildflower seasons in recent years, with the fluorescent orange bloom of the poppy plant blanketing Antelope Valley hillsides and beckoning tens of thousands of visitors from throughout Southern California.

“The bloom this year has been a bloom that happens once every five years,” said Vic Maris, superintendent for Mojave Desert State Parks. Maris’ region includes the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve located west of Lancaster.

In mid-April, Maris said, the south-facing sides of the reserve’s rolling hills were a “magnificent glowing orange.” Even so, the show has not been as spectacular as the one Mother Nature put on in 1991.

“It is a miracle of nature,” he said. “You can’t capture it on film adequately.”

Lancaster’s Poppy Festival is an annual event initiated in 1992 to celebrate the brief but vibrant appearance of the state flower and to mark the beginning of spring. Only this year spring arrived long before the festival and the celebration will mark the end of the poppy season.

The poppies at the state reserve reached their peak in mid-April although an abundant supply of the state flower, as well as other wildflowers, remains in this north Los Angeles County region.

And even if the hills were all but bare of the poppy, as they were last year, the Poppy Festival would still go on.

About 60,000 people attended the two-day festival in 1994 and even more are expected this year, according to Lancaster spokeswoman Nancy Walker. “We’re having a better showing of wildflowers and we’ve received more regional and national attention by the media this year,” she said. “We’ve established a track record.”

The event will feature live entertainment ranging from bluegrass to rock on three performance stages, an arts and crafts bazaar with 250 booths, a 27-mile Tour de Poppy bicycle race, hot-air balloon races at 7 a.m. each morning, and 5K and 10K foot races. There is a $21 fee for the bicycle race and $13 for either of the foot races, with a T-shirt included in the price.

A market featuring fresh potted poppies and other flowers, a wildflower photography contest, strolling performers, a children’s carnival and a hands-on crafts workshop also will be featured at the festival. And, of course, there will be dozens of food vendors.

For those who want to see more of the state flower than photographs, paintings and arrangements, the city will also provide free bus shuttles to and from the reserve throughout both days of the festival.

Or for an aerial view of the poppy fields, helicopter rides over the reserve are also available. The 20-minute ride in a Bell Jet Ranger helicopter costs $30 for adults, $25 for children 12 and younger or $100 for a group of four. Advance reservations may be made by calling (805) 723-6077.

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Besides the bountiful bloom, the festival got a boost this year with the state Legislature’s proclamation of April as “California Poppy Month.” The resolution was introduced by state Sen. Don Rogers (R-Tehachapi) and Assemblyman William J. (Pete) Knight (R-Palmdale), both of whom represent the Antelope Valley.

The declaration states that the poppy “has always symbolized California’s good life, as its color mirrors California’s climate and charm, and the profusion of its blooms reflects the richness of the Golden State.”

The California Poppy, selected in 1903 as the state flower, blooms only for a few weeks each year, beginning in March or April. The delicate bloom closes at night as well as in wind or rain.

Efforts more than two decades ago by the Wildflower Preservation Committee of the Lancaster Women’s Club led to an area of about 600 acres west of Lancaster being set aside as a state poppy reserve.

Now encompassing 1,780 acres, the reserve is the “most consistent poppy-bearing land” in California. “It’s this incredible field that’s 100% natural,” Maris said. “They’ve been blooming like that for thousands of years.”

Maris said long-term plans call for the reserve to span 8,200 acres, although another couple thousand acres are needed at a minimum to ensure the continued proliferation of the poppy.

“We want to acquire the entire view shed so you can look out and see a field of flowers as far as the eye can see,” he said. “When you stand there on a good day, it’s unbelievable.”

The reserve is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. There is a $5 per vehicle entry fee, which includes access to eight miles of hiking trails.

Besides countless wildflowers, the reserve is also home to the Wildflower Interpretive Center and a museum dedicated to the late artist Jane S. Pinheiro, a conservationist whose wildflower paintings are regularly shown there. A pavilion at the Poppy Festival will feature the biggest display of her work since her 1978 death.

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WHERE AND WHEN

What: City of Lancaster’s fourth annual California Poppy Festival.

Location: Lancaster City Park, 43011 N. 10th St. W. at Avenue L.

Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Price: $1 general, free for senior citizens and children 12 and younger.

Call: (805) 723-6077.