Castroville Artichoke Festival is a food festival held annually in Castroville, a town in Monterey County of the U.S. State of California. The city itself is called the "Artichoke Center of the World". Castroville Artichoke Festival 2009 marked the 50th anniversary of this celebration. Since the 1920s, Castroville has produced artichokes. California artichoke industry was started here by Swiss Italians, who also grew the first wine vineyards in Salinas Valley. It is now a $50 million crop for Pajaro Valley - where Castroville and Moss Landing host nearly all the artichoke fields.