Fairfield's Jelly Belly Factory Celebrates Sweeter Things In Life

FAIRFIELD (CBS13) - They're celebrating all things sugar in Fairfield this weekend as the Jelly Belly Factory hosts its second annual California Candy Festival.

"I don't care that they're bad for my teeth because they're good," one young girl said.

For the second year in a row, the Jelly Belly Factory has transformed into more than just a giant candy store.

"We expect to get tens of thousands of people," Jelly Belly vice president Jon Jamison. "We've got a lot of fun."

The fun includes music, food, rides and vendors. But the main attraction of course - candy.

That attraction has attracted people from all over.

"Last year we had people from Australia come, we had people from Alaska, we had people from Maine, we had people from the UK," Jamison said.

Actors from the 1971 film "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" were also on hand Saturday. "Mike Teevee" and "Veruca Salt" were excited to be in another type of candy factory.

"It's been extraordinary because the movie was made 40 years ago but still endures and people still come up and say 'Please say the line. Please say the line,'" said Julie Dawn Cole, who played the spoiled Veruca character. "You want me to say the line? I want it now!"

"It's amazing that it's been 41 years now and yet we're still talking about a thing I did when I was 11 years old," Paris Themmen added.

"What's more candy than Jelly Belly and the Willy Wonka movie?" said Jamison.

The two-day event will bring in close to 40,000 people and provide a sweet economic boost for Fairfield.

"It obviously fills up our hotel rooms locally and does help our tax base and the restaurants," Jamison said.

The vendors were on a sugar high too.

"This is great for the city of Fairfield," Drewski's Hot Rod Kitchen owner Anthony Blaskovich said. "It's going to be awesome."

The festival is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

"It's a must-go," Jamison said. "You just have to come here."