Cry Tears Of Joy At The Onion Capital Of The World Located In New York

If you love onions, you won't have to travel outside of New York State to find yourself in the Onion Capital of the world.

Elba is a village in Genesee County with a population of 676 at the 2010 census. Elba claims to be the "Onion Capital of the World."

Torrey Farms, one of the largest farms in New York, is located in Elba with about 8,000 acres (32 km2). They also own about 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) of muckland in Potter, New York, where they grow a large number of onions."

Torrey Farms is one of the largest vegetable-crop farm operations in New York. The farm grows mainly specialty vegetable crops, such as sweet corn, onions, carrots, cabbage, squash, cucumbers, and potatoes.

Elba hosts its annual "Onion Festival" generally on the first weekend of August. For 2022, we haven't been able to confirm this festival will still be going on. Through COVID, the festival hasn't been held. When it does get held, the festival draws the vast majority of Elba residents as well as people from neighboring towns in Genesee County, and some from all over New York.

Among the events for the weekend are the Fireman's Parade, Kiddie Parade, raffling of a car, and the crowning of an "Onion Queen". According to USA Today, the Onion Queen contest crowns a senior high school the queen of the tuber on Saturday night. All profits from the festival go towards the funding of the Elba Fire Department.

First created in 1937 as the Volunteer Fire Department Field Day, the Elba Onion Festival has drawn crowds of several thousand. You can read more on the history online here.