PAGES : Berries, Slugs and Crawfish, Oh My!

Any excuse for a party. How else might one explain the “Cajun Crawfish Festival,” “Banana Slug Derby” or “Jackass Mail Run”?

These and other events are listed in “California Festivals,” a guide to to-do’s across the state--some of which have darned dignified origins. The Jackass fest, for instance, commemorates Porterville-to-Springville mining camp mail runs of the late 1800s.

No matter how nonsensical they might sound now, most festivals are named for a local product or created to celebrate a town’s history. And although development or technology has changed the face of some of the towns--Garden Grove, home of the Strawberry Festival, is no longer known just for its strawberries--the festivals they spawned still thrive.

The book (Landau Communications, $11.95) is broken down by date, region and theme, making it a handy reference for travelers. (For a copy, call (415) 564-5689.)

But if you want to limit your travels to what you can see from the Library Tower on a clear day, the city’s Cultural Affairs Department publishes the “Los Angeles Festival Guide.” To get a free copy, call (213) 485-8507.