A Day at the California Strawberry Festival

The California Strawberry Festival is held every year on the third weekend in May at College Park in Oxnard, California. Oxnard is an ideal locale, not more than twenty minutes from the coast; it's in the heartland of California's strawberry fields. The weather is mild - not too warm, not too cool. This year the festival celebrated it's 25^th anniversary in testament to the versatile berry. Doors opened at 10:00 a.m., and closed at 6:30 p.m. on both days.

There was an admission fee that was reasonable, $12 for adults, $8 for seniors (over 55), and $5 for kids between 5-12. Four and under were free. The festival offered a wide variety of food booths, local venders, arts and crafts, live entertainment, and "Strawberryland" for kids. Strawberry trivia was found throughout the festival. I was surprised to learn there were only three cities named "Strawberry," in the U.S. in Arkansas, Arizona, and California.

There were plenty of Strawberries to go around and lots of creative ways to eat them. There was a booth to make your own shortcake, strawberry nachos (which I recommend), strawberry beer (definitely on the sweet side), funnel cakes, chocolate dipped berries, strawberry pizza, and of course, strawberries to take home.

The festival offered plenty of food including grilled corn on the cob, gyros, hamburgers, meat kabobs, and garlic fries.

During the weekend, the famous Budweiser Clydesdale horses were in attendance.

Live music started at 10:30 a.m. each day. There were a great variety of tunes from rock to blues, and country to Cajun.

Strawberryland had a lot of kiddie rides and contests, including a tart toss and pie eating contest. The most daring attraction was a bungee jump for $35.00.

The festival also featured local venders and artisans. There was jewelry, soap, towels, and paintings all for sale which helped to benefit the local community. A souvenir booth sold the festival poster, t-shirts for everyone, glasses, mugs, a cookbook, and a plush strawberry for the little ones.