Strawberries Take Center Stage At 40th Annual California Strawberry Festival, May 16 and 17
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VENTURA, Calif. - Californer -- For strawberry lovers, the 40th Annual California Strawberry Festival, May 16 and 17 at the Ventura County Fairgrounds (10 W. Harbor Blvd., Ventura, CA 93001), is the place to be.

Festivalgoers can indulge in such treats as chocolate-covered strawberries, strawberry-topped funnel cakes, strawberry pizza, strawberry nachos, deep-fried strawberries, strawberry tacos and strawberry beer, margaritas and smoothies.

Among the unique strawberry-themed desserts at Mama Carol's Kitchen booth are sweet strawberry nachos, sweet strawberry tamales (featured in Woman's Day magazine), Dubia chocolate and strawberry cups, and strawberry beignets. Carol Maldonado, owner of Mama Carol's Kitchen, has been selling her creations at the festival for over 25 years.

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"Our beignets were our biggest sellers last year," says Maldonado, who has her family help out in her booth at the festival. "It's always been a family event. We have regulars who stop by every year. We love to see so many happy people and reconnect."

The Kabob Shack offers a combination of strawberry, banana and brownie kabobs, drizzled with milk and white chocolate. Over the course of the festival weekend, Kabob Shack goes through more than 100 pounds of chocolate and about 140 flats of fresh strawberries.

"My favorite part of the California Strawberry Festival is seeing the smiles and excitement when I hand someone one of our treats," says Kabob Shack owner Stacia Mizukawa. "It means everything."

Another festival favorite is the chocolate-dipped strawberries from the Oxnard Buddhist Temple. Two shifts of 30 volunteers dip giant strawberries into melted Merkins chocolate. They then put the strawberries in cupcake holders and set them on racks to cool. The strawberries are sold individually and in three- and six-packs. The booth sells about 20,000 chocolate-dipped strawberries over the two-day festival.

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Festival hours are 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. both days.

General admission is $15, active military with ID and family and seniors 62 and over, $10, youth ages 5 to 12, $8, and children 4 and under are free. Tickets can be purchased in advance at

www.CAStrawberryFestival.org or at the festival. A limited amount of parking is available onsite for $30 per vehicle.

Festival-goers are encouraged to use the free shuttles (https://castrawberryfestival.org/getting-here/), which will run every 15 minutes to the festival from nearby locations in Oxnard and Ventura. Metrolink and Amtrak's Surfliner make regular stops throughout the festival weekend with discounted fares. The train station is located steps from the fairgrounds.

For more about the festival, visit www.castrawberryfestival.org or follow the festival on Facebook and Instagram.