Strawberry Kabobs, Strawberry Nachos And Strawberry Tacos At The California Strawberry Festival
The Californer/10278191

VENTURA, Calif. - Californer -- If you love strawberries, the 38^th Annual California Strawberry Festival is the place to be. The festival is May 18 and 19 at the Ventura County Fairgrounds (10 W. Harbor Blvd., Ventura, CA 93001).

Fifty food and drink vendors will be at the festival, many with strawberry-themed offerings. Festivalgoers can treat themselves to chocolate-covered strawberries, strawberry-topped funnel cakes, strawberry pizza, strawberry nachos, deep-fried strawberries, berry kabobs, strawberry tacos and strawberry beer and smoothies. There is also strawberry-covered fried dough, strawberry kettle corn and strawberry lemonade.

For $5, you can pile on strawberries and whipped cream as high as you can at our 'build-your-own' Strawberry Shortcake Experience.

The Kabob Shack will offer a kabob skewer with fresh strawberries and a choice of bananas or brownie bites drizzled with white and brown chocolate. "We use about 120 flats of strawberries at the festival," says Stacia Mizukawa, Kabob Shack owner. "Each kabob is made to order and chocolated right in front of the customer. Nothing is premade. We want the customer to experience everything firsthand."

More on The Californer

• Terra Divine Skincare Earns Coveted Spot on Organically Becca's Clean Brand Master List
• NBA Champion Lamar Odom Launches Anti-Addiction Meme Coin, Ushering in a Disruptive Innovation in Web3
• Emmetra Partners with Renesas to Advance Agentic AI-Powered Imaging Solutions
• Gravity to Bring 5-Minute EV Charging to 8 Sites Across Greater LA
• California: Governor Newsom issues statement on Pope Leo XIV, the first American Pope

Many of the food and drink booths are run by volunteers. Buena Music Association is a nonprofit that raises funds to support the Buena High School music program. Its festival specialty is strawberry and whipped cream-topped funnel cakes. "People love funnel cakes. Even with all the other festival food, last year, we made over 3,000," says Angie Palacios, the association's board president. "Parents and students volunteer for our booth. It's a wonderful experience for everyone and a great way to finish off the school year."

The Oxnard Buddhist Temple has been serving chocolate-dipped strawberries at the festival for about 10 years. The booth sells about 20,000 chocolate-dipped strawberries over the two-day festival.

Festival 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 upon entry to the festival. A limited amount of parking is available onsite for $20 per vehicle.

More on The Californer

• New poll shows high rates of employee burnout amid concerns over politics and personal finances
• Tessellations Appoints Luthern Williams as Head of School
• Aureli Construction Sets the Standard for Seamless Home Additions in Greater Boston
• Psychological Thriller "Killing Off Connor" To Open 34th IFS Film Fest After 12-years In Post
• Harvest Properties Acquires Two San Francisco Bay Area Self Storage Facilities for $44.2 Million

Festival-goers are encouraged to use the free shuttles (https://castrawberryfestival.org/getting-here/free-shuttle-service/), which will run every 15 minutes to the festival from nearby locations in Oxnard and Ventura. Metrolink offers a $10 day pass, good for unlimited rides on the day of purchase, and up to three kids ages 17 and under ride free with each adult fare. The station is located next to the fairgrounds.

Festival hours are 10:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.