Bright pink strawberry lemonade and powdered-sugar coated strawberry funnel cake will soon be sipped and devoured as the Santa Maria Strawberry Festival makes its return to an in-person event at the Santa Maria Fairpark.
“The strawberry festival has been around for over 30 years. In 2020 we were unable to do it, and in 2021 we did a modified, drive-through style. Coming back this year, it gives families in our communities a chance to experience a festival, carnival feel in their backyard, and it gives us a chance to highlight the industry,” said Public Relations and Sponsorship Coordinator Rebecca Barks.
This festival celebrates one of the largest industries on the Central Coast—about 80 percent of the nation’s strawberries come from the Santa Maria Valley, according to the Environmental Protection Agency—with more than 30 shopping vendors, 20 food booths, carnival rides, center stage performances, camel rides, a rodeo, strawberry tastings, and a strawberry eating contest between April 29 and May 1.
Attendees can choose to come on themed days that offer special discounts or events, Barks added. Senior Day—where adults 62 and older can get in for free—is on April 29. Kids 11 and under will cost $2 for entry on Pepsi Day (April 30). Finally, Fiesta Day on May 1 will have a rodeo and concert at the Fairpark’s Michelob Ultra Minetti Arena (which is a separate ticketed event), according to the Santa Maria Fairpark website.
Presale admission tickets are available through April 25—which gives a $2 discount on entry and a $5 discount on carnival wristbands.
“We’ve been locked up for so long, people are looking for something to do. To have something in our own backyard, reasonably priced to get in, not very far, and all encompassing with entertainment, activities, food, [and] adult beverages. There’s something for everyone all in one admission price,” Barks said.
Social distancing and the pandemic’s restrictions hurt the Fairpark as well as many of the vendors who typically came to this event, Barks said.
“We saw a definite decrease in our industry in terms of food vendors and concessionaires. You are seeing that negative impact of them not being able to work [at any event] for the last two years to the point where they don’t do it anymore,” she explained. “It’s the same with our live entertainment; who’s been performing when they haven’t been able to perform the last two years? It’s been a hump to overcome and we have.”
Now, vendor numbers are growing back to what they were before the pandemic, and the festival’s made some new kid-friendly additions, she added.
“In the arena, we will have what we’re calling machine mayhem, [which] will have John Deere Tractors, EMS [emergency medical services] vehicles, a bus, and farm equipment for kids to jump, play on, and check out,” Barks said.
The strawberry coloring contest will also go out to local elementary schools to encourage more child participation, she added. The California Strawberry Commission will also come out to provide educational opportunities and hand out information to festivalgoers, and the California Women for Agriculture will be hosting a “strawberry of the day” stand where people can try the different varieties of the fruit.
With the festival coming quickly, Barks said she hopes it will bring back a sense of communal connection and allow the growers to showcase their hard work as well as highlight the entire industry.
“It gives the berry growers the chance to reach out with the community and be with the community, which is a nice thing for them. … It’s one of the largest attended festivals in our area, and the only annual festival in Santa Maria highlighting our very industry,” she said.
Highlight
• The Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department announced several free “active living” programs offered at the Elwin Mussell Center, 510 E. Park Ave., for adults 50 and older including table tennis, indoor pickleball, and mah-jongg. Table tennis will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning April 5 from 9 to 11 a.m., and indoor pickleball will be held on Thursdays from noon to 2 p.m. Loaner equipment is available for participants. Mah-jongg—a strategic game played with tiles—will be held the first and third Wednesday of the month and every Friday from noon to 4 p.m. For more information, call (805) 925-0951, Ext. 2260.
Taylor O’Connor wrote this week’s Spotlight. You can reach her at toconnor@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 7-14, 2022.