ENTER TO WIN 4 TICKETS TO THE STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL
(Enter between May 7-13, 2018)
The 2018 Oxnard Strawberry Festival will celebrate our most popular Ventura County fruit - the Strawberry on May 19-20 from 10am to 6:30pm and each year they hold some fun contests for kids and adults that celebrate Strawberries.
YOUTH ART DESIGN CONTEST
Out of 1,633 entries from kids in kindergarten through sixth grade, the creative strawberry design of 8-year-old Allison Chavez from Haycox Elementary School in Oxnard was selected as the grand prize winner of the California Strawberry Festival 35th Anniversary Celebration's Youth Art Design Contest.
Festival representatives threw a surprise strawberry cupcake party and award presentation today with Chavez's second grade class joining in. Chavez received a $100 gift certificate and a framed presentation of her design, which will be displayed at the California Strawberry Festival May 19 and 20. Her teacher Jennifer Vazquez was awarded a $50 gift certificate. District Director Jeanette Sanchez from Assembly member Jacqui Irwin’s office issued a certificate of recognition and Superintendent of Hueneme Schools Christine Walker joined in the festivities.
The hundreds of students who participated in the contest from school districts throughout Ventura County will receive a free festival ticket as an appreciation for their efforts. Chavez's colorful creation features a large strawberry with a sweet smile surrounded by sunshine and blue sky. "We first talked a lot about strawberries, the festival and the contest in class. The students especially wanted know about the strawberry pizzas and tacos, games and carnival rides,” says Vazquez. "Then, they got to work on their drawings. They've been asking me when the winner would be announced. I'm so excited for Allison. Her artistic talent really came through in her design."
“We want to thank the teachers who always do such a wonderful job to inspire their students to do their best artistic work on their Youth Art Design entries,” says Festival Chairperson Mike Thompson. "Kids get to show off their creative skills while learning about the region’s rich agricultural heritage. The contest is just one of the ways the community can be part of the festival."
BERRY BLAST OFF RECIPE CONTEST
Two finalists were selected during the semi-finals round of the California Strawberry Festival 35th Anniversary Celebration's "Berry Blast Off" Recipe Contest." The finalists will now compete for top honors on Saturday, May 19 during the festival taking place at Strawberry Meadows of College Park in Oxnard.
The semi-finals were held on May 1 at the Chef's Kitchen in the Courtyard by Marriott, Oxnard. The five semi-finalists, selected from a pool of more than 40 recipe submissions, had one hour to prepare their recipes and then present them to the five judges for tasting. Finalists are Jake Hagen from Granada Hills who prepared a coconut shrimp served with a strawberry chipotle dipping sauce and coconut rice and Lizet Melgoza from Camarillo who created "strawberrylicious" BBQ wangs.
Hagen and Melgoza's creations went up against:
--BLT wraps with strawberry tamarind chutney made by Deepti Gupta of Newbury Park,
--Pan seared salmon with strawberry salsa made by Kimberly Hardy from Corona and
--Strawberry French toast sandwiches with ancho chile peppers and strawberry glazed bacon made by Brenda Wong from Los Angeles.
Judging the dishes were Chuy Renteria and Mike Lodi, chefs at the Courtyard by Marriott in Oxnard, Lisa McKinnon, food columnist at the Ventura County Star, Tracy Lehr, Ventura County reporter with KEYT-TV and Sharon Giles, California Strawberry Festival board member. Judges looked for best taste/flavor, texture, ease of preparation, creative use of strawberries and presentation.
Hagen and Melgoza will prepare their dishes again during the finals round, Saturday, May 19, beginning at 3:00 p.m. at the festival’s Strawberry Promenade. The winner will receive is a Welk Resorts vacation getaway and a Cutco chef knives set.
ENTERTAINMENT AT THE STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL
Bands from just about every musical type from classic rock to reggae to funk to Latin will be performing at the California Strawberry Festival 35th Anniversary Celebration May 19 and 20 at Strawberry Meadows of College Park (3250 South Rose Avenue) in Oxnard. The live entertainment is just part of the weekend celebration that pays homage to the tasty, juicy fruit.
New this year is a third stage that will feature youth bands, solo vocalists, drum circles, drum-offs, boom-shaka and even music lessons. The festival expanded its layout in 2017 so once again, the stages will be located on expansive soccer fields where there is plenty of room to dance or just relax and take in the sounds. As an added bonus, comedian Phil Medina will entertain the crowd in between acts.
Here's the entertainment lineup for this year's festival.
Festival Stage, Presented by Fruli
Saturday May 19
- 10:00 am – 10:30 am – DJ Spencer Fischer: 103.3 The Vibe
- 10:30 am – 11:10 am – Professional Americans (Rock & Roll)
- 11:30 am – 1:00 pm – Allstars of Funk (R&B Classics)
- 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm – Highway Starr (Country Covers)
- 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm – Hollywood U2 (U2 Tribute – Pop, Alternative)
- 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Comedian Phil Medina (in between acts)
Sunday, May 20
- 10:00 am – 11:00 am – DJ Spencer Fischer: 103.3 The Vibe
- 11:00 am – Fan Favorite Band Contest Winner
- 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm – Decadent Decades (Multi-decades and multi-genre)
- 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm – 40 oz. to Freedom (Sublime Tribute Band/90s Alternative Rock, Reggae, Ska)
- 4:30 pm – 6:20 pm – Mirage (Visions of Fleetwood Mac)
Dr. Kato Stage, Presented by Budweiser
Saturday May 19
- 10:00 am – 12:00 pm – DJ Travis Holcombe: KCRW
- 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm – Fireball (80s & 90s covers)
- 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm – Uptown Funk (Bruno Mars Ultimate Tribute Band)
- 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm – The Pettybreakers (Tom Petty Tribute Band)
- 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Comedian Phil Medina (in between acts)
Sunday, May 20
- 10:00 am – 12:00 pm – DJ Honey: 103.3 The Vibe
- 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm – Adelaide Living Latin Loud (Latin, Old School Funk)
- 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm – Karla Perez (Selena Tribute)
- 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm – Yachtley Crew (The Titans of Soft Rock/Yacht Rock)
While at the festival, stop by some of its 50 food booths. Each will be offer a unique strawberry-themed food dish, drink or treat such as strawberry nachos, pizza, funnel cake, tamales, chimichangas, chocolate dipped strawberries, deep-fried strawberries, berry kabobs and strawberry beer, smoothies and margaritas. Sales proceeds benefit over 20 local charities.
Official sponsors for this year's festival are Smart & Final, Budweiser and Coca-Cola. Official media sponsors are the Ventura County Star, KTLA-TV, The Wave, K-EARTH, Cumulus Broadcasting, Gold Coast Broadcasting, Azteca TV and Jack FM.
Festival general admission is $12, seniors 62+ are $8 and children ages 5-12 are $5. Kids 4 and under are free. Active military and dependents with ID are $8. Hours are 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. both days. The free Park & Ride “Strawberry Express” shuttles just off the 101 Freeway make getting to the festival easy. Onsite parking is $10.
For more information and tickets for the 2018 Strawberry Festival visit https://castrawberryfestival.org/
Like us: http://www.facebook.com/CaliforniaStrawberryFestival
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Handle & Hashtag: @castrawfestival #CAStrawberryFestival
This contest is being sponsored by the California Strawberry Festival and Macaroni Kid will host a booth at the Festival for both days.
