OXNARD : Strawberry Festival Drew 80,000 Visitors
Oxnard’s eighth annual California Strawberry Festival drew about 80,000 people and raised $50,000, festival officials announced Tuesday.
The festival held May 18 and 19 earned more than twice as much as last year, when it took in $24,000, officials said. Officials attributed the increase to the new 14-acre site next to Oxnard College and easier access for the public.
For seven years, the festival was held at Channel Islands Harbor, where fair-goers were bused from outlying parking facilities. This year people parked free at the site.
The two-day festival grossed $556,431, with about $210,000 collected at the gate, festival officials said.
“The move to the new festival site proved to be one of the best things we’ve ever done for the event in its eight-year history,” County Supervisor John K. Flynn, festival co-chairman, said.
Oxnard produces 25% of the state’s strawberries on 4,600 acres. Each acre produces about 33,540 one-pint baskets of strawberries.
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