GARDEN GROVE : 350,000 Expected at Strawberry Festival

The Strawberry Festival began 33 years ago when fertile fields combined with an ideal climate to make the city one of the most important strawberry-growing areas in California.

The strawberry has since been all but crowded out by growth and development but the festival lives on, an annual family-oriented Memorial Day weekend rite.

This weekend an estimated 350,000 people are expected to turn out for the four-day event that will begin Friday at 6 p.m. Visitors to the Village Green at Main Street and Acacia Parkway will be treated to a free slice of what is being billed as the world’s largest strawberry shortcake.

The Strawberry Festival Parade will begin at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. It will cover two miles from 9th Street and Chapman Avenue to Euclid Street and Stanford Avenue.

The festival has come a long way since 1959, said board member Jack Wallin, who helped plan the very first event.

“Times were rough then,” Wallin said. “We were in debt and couldn’t pay our bills. But we’ve mushroomed and have grown more than any other festival.”

Festival President Mary Lou Hill said the event is significant because Garden Grove was once one of the top strawberry-growing areas in the county.

“It is pretty well down to nothing now but it’s part of our heritage,” Hill said. “We didn’t want to give it up.”

The festival donates about $80,000 a year to needy organizations, organizers said. In addition, a variety of nonprofit organizations will also run food and game booths in an effort to raise money.

The festival will also feature 50 carnival rides, 90 arts and crafts booths and 120 commercial booths. On Thursday, the day before the festival begins, organizers will open the rides and game booths free of charge for handicapped children from Orange County. The children will also receive free stuffed animals and free lunch.