OXNARD : Girl Wins Fruit Festival’s T-Shirt Design Contest

It took Betriz Ortez 15 minutes to create the design that will bring her a taste of fame in the coming months.

Crayon and marking pens did the job for Betriz, 11, a fifth-grade student at Kamala Elementary School who won the California Strawberry Festival’s fourth annual children’s T-shirt design contest.

On Thursday, Betriz was honored by festival officials who threw a party for her class and presented her with a shirt bearing her design.

“Very good,” the shirt proclaims in bold, black strokes beneath a fat, yellow-lipped berry. Why yellow lips? “It couldn’t be all red or you wouldn’t know where the mouth was,” Betriz said.

The drawing’s bright colors and simple design made it a winner, festival coordinators said. Several of Betriz’s classmates agreed, saying they liked the design--and the party. They finished off more than 350 skewered strawberries, with a little help from faculty and staff.

More than 680 students from 10 Oxnard and Port Hueneme elementary schools entered the contest, which was judged by community leaders and county and city officials on the 20-member festival committee.

“I like to see the kids really try for things in competitions,” said Kamala Principal Carolyn Banks. “It brings out the best in them.”

When Lina Ortez heard her daughter had won, she said, “I was very happy and a little surprised.” The seamstress came to the party with Betriz’s younger sister, 5-year-old Jazmin Zecua. “Betriz is always drawing,” Ortez said, “but she never won a contest before.”

During a pre-party ceremony, Betriz presented Oxnard Mayor Manuel Lopez with one of the shirts. He in turn invited Betriz to next Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

The shirts will be sold at Oxnard’s 10th anniversary California Strawberry Festival, May 15-16. Oxnard, which grows about 20% of California’s strawberry crop, harvested 97,000 tons of strawberries in 1992, according to the California Strawberry Board.

Betriz said she and her family are planing to attend the Strawberry Festival for the first time this year.

Festival Chairman Tsujio Kato said Betriz will receive VIP treatment at the event, including being honored at a special awards ceremony and receiving free passes for her family.