Tart-Tossing Contest? Strawberry Nachos? Yes, It’s Festival Time

Fun was a matter of perspective at Saturday’s tart toss competition during the opening day of the 10th Annual Strawberry Festival at Oxnard’s College Park.

As children excitedly scrambled for position to toss or to be tossed at--fidgety parents turned away, wondering if strawberry juice really can be removed from clothing.

The contest was just one of the highlights Saturday during the first day of the two-day festival. About 70,000 people are expected during the weekend to listen to music, browse through arts and crafts and--of course--chow down on the juicy fruit that put Oxnard on the map.

At the tart toss, girls and boys lined up to score points by hitting other children in the face with strawberry tarts, while a large and excited crowd of onlookers “oohed” and “ahhed” and shouted inspiring comments.

“Hit him in the mouth, in the face,” screamed one woman, standing safely out of pie’s reach.

Oxnard’s Danny Iwamoto, 9, took second place in the age-12-and-under category. He said the secret to his success was getting to aim the tarts at his 6-year-old brother, Kenny. Danny’s father, Kaz, operates Iwamoto and Sons Farms, an Oxnard strawberry producer.

Ten-year-old Matt Shear of Simi Valley volunteered to be a tart target. “I’m doing it for free,” he said. “ . . . I’m doing it so I can get hit.” After being nailed about a half dozen times, Matt toweled off and went back for more.

Although the tart toss was primarily a children’s event, some adults got in on the action, too. Sue San Martin of Oxnard volunteered to help clean up the tart-soaked children. “I clean the strawberry juice, the sauce, the whipped cream,” she said.

But parents are on their own with the crimson-stained clothing. “You can use peroxide to probably get it out,” she said. “But I don’t guarantee it works.”

About 230 crafts people from California and nine other states offered jewelry, paintings, puppets, Christmas ornaments and an array of other items.

Robert Gleser and his daughter, Audrey, hauled their packed one-ton truck from Modesto to hawk a line of tie-dyed attire.

“It’s the first time we’ve been at this show. We do about 40 shows a year,” he said. “This is known as one of the great shows in California. When you have this many people and this theme--what could be juicier than strawberries?”

Those who weren’t shopping probably were eating.

Thirty-two local nonprofit organizations ran fund-raising booths offering strawberry pizza, strawberry nachos, strawberry kabobs, and more common fare like hot dogs, hamburgers and Chinese food.

“Last year we made $2,000. We’re hoping to do better this year,” said Lewis Coert, chief volunteer for the Ventura High Music Boosters, who were operating a booth selling strawberry-filled funnel cakes at the festival. “One lady came from Santa Maria. This is the first place she heads to.”

Last year, said Coert, his group sold about 2,000 of them over the two days.

“They’re good,” said Valerie Goldstein of Thousand Oaks, as she and her husband Mel dug into a messy cake. “But they’re huge.”

Of course, the majority of the food at the festival had a certain common ingredient.

“Every dish is being served with strawberries. If it’s not in it, it’s a condiment on the side,” said Don De Armond of the Strawberry Festival Executive Committee. De Armond estimated that up to 120,000 pint-sized baskets of strawberries will be consumed over the two days.

“We’re picking strawberries today for tomorrow,” he said. “At 6:30 Sunday morning we’ll be loading them on trucks.”

Jan Morrow of Oxnard returned to the festival this year after a one-year absence. She makes her own strawberry preserves and said the local ones are the best. “I’ve done Washington and Wisconsin strawberries,” she said. “These have the best color.”

Controversy from last year’s festival concerning angry Latino farm workers and disabled festival-goers, who said they were being ignored by festival organizers, was not apparent Saturday.

John Payne, who is confined to a wheelchair, said he attended the festival in part to see if accessibility for the disabled had improved. “I think they’ve done a lot, and it’s much appreciated,” the Ventura resident said. “The parking is wheelchair accessible. It’s great.”

In addition to paved parking, organizers this year have added a ramp to a ticket line and aluminum ramps throughout the festival grounds, and they have moved some of the crafts booths from grass to pavement. Signs throughout the festival grounds directed visitors to areas accessible to the disabled.

The festival, which attracted about 32,000 revelers Saturday, kicked off with a ceremony featuring Oxnard Mayor Manuel Lopez; Assemblyman Nao Takasugi (R-Oxnard), a former Oxnard mayor; Miss Oxnard, Sarah Eddleman; and Miss Shinoaka, Japan, Mieko Nonaka.

Takasugi presented Lopez with a resolution from the state Legislature in honor of the festival’s 10th anniversary. “It’s grown, it’s become refined,” Takasugi told the crowd, “and today it’s one of the premier festivals in the country.”

After the ceremony, Takasugi said he was glad to just visit and enjoy the festival this year, now that he’s no longer mayor. “As you can see,” he said, “I don’t have much to do.”