Strawberry--With Sprinkles : Despite Drizzle, Fans Turn Out in Force for Fruit Festival

Drizzling rain marred the California Strawberry Festival on Sunday for the first time in its 12-year history, but the bewitching lure of fresh, plump berries, eclectic crafts and varied live music still attracted 32,000 people.

Overall, 62,000 people visited the two-day event at Oxnard’s College Park this year, down about 10,000 from its record-breaking 1994 attendance, said Don DeArmond, festival co-chairman.

Vendors and visitors trudged through the festival under overcast skies Sunday morning, hoisting umbrellas and scurrying for cover under tents.

The Oxnard Fire Department’s free plastic helmets--hardly noticed Saturday--suddenly became hot commodities among festival-goers, who snatched up all 800 of them within minutes Sunday.

For some families, the gray weather was too unpleasant to bear.

“We’re leaving shortly,” said Jaime King of Northridge, shielding her 3-year-old daughter, Jessica, from the mist. “She doesn’t care, but I do.”

The less fickle seemed greater in number, however, and some die-hards took to their own devices to protect themselves from the sprinkles.

Munching on rice and Filipino fare, Cecilio Gonzalez and friend Linda Gonzalez donned trash bags to ward off the rain. They said they were not concerned with their appearance.

“We’re going to start dancing in a minute,” Linda Gonzalez said. “We don’t care.”

The festival’s more than 260 arts and crafts vendors seemed more mindful of the weather, noticing the smallish crowd.

Barry Stein of Santa Cruz, who buys cow bones from slaughterhouses and crafts them into intricate sculptures of owls, ferrets and other animals, could feel the lag in business Sunday compared to Saturday, when the festival opened.

“Yesterday was a good day,” Stein said. “Today is a little slow.”

George Cheng of San Jose, who paints ethereal watercolors of flowers and birds on silk and paper, also sensed a slowdown.

“There aren’t too many people,” he said. “I hope the weather turns nice.

By afternoon, Cheng’s plea was at least partly answered as the drizzle let up and the booths were again bustling with visitors ignoring the gloomy weather.

Sitting on the sidewalk with two bountiful strawberry kebabs, Margie Kim of Westwood and her daughter, 7-year-old Summer Lee, got what they came for 30 minutes into their trip--and then some.

“We could have hoped for better weather,” Kim said. “But we came anyway, because we wanted to see how creative they could get with strawberries. So far, so good.”

Several miles away, more than 800 people chose the festival weekend to protest what they regard as the unfair treatment of farm workers, who pick the celebrated strawberries. The marchers, mainly agricultural workers, also complained about the Republican “contract with America,” a set of promises to reform national policy.

A main target of the protest was Ocean View Produce, a Dole subsidiary, which has been involved in a yearlong dispute with United Farm Workers. The company could not be reached for comment.

“We’ve been treated poorly by the company, and their wages are turning us into slaves,” said Ocean View worker Miguel Villa, who strummed political songs on his guitar as he marched into downtown Oxnard. “Instead of helping us up, they are keeping us down. This is for our dignity.”

But UFW President Arturo Rodriguez emphasized that the protest was not limited to the conflict with Dole. He said it involved the struggle of all working people, especially Latinos.

“Latinos who are successful need to remember where they came from,” Rodriguez said. “This is not simply for farm workers.”

Frank Salazar, a postal worker from Simi Valley, agreed. A local representative of the Postal Workers of America, he and other union members joined the march, saying all labor groups need to unite.

“We’re out here to show politicians and the public that labor is still alive, and it wants to be heard,” Salazar said. “We’re protesting against the ‘contract with America,’ and we support the workers uniting against Dole.”

Back at the strawberry festival, the scene was decidedly more lighthearted. Eleven-year-old Kate Grodin said she felt no remorse slugging people in the face with strawberry desserts. Yet she would not want to be on the receiving end, of course.

“I’m not stupid,” she said, smiling.

Kate talked her mother, Carol, into placing her face in the precarious position behind the Strawberry Tart Toss wall.

“You gotta do things like this once in a while,” Carol Grodin said, emerging unscathed and unsticky. “I was very lucky.”

For the nonprofit groups that set up food booths at the festival, profit is clearly a goal. But Cora Ortiguerra, president of the Filipino Community of Ventura County, said the pride of dishing out their ethnic food to the masses is an even better reward.

“Everybody says, ‘It’s too much work, I’m not coming back next year,’ ” Ortiguerra said. “But once you take part in something like this, you come back every year. It’s just too much fun.”