Local Groups Sweet on Festival

Until last year, Karen Gramacki had passed on Oxnard’s strawberry festival, which draws tens of thousands of people annually to play, shop, listen to music and eat fruity concoctions.

“I don’t do crowds,” said Gramacki, 44, of Camarillo.

But when her daughter, Gail, made the Rio Mesa softball team, Gramacki joined the school’s Athletic Booster Club, and last year found herself in the middle of the throngs, helping to dish up 6,000 slices of strawberry pizza during the two-day festival. “It was a blast,” Gramacki said this week.

Rio Mesa’s pizza booth will be one of more than 50 food vendors at the California Strawberry Festival on Saturday and Sunday at Strawberry Meadows at College Park on Rose Avenue.

The event drew more than 69,000 people in 2003, and organizers expect at least that many this year for the 21st annual event, said Manager Charlotte O’Brien.

A few new attractions will spice up the familiar treats, O’Brien said. The Budweiser Clydesdale horses will parade through the grounds daily after being available for viewing, and the Strawberry Thrill Bungee Jump will be in place for those whose idea of fun is a 14-story free fall. In addition, three shuttle stops have been added, along with dollar-off coupons for those who ride the Strawberry Express.

But the tried and true will also be in evidence, including more than 300 arts and crafts booths; nonstop music on two stages; Strawberryland for Kids, featuring rides and the Jest in Time theater; and, of course, the festival’s raison d’etre: foods and drink featuring the county’s top crop.

Festival spokeswoman Lisa Carey estimated that 10,000 trays of berries would be used during the two days, averaging about 1 1/2 pounds per attendee. Foods range from the obvious strawberry shortcake to the not-so-usual strawberry pizza and strawberry beer.

To make those pizza pies, Gramacki is in the midst of a berry blitz. She spent several hours Wednesday preparing the cream cheese topping for her group’s concoctions, which go for $5 a slice. Today she will spend even longer supervising the volunteers slicing the fruit.

But it turns out that putting together 1,000 14-inch pizzas isn’t as daunting as it first sounds.

“When you get these 300 flats of strawberries coming up, you just look at them and say, ‘Oh, my gosh,’ ” Gramacki said. “But it all runs very smoothly.”

She figures she uses about 100 adult and student volunteers during the festival, along with 120 students who will help slice the berries today.

That usually nets $12,000 to $15,000 for Rio Mesa athletes, she said, money that is used for such things as uniforms, tournament fees and equipment.

Plenty of other nonprofit groups also use the festival to finance their programs, Carey said, including the Rotary Club of Oxnard, the Millennium Soccer Club and Padre Serra Parish. Altogether, the 20 nonprofits take in more than $200,000 for various causes.

Those heading out this weekend will find the weather perfect for outdoor activities, with temperatures for Oxnard forecast at about 70 both days.

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The annual California Strawberry Festival runs from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Admission is $9 general; $5 for children 5-12, seniors 55 and older and active military; and free for children younger than 4.

Coupons for $1 off per person are available for those who take the shuttle. Shuttles depart and return every 20 minutes from Adolfo Camarillo High School, Camarillo Premium Outlets, Channel Islands Harbor, Oxnard Transportation Center and Centerpoint Mall.