Adventures in Strawberry Land

Hello Night Owls,

Popping in for a bit to share some pics from the Strawberry Festival.  It was held back in May, I want to say 20-21, but it's always the 3rd weekend of May.  It's been a while, but I love to go every year.  It's held in Oxnard, CA and every year the event keeps getting bigger.  I remember the first year I went, the arts and crafts were held on the grass at Oxnard College but now they shut down the adjacent street and hold the arts and crafts there.  My, how things have changed!

This weekend the weather was great.  It wasn't too hot, but then we went after work.  We got there around 430 pm and closed the place down at 6. Tip:  Go later on in the day.  It wasn't as crowded during this time as it usually is, (as we've gone earlier in the past) and it was a lot cooler. 

Here are some typical food booths.  Of course, I'm a sucker for the garlic fries, but we got calamari and I spilt a Philly cheesesteak with Andrew.  Joe is picky so I'm sure we got him chicken nuggets.  They also sell Strawberry nachos, Strawberry beer, and Straweberry tacos. 

The boys drinking their strawberry smoothies, 2017.  Smoothies are the best part of the Strawberry Festival. 

Posting next to all the Strawberry sellers. Every year the strawberries are always fresh and tasty.  You never get a bad strawberry at the festival.  They have shortcake making contests.  Unfortunately, due to time, I missed visiting "Strawberry Shortcake" this year. 

This is a picture of the boys drinking smoothies from 2013. Boy have they changed!  They've certaintly gotten bigger. 

Here is me with my gratitious basket of strawberries.  We can't eat them fast enough when we get come.  I'm wearing the Angels hat because it's red and I wanted something red for the festival. 

Thanks for hanging out with me at the festival.  Sorry I'm late.  If you get a chance, check out my Christmas story, Mr. Christmas Elf, for a little Christmas in July. It's 99 cents and will be going away at the end of August.  Now is the time to get it!

BLURB: 

Jules' Christmas list is looking pretty pathetic. She needs a new muffler for her car and a hundred dollars for her root canal. Her niece is asking for an iPad, but all Jules can afford is a Barbie doll. The peppermint on the top? Her boyfriend dumps her in a text message. 

Jules could use a little Christmas magic, so when Elvis pops up claiming that he was sent by Santa to fill her Christmas list, all she has to do is believe – in the magic the season has to offer.

AMAZON BUY LINK:  http://a.co/3usLDDt

Strawberry Festival 2016 #lifestyle

Strawberry Fest 2016 with Joe!

I love a nice ripe juicy red strawberry. They make the best smoothies and margaritas. And shortcake. And nachos. And chocolate dipped sinful delights. There's nothing you can't do with a strawberry. That's one of the reasons I enjoy visiting the strawberry festival every year.

Every year in May, this fun little fest is held in Oxnard, Ventura County, near the California coast. It's a little over an hour drive from my house. May is a great time to explore the strawberry fields. The weather is warm, but not too warm and I've never been rained on.

When we get there, I always get the boys smoothies right away Of course everything is a tad pricey, but I'm happy to support the various charities that benefit from the festival. They include local schools, churches, and booster clubs.

After the smoothies, I get a strawberry margarita for me. Then we eat! There's no shortage of food booths. Our favorites include calamari, garlic fries, chicken tenders, gyros and strawberry nachos!

After we're stuffed like a fluffy shortcake, we visit the kiddie land. The boys like to climb on the inflatables. I usually visit strawberry shortcake. One year the "Eat Mor Chiken" Cow was there from Chik-fil-et. I thought that was funny.

From 2012

They have live music on 2 different stages. There's car exhibits and an arts and crafts section that's expanded from a small grassy area (when I started attending about 8 years ago) to the length of a city street. This year, I discovered "military salsa," a perfect blend of spice and sweetness made with honey. There are tye-dye shirts, purses, and wooden, decorative signs. Honestly, there's a little something for everyone. One year, I got my stretchy "Paris" shirt which I adore, at the arts and crafts section.

On the way out, I get a festival poster. We enjoy chocolate dipped sin and usually get a tray of red, delicious, juicy, strawberries to eat at the house.

What's the appeal for me? While it can get crowded, it's a fun day away from the house in celebration of the strawberry. Adults are 12.00. Kids are 5.00. Parking on site is 10.00. The food is fantastic. Plus, I enjoy spending the time with my boys. I hang the festival posters all over the house. It truly is a good time. You can bet I'll be attending next year, too.

Enjoy a berry on me!

California Thursday - The California Strawberry Festival

This year the Strawberry Festival is going to be held the weekend of the 15th/16th in May. It's always held in Oxnard, California which is near Ventura and the Coast. We've gone to the festival for the past 3 years and I was planning to go again this year - we'll see. My son, Andrew, makes his 1st Holy Communion on 15 May - we'll see if we'll go later on that day or on the 16th.

What do I love about the Strawberry festival? The Strawberries of course! Some of the ripest, tastest Strawberries come out of this festival. The prices for a box of strawberries are resonable. (sp?) It's $3 for a small green plastic container and about $20 for a big case.

Another thing I love about the strawberry festival is that it reminds me of of "New England," a little bit. They offer bands throughout the day, they have plenty of food stands and serve strawberries in ways that I wouldn't think imaginable. There's strawberry pizza, nachos and even kabobs. I love the nachos. hehe. Of course, there's strawberry margeritas and even strawberry beer (which reminds me of BerlinerWeise from Berlin!)

My son, Joe, sipping a strawberry smoothie



There's a playland for the little kids called Strawberryland and one year I even met Strawberry Shortcake. hehe! (Sadly, Andrew didn't want to pose with her because she was a girl!)

There's also an area for vendors to show off their wares. From clothes to jewerly, soap and candles and woodworking you can find a little bit of everything at the festival. The price is cheap to get in $12,00 for adults and $6.00 for kids. It's a homey kid of way to spend the day with the kids.




If you get a chance, check out the festival. I love collecting the festival posters. They always promise to be colorful.