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Festivalgoers toss strawberry tarts at one another
Annual event in Oxnard draws more than 65,000
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California Strawberry Festival>>
Photo by Juan Carlo Mendoza
Kaila Mullaney of Northridge goes bungee jumping at the California Strawberry Festival on Sunday in Oxnard.
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Photo by Juan Carlo Mendoza
Karen Richmond of Los Angeles gets hit with a strawberry tart.
Cameron Asher picked up her strawberry tart, aimed, tossed and hit her beaming father smack dab in the forehead.
"I love strawberry shortcake," the 6-year-old said, "and I want to throw it at my daddy."
Cameron, who lives in Bellflower, was one of 40 people participating in the tart toss Sunday afternoon at the California Strawberry Festival in Oxnard.
Other events Sunday included a trivia contest, strawberry stomp, music from Sheila E and the E Family and a parade of Budweiser Clydesdales.
Despite record-breaking heat over the weekend, the festival attracted 65,629 people, said spokeswoman Lisa Carey. No estimate on the amount of money raised was available. Proceeds from the festival, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, benefit local schools as well as youth, civic and religious organizations.
At the tart toss, kids were aiming for parents, brothers for sisters, and girlfriends for boyfriends. Their ammunition was a Styrofoam bowl filled with pound cake, mashed strawberries and whipped cream.
Participants, divided into kids and adults, had three chances to hit their targets, earning 50 points if they got them in the face. The person who earned the most points won a Strawberry Festival T-shirt.
Jason Williamson, who came to the festival with his daughter and nephew as well as other family members, was a willing victim.
"It's an easy way to get free shortcake," said Williamson, who lives in Santa Clarita, "and it's something for the kids. They don't get a chance to throw cake at me that often."
And Williamson did get his taste of shortcake. When her turn came, Daisy Williamson got her dad on her first try.
Still, it wasn't enough. Later in the afternoon, the family was planning to do the pie-eating contest.
Elsewhere at the fair, the Berry Go Round had a long line by early afternoon. Strawberry funnel cakes, sold by Buena High School, were proving to be a popular snack along with strawberry beer and anything made with ice.
Sunday's heat, though, made one commodity at least as popular as the strawberries — shade.
Posted by mIssSIdekIck on May 20, 2008 at 3:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
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