OXNARD EVENT GETS NATION'S ATTENTION CALIFORNIA'S STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL NOW OFFICIALLY LISTED IN LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.Byline: Krystn Shrieve Staff Writer OXNARD - The California Strawberry Festival A Strawberry Festival is an event and celebration in many towns in North America. In most instances, areas around these towns are, or have been, deeply involved in the production and marketing of strawberries, and the festivals are usually held in late spring around the time of the , which last weekend drew thousands of visitors craving specialties from strawberry shortcake
Strawberry Shortcake is a licensed character owned by American Greetings, originally used in greeting cards and expanded to include dolls, posters, and other products. to strawberry pizza, has been registered in the Library of Congress. The history of the festival that just celebrated its 17th anniversary is included in a permanent collection of the library's American Folklife Center The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress was created by Congress in 1976 "to preserve and present American Folklife" (see Public Law 94-201 [1]). The Center incorporates the Archive of Folk Culture, which was established at the Library in 1928 as a , which celebrates the grass-roots heritage of each state. ``The festival is about its people,'' said Shelley Merrick, executive director of the Strawberry Festival. ``It goes back to the old days when people would celebrate their harvests. We tend to lose sight of those things. The festival isn't just a huge party; it's about what built this community - strawberries.'' Merrick, along with photography students at Moorpark College Moorpark College is a California-state funded community college located on a 134 acre (542,000 m²) property reclining on a hill in Moorpark, a town in Ventura County, California. and film students at Oxnard College Oxnard College is a California-state funded community college located in Oxnard, California. It was established in 1975. It serves the Oxnard Plain cities of Oxnard, Camarillo, and Port Hueneme. , worked for a year documenting the history of the berry industry and the festival for the Library of Congress, as part of the library's bicentennial bi·cen·ten·ni·al adj. 1. Happening once every 200 years. 2. Lasting for 200 years. 3. Relating to a 200th anniversary. n. A 200th anniversary or its celebration. Also called bicentenary. celebration. Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Oxnard, chose the Strawberry Festival as the best way to represent the history of his district. ``One thing most folks don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. is that Oxnard produces over a fourth of the state's entire berry crop,'' Gallegly said. ``Now the Strawberry Festival is a permanent part of the library and will be preserved for many future generations. It's the largest library in the world and is renowned as the largest repository of American history.'' Strawberries were first grown in Oxnard in the 1950s on just a few acres of land. Now berries are raised on 7,500 acres, the second-largest crop in the county. According to the county's 1998 crop report, the most recent available, strawberries brought in nearly $176 million. Strawberry grower Mike Conroy has been in the business for 28 years and farms 150 acres in Oxnard. He said he's proud the industry has been recognized as an important part of the city and county's heritage. ``I think everybody involved with the industry would be proud of this,'' Conroy said. ``Oxnard is the second-largest contributing area in the state. The Strawberry Festival is always embraced by all the growers.'' The most recent festival drew 81,000 visitors from throughout the state during the two-day event. The celebration included games, music and, of course, strawberries. Visitors sampled strawberry bread, barbecue tri-tip sandwiches with strawberry garnish, Southern fried chicken with strawberry sauce, strawberry kabobs, strawberry shortcakes and strawberry pizza. ``We all know strawberries have a lot of vitamin C vitamin C or ascorbic acid Water-soluble organic compound important in animal metabolism. Most animals produce it in their bodies, but humans, other primates, and guinea pigs need it in the diet to prevent scurvy. ,'' Merrick said. ``But they're also just plain delicious. You can just pick them up and eat them and they're just the right size. They go with ice cream and just about anything else. They're terribly tempting.'' |
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