BY BRADY RHOADES: An early happy birthday, Garden Grove Strawberry Festival.
You were born in 1958.
You turn 60 this year.
In between, you've provided residents of Garden Grove and beyond an extraordinary amount of fun, and food.
You've introduced the community to such stars as Joey Bishop, Phyllis Diller, Shirley Jones, Billy Barty, Buddy Hackett, Mickey Rooney, The Platters, and Sally Kellerman.
BY BRADY RHOADES: An early happy birthday, Garden Grove Strawberry Festival.
You were born in 1958.
You turn 60 this year.
In between, you've provided residents of Garden Grove and beyond an extraordinary amount of fun, and food.
You've introduced the community to such stars as Joey Bishop, Phyllis Diller, Shirley Jones, Billy Barty, Buddy Hackett, Mickey Rooney, The Platters, and Sally Kellerman.
You've also raised about $6.5 million for local charities. In 2017, festival profits donated to the community totaled $394,000. In addition, eight $1,000 scholarships were given to students in Garden Grove Unified School District high schools.
"The Strawberry Festival’s Board of Directors and Associates are volunteers who lend their time to this wonderful event because they truly care about the community," said Laura Neuschafer, who was president of the festival in 2017. "From Special Children’s Day, the cake cutting ceremony, the parade, the VIP breakfast and luncheon, until the following Monday, where we sit in our directors lounge feeling pretty good about the event — it is priceless."
This year's president is Scott Weimer.
"It's looking to be another really great year for the Strawberry Festival, as we will be celebrating the 60th year of our extraordinary heritage of fun, fundraising and funding local charities," Weimer said. "I hope to see a bigger crowd than ever!"
The Garden Grove Chamber of Commerce put on the first Garden Grove Strawberry Festival as a way to bring together the east and west sides of Garden Grove. Resident Tom Hoxie, a public relations professional, suggested a festival to celebrate the area’s then prolific strawberry fields. That first festival was held on a vacant lot in the Brookhurst Triangle. Hoxie sent locally grown strawberries to a monastery in Europe — the festival’s first PR ploy.
The biggest event of the year in Garden Grove is scheduled once again for Memorial Day Weekend (May 25-28). This year’s theme is "Celebrating 60 Years of Fun and Funding Charities."
Friday hours are 1 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday go from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Monday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Admission is free. Special one-price ride-all-day wristbands will be offered for all festival days at $30 per wristband on Friday, and $35 each on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Tickets for individual rides can also be purchased separately at $1 per ticket.
The four-day event, which is the second largest city festival in the Western United States, will be held at the Village Green, between Main Street and Euclid Avenue in downtown Garden Grove. Last year’s attendance was more than 300,000.
For more information, call 714-638-0981.
