Families, adults and kids of all ages will find fun-filled attractions and entertainment at the 56th annual Garden Grove Strawberry Festival.
The four-day Memorial Day weekend event — held May 23 through 26 — features thrilling rides, exciting games and live entertainment.
The festival draws nearly 300,000 fun-seekers every year, many eager to show off their bravery on exhilarating rides like the Vertigo, Fireball, Flying Bobs, Wave Swinger, Spin Out and Footloose, to
name several.
Families, adults and kids of all ages will find fun-filled attractions and entertainment at the 56th annual Garden Grove Strawberry Festival.
The four-day Memorial Day weekend event — held May 23 through 26 — features thrilling rides, exciting games and live entertainment.
The festival draws nearly 300,000 fun-seekers every year, many eager to show off their bravery on exhilarating rides like the Vertigo, Fireball, Flying Bobs, Wave Swinger, Spin Out and Footloose, to
name several.
For the less adventurous there’s the Orbiter, Merry Go Round, Giant Slide, Starship 3000, Tilt-a-Whirl and State Fair Slide.
The youngest festival-goers can take a spin on the Frog Hopper or The Balloon Samba from Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch. Others include the Jumping Jumbos, Jungle of Fun, Lolli Swing, Looney Tooter Train, Tom Kangaroo, Wet Boats and more.
Local civic groups and non-profit organizations setting up game booths to raise money include athletic
booster clubs, Boy and Girl Scout troops, churches and schools who will challenge players’ skills with
the Star Dart, Colorama, Bag-A-Rama, Ring-A-Coin, Basketball, One Ball, Inflatables, Ring-A-Duck,
Ring-A-Bottle Hula Hoop Toss and Gold Fish.
“A festival is not complete unless you go home carrying a bag of gold fish,” says Mark Mahoney, festival board member.
The line-up of live, stage entertainment performing at the Showmobile features local top performers such as Frenzy, a “Metro-Retro” band playing renditions of hits from the 60’s to the present; Nick Corsetti & Co., popular local singer/songwriters; plus The Neptunes Band, recapturing old and new Rock n Roll and country music.
Festival-goers can dance to the tunes of Abrakadabra, known for its Latin jazz/pop rhythms; The 3rd Degree Band playing blues; and Full Spectrum Band, a classy, high energy ensemble putting out jazz, swing, blues, classic rock, R&B, current Top 40 and hip hop.
For full list of events visit www.strawberryfestival.org
Friday hours are 1 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 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 $25 per wristband on Friday and $30 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.
Highlights include the Friday evening official giant strawberry cakecutting ceremony at 6 p.m. at the Showmobile (Acacia and Main streets) when free cake is served to over 2,000 people.
On Saturday morning, the VIP celebrity breakfast will take place at the Garden Grove Community
Center, with proceeds going to We Give Thanks, followed by a celebrity parade which starts at 10 a.m.
with floats, bands, equestrians and characters such as Knott’s Berry Farm’s Snoopy. Many film and TV
celebrities will be honored in the parade.
All four festival days will include 35 carnival rides, four contests, over 200 food and shopping booths, games, music and live entertainment in the festival’s 550-seat amphitheater and Showmobile. Contests,
held in the amphitheater, include the Berry, Berry Beautiful Baby Contest; Redhead Roundup; Strawberry Idol Karaoke; and Tiny Tots King and Queen.
Sponsorship support this year comes from Dyson, Clear Channel Outdoors, McDonalds, California Center for Sustainable Energy, Care Ambulance Service, Sam’s Club, Costco, Garden Grove Hospital, Brandywine Homes, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inns, Hilton Garden Inn and Casa Garcia. Media sponsors include Parenting OC, OC News and its community newspapers, OC Weekly, Garden Grove Journal, Korea Times, El Panamericano, Farandula USA, Miniondas, Nguoi Viet Daily News, and radio stations 103.4 MYfm, KOST, KABC, KLOS, JACK FM, KLYY Jose 97.5 FM, KSSE 107.1 FM, Super Estrella, KDAY-FM, KWVE, KSWB 100.3fm The Sound LA, KWIZ La Rockola, AIR1 Radio, Radiocentro 93.9, KEARTH 101 and Radio Disney.
For more information, call 714-638-0981.
