California Strawberry Festival for 2022 cancelled due to COVID-19 impacts

OXNARD, Calif. – Event organizers announced Friday that the 2022 California Strawberry Festival has been cancelled due to the uncertainty caused by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dean Kato, Chairman of the California Strawberry Festival Board of Directors said "For the benefit of both partners and attendees, the Festival board made the difficult decision to pause the festival for another year."

Despite the recent decline of case rates and eased restrictions, Kato said that the uncertainty caused from the pandemic hindered the planning process and resource availability to produce a festival "at the level our community expects and deserves."

“We are disappointed that we've had to again cancel the Festival," said Kato. "Tens of thousands of festival-goers look forward to attending the celebration each year. Sponsors, exhibitors, performers, vendors, and hundreds of volunteers are instrumental to its success."

The 2022 festival was set for May 14 and May 15 at Strawberry Meadows of College Park in Oxnard.

"It takes upward of six months of planning to produce the Festival,” said Kato. "With the stops and starts of COVID-related restrictions and the advent of the new variant during the last few months of 2021 and into the beginning of this year, it was very difficult to plan efficiently – not only for the Festival Board, but for the many vendors, sponsors, and partners as well."

Kato said that the all-volunteer board is already planning for a successful 2023 re-launch.

For updates on the 2023 California Strawberry Festival, go to https://castrawberryfestival.org or Facebook @CaliforniaStrawberryFestival.