Canceled Santa Maria Strawberry Festival this weekend means economic impact for local business

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - The opening day of the Santa Maria Strawberry Festival would have been Friday, but it was canceled because of the pandemic, leaving local businesses without a boost.

Normally at this time, people would be flooding through the Santa Maria Fairpark gates for the festival.

"We have a lot of strawberries in our community, it's really what we are known for," said Jennifer Harrison, director of the Santa Maria Chamber of Commerce. "To have a festival that is all encompassing of that is pretty significant for us and part of our story."

The main attraction? The strawberries, of course.

Shelly Cone, public relations representative for the Fairpark, said visitors come for wild strawberry food creations like strawberry tamales and tacos.

Every year, more than 60,000 people attend the festival. That means there are now 60,000 people who are not spending money at the festival and in town.

Harrison said that economic boost comes from visitors "eating at a restaurant, they're fueling up their cars... we hope that they're staying the night, exploring wine country or hitting up a microbrewery."

It's a celebration of everything that is Santa Maria, including local business.

Cone said many of the food vendors are from the Central Coast. "It's all about the strawberries, our number one crop."

Cone said she hopes to see many of those vendors at their new fall festival, which will also be a three-day festival, or at the Santa Barbara County Fair in July.