Greg Berini, the chairperson of the California Strawberry Festival, speaks with George Alger about the event’s 40-year history and its impact on the community. The festival is an annual tradition held on the third weekend of May.
Festival History and Mission
Origins: The festival began in 1984, founded by Dr. Tsujio Kato to promote the beauty and agricultural industry of Ventura County and Oxnard.
Charitable Impact: Over the last 40 years, the festival has donated more than $5 million to various non-profit organizations throughout Southern California.
Support for Non-Profits: The event acts as a platform for local non-profits to raise money. These organizations can apply for food booths or service opportunities, and they keep 100% of the profits they generate at the event.
Scholarships: The festival manages the Dr. Tsujio Memorial Scholarship, which has provided over $75,000 to help students from farmworking families transition to college.
Traditions and Atmosphere
Community Spirit: Greg emphasizes that the festival’s greatest tradition is seeing multi-generational families—from infants to grandparents—enjoying the event together.
Consistency: While locations have changed (now held at the Ventura County Fairgrounds), the core mission of supporting local agriculture, farmworkers, and non-profits has remained the same.
Event Highlights and Logistics
Entertainment: The festival features 16 bands, an interactive science area, a ninja obstacle course for children, and over 150 arts and crafts booths.
Food: There are over 50 food booths, many offering strawberry-themed items like the famous funnel cakes sold by Buena High School.
Accessibility: To manage crowds, the festival provides free shuttles from five different parking areas and has partnered with Amtrak and Metrolink to encourage public transit use.
TV broadcast week beginning 03/22/26
Producer: George Alger
Sponsor: NONPROFIT FIRE, Google Ad Grants Community Building NonProfitFire.org
Sponsor: SKYWORKS MARKETING, Performance Advertising SkyworksMarketing.com