Contests
Festival Weekend
Sign up in the contest area at least 30 minutes in advance of each event. Entry fee is $1. Prizes awarded.

Strawberry Tart Toss
11:00AM and 2:00 PM Daily
Your chance to be on target with a gooey strawberry tart. Participants peer through a berry cutout while contestants take aim. Whether you’re the giver or the receiver, it’s sweet revenge!
Strawberry Pie Eating Contest
1:00PM and 4:00PM Daily
In your face fun with a timed challenge you can really sink your teeth into, devouring strawberry pies for the ultimate mouthful without the use of a fork.
The Star Berry Hunt
A true berry quest... Navigate through the Festival grounds and find clues for all things berry. Any age can play. Pick up your map and color key at the Strawberry Promenade and embark on your path to discovery. When you find all the clues to solve the riddle, turn in the completed info at the Ventura County Star/805 moms booth in Strawberryland For Kids and receive a complimentary gift (while supplies last). All participants are in the running for the grand prize drawing of a free Hawaiian Holiday, courtesy of Shell Vacations Club.(two days accommodations and roundtrip airfare for two from either LA, San Francisco, or Phoenix to Honolulu)**CONGRATULATIONS to Mike Villalobos of Azusa who won the 2010 Star Berry Hunt.
Before the Festival
Official Berry Blast Off Recipe Contest 
Think strawberry bliss in a strawberry dish. Festival organizers are searching for the tastiest non-baking strawberry dish for the coveted “Berry Blast Off” Recipe contest, featuring a grand prize vacation four-night Carnival Cruise Getaway Vacation, compliments of Shell Vacations Club. Each participant who enters the contest also receive a free ticket to the Festival (limit one per person).
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2010 Finalists who will compete for the grand prize Cruise Vacation at the Berry Blast Off Finals taking place at the Festival, Saturday, May 15 at 12:00pm in the Strawberry Promenade. Before the crowd of Festival patrons, Merry Graham of Newhall (Snappy Shrimp & Strawberry Coleslaw with Hotty Maple Vinaigarette) faces off against Rachel Barlow of Camarillo (Strawberry Bruschetta with Lemon Cream). Kate Linder of "The Young & the Restless" and Miss Teen California Dedria Brunett are among the judging panel and the presentation will be hosted by B95's Bo Jaxon. (Other of the five selected from 71 entries from 8 states to compete in the preiiminary round included: Audrey Kuo of Los Angeles (Strawberry Jalapeno Cornmeal Pancakes with cheddar and jack cheese): Michael Cohen of Los Angeles (Strawberry & Coconut Ceviche); Rachel Rauschenberger of Oxnard (Strawberry Pulled Pork Sandwiches with chopped spinach slaw).
View Rules >>
Check out the Award-Winning Recipes of Past Years! >>
California Strawberry Festival
Annual Poster Contest
Congratulations to our 2010 Contest winner Dennis Kaloi of Thousand Oaks!
A fruitful enterprise for artists and designers, each year the Festival seeks submissions for the annual Official Poster Contest in what has become a visually stunning Festival tradition of showcasing each season since the event began in 1984.
Printed on collectible T-shirts and promotional items available for purchase on site Festival weekend, the poster is also utilized in marketing and advertising. The winning artist is awarded $2,000 and is guest of honor at a poster unveiling luncheon.His image will be featured on 2010 Festival T-shirts and merchandise for the 27th annual celebration May 15,16 at College Park in Oxnard. “Growing up in the area, I have fond memories of heading out with my parents to the produce stands for fresh strawberries, and these days I think people are reflecting back to the simple things in life, ” says Kaloi. Reappearing from his childhood experience, the piece features a vintage coke machine, wash barrel and seagull perched with watchful eyes. To create his desired effect, Kaloi first sketched the design, then scanned it in his computer, and using a digital painter program and a stylist 3D brush, brought the canvas to life.
Hi-tech is nothing new to Kaloi, whose Thousand Oaks firm Simon-Kaloi Engineering, Ltd, (SKE), manufactures over a dozen different products that include integrated sound, lighting and motion controllers, digital message repeaters, show control equipment and professional audio products. Among their most recent projects was the onboard audio for the Nemo ride at Disneyland of Anaheim.
For the man who adored Norman Rockwell as a child, Kaloi’s Festival creation offers a unique blend of modern technology and old-fashioned goodness -- just the right ingredients of sweetness for the California Strawberry Festival.
View the entire Poster Archive Here>>
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