By Roel Godinez
Vista held its 10th Annual Strawberry Festival on Sunday May 26th. This free event is the citys’ largest and brings unmatched crowds that fill bustling downtown. From 8am to 6pm, almost a mile of downtown’s roadways and Vista Magnet Middle School’s outer field were occupied by booths, vendors, carnival attractions, and many other activities that contributed to the family friendly atmosphere. Despite the overcast sky and the threat of rain, the crowds found neither their heads nor spirits dampened.
“The sun may not be shining, but we bring our own sunshine,”
said California State Assembly member Tasha Boerner Horvath as she opened the strawberry pie eating contest. “I’m so happy to be here to celebrate our delicious community. The Vista Strawberry Festival began in 2010 to celebrate Vista’s long history with the exquisite strawberry. I’d like to take a moment to thank the Vista Chamber of Commerce, Tri-City Medical Center and the many sponsors who made this event possible.”
Indeed, the combined efforts of the organizers and sponsors successfully pulled together Vista’s community connoisseurs that created a healthy equilibrium of entertainment. There were four stages: the Vista Chamber Acoustic stage, the Tri-City Medical Center Main Stage, the Raising Cane’s Flag Pavillion, and the Altitude Rising Star Stage. These stages brought live music that spanned over many genres and filled every corner with wholesome melodies. SDGE and EDCO shared the responsibility of bringing adult event goers the Beer Garden Stage, a 21+ area that also held live music and locally crafted beer.
“It started out as a chocolate festival,”
said Vista Historical Society member Sharon Larimer. “Unfortunately, it got so hot one time that all of the chocolate was melting so then it became a strawberry festival, which makes more sense because Vista used to be called the Strawberry Capital of the World.”
Vista’s strawberry output peaked in 1960’s and 70’s when they were regularly distributed throughout the country. As many who lived through this boom are happy to tell, these strawberries were internationally exported during the warm months from April to June. However, the number of strawberry fields in Vista has drastically dwindled since those days. Housing, commercialism, infrastructure, and other forms of development have since taken the place of this famed agricultural epicenter.
Despite the significant change in Vista’s landscape, it’s community still holds great pride for it’s once world famous fruit and continues to embrace it in this yearly event. There was, of course, no lack of fresh strawberries to be found. Frazier Farms, one of the event sponsors, was generous in its donation of thousands of strawberries that were sold at fundraising stands. Two other sponsors, the Sunrise Café and the Curbside Cafe, donated a combined total of 60 pies for the No Hand Strawberry Pie Eating Contest, which was free for all ages. Amid all of the excellent food that was being sold, there were several food vendors who hung handy signs that read “Stop! Strawberry products sold here!” from the tops of their tents.
The overflow of strawberries was well matched with the many available activities. The day began with two invigorating marathons that allowed Vista’s athletes to compete in an exciting communal challenge. There were many strawberry themed competitions like the Jam, Shortcake, and costume contests. The beer garden held more rambunctious challenges like the Beer Stein Holding and Frozen T-shirt contests. Contrasting the adult activities were the children’s activities which were concentrated on Vista Magnet Middle School’s outfield. Here were many carnival rides and games.
Within the carnival area was a patch of grass covered in a thick layer of fluffy white foam. This was Dr. Bronner’s Snofoam, an original invention that acts as a fun plaything, imitation snow, and fire retardant all in one. One of the Dr. Bronner’s team members who was operating the pressurized Snofoam tank was Bob Cat.
“We’re so proud to call Vista our home,” said Cat. “We’ve been here for almost 6 years and in Escondido for 45. I think it’s essential for communities to come together as a whole as often as possible. I don’t know that there are any other events around here that bring such large crowds together, but this is one where you can definitely count on people coming.”
Cat’s sentiments towards this festival are not unlike those of the thousands that either organize, vend, or attend it every year. With such promise for family fun, the 2020 Strawberry Festival is already being well anticipated.
