PALM COAST, Fla. – Ready for spring, festival goers flocked to Central Park on Saturday for the opening of the Palm Coast Strawberry Festival.
Citing record attendance, June Font, event coordinator for Buckler Shows, was thrilled by this year’s turnout.
“This is our sixth annual and it seems like it’s our highest attended out of all our strawberry fests,” said Font. “We did do a blueberry fest last year and this is even higher than that.”
It was a picture-perfect day with juicy red strawberries by the flat greeting visitors as they entered the festival. Many left with arms laden full of strawberries, plants and handcrafted goods sold by the vendors lining the lake in Town Center.
“I think it’s the strawberries, the beautiful weather and just getting out and doing something,” she said of the attendance.
The festival also featured a regional and local charity component, and organizers felt it was important to have a connection to the community in more ways than one.
“The Boys and Girls Club of Volusia and Flagler County are partnering with us. They are helping us and we are donating a portion of the proceeds to them. We also have the Grace Food Pantry and all of the canned goods that are brought here are donated to them,” shared Font.
In addition to shopping, a wide variety of food options fed families who plopped down for picnics under the trees to listen to live music, watch the Berry Cute Baby Contest or even take part in the strawberry pie eating contests.
“We love bringing people out and seeing them having so much fun,” she said. “We have the strawberries, the bounce houses, the pony rides. People come in and they have so much fun and they leave feeling happy that they’ve come to a nice, family-friendly event.”
