Watsonville Strawberry Festival brings a boost for local businesses and the community

WATSONVILLE, Calif. (KION-TV)- The city of Watsonville says that this year’s Strawberry Festival will bring in over 40,000 people throughout the weekend.

"We are getting it ready because tomorrow and Saturday [is] the kickoff. The festival opens at 11 so we gotta be ready for for that hour," said Victor Garcia, an organizer for nine years.

There will be more than 120 vendors here during the festival. At least 75% of them are local businesses.

“Actually, the owners prepare everything and we just organize the rest and set everything up here at the event," said vendor, Crystal Maldonado.

I spoke with the city of Watsonville about how important this festival is for the local economy. This comes after last year’s storms that impacted agriculture.

The city emphasized that the festival not only boosts local business but also supports the community.

"We have people who are visiting the region, so that means folks are visiting hotels and staying at hotels or staying here for the weekend," Michelle Pulido, PIO for the city of Watsonville said. "They’re eating at our local restaurants [and] are going to our local stores, so we’re looking forward to the Watsonville Strawberry Festival. It’s a great time to come together as a community and celebrate what our community is known for.”

The festival began in 1994 and was originally established to help the city’s recovery from the Loma Prieta Earthquake.

Now it has grown into a beloved tradition for the community of Watsonville.

“Watsonville has a lot of strawberries that are grown in this region and I think this festival really just highlights the hard work of our local agricultural workers who work very hard to make sure that they’re harvesting the best strawberries in our nation," Pulido said.

This festival will feature carnival rides, an array of sweet strawberry treats and local artists and vendors.

“It’s something that gives an opportunity to a lot of local vendors to make some extra income for their families expenses," Garcia said.

The festival started at five where there live performance by five star band, a carnival and a farmer's market.