BATON ROUGE, La. (THE LOUISIANA WEEKEND) - The Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival is a beloved event for most Louisianans. It is Louisiana’s largest free festival. While its population is less than 8,000 people, Ponchatoula is the strawberry capital of the world. The 51st Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival is Friday, April 14th through Sunday, April 16th. Festival organizers expect up to 300,000 visitors at the festival this year.
There are over 500-acres of strawberry farms in or near Ponchatoula, Louisiana. These strawberry farms boast of having the biggest and the sweetest strawberries in America. Good news for festival attendees, strawberry farmers will sell strawberries at the festival. There will also be many strawberry desserts for sale. Indulge in strawberry beignets, strawberry shortcake, deep fried strawberries, chocolate covered strawberries, strawberry wine, and more. Another festival favorite is the Strawberry Daiquiris made with fresh Ponchatoula strawberries.
Saturday, the festival begins with a parade at 9:30am with the festival immediately following the parade. There will be carnival rides, live music, egg toss, strawberry eating contests and lots of opportunities to buy gifts and souvenirs from the many nonprofit organizations who will have booths at the festival. We spoke with the 51st Strawberry King Arthur Thompson and the 51st Strawberry Queen Kirstin Drozd. They want everyone to join them in having a “berry” good time at the festival. For more information on the festival, visit HERE
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