Fair-Weather Fans Swarm Berry Festival

OXNARD — In what California Strawberry Festival officials and patrons attributed to a collective case of cabin fever, a bountiful crowd of 45,000 swarmed the annual berry bonanza Sunday under cloudless skies.

“Everybody is dying to get out in the sun,” said Sheila McCandless, who spent an hour getting from neighboring Camarillo to the festival grounds on often-clogged streets. “I thought we wouldn’t be able to get to a booth. But compared to the traffic getting in here, it wasn’t bad.”

Indeed, officials said that when Sunday’s strawberry-loving swarm was added to the 43,000 who came through the festival gates Saturday, the 15th annual event would be counted among the best attended. This year’s crowd easily surpassed the 62,000 berry aficionados drawn to the two-day festival last year.

“It’s huge,” said giddy festival director Shelley Merrick. “It’s risen to a level this year that’s just phenomenal. . . . After today I need to go back to the drawing board and say, ‘What’s our [ideal attendance] level?’ I don’t want to get to the point where people don’t want to come because it’s too crowded.”

Some visitors were as overwhelmed as Merrick.

“We’re getting out because it’s too crowded,” said Simi Valley resident Carol Brown as she headed for the exits after spending a fruitless wait in line at one particularly popular food booth, only to discover she had joined the wrong line. “We enjoyed it though.”

Long lines were omnipresent Sunday, with hordes of people waiting for everything from a vacant portable toilet to an automated teller machine.

“The eating part is probably the worst adventure here,” said Brown’s friend Tom Tintorri of Burbank. “I think they’ve outgrown the area.”

It wouldn’t be the first time.

The festival moved to its current site--Rose Avenue’s College Park--after its original location at Channel Islands Harbor proved unable to handle the milling masses.

Merrick predicted that the nonprofit festival, which has rarely made much above its $600,000 annual budget, would take in more money than ever this year.

Also raking in the cash were nearly 20 community food vendors, such as the Rio Mesa High School Booster Club, which posted “Sold Out” signs at 4:30 p.m. after selling more than 3,000 strawberry pizzas.

“We’re happy tired,” said volunteer Suzanah Alvidrez. “This is the best year we’ve ever had. . . . Saturday we sold out all our supplies--including for Sunday. We were up until midnight making more.”

The 16 sports the Rio Mesa booster club supports will benefit to the tune of almost $7,000, organizers said.

More than 30 local nonprofit groups that made and sold a variety of strawberry creations at food booths collectively made about $100,000 last year, a figure expected to be easily exceeded this time around.

It was the same story for Bill and Donna Campbell of Rancho Cordova, who make rocking horses for children and adults. The couple have rented a booth at the festival’s highly regarded arts and crafts show for 14 of the event’s 15 years. Sales this year exceeded those of 1997 by 50%, Bill Campbell said.

“My sales were the highest they’ve ever been,” he added. “There’s been enough of El Nino and disasters and everything that people are looking to get out and have an enjoyable weekend.”

Traffic turned into near gridlock outside the festival grounds Sunday afternoon as people turned up en masse to catch the 3:30 p.m. performance of ‘70s horn maestros Tower of Power.

“It took us 45 minutes to get in here--and we’re on a motorcycle,” said Frank Czarnecki of Reseda as he stood with girlfriend Cindi Savoie listening to the band.

“The reason we came was to see Tower of Power,” she added, a sentiment apparently shared by many of her fellow festival goers.