What You Need to Know If You’re Heading to Strawberry Fest
We’ve had our eye on the Strawberry Festival for a while and we were determined to make it happen. If we could manage with an infant and a toddler, you can, but we learned some things along the way.
The Ponchatoula event is this weekend, April 12-14, at Memorial Park on North 6th Street.
It’s the largest, free harvest festival in Louisiana, held each April.
This is the 52nd year of celebrating local strawberry farmers and non-profits.
The Schedule
Now, the times are different each day and each day offers various attractions.
Friday: 12 p.m.- 11 p.m.
Saturday: 9 a.m.- 11 p.m. with a parade starting at 9:30 a.m.
Strawberry eating contest starts at 1:45 on the North Stage.
Sunday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. with an egg toss starting at 11 a.m. on the North Stage.
Strawberry eating contest starts at 12:45 on the North Stage.
Regardless of what day you go, you’ll find carnival rides and food vendors.
The first thing I would note for families is that bathrooms weren’t super easy to find and might take some time wading through crowds to get to them quickly. Make sure you find a bathroom before you go and for toddlers, use a car potty if you have one.
What To Bring
- Sunscreen and Water
Plan for a hot weekend and limited shade. We found ourselves wishing we had worn hats and maybe even brought our travel fan to clip onto our stroller.
- Travel Stroller
With crowds of people, you’re going to want to bring your minimal strollers and a bag with space to take home any boxes of strawberries or carnival prizes you win. Our hands were full between the kids and things we bought. The diaper bag didn’t have much room to begin with and our back was bursting by the end.
- Cash
While entry is free, only cash is accepted for things like ride tickets and goodies at booths. Some booths accepted Venmo as well.
Parking
It’s about a 45 minute drive to get to the area from Baton Rouge. Once you get there, there’s no designated parking. There’s several lots where you can park for a fee, most charging around $20. Some street parking is free but limited. We were able to find a free spot but it was competitive.
Booths
There are over 40 booths from local non-profit organizations:
- A New Beginning Ministry
- A Touch of Class Boosters
- Akindelas Fraternity
- Albany Masonic Lodge
- American Legion Post 47
- Annie Bessie Foundation
- A’Reya’s Angels
- Blood River Church of God
- Boy Scouts of America Troop 100
- Boy Scouts of America Troop 170
- Boy Scouts of America Troop 172
- Breaux Bridge Junior High Booster Club
- Challenge Girls Club
- Charlie Landry Foundation
- Congregation of the Most Blessed Sacrament
- Courtney Christian School
- DC Reeves Elementary School
- Delta Tau Delta Fraternity
- First Baptist Church of Ponchatoula
- First Pentecostal Church
- First UPC of Ponchatoula
- Gideon’s International
- Hammond Yankees
- Hammond High Magnet School Soccer Team
- Kappa Sigma Fraternity
- Kid’s Sports, Inc.
- Louisiana Shockers Fast Pitch Softball
- Louisiana State Police
- Louisiana Swarm Softball
- Ponchatoula High School Band
- Ponchatoula High School Future Farmers of America
- Ponchatoula High School Key Club
- Ponchatoula High School Softball
- Ponchatoula Chamber of Commerce
- Ponchatoula Jaycees
- Ponchatoula Junior High
- Ponchatoula Kiwanis Club
- Ponchatoula Knights of Columbus
- Ponchatoula Masters Club
- Ponchatoula Rotary Club
- Quad Area Vets Baseball Team
- Redemption Christian Center
- Sigma Sigma Sigma Sorority
- Sigma Tau Gamma Fraternity Alumni
- Special Olympics Louisiana Northshore
- Strength Outcomes with Autism Resources
- Swamp Elite Retreat
- Tangipahoa Parish Fair Association
- The Italian Festival
- Theta Phi Alpha Sorority
- Totus Tuus Leadership Foundation Conquest Youth
- Trinity Baptist Church
- Trojan Elite Track Club
- Youth’s Entering in the Spirit
- Zeta Phi Beta Sorority
If you want to know more about becoming a food vendor for next year, click here.
Music
You can find the performance schedules for each day here.
Safety Tips
- Mark your phone number on your child’s arm or attach an air tag
- Take a picture of your children the morning you attend the festival.
- If they get lost, it will be easier for authorities to help find them if they know exactly what they look like.
- Always remind your children to stay put if they get lost.
