Every year people from all over come together to enjoy the sweet, juicy goodness of strawberries at the annual Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival.
As the name implies, the festival revolves around the regional grown fruit. Around every corner there were strawberry vendors selling items such as strawberry lemonade, strawberries and cream, and even deep-fried strawberries. Southeastern’s own Phi Mu was serving up ice cream, specifically strawberry ice cream, to festival goers.
The ladies of Phi Mu were not the only Southeastern organization serving the crowd. Others such as Theta Phi Alpha and Kappa Alpha were putting on their best faces to get everything strawberry out to the crowd.
While kids had their fun with gaming booths and over a dozen rides that begged to be ridden, the adults also had plenty to do including drinking a sweet strawberry daiquiri or a strawberry flavored beer.
Even at a family festival, police were scattered around the alcohol vendors making sure there was no trouble.
“We haven’t had to arrest anyone so far. Hopefully it stays that way because I want everyone to enjoy their time here,” said Sheriff deputy Bobby Carter. “I hope everyone stays smart about it so I don’t have to ruin the fun. We will ID anyone who we think is underage, but no problems yet.”
Besides the tons of delicious- looking food there were two stages set up for performers.
Waylan Thibadoux and Black Magnolia were just two out of the numerous performers that entertained the crowd. Over 29 events kept the wrestless visitors occupied.
The Strawberry Festival Parade that kicked off at 9 a.m. on Saturday April 13. The festival’s royalty rode around showing their gratitude to the people by throwing beads, candy and various goods. The Strawberry Queen XLII was honored to Nicole Gonzalez, Southeastern alumna with a Bachelors degree in Mass Communications. The Strawberry King XLII was honored to Mark E. Landry, also a Southeastern alumnus.
“We really enjoyed ourselves. The whole family did,” said grandmother of three Nancy Phams of Baton Rouge. “The best part for me is the strawberries. I loved it. I will probably come next year. The worst part was the sun beating down and the amounts of people, but I guess that’s good for the festival and bad for me.”
Besides the festival’s parade, there were also various contests. There was a Jambalaya Cook-Off, a Strawberry Desert Bake-Off and a Holey Board Tournament.
The Jambalaya Cook-Off overall winner was Team Branch Real Estate, the Strawberry Desert Bake-Off overall winner was Shirley Stanga for her Strawberry Surprise Cake and the winners for the Holey Board Tournament were Bert St. Romaine, Kyle Majesty and Daryl Perrin.