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VIRGINIA BEACH — A longtime festival that celebrated the agricultural heritage of Pungo and one of its most prized commodities is canceled for the fourth year in a row despite organizers’ attempts to bring it back.
“I’ve got no place to have the party,” said Todd Jones, chair of the nonprofit group behind the festival.
The Pungo Strawberry Festival was last held in 2019 and attended by about 100,000 people, Jones said. It’s been popular among families for 36 years.
Traditionally held over a three-day weekend at the end of May along a two-lane road in the southern part of the city, the festival relied heavily on private property for its popular carnival rides and for parking.
The organizers canceled it in 2020 and 2021 during the height of the pandemic. Last year, they intended to bring it back, but one of the families who had provided the bulk of the land used for parking decided not to participate, Jones said.
“That just pulled the rug out from under us,” he said.
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The festival board members scrambled to come up with another plan. They met with city officials and considered other venues with the goal of keeping the event in or near Pungo to retain its “country, hometown feel,” Jones said.
They looked at land off Princess Anne Road at the amphitheater, the sports center and the farmers market, but none of them had enough space for parking, carnival rides and vendors, Jones said.
“We had such a large footprint that it’s hard to duplicate it somewhere else,” he said. “We ran out of options and, eventually, we ran out of time.”
Roy Flanagan, who owns a U-pick strawberry farm in Pungo, said the festival had become so popular it was a traffic headache for neighbors, but it also raised awareness about Virginia Beach’s agricultural heritage for the countless families who attended.
“My kids, they’re disappointed more than anybody,” he said.
Weekend Scoop
Pungo Strawberry Festival featured live entertainment, military tributes, pig races, pony rides, 4-H exhibits, a petting zoo and youth art exhibits. It was funded by carnival ticket sales, donations and vendor and parking fees. Excess proceeds were given back to the community for college scholarships for local students and donations to nonprofit groups.
Robert Vaughan of Vaughan Farm’s Produce, south of Pungo, has been a vendor at the festival for years. He sold strawberries, jams and sauces, and it was a big moneymaker for his farm, he said.
“That was one weekend set aside for strawberries,” Vaughan said. “We’re kind of missing that limelight shining on us.”
Jones is hoping the festival can be revived one day.
“We haven’t thrown in the towel; we just want to come up with some new creative ideas,” Jones said.
Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com