The Saanich Strawberry Festival is back serving up sweet strawberries and ice cream on July 8.
The annual festival at Beaver Lake Park is celebrating its 56th year, but this year the district is switching up the day.
“We normally do it on the Sunday, but this year they made the change because the Pride Festival is happening on Sunday the 9th, so we made the decision to switch the event to Saturday,” Saanich Mayor Dean Murdock said.
The event gets underway at 11 a.m. with inflatables, food vendors, face painting, art activities, local vendors and entertainment throughout the day.
Council will start serving up strawberries and ice cream from 1-3 p.m., or until supplies run out.
“We expect probably thousands of people is often what happens,” Murdock said. “I would say it’s probably our most popular event, likely because it’s been going on for so long. A lot of people have memories of doing this when they were a kid and even grandparents talk about how they used to come out to the park when they were kids.”
Strawberry and ice cream tickets are $1 each. There is no bank machine on site so people are asked to bring cash.
Additionally, the District of Saanich warns since this event is popular the parking lot often fills quickly. There will be additional parking at both Saanich Commonwealth Place and at the grassy overflow parking off Elk Lake Drive, with a free shuttle bus making trips throughout the day.
Capital Bike is also hosting a bike valet near the main stage for those who want to avoid the traffic.
More information on the event can be found online.
Mackenzie Read
