Ventura's California Strawberry Festival Review

This is a special post written by M'lady L. We went to the Strawberry Festival in Ventura last week and...yeah. I will let her describe this experience. Enjoy! Or not.

“The California Strawberry Festival is back at the Ventura County Fairgrounds on May 16-17, 2026! Located beachside with stunning views, Ventura’s lively Downtown is blocks away, offering dining, hotels, and nightlife. Conveniently situated off the 101 freeway, parking, free shuttles, and nearby Amtrak access make getting here a breeze. Join us for the ultimate summer kickoff while supporting the community in a BIG way. Indulge in your favorite strawberry treats like build-your-own shortcakes, chocolate-covered delights, and refreshing strawberry beer. With over 40 food vendors, live music, and a plethora of arts and crafts booths, there’s something for everyone. Don’t miss out on this unforgettable experience in 2026!”

I honestly don’t even know how to properly score this festival because there were so many separate issues that combined into one miserable experience. The festival itself was just “okay,” but the transportation problems and misleading information completely ruined the day.

The biggest issue is that the festival website is extremely vague. There’s very little information about what first-time attendees should actually expect, so we relied heavily on what they did say - which turned out to be a mistake.

First problem: parking. The website describes parking as “extremely limited” (their exact words) and makes it sound like there are maybe 50 spaces available for $30. Because of that, we worried about driving all the way from LA only to end up circling for parking or getting turned away. So instead, we decided to take the train.

Huge mistake.

Metrolink had a whole promotional page for the Strawberry Festival encouraging people to ride Amtrak/Metrolink to the event. It specifically listed train times and train numbers supposedly added for the festival. Since it sounded easy and convenient, we followed their instructions. We got to Union Station around 8 AM for a 9:13 departure, and even figuring out tickets and platforms was confusing. In a rush, I downloaded the app, only to realize you apparently can’t buy two tickets together, so my partner had to download the app too and buy his own pass. We each paid $10 based on the special festival recommendation.

Then the conductors never checked a single ticket.

Not once.

They said there were too many people to check fares. So right away, that felt like wasted money.

The train itself was overcrowded, barely any seats left, people sitting everywhere. After a long two-hour ride, the one positive was that the train dropped us directly next to the festival entrance.

Then we got inside and discovered another thing: nobody checked our festival tickets either.

We paid about $17 each, which may not sound expensive to some people, but for me that’s a lot for a small local festival. Especially considering I had just gone to the fair the week before for cheaper. So now we had spent $54 total between train fare and festival admission, and none of it was even verified.

As for the festival itself, it was fine. The strawberry food was good. We enjoyed the strawberry shortcake, fresh strawberries, BBQ, and crab fries. Honestly, the food was better than the food at the fair. But again, the website did a terrible job explaining what this event actually is. The “Arts & Crafts” section sounded like displays or exhibits, but it was really just vendor booths selling soaps, lotions, and handmade clothes. My partner expected more of a giant strawberry farmers market with strawberry products and produce vendors. I expected something smaller and simpler too.

Neither of us realized it was basically a mini fair with giant food courts and multiple concert stages blasting loud music all day. There were three different stages competing with each other, and you could hear all of them at once almost everywhere.

Now for the final disaster: the train ride home.

The special festival page listed trains departing at 12:53 PM and 2:34 PM. We debated leaving early but decided to stay for the 2:34 train. Around 2 PM we headed to the station to wait.

No train came.

At 3 PM, still no train.

While checking schedules online, I discovered the normal Amtrak schedule actually showed trains at 1:30 and 3:30 — not the “special festival” times Metrolink advertised. We had literally watched a train leave at 1:30 earlier and thought it was just passing through because it wasn’t on the festival schedule.

Turns out the listed 12:53 and 2:34 trains apparently did not exist.

So we ended up stranded at the station for over two hours while the platform got more and more crowded. Then the actual train arrived 45 minutes late around 4:13 PM. By that point I was so frustrated I was crying. We had already spent two hours riding there, spent hours waiting for a nonexistent train, then had another two-hour ride back to Union Station. That completely ruined the experience.

At first we had actually said, “This wasn’t too bad, maybe we’d come back someday.” But the transportation disaster, misleading parking information, and incorrect train schedule completely changed that. Too many lies, too much confusion, and way too much stress for what ended up being a very average festival. We will not be returning.