ARE THERE MORE STRAWBERRIES... in a large bowl on a kitchen counter or are there more strawberry-themed contests at the annual California Strawberry Festival in Oxnard? Well, it depends on the size of the bowl, of course, and how big those berries happen to be. But trust that the well-known carnival and food-fun fest, which runs around the middle of May each year, always boasts a whole bowlful of interesting competitions and showdowns. For the most part? The contests happen during the festival, like the Berry Best Dressed Baby Contest, the Strawberry Pie Eating Contest, and the Strawberry Relay, which involves you and your teammate going "...through a series of obstacles to assemble and then consume a strawberry dish in record time." The Strawberry Tart Toss and the Berry Best Hat Contest also flower during the big weekend, but one major contest happens months before May. It's on now, with a deadline of the first of February, so if you want to submit your best strawberry-mazing artwork to the...
ANNUAL POSTER CONTEST... for the California Strawberry Festival, the moment is ripe. The prize is $2000, plus the chance to see your artwork touting the popular festival. You can see what past posters have looked like, for inspiration, at the festival's site, or perhaps you just need to visit the produce drawer in your fridge to summon a great idea. Whatever path you take, think of the sort of design which might best represent the festival, which celebrates its 35th annual year on Saturday, May 19 and Sunday, May 20, 2018. Artwork dimensions, rules, more guidelines? All right here and here. Perusing winners from years gone by? Always fascinating to see the themes, hues, fonts, and other details change of the years (and, yep, strawberries are always the stars). Eye those now, then jump into an early contest now, one that doesn't even require you to wear a strawberry-bedecked hat or to toss a strawberry tart. Unless, of course, both of those things give you inspiration, then definitely go for it.