Pungo Strawberry Festival

I have been coming to the Pungo Strawberry Festival for several years. This year was absolutely the most hectic and crowded year I can remember. That's incredible for pungo and the festival vendors. Parking is $10 which is pretty pricey. I spend less parking at events at the oceanfront and waterside. It's nothing but locals so I wish they would decrease by $5 considering everything at the festival is pricey and people spend a lot on the food. A little cut in parking would make up for that. Sadly there wasn't as much strawberry items as previous years. I appreciated Lolly's and Sawdust having strawberry inspired drinks. I found a strawberry shortcake dessert and strawberry lemonade and that was about it. Really sad about that as pungo houses a lot of yummy strawberries. Nonetheless this is a local spot that I've come to for years and won't stop now. I just hope it continues to listen to the locals and adjust here and there.

The 35th Annual Pungo Strawberry Festival had the perfect weather on their side the whole weekend for all of their Vendors, Entertainment and Events!!!Great day for Strawberry picking, Strawberry Tacos, Strawberry Shortcake, Chocolate Dipped Strawberries, Strawberry Pie, Strawberry Jam, and STRAWBERRIES !!!!As you start your day walking around, you can freshen up at "The Bee and the Biscuit" with some cold Manmosas, Mimosas, Strawberry Lemonade Crush, or Bloody Mary with some of their fresh homemade biscuits or cinnamon rolls.With so many options such as Carnival Rides, Mechanical Bull, Knocker Ball, 4H Exiibit, Dino Exhibit, Petting Zoo, Pony Rides, Antique Farm Equipment and a Monster Truck display. Also with live entertainment from bands as The DeLoreans, Hot Cakes, Beachnuts, Flatland Bluegrass, The Original Rhondels, Pop Tops, Hard Knox Bluegrass Band, a Tribute to Patsy Kline, Magicians, Clowns, and even a Pie Eating Contest !!!! As your day continues you can stop and eat at A Bite of Maine, Paparak Greek Foods, B & B Kettle Corn, G & J's Funnel Cakes, MORE Strawberries or get a drink at Wild Bills Ole Fashion Soda, Thai Tea & Bubble Tea or at the many other concession stands. But there's also lots of shopping to be done at Matilda Jane Clothing, whom has an awesome sales rep by the name of Kelly Townsend, Popi & Mimi's Pecans, Kangaroo Hats, Fabrique Mermaid (Art Work), Sweet and Sassy (Pungo berry BBQ), and lots more vendors with clothes, dresses, shirts, decals, body art tattoo, and even outfits and scarfs for your pets !!!! So yes they have it all here at the Pungo Strawberry Festival!!! Do come out for a great time !!!! Enjoy the strawberries !!!

This festival hasn't happened since 2019. It was cancelled for COVID for a few years, and in 2023 they announced they couldn't work out a plan for parking with the community, so it's cancelled indefinitely.

Organized chaos is the best way to describe this festival. They offer carnival rides & games, tents for local art and products, kids activities, military, police and firefighter displays, 4-H fair, parade, musical performances and tons of parking. Unfortunately there are usually a tent or two dedicated to "southern pride" aka perpetuated racism in the form of the confederate flag plastered to just about any everyday object you could imagine. These tents have been less common over the years but continue to remain a stain on this festival. As with any festival it's crazy crowded and crazy expensive. Don't complain about it, just embrace it.A family of 4 can expect to spend anywhere from $200-$400 for a full day at the festival including games, rides, activities and food.

Finally was able to make it during a sunny day! Cash only for parking. Lots of vendors with handmade gifts which is great. The Amish Donuts are amazing!!! I had the glaze covered one and it's so fluffy soft, I wish I would have ordered more to go. The old fashioned soda was also delicious.

Family tradition. Our family has visited the festival almost every year for 8 years. My girls look forward to it. As usual, we had a great time. Parking was crazy but we've come to expect it. We checked out the pig races, the carnival rides, and picked strawberries. A few notes for newbies:- event admission is free but parking is $10- this is a small country area so traffic can build up easily - be patient- during the rest of the strawberry season, you can bring your own container for "you pick" - during the festival you buy a pre-paid basket or two- the carnival only does unlimited ride wristbands on Friday night, Saturday and Sunday is tickets only - tickets are $1 each and the rides vary between 3-6 tickets - get a seat to any show you are interested in as early as you can, spots fill up quick!This is a fun, family friendly event.

Love it. We have so much fun at the festival. Our kids have plenty to do. The food is great. We tried gator bites this year and they were good. Snocones are great. We had dippin dots!!! The vendors were all so polite.I just wish the ticket booths took cards and wasn't cash only.

Your average festival/fair. Decent dog shows, magic tricks, animal races, etc. to keep the kids (& your inner child) entertained. Cons: - My friends and I couldn't find any alcohol. - Parking took forever.... & costs $10. - Should have more seating areas (the main ones were reserved for seniors/handicapped, but one of us was pregnant...shouldn't that count for something in the blazing heat? ). - Also, for a strawberry festival, there were limited options to eat strawberries... only funnel cakes, tacos, nachos, & regular strawberries. It was more of a BBQ festival with some strawberry stands for dessert. Fun time with friends. But, not sure I'd do it again.

So I've been to the Pungo Strawberry Festival 3x total. This year we sat in line to park our cars for over 1.5 hours on Princess Anne Rd, paid $10 for parking at the old air strip (bc I like parking there since it's paved and easier to get in and out of), and it was so crowded that we could barely walk around once we got there. I realize it's a small-town thing and I liked it in the past because it reminds me of our small carnival in my country home-town of Buchanan, VA - but the parking situation is a nightmare and the traffic back-up gets worse and worse every single year. Once you pass the stoplight the road is shut down for the festival and there is shopping, food, etc. Further down there is another area with several food carts and a stage with a band playing live music. There is also a small carnival which is really cute with tons of rides and some good fried carnival-type food.Honestly it wasn't worth the wait and the crowd - I won't be going back.

The Pungo Strawberry Festival is a fun way to emphasize the strawberry picking farms in the area, and use the strawberries for some tasty sweets. There are games, rides, pig racing and fest food to enjoy with your family and friends. I always love the idea of the strawberry fest, however I always find it lacking. Parking is easy, however it is $10, of which I only ever spend 1-2 hours here and don't think that is a reasonable price, especially since this is more so an event for locals. Ironically, the festival lacks in strawberries. We were able to get a strawberry shortcake and strawberry float, but that was pretty much it. Perhaps there was another strawberry dessert stand, but we missed it if there was. I surely believe it can be a lot better, and hope that next year they use some of the funds to add more to it. A lot of families attend, as well as groups of friends, so I hope it gets better and better each year.