Strawberries take over downtown Watsonville!

About 40,000 thousand people are expected to come to the 23rd annual Watsonville Strawberry Festival.

“We come every year because we like enjoying riding the rides and coming to see everything,” said event goer Natalie Gabriel.

The festival in downtown Watsonville served up everything from funnel cake to strawberry tacos, nachos and pizza.

“I came specifically for this pizza and I’m glad I came,” said Dannah Antonio of Gilroy. “Yum it’s so good.”

The iconic strawberry pizza is the brainchild of the Contingo Program. They were one of about a dozen different nonprofits on Strawberry Lane using their cream cheese, mozzarella and strawberries creation to raise money for their local cause.

“The Contigo Program, it’s one of our gang prevention and intervention wrap around programs in the city,” said Chris Miranda with the Contigo Program.

But the festival is not just about eating strawberries in delicious and wacky ways. It pays homage to the fruit which is the biggest crop in Pajaro Valley. Growing and harvesting it provides thousands of jobs and a big part of the local economy.

“Out of the 13 major growers, 11 of them are based out of the Pajaro Valley,” said strawberry festival coordinator Israel Tirado. “So it is a big, important crop, big industry for our community.”

But Watsonville city officials said there is now concern around keeping the crop growing. Immigration policies along with low wages and high cost of living translate to a shortage of workers.

“They’re getting paid enough to survive, but the cost of housing is so high in our area that now they’re facing a big issue,” said Watsonville Mayor Oscar Rios.

Rios said the city is in the process of working with ag companies to try and combat the issue.

“That means building affordable housing especially for the workers that are the basic backbone of the strawberry industry,” said Rios.

The festival will kick off again Sunday from 10am-7.