04/10/2026
🍓🎉 From 11 booths to 300,000+ visitors… look how far we’ve come! 🎉🍓
On April 8, 1972, the very first Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival took place on just one block of North Sixth Street with only 11 booths—but a whole lot of community spirit ❤️ With 65 parade units and 15,000 visitors, a sweet tradition was born!
The festival was originally co-sponsored by the Ponchatoula Jaycees and the Ponchatoula Chamber of Commerce. As it continued to grow year after year, it eventually became the incredible event it is today—now organized and run by the festival board due to its tremendous size and success!
📅 Festival Dates & Times:
👉 April 10–12
👉 Friday: 11 AM – 8 PM
👉 Saturday: 9 AM – 8 PM
👉 Sunday: 9 AM – 6 PM
And once again, the Ponchatoula Jaycees will be serving beer on the festival grounds 🍺
👉 Come see us during festival hours and try the different strawberry beer options available this year 🍓
Tag your festival crew 👇 and make plans to come out and celebrate with us!
Let’s keep this tradition going strong!
April 8, 1972
The first Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival was held this weekend in 1972. The festival board was organized in 1971 and started planning for the first festival to be held in April 1972. The location of the festival comprised of the first block of North Sixth Street and had only eleven booths. The first annual parade made its way through Ponchatoula with sixty-five units from all over the state. The festival was co-sponsored by the Ponchatoula Jaycees and the Ponchatoula Chamber of Commerce and attracted 15,000 festivalgoers. By 2017, the festival would attract more than 300,000 visitors during its three-day run and become the largest attraction in Southeast Louisiana after Mardi Gras.
