Suppose you want to do a little smaller festival but just as much fun as the French Quarter Festival. I suggest crossing the lake and bringing the kids to the Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival in Ponchatoula, Louisiana.
The Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival is canceled for 2020.
I took my kids last year have some great suggestions for enjoying the festival with your children.
Open Up the Festival!
Friday is the least crowded day of the festival. This is when we went and it wasn't very crowded.
We parked off of S.E.R.R. Ave. and E. Pine.
Saturday, they open at 9. Sunday, the festival opens at 10. Your kids will wake you up early anyway. Go early before the crowds.
Most Vendors Are Cash Only.
I saw maybe three vendors that took credit cards. There are ATMs located throughout the Festival, but I suggest planning and bringing cash.
Window Shop Before Buying Food
There was so much food. I could easily be the Bubba Gump of strawberries.
Vendors sold fried strawberries, strawberry nachos, strawberry cheesecake, chocolate-dipped strawberries, strawberry shortcake, strawberry wine, and many more items. There were many items without strawberries in them as well.
I would scope out the food area, pick what you are really interested in, pick a few dishes, and split them with friends. Otherwise, you may get too stuffed to try that one dish that you really want.
My daughter loved the chocolate covered strawberries.
Rides and Games for the Kids
Tickets for the rides are $1 each. Most rides were 3 to 4 tickets. They have a Tilt-A-Whirl, Ferris wheel, big slide, and plenty of rides for the littles. There were lots of games that seemed to cost about $5 a game.
Buy Things to Bring Home Last
Vendors are selling many things that I did not want to carry around, so we did not buy our items until we started heading back to the car. There is a lot of walking, and a flat of strawberries is heavy!
Have fun!
