The Little Miss Strawberry contestants excitedly primp their pink dresses and adjust their sparkling tiaras in anticipation of the pageant’s beginning. The lighthearted event—in which girls compete in five different age groupings—is one of many novel attractions at BerryFest. A Mother's Day–weekend tradition, the festival marks the year's harvest by bringing together local farmers with a host of vendors, sponsors, and entertainment acts at Placer County Fairgrounds.

Daytime revelers can indulge in a surplus of diverse, certified-organic berries, which can be purchased whole or in the form of inventive eats such as strawberry pizza or strawberry barbecue sauce. The festival also includes a beer garden, a no-hands shortcake-eating contest, and a Sunday car show. Plus, kids can stay occupied all weekend long with an onsite petting zoo, carnival, and daily parade.