CHRISTINE BALL, president-elect of the Garden Grove Strawberry Festival Association, hands out pieces of strawberry shortcake on Friday (OC Tribune photo).

The 61st Strawberry Festival opened on Friday under sunny skies in and around the Village Green in downtown Garden Grove.  The grounds opened at 1 p.m. and large crowds were soon thronging the park grounds and adjacent area.

A traditional highlight of the first day is the cutting of a huge strawberry shortcake and the handing out of hundreds of pieces of the confection to long lines of waiting guests.

Civic officials, volunteers and others helped pass out the pieces of shortcake, connecting today’s residents to the city’s past as an agricultural center.

On Saturday, another high point will be the festival parade with actress Dawn Wells – best-known as Mary Ann in the TV series “Gilligan’s Island” – as grand marshal. The parade steps off at 10 a.m. and the route goes west from 9th Street, then turns south on Euclid Street to the Village Green area where it breaks up around Stanford Avenue.

The parade will include floats, equestrian units, cars with celebrities, local officials and leaders of local organizations, marching bands and more. After the parade, Wells will be available to sign autographs outside the Courtyard Center building in the park from 1-4 p.m.

Festival hours on Saturday will be 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The weather should be cooler than Friday, with a high of 67 degrees and a low of 56.