THE 2022 STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL (and parade) is coming to Garden Grove this weekend (Tribune photo).

After a two-year coronavirus hiatus, the Garden Grove Strawberry Festival is back with celebrities, music, rides, food, a parade and more.

This year’s theme is “Celebrating Essential Workers.” The celebrity parade grand marshal is Kathy Garver of TV’s “Family Affair,” and the theme grand marshal is Tom DaRe, Garden Grove’s chief of police and a Garden Grove native.

The festival is held in and around Village Green park in the downtown area of the city at Main and Euclid streets from Friday through Monday this Memorial Day weekend.

Special education students from area schools will get a sneak peek at the festival on Thursday. Not only is the festival a fun weekend for people all across West Orange County, it’s a way to raise money for non-profit and civic organizations in Garden Grove.

The highlight of the event is the parade on Saturday morning beginning at 10. The parade route begins at 9th Street and Chapman Avenue and travels west along Chapman, and then turns south on Euclid Street and concludes as it passes the Village Green at Stanford Avenue.

Another popular tradition is the welcoming ceremony and cake-cutting ceremony on Friday at 6 p.m. It’s held at the Showmobile at Main and Acacia streets, near the Gem Theater. Get your piece of the huge strawberry cake, a reminder of what was once the community’s signature agricultural product.

There’s a wide variety of rides and attractions, contests, musical performances at the Showmobile and in the Garden Amphitheater, vendor booths and more.

For complete details, schedules and more, go to: https://strawberryfestival.org .

Note to readers: The Orange County Tribune is a sponsor of the 2022 Garden Grove Strawberry Festival.