WHEREAS, the Pungo Strawberry Festival, a two-day, family-friendly event that has delighted generations of Virginia Beach residents and visitors, celebrates its 35th anniversary in 2018; and

WHEREAS, held in the rural community of Pungo in southern Virginia Beach, the Pungo Strawberry Festival was established in 1983, and its annual attendance has more than doubled from 50,000 at the inaugural festival to more than 120,000 people in 2017; and

WHEREAS, the Pungo Strawberry Festival features mouth-watering local strawberries presented in more than 50 different ways, from strawberry jams and sauces to strawberry pies, chocolate-covered strawberries, and other delicacies; and

WHEREAS, the Pungo Strawberry Festival is well-known for its lively activities, including a pie-eating contest, a bake-off, live entertainment on three stages, carnival rides, a livestock show, a petting zoo, and a youth art show; and

WHEREAS, the Pungo Strawberry Festival also supports local vendors and small businesses that offer festival-goers a wide array of unique items and handmade crafts; and

WHEREAS, a nonprofit organization, the Pungo Strawberry Festival prides itself on supporting the young people in the community through the Nelson Brock Memorial Scholarship Award and has donated more than $600,000 in proceeds to charitable causes and service organizations; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That the Pungo Strawberry Festival hereby be commended for its legacy of contributions to the Virginia Beach community on the occasion of its 35th anniversary; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the Pungo Strawberry Festival as an expression of the House of Delegates' admiration for the importance of this beloved local tradition.