College Park is a municipal park and recreation area located in Oxnard, California, United States. The California Strawberry Festival was held in the park's Strawberry Meadows section for 28 years.
Description The (September 9, 2002) "Debate On Site For Museum Continues", Ventura County Star. Retrieved December 4, 2025. "Mayor Manuel Lopez and others see things from a different perspective. They say the museum should not be put at College Park because it would result in evicting the Rainbow Recovery Centers from two old farmhouses. Rainbow Recovery helps women battle alcohol and drug addictions." park is flanked to the south by Oxnard College, and to the west—across South Rose Avenue—by Channel Islands High School. In addition to playgrounds and grassy areas, the park has facilities for various sports including baseball, soccer and cross country running.Dransfeldt, Jeffrey (September 9, 2003) "Oak Park Teams Off and Running", Ventura County Star. Retrieved December 4, 2025. "Runners navigated a three-mile course at College Park in Oxnard." It has been used on occasion by the Oxnard Fire Department to stage their training drills.Kirman, Chuck (October 10, 2003) "Working on Safety", Ventura County Star. Retrieved December 4, 2025. "Oxnard Fire Department firefighter Al Braff, far right, and Capt. Dave Moon drag a dummy out of a structure during a training session at College Park in Oxnard on Wednesday."
History The early history of the Oxnard Plain is characterized by its agricultural heritage.Varela, Brian J. (February 1, 2023) "Strawberry Festival Is Back With New Location", Ventura County Star. Retrieved December 11, 2025. In 1985, a Rainbow Recovery Center women's drug rehabilitation franchise was set up in two old farmhouses on the north side of the property that would come to be known as College Park.Gaona, Elena (July 6, 2002) "Oxnard Unveils Plans for College Park", Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 5, 2025. Starting in 1991, the California Strawberry Festival was held at a portion of the park known as Strawberry Meadows(May 5, 2004) "About the Fest: The 21st Annual California Strawberry Festival Takes Place Saturday and Sunday at Strawberry Meadows of College Park in Oxnard", Ventura County Star. Retrieved December 8, 2025. for 28 years until 2019, after which it was halted for three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival moved to the Ventura County Fairgrounds in 2023."The Legacy", California Strawberry Festival. Retrieved December 8, 2025. While the park's lack of fixed seating generally made it unattractive for music concerts (festival-goers generally sat on hay bales),Decker, Sabrina (May 19, 2002) "Life's Just a Bowl of Strawberry Shortcake", Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved December 12, 2025. "Bales of hay served as makeshift seats as visitors enjoyed their treats and the show." The Reggae Jam on the Coast festival began to be hosted there starting in 1994, which drew thousands of patrons each year.Pattison, Kermit (August 5, 1995) "Reggae Festival Coming Back to College Park In Oxnard", Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved December 4, 2025. "'It's a lot of great music,' said Eileen Cummins, a publicist for the event. 'We've got some of the top names in reggae.' Organizers expect about 8,000 people to throng to the two-day festival in the park. The first show last year attracted about 6,000 people, organizers said." The following year, Mexican Independence Day was celebrated in the park with a large .Blechman, Andrew D. (September 15, 1995) "Las Fiestas Patrias Set at College Park", Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 13, 2025.
Originally, of the park was owned by the city of Oxnard, while the remaining belonged to Ventura County.Brown, Stacy (March 20, 2000) "Oxnard City Close to Taking Over College Park", Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 14, 2025. "Two years ago, the city, which had owned 50 acres of the park, decided to turn over its share to the county for development. But the cost of maintaining the facility has proved too great for the county, which now wants to transfer full ownership back to the city, Zaragoza said." In 1998, Oxnard turned its portion of the property over to the county, and the park immediately began to be the subject of discussion amongst public officials regarding the question of what constituted the best possible usage of the grounds. Some of the proposals including adding a water park and a Minor League Baseball field.Chi, Chris (February 12, 1998) "College Park's Future Discussed by Officials", Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 4, 2025. Eventually, county officials came to the conclusion that the expenditures far exceeded any potential revenue that the county might have been able to receive from running the park, so in April 2000 they transferred the entire property back to the city of Oxnard. The deed stipulated that development of the property was to be limited to "parks and recreation purposes" only. A proposal for a farm museum that was brought before the city council in 2002 was controversial; it called for one of the farmhouses then occupied by the drug rehabilitation center to be appropriated for use by the museum. This necessitated the eviction and possible closure of the rehab facility, a move that was opposed by the mayor, Manuel Lopez. The mayor tasked his staff with pleading the case with county officials, in the hope that an interpretation of the deed could be found that would allow the facility to remain. The facility's director claimed she received many letters from residents who also opposed the eviction. The $15-million master plan for the property—which was to include a park, a dog park, baseball and soccer fields, picnic areas, playgrounds, a community center and gym, jogging and bicycle trails, and a farm heritage museum area complete with a blacksmith's shop—called for the rehab facility's relocation no later than January 2004.(October 8, 2002) "Oxnard Council to Vote on Plan for College Park", Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 15, 2025. "If the master plan is approved, the Rainbow Recovery Center must move by January 2004, city officials said." In 2023, a recreation center complete with an Olympic-size swimming pool was still in the planning stages.Varela, Brian J. (January 23, 2023) "Oxnard Shrinks Size of Planned Aquatics Center Competition Pool at College Park", Ventura County Star. Retrieved December 15, 2025. "Oxnard scaled back the size of the competition swimming pool for its planned aquatics center at College Park following a $9.5 million increase to the project cost."
References
External links
City of Oxnard Parks & Recreation Master Plan (February 2021)