Virginia Beach, Va. - The 31st Annual Pungo Strawberry Festival is this weekend.
"Not many places you can go that's alcohol free - that you don't have to worry about a lot of shenanigans and worry about the safety of your family. It's a very down home, small town feel," said Alicia Jones, public relations coordinator of the Pungo Strawberry Festival.
Part of Princess Anne Road will be closed through the Memorial Day weekend as more than 100,000 people from all over travel to Hampton Roads to experience what the festival is all about. But what's even more unique this year is that the Food Network is in town, highlighting the festival in an all new show called "Carnival Eats," which premieres this August.
"It's a ton of fun. We're traveling across North America. We're going to be visiting almost 30 different fairs and carnivals, looking for this new world that's kind of taken over the carnival industry, which is the element of food," said Noah Cappe, host of the show.
NewsChannel 3 caught up with Cappe as he and his crew were taping an episode of the show, which will feature a unique strawberry pizza made at the festival.
"It used to be about the rides and the games and the amusement. But food has kind of become the new star, so we're tracking down the wildest and kind of craziest concoctions, and I'm going to eat them," said Cappe.
Festival organizers are banking on great weather this year after a soggy festival last year.
"The fields were flooded, very, very muddy. Obviously it's difficult to set up that heavy equipment on the mud, but at the last minute, we got enough sand trucks in here so we were able to save the day," said Jones.
NewsChannel 3's team of meteorologists are forecasting favorable weather through the Memorial Day weekend, making way for a promising festival.
Festival admission and parking will cost $10.
