VIRGINIA BEACH — Strawberry season is just around the corner, and while the berries are ripening in the field, a new festival is being planned to celebrate the plump, sweet fruit.

Strawberry Fest at The Beach, a free, new event featuring live music, strawberry vendors and a pie-eating contest, will be held on Laskin Road at the Oceanfront from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 17.

Strawberries from local farms will also be for sale.

“We really want it to be more like a farmer’s market,” said Jesse Wykle, owner of Aloha Snacks restaurant and founder of Laskin Road’s new Artery district.

The city recently recognized the east end of Laskin Road near the beach as The Artery, a food, art and retail hub. The formal recognition enables the city to provide signage and grant opportunities to enhance the district. Strawberry Fest at The Beach will be the Artery’s first big event.

Virginia Beach’s original Pungo Strawberry Festival , which featured carnival rides, a 4-H exhibit and petting zoo, was a three-day tradition held for 36 years, mostly on private property, in the southern part of the city Memorial Day Weekend. The last one was in 2019 and was attended by nearly 100,000 people, according to the organizers.

But it was canceled during the pandemic, and later one of the families who had provided the bulk of the land used for parking decided not to participate, so the event has yet to be revived.

Wykle and other business owners in the Artery want to fill the void. Part of Laskin Road, from the eastside of the roundabout to Pacific Avenue, will be designated for festival foot traffic only. The celebration will also extend onto some of the side streets.

Several local businesses will collaborate with the festival on strawberry-inspired food, drinks and wares including Smartmouth Brewery Co. and Pretty Palm Candle Co.

A portion of the proceeds from sales at the Strawberry Fest at The Beach will raise money EQUI-KIDS therapeutic horseback riding program.