About Us

   
Located in the heart of the Artesian Belt, Poteet is recognized as the "Strawberry Capital of Texas".  No doubt, Henry and Ida Mumme, the city's founders, would be amazed to see what acclaim is now attached to the crop which started as a few rows in Mumme's kitchen garden.
The first year of marketing Poteet strawberries proved very successful and strawberries sold for $20....that's more than they sell for on today's market.  In 1921 a group of Poteet citizens invited guests from San Antonio to partake in its new found delicacies.  Headlines in the San Antonio Express read, "Crimson Berries Beckon Hungry Tourists to Poteet."  The Poteet Rotary Club continued the tradition when it organized the 1st Annual Poteet Strawberry Festival in 1948.

The Poteet Strawberry Festival Association will celebrate the 65th Annual Poteet Strawberry Festival on April 13, 14 & 15, 2012.  Since the annual event draws crowds in excess of 100,000, the demand for Poteet strawberries is greater than the supply.  Unfortunately, outside strawberry markets move into the Poteet area to take advantage of the crowds.  The Association has no control of vendors outside the Festival Grounds.  However, to assure that our guests are getting the genuine articles, all local berries will be in newly designed boxes which state "Fresh Produce-Poteet, Texas" during Festival Weekend.  The Poteet growers are also offered locations on the Festival Grounds to sell their berries.

For information on Poteet strawberries and their availability at other times, call our office at 888-742-8144. Or, email Carol Rivera at carol-rivera@sbcglobal.net, or Anna Palacios-Skurka at annaskurka@sbcglobal.net.

Scholarships

Poteet is a very small, rural agricultural community with limited resources at the command of its citizens. Over two decades ago the Poteet Strawberry Festival Association (PSFA) established a Scholarship Program. The Association saw its Scholarship Program as an avenue by which local young people could attain a higher education. 
 
Each year the Annual Festival funds approximately thirty scholarships to Poteet graduates. The Association alone donates at least ten scholarships each year. Most of its seven member organizations donates from two to four scholarships each year and many of the thirty or so non-profit church, school and civic organizations that operate food booths on the Festival Grounds during the Annual Festival donate scholarships as well.
 
Several years ago, in an effort to supply additional support and encouragement for these ambitious young people, the Poteet Strawberry Festival pledged continuing scholarships to those students who remained in college and maintained their grades. The purpose was to see that those who wished to graduate and earn a degree could, enabling them to become more productive citizens. 

Going Green

You may have noticed our Going Green Logo on all our pages. The Poteet Strawberry Festival Association is doing our part for the environment by Going Green. By the 2011 festival, all forms and entries will be completed online, saving tons of paper and ultimately trees. Thanks for supporting us in this effort!

Be sure to visit our store on the grounds to get your Festival merchandise!