The McLoud Blackberry Festival began in the early 1940's as a celebration of the end of harvest season for the local cash farm crop, blackberries. Since harvest season was completed just before July 4th, when a community picnic had been held since the town was founded June 21, 1895, the two were combined to create the annual Blackberry festival. The town received national media coverage in 1949 when the Blackberry Growers Association and the McLoud Chamber of Commerce sent a crate of berries via overnight air freight to President Harry Truman. He said they were the best he had ever tasted and then declared McLoud to be the "Blackberry Capital of the World". The association disbanded in 1963 due to a poor market and farmers moved on to a more lucrative crop. While blackberry farming may no longer be the agricultural strength of McLoud, the festival still celebrates this history by continuing to hold this exciting event for the city and draws thousands of attendees from across the nation. The McLoud Blackberry Festival is the longest running food-related festival in the state of Oklahoma!
ADMISSION TO THE FESTIVAL IS FREE!
Information for the festival is posted to this page as it becomes available!
Information for the festival is posted to this page as it becomes available!
CLICK THE BUTTON BELOW FOR MORE INFORMATION
(information is constantly updated as soon as it is available)
Fresh blackberries by the quart, official blackberry jam, official festival t-shirts & more are available in the Chamber's booth under the pavilion - WHILE SUPPLIES LAST! Our official blackberry cobbler is sold at Barbells & BBQ next to the pavilion - WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!
PARKING - "AT YOUR OWN RISK": There are several places to park but the majority of spaces can be found on 8th St. and are an easy walking distance straight through the park with periodic golf cart shuttles when volunteers are available. Some of those locations on 8th Street include the 2 lots at the new park end expansion, McLoud United Methodist Church, McLoud church of Christ, First Baptist Church of McLoud and the McLoud Secondary Schools has a ton of parking on Seikel as well. DO NOT BLOCK DRIVEWAYS, FIRE HYDRANTS, OTHER CARS, etc.