Red, White and Blueberry Festival brings many to Ocean Springs

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (WLOX) - The Red, White, and Blueberry Festival returned to Ocean Springs, and hundreds of people stopped by downtown to enjoy free ice cream and art vendors.

“I think people heard ahead of time that the ice cream was coming from Kilwins, so I think that’s what made the line a little bit long,” said Cynthia Dobbs-Sutton, executive director for the Ocean Springs Chamber of Commerce. “This is a fun event. Last year we had 5,000 scoops of ice cream. We’re hoping for that or a little more this year.”

Vanilla ice cream topped with fresh berries kept people cool. It’s a tradition that’s supported by local businesses.

“We partnered with the Ocean Springs Fresh Market. They bring all these vendors out and then we set up a tent with ice cream topped with strawberries and blueberries from our local vendors. This year the festival is presented by Kilwins, the new ice cream shop,” Sutton said.

Business owner Cathy Wildschuetz was out encouraging others to join the event.

“Everyone is here today, so if you’re from Ocean Springs and you’re not here today, I don’t know what you’re doing. It’s a really great day to be out here. We have a nice breeze happening from time to time and a little bit of shade amongst the sun. Free Ice cream from Kilwins. I sponsored the blueberries, not the ice cream. It’s just a great place to be,” she said.

Other vendors enjoyed their first time interacting with people at the festival.

“I’m enjoying it so far. This is my first time being at this festival. I moved here from Washington state at the start of the year,” said vendor Riley Sparta.

If you missed the festival this year, be sure to mark your calendars for next year.

Click here to subscribe to WLOX News on YouTube: Keep up with South Mississippi news, sports, and local events on our YouTube channel!

Copyright 2023 WLOX. All rights reserved.