SOUTH BERWICK—Strawberry Festival has gone green!
The Strawberry Festival Committee is pleased to announce that they will serve their Strawberry Shortcake and Cheesecake on biodegradable bowls, plates and spoons. These items are made out of sugar cane called Bagasse tableware. Bagasse is the biomass remaining after sugarcane stalks are crushed to extract their juices.
Always the last Saturday in June, this year the festival will be on 27 June 2009. The South Berwick Strawberry Festival officially kicks off summer for this quaint, southern Maine town. The kids are out of school, camps are open and the weather is getting warm. All over town one can see the bright red, white, and green strawberry flags that not only line the main streets, but can also be seen flying from many houses. The day is filled with food, entertainment, games, and crafts.
For thirty-three consecutive years, hundreds of volunteers from South Berwick have come together to put together a South Berwick tradition. As always, official Festival activities will take place only on the grounds of Central School, on Main Street, in the center of town. A stop at the Strawberry Festival Information Booth is a must to find out more about the day’s schedule for the entertainers, as well as where all the various activities are located and to purchase strawberry festival memorabilia.
Preparation of the strawberries start on Friday, the morning before the Festival at the Community Center, where over a hundred and fifty volunteers get together for a good old fashioned social to hull, slice, and sugar the berries. Other volunteers get to the day of the Festival early to slice the biscuits, prepare the whipped cream and move everything under the Strawberry Shortcake tent so all will be ready for the Festival goers when it opens at 10 a.m. Things stay pretty busy for the entire Festival that calls it quits at 4 p.m.
On the Friday before the Festival, there will be a roast beef supper hosted by our local First Parish Federated Church, from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Old Fashioned Trolleys: Running every 20 minutes, there will be old-fashioned trolleys, which will provide free transportation to the Festival from parking locations at Marshwood Great Works School on Route 236, Community Center on Norton Street, Powder House Hill, and Agamenticus Field.
Strawberry Tent and Food: Strawberry shortcakes have always been a favorite of the Festival. They will begin serving at 10 a.m. until we run out. Last year we served up over 4,000 pounds of fresh strawberries, several dozen gallons of whipped cream and over 500 dozen biscuits. Strawberry cheesecake has also been added to the menu and complimented with, you guessed it, strawberries. The costs of these items are only $4.
In addition to shortcakes and cheesecakes there is also a huge food court. There will be a pancake breakfast from 6 – 10 a.m. Throughout the day there will be other various food items sold by local non-profit groups. The Fire Dept. will be selling hamburgers, hot dogs, fries and cold drinks. The Community Pantry will be serving up frozen lemonade. Knights of Columbus with fried dough, Masons with chicken BBQ and other assorted non-profit groups serving sandwich wraps, teriyaki, nachos, fruit cups, cotton candy and water.
Road Race: The day’s activities begin at 8 a.m. with a 5-mile road race and 2.5 mile fun walk, sponsored by the South Berwick Recreation Department and local businesses. It kicks off from Marshwood Middle School on Academy Street.
Entertainment: Throughout the day, a variety of entertainers from around the area will be performing on two stages set up around the grounds.
At the Central School Field Stage, Todd Wellington, professional silly person, gets things going at 9 - 11 a.m.; Women of Note, a cappella group at 11:30 – 1 p.m.; the Schaff Brothers at 2 - 4 p.m.
At the food court stage, Chronic Jazz Syndrome at 9 – 10:30 a.m.
Northern Explosion Cloggers, a great group of cloggers, at 11 a.m., noon and 1 p.m.; Funky Diva’s of Gospel at 2 - 4 p.m.
In the field area from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Wildlife Encounters. For the kids there will be a climbing wall, pony rides, a giant tiger slide, dunking booths, exotic animals’ exhibition and much more.
Crafts: Over 110 juried artisans will be on hand to display and sell their hand-made wares, including clothing, pottery, wood products, jewelry, paintings, photographs, candles, jams and dips, furniture, and much, much more. These crafters will be located both at the side of Central School and in the area around the food court.
Remember be kind to your pets and have them stay in the coolness of your home.
Web Site: www.southberwickstrawberryfestival.com
Photo caption: This year's Strawberry Festival Logo. (Courtesy Photo)
