Strawberry Days ripe for another year
Jun. 4—GROVE CITY — A staple in the Grove City community, Strawberry Days, is returning this weekend for its 33rd year filled with vendors, music, food and activities.
"When this event was first created, the original creators wanted a new festival in Grove City. There was one or two but they wanted something new," Mary Kay Mattocks, the head of the committee, said. "They picked the time and this is when strawberries are in season, so that's how it got its name."
Mattocks began working with the festival as a shop owner at the first Strawberry Days, but for the last 20 years she's been leading the charge.
The event was designed to be fully non-profit; all money received for the festival gets put into next year's event. Even the food follows these values.
"The way it was set up by the original creators is that all of our food has to either be a non-profit or attached to one," Mattocks said. "These are band boosters, football boosters, churches, anything non-profit."
There will be 17 food stations this year. The festival is also set up so that every food station will be selling a different food with no repeats.
Along with the food, vendors and live bands will be available for people to explore and enjoy their day at the festival.
The music will consist of nine local bands over the three days including the Freshmen, who started their band as freshman in high school and are now freshman in college; Treebeard Brown, which is made up of all teachers; and The Dorals, the oldest band performing and also the one traveling the farthest, coming from New Castle.
For the kids, there will be a "shortcake patch" filled with face painting, sand art, caricatures and even a chance to meet Bluey and SpongeBob.
As the name entails, there will of course be... strawberries. The Grove City Midget Football team will be selling fresh strawberries by the courts in Memorial Park.
Other activities include the public swimming pools season opening, and a train engine located near the pool, along with a variety of other things to discover.
The festival will run this weekend, June 7 to 9, from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Sunday at Memorial Park. There will also be a food truck, hosted by the Boy Scouts, and live music on Thursday as the vendors set up from 5 to 9 p.m.
"I think one of the best things about it is that you don't have to spend any money to have a good time," Mattocks said. "You can come and sit and talk to people you haven't seen in a while or enjoy the music or just look around. It's a fun time for anyone."
The full schedule can be found on page C-2 and at the Grove City Strawberry Day Facebook.
Ty Kohler can be contacted at [email protected].