Strawberry goodness: Crowds, and the smiles, return for 36th year

Year after year, the downtown Terre Haute Strawberry Festival keeps bringing the crowds, and Thursday’s celebration was no different.

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Macey Elden, right, of the Vigo County YMCA spreads a ladle of strawberries for a customer’s order during the First Congregational Church’s 36th annual Strawberry Fest on Thursday at Sixth and Ohio streets. At left is Shannah Smith.

“I love getting to see all the people and all the smiles and happy faces and just helping serve the community,” said Macey Elden, who along with three other volunteers from the Vigo County YMCA helped assemble the popular desserts, consisting of a shortcake biscuit, strawberries, vanilla ice cream and whipped topping.

“We’ve been very busy,” Elden said about noon as customers patiently waited in line for their turn to receive the coveted dessert.

The event, a fundraiser for the First Congregational Church at 630 Ohio St., is in its 36th year, said Libby Wyrick, chair of the Strawberry Festival steering committee.

Typically, the event serves about 8,000 people each year.

B&B Foods provides the goods, which include about 5,000 pounds of strawberries and about 500-plus gallons of ice cream, she said.

Around 200 community volunteers representing several groups and organizations help make the event a huge success, Wyrick said.

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Five-year-old Brayden Bachstein points out the various ingredients of the strawberries and cream he is sharing with his grandmother, Nikki Fuhrmeister, left, during the First Congregational Church’s 36th annual Strawberry Fest on Thursday at the corner of Sixth and Ohio streets.

“We couldn’t do it without them,” she said.

The Strawberry Festival was ranked the community’s best event in the Tribune-Star’s Reader’s Choice Awards this year. “It’s only because of the best community volunteers,” Wyrick said.

Attendees pay $7 for “the works.” They can customize it, but the cost remains the same to keep things simple.

Strawberry Fest activities included live music and a kids’ tent where children could make bookmarks. In addition, two church tours were offered enabling people to see the church up close and its stained glass windows.

Thursday’s weather was near perfect, with warmer temperatures eased by a cool breeze. In years past, “The only times it wasn’t too enjoyable was when we had thunderstorms,” Wyrick said. “We’ve had mostly perfect days.”

Brittany Patterson brought her two children, son Bodhi, age 3, and daughter Tatum, age 1.

“It’s definitely a yummy tradition we didn’t want to pass up,” Patterson said. “They devoured it … they fed eachother and they fed me.”

People like to attend Strawberry Fest because “it’s just a great summer tradition. It gives people a chance to come outside, enjoy the weather and enjoy good food,” she said.

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Dentistry Just for Kids employees pose with their multiple orders during the First Congregational Church’s 36th annual Strawberry Fest on Thursday at Sixth and Ohio streets in downtown Terre Haute.

Also enjoying the festival was Felicia Garber, who brought her great aunt, Barbara Marlowe. “She comes every year,” Garber said.

The two took a selfie standing beside a horse-shaped sculpture decorated with a strawberry theme.

Indiana State University’s new president, Mike Godard, also enjoyed his first Terre Haute Strawberry Fest. He attended with his wife, Kathryn, and other members of ISU’s administration.

“It’s a wonderful event,” he said. “It’s great to see the community coming out in support of this.”

Linda Rodenberger attended with her husband, Jim, and two grand-daughters, Isabel, 5, and Isadora, 3. She wanted to bring her granddaughters because “I thought it was a good experience for them to come and see things and they love strawberries.”

Strawberry Fest is a Terre Haute tradition and “I don’t know too many people who don’t like strawberry shortcake,” she said.