Edgewood Church Celebrates Strawberries with Fellowship

After a long night of cutting strawberries, members of the sold sundaes and other refreshments to an estimated 150 people during Wednesday's annual Strawberry Festival.

“It’s a great time for fellowship and friendship,” said the current Head Deacon Mary Anne Hartman of . 

The local church started the now yearly tradition in the early '70s. The idea for the fundraiser came from past Deacon Howard Moses, who wanted to create a way for the church to reach out to the community.

Proceeds from the festival are used to fund various needs in the church, including camps, the food pantry and an afterschool program for kids.  

Although Wednesday's hot and sunny weather was pleasant for a Strawberry Festival, Hartman remembers other years in which the festival was held in the church basement, proving that the event truly is held each year—rain or shine.

“How often do I miss the strawberry festival?” asked building manager Robert Mysels to his wife, Judy, in jest.

The couple lives in the neighborhood, coming to the event every year without fail except once when they were on vacation. For Mysels, the star of the festival isn’t the ice cream or the fresh strawberries—it’s the homemade biscuits. 

Alicia Kiely and her family were settling down for the night when they realized the Strawberry Festival was taking place. Some of Kiely’s children were still wearing parts of their pajamas as they raced around the back lawn. Kiely joked that at least the strawberries were “better than candy” before bedtime. 

And now that this annual festival celebrating the strawberry has ended, fans of the peach will soon have their turn as the church hosts its first ever Peach Festival this August.