Kristen Ford offers up quarts of strawberries for sale at last year's event.

GROVE CITY — Crafts, music, live entertainment and, hopefully, nice summer weather will bring thousands of people to Memorial Park this weekend.

The 25th annual Strawberry Days will be held Thursday through Sunday.

For many people the event is a tradition that marks the beginning of summer, said Mary Kay Mattocks, festival chairwoman.

“It's the biggest festival in Grove City and for the area. People just look forward to seeing everybody, it has been a long winter and it takes place when school is letting out, so kids have something to go to after school,” Mattocks said.

Parking and admission are both free, so families on a budget can come and enjoy the entertainment and children's activities.

The event kicks off at 4 p.m. Thursday with a pig roast which will continue until the food is sold out. There won't be any other vendors or entertainment Thursday.

The festival will run from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Twenty different food booths will be set up underneath a large circus tent. There will also be more than 120 craft vendors from around the region selling their wares.

Live entertainment is scheduled for two different stages: a main stage and the Shortcake Patch stage which is intended for children.The event includes the annual talent show beginning at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.Though they do not have an official tally, organizers estimate that between 10,000 and 15,000 people attend each year, if the weather is nice.Strawberry Days is organized by an all-volunteer committee which is able to cover its costs through donations.The event was founded by a group of business people and community members 25 years ago and has no ties to any other organizations, Mattocks said.The craft vendors and visitors typically come from within a 150-mile radius of Grove City, which includes Erie and Pittsburgh, and Ohio.The 20 food booths are staffed by nonprofit organizations from the area including churches and civic groups.Some nonprofits make enough money at Strawberry Days that they don't have to conduct other fundraisers, Mattocks said.

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Camren Klenke plows through a strawberry shortcake at the 2014 Strawberry Days in Grove City.