The time is ripe for Strawberry Days festival
For it’s 35th year, the Strawberry Days festival is ready to continue its legacy as a nonprofit hub of activity in Grove City. Mary Kay Mattocks, event chairwoman, said the gathering is always about giving back to the community.
“It’s a festival that was originated by 10 downtown merchants 38 years ago, and their vision was to make it as family-friendly as possible,” Mattocks said.
Rain or shine, the event will be held Friday through Sunday, June 12 to 14, and is free to enter, including parking. Mattocks said their goal is to give families a place to enjoy community and entertainment without spending a lot of money. Activities and entertainment are free for families. They’ll even have a courtesy tent with up to 100 chairs for guests to sit and enjoy the day.
“That’s the whole purpose, is to make it so that families don’t have to spend a lot of money. They don’t have to spend any money if they just walk around,” Mattocks said.
Nonprofit-run food stalls set up around the activities, all selling different things. Mattocks said they avoid competition by having 20 vendors selling one food item per booth, ensuring each of them make a profit.
“We have everything from football boosters to the band. You know, it’s all nonprofits and local,” Mattocks said.
Other vendors provide a number of crafts and goods for attendees to support local businesses. Mattocks said there’s up to 150 craft vendors this year, offering a variety of different arts from handmade jewelry to glass-blown decorations.
“This year’s kind of been a surprise to me. The winter was so cold that people stayed inside and made lots of things because this is the most crafters that I’ve ever had,” Mattocks said.
Entertainment is one of the weekend-long attractions that will be free to enjoy at the festival. All three days, from open to close, a diverse chunk of genres from local musicians will fill the grounds with lively tunes.
Activities for the little ones can be found in the Shortcake Patch. This section provides free, child-friendly crafts including sand art, caricature drawing, face painting and more.
“They can just do some sand art and have their face painted and that sort of thing,” Mattocks said.
Children will also have the chance to experience parts of the community they don’t often get close up and personal with at the festival. Mattocks said there will be fire trucks and a Grove City Area School District bus at the event for youth to interact with.
At the festival, local groups can hand out information about community resources, clubs or otherwise to bring awareness to those attending.
“People can stop and gather information. It’s a way of giving back to the community so that people know what’s going on,” Mattocks said.
All of the original organizers are still connected with the festival. Two of them still have active roles in the planning process. Mattocks herself managed a storefront right on the street of the very first festival before it was established as Strawberry Days.
“They’re very excited when they see that it’s continued to go on and grow,” Mattocks said.
