Heather Blanchard sells fruit to benefit youth football programs during last year's Strawberry Days in Grove City. This year's festival will run from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

GROVE CITY — The yearly festival of crafts, food and live entertainment will inundate Memorial Park in Grove City with thousands of visitors this weekend. Strawberry Days is back once again.

Starting on Thursday at 4 p.m. with its annual kick off pig roast, the festival will run from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Parking and admittance to the festival are free.

Mary Kay Mattocks, the festival’s chairman, said the event draws around 15,000 people to the borough each year, and is a truly grassroots event that depends on volunteers and the donations of sponsors.

“That’s what makes Strawberry Days so unique,” Mattocks said. “We don’t bring in for-profit vendors; we bring in nonprofits.”

One of this year’s surprises will be a sand sculpture that will be created over three days, from Friday through Sunday, by high school art teacher Chris Baer and his students.

The group will be using 12 tons of sand donated by Duraedge. The sculpture will be created in the grassy area by the Kestyone shelter, Mattocks said.

“He (Baer) has not revealed to us what the sculpture will be,” Mattocks said. “It’s going to be a big surprise.”

Another draw for this year’s festival is the performance of 2016 “American Idol” contestant Issac Cole of Emlenton.

Cole will appear from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at the festival’s main stage.

Mattocks said the country/Christian singer’s upcoming performance has excited many people who followed his appearances on the television show, and will do much to replace this year’s notable omission: the lack of a talent show.

Mattocks said the talent show has been a festival mainstay for two decades or more, but organizers decided to “give it a break,” this year.

Instead they’ve invited 2015’s Best of Show winner, Olivia and Adam, to perform starting at 1 p.m. Sunday. The festival’s main stage will include live musical entertainment from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

“That’s a change for us, for 20 or 25 years we’ve had a talent show,” Mattocks said. “This (Cole) just came along for us. We’re very lucky to have good people to help us keep this thing going every year.”

Other notable draws include side-by-side Amish doughnut and ice cream stands, Mattocks said, and a dunking booth that’s being run by the Grove City fast-pitch softball team.

“They’re really pumping up for this,” Mattocks said, adding that the group has lined up teachers, administrators and council members to be dunked. “They’ve really gone outside the box, and that’s exciting.”