Dan's Papers - June 15, 2007 - Enjoy The Strawberry Festival

Craving a strawberry smoothie? Caked in history (strawberry shortcake, that is), the Mattituck Lion's Club will hold it's 53rd annual Strawberry Festival and Country Fair from June 15-17th. In April of 1954, three members of the Mattituck Lions club were in Florida visiting friends and were invited to the Plant City Strawberry Festival. They had a great time and saw it as a way of raising money for the Lion's Club to benefit local charities on the North Fork. With that, the Mattituck Lions Club Strawberry Festival was born.

This event historically takes place the third weekend of June and falls on Father's Day; with that day devoted to "Dad." This year's event is being chaired by Joe Doorhy and it's come quite a long way from the first fair on June 16, 1955 where only 1,000 guests attended. This event is packed to the rafters with over 30,000 attending past fairs. It is so full of fun for every age group; featuring carnival rides, plenty to eat and events everyday. Stop by on any one of the three days and there will be plenty of strawberries and fun available for everyone.

The Lion's Club is known for its generosity and kindness, as they do a tremendous amount for the community. Some of the beneficiaries of their good will (and profits from strawberries) are: Make a Wish Foundation, Boy Scouts, Little Flower Children's Home, Helen Keller Services, Lion's Talking Books, Guide Dog Foundation, Cleary School for the Deaf, and numerous other charitable organizations and people in need. In addition, they rely on sponsors to make this event come to fruition. This year's major sponsors include: North Fork Bank, Century-21 Agawan-Albertson Real Estate, Lucas Ford, Lincoln-Mercury, Newsday, WHS Materials and North Fork Self Storage.

Each year, keeping with tradition since 1956, a bevy of beautiful young women compete for the title of Strawberry Festival Queen. This year Kristin Zeleski of Mattituck will be passing on her crown to the newest lucky winner. The winning girl poses in her beautiful white dress with red sash before a crowd of thousands.

In addition, the International Federation of Competitive Eating has a posting on its site about the strawberry shortcake-eating contest, encouraging it's heavy hitters (or heavy eaters) to come out and register to compete. They are hoping for a record breaker this year!

The festival opens on Friday, June 15th with a pay-one-price carnival beginning at 6 p.m. Fireworks will explode high above the festival at 9 p.m. and from 6:30-10:30 p.m. the band Southbound, a 6-piece Southern/classic/80s rock band will be playing and is guaranteed to have the festival crowd up and rocking. On Saturday, June 16th, the fair opens at 10 a.m. with the Pay One Price carnival. From 3-4 the festival queen is selected, 9 p.m. is fireworks and the entertainment is never ending with Assisted Living, Who R those Guys and Southbound performing. Sunday, June 17th is dad's day. Dad gets to ride free on the fun-filled rides when accompanied by a child. Crowds will gather from far and wide from 1-2 p.m. to see if a record-breaker is in the midst for the 1st annual Strawberry Shortcake Eating Contest. Raffle winners will be announced at 2 p.m. and entertainment will be provided by Who R those Guys and Mulligan. The festival shuts down at around 5 p.m. and the Lion's Club begins planning for next year's event (probably over Strawberry Daiquiri's).

The festival also features an array of craft vendors, business vendors, and an international food court with too many delicious foods to count and vision screening. It is requested that you bring down glasses that you are no longer using for the eye-glass donation program. Your spare pair of glasses laying around on your coffee table collecting dust can benefit someone in need. The festival is also looking for volunteers on June 14th (the night before the festival begins) to prep the strawberries for their big day. It's a fun time for helping and being part of the excitement of the event.

For more information on the festival that's sure to be jamming, please call 631-298-2222 or visit their website www.mattitucklionsclub.org/StrawberryFestival.html for directions and information.