Strawberry Fair a sweet success

AMENIA — Despite scattered showers, the annual Strawberry Fair and the Amenia Free Library’s book sale both drew crowds.“It’s the start of summer, so people are going to come out no matter what,” said Lesley Rohan, the store director of Freshtown, which ran a booth selling strawberries. “This is the official start of summer in the Harlem Valley.”Freshtown and its supplier teamed up to donate over 1,000 pounds of strawberries. The money raised from the sale of the strawberries goes to the United Presbyterian Church.Nearby, the Amenia Free Library held its annual book sale. Library Director Miriam Devine said that the library “did beautifully” during the sale, even though the weather was so wet. Devine said she was pleased that the library patrons were so supportive.Attendees of the Strawberry Fair were entertained with live music, a petting zoo, a dunking booth sponsored by the Webutuck cheerleaders and a variety of booths selling items ranging from jewelry to local honey.Food was available as well, including the fair’s famous strawberry sundaes heaped with ripe berries and vanilla ice cream. The cool weather did not seem to deter fair-goers from indulging.Inside the church, kids lined up for free face-painting, though many of them had their arms or legs painted instead. Some played with balloon animals while they waited.A bit of triviaAlthough this region grows its own strawberries, the ones for sale at the fair were from California. The local strawberries do not start to ripen until the end of June or beginning of July, which is around the time when graduation celebrations and the Amenia Firemen’s Parade are held, hence the earlier date for the fair.

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