Strawberry Festivals Forever

Strawberries for sale at Wilson Farm in Lexington, MA.

Mrs. PRK has a thing for the “false fruit“, especially the sweet, juicy varieties served on spongy cake and topped with dollops of real cream. All to be in abundance this weekend at Wilson Farms’ Strawberry Festival, now an annual rite in my family due in part to its proximity to our house.

The festivities include a petting zoo for the kiddies, live bluegrass music, a strawberry shortcake eating contest, and plenty of samples (make sure to try the strawberry soup).

And not to be outdone, Saturday is Verrill Farm’s commemoration of its bounty of homegrown strawberries. The good folks at the Concord-based grower will be dolloping out (for a fee) “strawberry shortcake made from scratch” as well as hot dogs, hamburgers and beverages. They also offer hay and pony rides.

As red-faced as it makes me to admit it, one year we hit both festivals during the same weekend.

And looking for ideas on what to do with those locally-grown strawberries?: Check out The Canning Doctor, who whips up a batch of strawberry lemonade. And then there is Jacqueline Church who shows what she can conjure up with a blender, strawberries, flour and other sundries.

For the historically-minded I recommend Fresh New England’s capsule history of the strawberry. Apparently back in the day, the Hub was “the capital of strawberry distribution.” Who knew?

[Strawberries photo: Rich Moffitt/Flickr]

For further information: Wilson Farms | Verrill Farm | More Happenings

Got an event? Tweet: @pubradiokitchen or email: prk@wbur.org

Ken George| All Posts by Ken George