Whitchurch-Stouffville
June 26, 2008 11:54 PM
24th annual fest kicks off tonight in memorial park with lots of help
By: Alyshia Higgins
Strawberry Festival volunteers were feeling the love and the time crunch this week.
The 24th annual event officially opens tonight and volunteers from the community and Love Stouffville have been working feverishly to get ready.
Thousands of residents are expected to browse the streets this weekend. The festival runs through Sunday and resumes Tuesday with Canada Day fireworks and other events in Memorial Park.
“We look at the festival as our baby,” Strawberry Festival Committee chairperson Laura Roessler said. “It takes nine months of hard work to put it all together.”
The 10-member committee, along with hundreds of other volunteers, is responsible for putting on the event, which draws crowds from across the GTA. Planning for the event begins a year in advance, and committee members put in as many as 10 hours a day, Ms Roessler said.
Love Stouffville, a group of churches, was created last year and is ready to help out again. This is the second time they are participating in the festival.
“I’ve heard great things from the volunteers (of Love Stouffville),” said Scott Clubine, youth pastor at EastRidge Evangelical Missionary Church and leader of the campaign. “You get different people from different churches working together. It’s a great way for them to be involved with the community.”
Love Stouffville supplies “80 per cent of the logistical volunteers throughout the festival”, said Ms Roessler.
“Without Love Stouffville, it’s almost as if there wouldn’t be a festival,” she said.
Besides the approximately 75 volunteers Love Stouffville provides, many other volunteers not involved with the committee also contribute to the success of the festival. Ruth Hadji, a Stouffville resident, has volunteere with the festival for 10 years.
“It’s a great way to help out the town, and of course they need as many volunteers as they can get,” Mrs. Hadji said.
Her daughter, Sarah, 22, also volunteers.
Despite all the hard work, the volunteers agree the end result is well worth the effort.
“It’s just been a fantastic festival,” Mrs. Hadji said. “It’s grown so much. It’s become huge.”
For Mrs. Roessler, there’s another kind of satisfaction.
“It’s a great sense of accomplishment,” she said. “You get to meet some fabulous and interesting people. I love the opportunity to lead a team of such dynamic and passionate people.”
For information on the Strawberry Festival, visit
www.strawberryfestival.ca.