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BELLEVILLE,
Mich. -- Lots
of fun and excitement are planned for the 2013 Belleville Strawberry
Festival, which takes place over Father's Day weekend. A large
portion of the festival will be held along Main Street again this
year. Many of the festival favorites are scheduled to return this
year including the parade, lots of juried art booths and the Cinnamon
Father's Day Car Show. New additions include free Müller's
yogurt cups, free giveaways from Miss Dig, the Michigan Secretary
of State trailer, and a pet adoption event featuring 50 dogs.
Trinity Episcopal Church will be offering gluten-free strawberry
shortcake and pies for the first time. In addition, they will
have live music all weekend long.
The festival
was created in 1976 by a local farmer who wanted to promote strawberries.
Each year, an estimated 200,000 visitors attend this festival.
It also raises money for local community organizations.
"I
just want to remind everyone that the dates are June 14, 15 and
16," said Joan Bodnar, the festival's executive director.
"This year, we are hoping to adopt forever homes for dogs.
They are bringing 50 dogs to be adopted. We'll have Müller's
Yogurt, who will be giving out full-size yogurt cups. We
have the Secretary of State office. If you haven't gotten your
license plate yet, you have the opportunity to do it while you're
enjoying all of the fair. We have many vendors, juried crafters,
lots and lots of strawberry treats. Trinity Church this year is
doing gluten-free strawberry shortcake, pies and so forth."
Many people
are probably wondering how will it be different from last year?
"We
have different things this year. We have inflatables, we have
the huge pet adoption, we have a lot of giveaways," she added.
"Miss Dig will be giving out free pens and frisbees and so
forth. 94.7 will be broadcasting live again on Friday night. Steve
Kostan will be there. Then on Sunday we have our car show. It's
a weekend full of fun for everyone. We have the venue on Main
Street in downtown Belleville. St. Anthony's has entertainment
Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday night and dinner will
be served. Then at Trinity, we have the pie express where they
have a full-size bakery and they offer sloppy joe's and hot dogs
all weekend long."
Please
go over the entertainment being offered at this year's Strawberry
Festival.
"The
entertainment is at St. Anthony's," Bodnar said. "They
have entertainment there Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday
night. They're having a country band on Saturday night and a Polish
band on Sunday afternoon from 3 to 8 p.m. The Polish dinner is
Saturday night and on Sunday they are having a grilled chicken
dinner. St. Anthony's also has the beer tent."
|
St.
Anthony's Catholic Church Entertainment Schedule |
| Friday |
6
p.m. to 11 p.m. |
Wingman
(Rock) |
| Saturday |
1
p.m. to 5 p.m. |
New
Generation (Polish) |
| |
6
p.m. to 11 p.m. |
T.J.
Thomas & Kentucky Strait (Country) |
| Sunday |
3
p.m. to 8 p.m. |
Steve
Drzewicki Band (Polish) |
Let's
discuss the popular parade. How many floats will there be? When
is a good time for folks to start showing up?
"At
this point, I'm not sure," the executive director explained.
"We do know the Shriners will be leading the parade again.
It will be at least a two-hour parade, 11 a.m. to approximately
1 p.m. We expect a lot of bands, floats, municipal vehicles such
as the fire engines and so forth. The best place to watch the
parade is along Main Street, anywhere from Five Points up to where
Chase Bank is. I would suggest they get there by 10 o'clock if
they want to get curbside."
Since
this is the Strawberry Festival, where can people find the strawberries?
"If
they want strawberries by the case, Masonic Temple has strawberries
and they're at the corner of Main Street and High. St. Anthony's
is selling strawberries and I believe that Trinity Lutheran is
also selling strawberries."
Please
tell me more information about the Cinnamon Father's Day Car Show.
How do folks register their vehicle for that?
"The
car show is Sunday at Victory Park from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.,"
she added. "It's a classic car show. If you go onto our website,
it will give you information about registering. We invite everyone
to come out and enjoy a weekend of family fun."
AmericaJR.com
is a proud sponsor of the 2013 Belleville Strawberry Festival.
We hope you'll join us for a GREAT time...
For
more information about the Belleville Strawberry Festival, visit
their official website at www.nationalstrawberryfest.com.
Related
Story: REVIEW:
2012 Belleville Strawberry Festival was a huge success
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| Photo
credit: www.wearenotmartha.com |
Müller's
yogurt
will be passing out full-size yogurt cups during the festival.
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| Photo
credit: www.michigan.gov |
Attendees
can pick up a new license plate while at the festival.
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| PHOTO
BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com |
94.7
WCSX will broadcast live from the festival on Friday from 6 p.m.
to 11 p.m.
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| PHOTO
BY GLORIA RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com |
The
Cinnamon Father's Day Car Show returns on Sunday from 9 a.m. to
3 p.m.
Visit
the official website of the Belleville Strawberry Festival
