GREENFIELD — One-year-old Nora Hibner was decked out in a strawberry-patterned onesie for her first trip to the Greenfield Strawberry Festival on Friday, June 11.
She wasn’t the only one rocking berries on her shirt. Most of the volunteers dishing out strawberry shortcake beneath a tent in the Bradley United Methodist Church parking lot were sporting similar apparel, promoting a long-standing summer tradition in downtown Greenfield.
The strawberry festival was started 37 years ago by the First Presbyterian Church of Greenfield, which closed last year.
Their neighbors at Bradley took over the festival with the Presbyterians’ blessing.
This was the first year the Methodist church hosted the event, since last year’s fundraiser was cancel ed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
More than five gallons of ice cream had been dished out within the first hour on Friday at the festival at Pennsylvania and Main streets. The festival was scheduled to run until 7 p.m.
“I’m just ecstatic with the turnout,” said volunteer Dianne Osborne, as she scooped strawberries onto homemade shortcakes Friday afternoon.
“With the construction and traffic and everything else going on downtown, I think it’s great to see so many people here,” she said.
Festival committee chair Kathy Locke said volunteers prepared enough shortcake to serve 1,300 people throughout the day, including the 700 or so who bought tickets in advance.
It was a festive atmosphere on Friday, as perennial favorite — accordion player Larry VonEssen — entertained the crowd.
Nora’s mom, Katie Hibner of Indianapolis, brought her four kids along to sample the sweet treats and soak in the small-town atmosphere.
She walked to the festival with her sister Sarah Farrell, who lives just a couple blocks away from the church.
“We always love coming (to Greenfield) to visit. It’s great to be able to walk everywhere and see all the people,” she said.
Her kids — Nora, her 5-year-old brother Gus and twin 4-year-old sisters, Charlotte and Lena — were all smiles beneath the canopy of a little black wagon as they awaited their ice cream.
Each serving of strawberry shortcake cost $5 in advance and $6 at the event, which has generated up to $2,500 in yearly profits in the past, Locke said.
The church plans to divide this year’s proceeds among six local nonprofits: Hancock County Food Pantry; Hancock Hope House; Kenneth Butler Memorial Soup Kitchen; Love, INC; The Landing Place; and the Dixie Ross Memorial Scholarship Fund at Bradley Preschool.
