By Faith Toole, FAITH on FOOD
North Salem’s 2nd Annual Strawberry Festival will be this weekend, June 15-16 at North Salem Park, 103 North Main St., North Salem, Indiana.
The festival kicks off Saturday with a 5K at 8:30 a.m. Vendors and activities open at 9 a.m. There are many free events for the kids, including a kiddy train, face paint, caricature artist, ring toss and mini-golf. Strawberry shortcakes are $5 and sloppy joes are $4. Food will be available to enjoy on Saturday, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sunday, from noon-4 p.m. The shortcakes and sloppy joes are homemade by volunteers from an old recipe.
“Our strawberries are grown in Hendricks County from Chandlers Farm,” said Kristi Vaughn, Festival Chair. “They work with us on price, and always make sure we have our strawberries. Without Jerry and Matt at Chandler Farms we would not have a festival.”
The 5K is open to all ages. Registration opens at 7:15 a.m. The cost for adults is $20 per person; those age 7-12 are $15 a person and those under age 7 are free. The 5K will start and end at North Salem Park, 103 North Main St.
The festival host is North Salem’s Revitalization, Inc., a nonprofit organization comprised of town residents who love their town. Last year the group was able to fix and paint Main Street light posts with funds raised. This year’s goal is to erect guardrails at the ball diamond and additional town signage.
North Salem’s Revitalization, Inc., meets every third Thursday at North Salem United Methodist Church in at 6:30 p.m. To volunteer and/or questions regarding the festival, contact Bill Compton, president, at (317) 371-0354.
