WANTED ? Hungry people with large appetites and community spirit to help finance this year’s Strawberry Festival. Food and beverages provided for small cost. Everyone is welcome!
The Leonard Summer Festival Committee is looking for people matching the above description to attend it’s first fund-raising dinner of the year on Wednesday, February 19 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Rowland Hall.
An old-fashioned meatloaf dinner will be served including real mashed potatoes and gravy (or macaroni and cheese), vegetable, salad with choice of dressings, roll and butter, dessert and beverage.
The cost is $6 for ages 10 and older and $3.50 for ages 5 to 9. Kids under 5 eat free.
Those wishing to place a large carry-out order must do so at least 24 hours in advance by calling either Sandra Walendzik at 628-0897 or Charlene Sutherby at 628-5924.
The Summer Festival Committee will conduct two additional fund-raising dinners in the coming months ? a chicken dinner on Wednesday, March 19 and a spaghetti dinner on Wednesday, April 30.
Walendzik said the committee began holding the fund-raising dinners last year as a way to commemorate the festival’s 50th anniversary and imbue residents with some nostalgia.
The dinners’ roots extend back a half-century to 1949 when the Addison Township Fire Department was established. Back then, the fund-raising/community dinners were called “penny suppers” and conducted to help raise money to purchase new fire equipment.
The Strawberry Festival itself was founded in 1952 as another fund-raising event to further aid the new fire department.
Of last year’s dinners, Walendzik said, “People liked them so much we decided to carry on with them this year.”
“It looks like they’re going to be yearly events,” she said.
Although the present festival budget is “looking pretty good,” Walendzik said the committee’s goal is to try to add something new each year so consequently the cost grows annually.
“Ideally, we’d like to see a profit of $200 to $300 from each dinner,” she said.
Walendzik said the committee tries to keep the dinner prices relatively low because it’s not just a fund-raising event, “it’s a community event.”
Anyone wishing to help plan and organize this year’s festival can attend the Summer Festival Committee meetings at Rowland Hall on the first Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m.
“We can always use volunteers,” Walendzik said. “We have quite a few committees.”
Some of those committees include entertainment, rides and games for the kids, advertising, and, of course, the annual parade.
The 51st annual Strawberry Festival will be held in the streets of downtown Leonard Saturday, July 19. A dinner to kickoff the event will be held on the evening of Friday, July 18.