Summer moves quickly, and so does the Chassell Lions’ most anticipated tradition. Next Thursday, the community will gather at Centennial Park before the strawberry festival to help the Lions cut thousands of berries for the weekend celebration.
The annual pre-festival tradition brings residents together for a shared purpose. George Stockero, president of the Chassell Lions, said community assistance on Thursday is essential to the festival’s success.
“To help us cut up all those strawberries for the shortcake. And the more of it comes, the faster it goes. And it’s a great way for the whole community to get together,” Stockero said. “We sell roughly 5,000 shortcakes during the weekend. And all that money that we get goes right back into our community.”
The Chassell Lions, with more than 70 volunteer members, work year-round to improve parks, recreation, education, and health in the community. Stockero highlighted the group’s diverse contributions.
“We’ve made, we’ve paid for bathrooms here at the park. We’ve done some other opportunities at the schools. We did some picnic tables recently here at the park,” Stockero said. “So we’re always putting our money right back into our community. And we give back all year long. We have a really nice Halloween party. We do clean up the streets. We provide eyesight for the blind funds. We do a lot of helping out our local organizations around here.”
While shortcake sales support the Lions’ efforts throughout the year, the strawberry auction during the festival can raise thousands of dollars in less than an hour. Stockero said this year’s Strawberry Queen candidates are eager to participate.
“The Chassell Lions got to meet all our Strawberry Queen contestants just a week ago. And we are amazed at how much they provide back into their community already,” Stockero said. “But they will be here helping us clean strawberries. They help us with the auction. And they talked about how they remember as little girls what it was, how special it was to be in the Queen contest. And they are looking forward to it very much.”
The festival also provides opportunities for visitors to learn about the Lions’ work. Volunteers enjoy conversations with community members interested in the organization’s local impact. Look out for volunteers in a yellow t-shirt for questions or to learn about efforts happening in the community.
The 78th annual strawberry festival sources many of its berries from local farms in the Copper Country. At one time, Chassell’s berry farms shipped produce as far as Chicago and Detroit. Today, the farms carry on a proud tradition the community happily embraces.
For more information about the strawberry festival, visit the Chassell Lions website.
