Strawberry Festival a hit at Homewood

May 08, 2005|BY PEPPER BALLARD

WILLIAMSPORT - Bowls of strawberries piled upon heaps of strawberry ice cream Saturday were held by the hands of young and old at Homewood at Williamsport's annual Strawberry Festival.

The festival, which has been held at the nursing home for about the past nine years, "is just something we do for the community," said Shannon Naylor, volunteer coordinator for Homewood at Williamsport.

Under the shade of a tent, a few of the nearly 30 volunteers working Saturday dipped strawberry ice cream, plated strawberry shortcakes and dished out strawberry pie after strawberry pie to paying, happy customers. Vendors dealt in crafts, ceramics, portraits and books.

Homewood ordered more than 100 flats of strawberries for the event, Naylor said, and money raised from the sale of strawberry items will go toward a nursing home residents' fund.

Barbara Goodrich, who lives at Homewood at Williamsport, said she wasn't sure what she was going to buy at the festival, but she did have strawberries on her mind.

"I probably will get the works," said Goodrich, 84.

Sydney Hockensmith, 6, already had the works - strawberry shortcake. Sydney, of Fairplay, said she needed energy for a soccer game later in the afternoon.

She got her hair beaded at the festival with red and black to match her Williamsport Stallions jersey. She pulled prizes she won through children's games - a red balloon dog, squirt gun, car, ball and toy dinosaur - proudly from a plastic bag.

Other children went on pony rides and played games.

Mike Tucker's daughter, who is 8 weeks old, rested in a stroller. Tucker, 34, said he was enjoying himself. He said the strawberry ice cream is "really good."

"I'm sure it gives the residents something really good to do," he said.

|

|

|