Strawberries Just Half the Fun at Annual Festival

They sprung up on the corner of Rose Tree Road and Providence Road. They adorned telephone poles along the streets by . Inside the school’s cafeteria, they were eaten in the forms of cookies, cakes and rice cereal with marshmallows. They were dipped in chocolate by the dozen and covered in whipped cream.

Strawberries sprouted in every direction. But, Rose Tree Elementary’s annual Strawberry Festival, which took place on Saturday, also carried a "county fair" theme. Hay bales, gunny sacks, and red gingham tablecloths abounded.

About 500 attendees gathered on the school’s back field to play ring toss, throw balls to knock over disposable dinner plates, swing a mallet to ring a bell, send rubber chickens flying with a mini mounted lever, and race hermit crabs. 

"I like to have a party," said Ramona Walsh, a parent with two kids attending Rose Tree Elementary who has helped to organize the event for the past two years. "It’s all about the community," Walsh said.

The Rose Tree Parent Teacher Group (PTG) runs the festival and uses the proceeds to pay for school assemblies, field trips, library materials, playground equipment, and other educational auxiliaries.

The focus is on fun, not fundraising, according to Walsh. The PTG hired a DJ to play music for the kids, and made a point to invite students from the other elementary schools in the district, both public and private, said Walsh.

Jeff Gelman brought his two sons, who will both attend Media Elementary in September. When someone told him about the festival, Gelman said, "It sounded awesome." David Gelman, 6, and Jacob Gelman, 5, mined for semiprecious stones at a sluice donated to the festival by Michael Rhile, a local carpenter.   

There were about 20 games in all, including a moon bounce and stations for tug-of-war and homerun derby.

Festival patrons bought tickets for games and food at a booth resembling a bank teller window, complete with bars. For playing games, kids were awarded different tickets to redeem for carnival prizes at the end of the day.

Reid Morfei, a fourth grader at Rose Tree, named the "Angry Birds" game, new this year, as his favorite. To play, kids took turns shooting balls the size of fists from one of two giant slingshots at boxes painted with bricks, faces of pigs, targets and strawberries 30 yards away. The game was inspired by the popular smart phone app by the same name.

"I did everything," Morfei, 9, said, referring to his stints as both a ball shooter and a ball retriever for the game.

Near the end of a hot day, the kids played in the water that shot from the top of a fire engine from the Rose Tree Fire Company, whose volunteer firefighters attended the festival to let kids try on their gear and practice their aim with a water hose.

"Today was wonderful," gushed a woman to Walsh as she passed by the prize booths where Walsh was handing out prizes. She thanked Walsh for her hard work.

Sounds like the festival was a sweet success.