Strawberry Festival delivers patriotic message in Stacyville

    STACYVILLE, Maine — VFW Post 2299 and its Ladies Auxiliary recently hosted the 13th annual Stacyville Strawberry Festival. The annual summer event acts as the organizations’ largest fundraiser of the year and helps to support veterans as well as active duty troops.
“It started as a fundraiser for the VFW. It’s one of our biggest fundraisers of the year,” Allison Roy, president of the Ladies Auxiliary said of the event’s beginnings.
The Strawberry Festival spans three days, and fell from Friday, July 12 to Sunday July 14 this year. Events included a roast pork supper, cribbage tournament, cruise-in car exhibition, a hot dog bus serving tasty treats and a ham and bean supper with strawberry shortcake to follow.
“This year, our biggest event is the breast cancer walk,” Roy said of the agenda. The organizer of the walk, Carey Splan, spearheaded an effort that reached its goal of raising $1,000 to assist locals fighting cancer.
“The money is going to stay locally. If somebody is having cancer treatments and has to travel, we’re going to provide for them,” Roy said of the breast cancer walk.
Saturday’s agenda was highlighted by the parade and auction that followed.
“We wish we could get more people involved in the parade,” Roy said. What was once a major event of the Strawberry Festival has seen dwindling participation as the years have passed. The auction, however, is an event enjoyed by all.
“Our resident auctioneer, Jimmy Pratt could sell somebody a bridge in a desert. Don’t scratch your head, don’t even twitch if you don’t want to buy it! He always likes to tell people that ‘you can’t take it with you when you go’,” Roy said of Pratt and the annual auction.
VFW Post 2299 and its Ladies Auxiliary host a number of fundraisers and events throughout the year, each of which help the organization to give donations for cancer aid and research, youth groups, veterans hospitals, safety and drug abuse, and a number of other groups and causes.
The organization also works to demonstrate patriotism in the community by hosting special ceremonies on patriotic holidays. VFW Post 2299 and its Ladies Auxiliary had a hand in assisting with the recent ceremonies that took place in honor of Vietnam Veterans and the presence of the “Moving Wall,” a replica of the Vietnam Veterans National Memorial.
The Strawberry Festival is an event enjoyed by all, and, for Roy, is a reminder of the goal the VFW and Ladies Auxiliary has in mind.
“It’s a fundraiser for us to keep the hall going, to send packages to the troops, and to support our veterans – that’s the biggest reason why we do this. It’s to support them,” she said.
The Strawberry Festival concluded on Sunday with a horseshoe tournament to highlight the morning’s events and a show of live music in the afternoon.