THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 24, 1996 TAG: 9605240793
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
LENGTH: 44 lines
Today the folks from Courthouse United Methodist Church will be out early, picking berries at Henley Farm.
Tomorrow, those berries, dipped in chocolate or swirled into cool red lemonade, will be among the stars of this weekend's 13th Pungo Strawberry Festival - a weekend dedicated to eating and toasting the juicy red fruit.
The sweet confections sold by the church will be among delicious strawberry dishes and drinks - from pies to shortcake, from nonalcoholic strawberry daiquiris to strawberry ice cream - on sale at the festival.
Close to 150,000 people are expected to attend the event, which opens tonight with carnival rides in Pungo from 5 to 10 p.m. There will also be a jazz concert at 7 p.m. at the 24th Street Park.
The rest of the fun will be from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in downtown Pungo, along Princess Anne Road.
For years, festival-goers have enjoyed daiquiris made with California strawberries or quarts of strawberries from other areas.
But not this year.
They should find plenty of local berries at the festival and in the pick-your-own fields, which surround Pungo.
The late spring slowed down the season so the berries made their entrance about a week later than usual - and that coincided nicely with this year's fete.
In addition to food, there will be arts and crafts booths, music, a pie eating contest and a strawberry cook-off. There also will be a petting zoo, pony rides, a llama and a bat display. Exhibits of military equipment, racing cars and a Civil War encampment also will be displayed.
A parade is at 11 a.m. Saturday.
And there's a 1 mile run at 8 a.m. and a 5K run at 9 a.m. Sunday.
Parking is available in three lots: two near Indian River and Princess Anne roads, and one at Muddy Creek and Princess Anne roads.
For more information, call 721-6001 or http://www.pinn.net/pungo strawberryfestival. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
PUNGO STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm] by CNB