Red Oak Grove Strawberry Festival observes 91st year
It's kind of overwhelming but somebody has to prepare the 225 pounds of strawberries for the June 14 strawberry festival at Red Oak Grove Lutheran Church, rural Austin. Working on these pans of berries are Judy Wambeam and Joyce Peterson. Staff photo by Howard Lestrud
It just turns out to be appropriate that Red Oak Grove Lutheran Church's 91st Strawberry Festival will be held on Flag Day, Tuesday, June 14.
This year's festival will once again be a drive thru event. More than 400 were served by driving through the church circle, picking up the food products.
This drive thru procedure was done mainly because of COVID last year, but it went over so smoothly that event organizers decided to repeat this process.
Red will be the preferred color on this date as 225 pounds of ripe, red strawberries will be served in drive thru mode. The huge berries were purchased at the Hy-Vee in Austin.
The bottom stripe on the American flag is red, thus envision a bowl of strawberry shortcake being the crowing element of a patriotic dish.
Red Oak Grove is located at 30456 Mower-Freeborn Road, seven miles south of Blooming Prairie in Mower County.
The popular church event is sponsored by WELCA (Women of the Lutheran Church of America). All proceeds go to charitable causes, reports tri-chairs Linda Christianson, Nancy Wesley and Cindy Hingeveld.
This year's Strawberry Festival will feature two time frames: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 4-7 p.m.
Guests will drive through the circle and receive their specially prepared servings of pulled pork sandwich, cole slaw, baked beans, strawberries, shortcake and water.
A free will offering is asked.
Outdoor seating will be provided on the north side of the church.
A Queen sized quilt made by Diana Magnuson of Red Oak will be raffled off following the event. Tickets are available at $2 each or 3 for $5.
Red Oak quilters met seven weeks in the spring and get together again in the fall for six weeks. Judy Wambeam is in charge of the quilting projects.
Recently, the Red Oak quilters sold quilts to pay for carpeting in the fellowship hall. The quilters also presented a Superman quilt to a young boy undergoing chemo therapy.
The quilters make full-size quilts, baby quilts, crib quilts, campfire quilts and stadium quilts portraying the University of Minnesota Gophers and the Minnesota Twins.