INDIANAPOLIS — Things are sweetening up on Monument Circle as preparations are underway for The 57th annual Indy Strawberry Festival.
“After the [Indy 500] race, it’s the kinda the other official start of summer downtown.”
Four to six tons of strawberries will feed tens of thousands of hungry Hoosiers at the annual Indy Strawberry Festival this Thursday.
“This whole things is like everything in grand proportions.”
Elise Shrock with Christ Church Cathedral says the fundraiser has been a staple in Indianapolis for the past 57 years.
“We love it. We have it down to a science, down to the type of spoon that we use.”
homemade shortcake…
a scoop of vanilla ice cream…
strawberries in syrup…
all topped with whipped cream.
All together to make the star of the show — “the works” Strawberry Shortcake.
They plan to sell a whopping 15,000 this year, which is back up to speed with their pre-pandemic operations.
“We are really back to our full numbers. We took a couple, we took a year off in 2020. We’ve been coming back. What we learned last year is that folks are really ready for us to be back in full form.”
Construction on the circle is making things look a bit different this year.
“We’re super excited about the improvements coming to the monument, it does mean that the side of the monument that generally faces the festival is closed.”
Shrock says the entertainment that usually happens on the monument will instead be on the lawn of the cathedral.
“Then we’ll have lots of tables and chairs for folks to enjoy their shortcakes.”
After covering the cost of the festival, all the proceeds go to organizations in Central Indiana that center their work around women and families.
Their goal is to make between $70,000 to $90,000.
In the past, they’ve gifted dozens of $2,000 to $3,000 grants to places like Coburn Place Safe Haven, Exodus Refugee Immigration and Brightlane Learning.
The festival is this Thursday June 8 from 9 to 4.
