South Windsor Strawberry Fest Chairperson: Two Groups Withdraw Event Amid Controversy

Clear skies may be predicted for this year’s South Windsor Strawberry Fest on Saturday, but there is a storm of controversy surrounding the event.

And at the heart of the issue is what the event is.

For one, it is a fundraiser for the Republican Town Committee.

It also happens to be one of the signature summer events in the town, drawing in the neighborhood of 8,000 to 10,000 people, when the weather is as nice as is predicted for this weekend.

One person’s nice day of fun, music, zip lines and strawberry shortcake is another’s political activity.

“The Strawberry Festival is a town-wide event; yes the Republicans sponsor it and it is a fundraiser, a point we have never attempted to hide,” wrote Kathy Daugherty, who is the chairperson of both the Republican Town Committee and the Strawberry Festival.

Daugherty noted that the parking, admission, the tractor-pulled train, the music, entry into the Miss Strawberry Pageant, and the magician are all free of charge.

And while the crowds make it appealing for many groups, organizations and businesses to have booths at the festival, the political fundraising aspect of the event can muddy the waters in terms of participation for some.

This year, two groups - Cub Scout Pack 390 and the South Windsor Chamber of Commerce - have pulled out of the festival in the last couple of days under what Daugherty says was pressure from Democrat Keith Yagaloff over the political nature of the event.

Daugherty said that she provided a booth to both the Chamber and Pack 390 free of charge and that in no way was the implication that Boy Scouts of America was endorsing or contributing to the Republican party.

Pack 390, Daugherty was told, planned to use the booth to attempt to attract new members.

But on Thursday, two days prior to the festival, Daugherty said she got a call saying that Pack 390 was pulling out of the event because it is a political fundraiser.

Daugherty said that she was told that Yagaloff called the Boy Scouts and told them that they were not permitted to take part in political fundraisers.

"The truth is he did this to the Chamber, too," said Daugherty, adding that there was a veiled threat over people losing jobs if the Chamber had a booth at the fundraiser.

Daugherty said that the Chamber uses the booth to promote new businesses in town.

Yagaloff, for his part, denied that he had any communications with the Chamber. But he did say in a telephone interview on Thursday evening that he placed a call in to Pack 390’s advisor to tell him that the event is a political fundraiser.

But Yagaloff said that in no way did he make any threats, nor did he make any recommendations. Instead, he said he merely asked the question as to whether Boy Scouts of America bylaws permit Pack 390 to have a booth at a political fundraiser.

“I just raised a concern,” Yagaloff said. “They said that my concern was a valid concern.”

Strawberry Festival raises $15,000 to $20,000 for the South Windsor Republican Town Committee, Yagaloff said. The bottom line, Yagaloff said, is that even if there is no politicking permitted on site, the money goes to Republican coffers.

“It goes to fund political campaigns,” Yagaloff said. “Organizations make their own decisions. People pay for booths. Money for those booths go to the Republican party.”

Yagaloff said that the same issue came up years ago with school choral and dance groups performing at the festival. The then-superintendent of schools put a stop to the practice because it’s a political fundraiser, Yagaloff said.

As for the Chamber of Commerce, Yagaloff denied any involvement with that organization’s decision to pull out of the festival.

Yagaloff said he’s had no communications with the chamber for nearly a year, outside of speaking with Executive Director Shari Fiveash in her role as economic development coordinator on the Hi-G building at a town council meeting recently.

Yagaloff said that he’s not surprised at the reaction that has already been reported concerning Pack 390 pulling out of the festival.

“I knew this was going to happen,” he said. “Someone makes an inquiry, and immediately someone makes phone calls saying it’s for political reasons.”

Yagaloff said that either way, the Republicans are “happy.” Either the Cub Scouts participate in the event, or, if they don’t, then they attack the people who made the inquiry, Yagaloff said.

“They turn it around as an attack on children,” he said.