36th Annual Strawberry Festival Comes To Windham

WINDHAM, NH — A dunk tank, bounce houses and strawberry shortcakes are just some of the things to look forward to at the 36th annual Strawberry Festival and Book Fair, coming to Windham on Saturday, June 1. This year, the festivities will include the Nutfield 300th anniversary celebration— it has been 300 years since first settlers arrived in the Nutfield Grant and established the communities that became the towns of Derry, Londonderry, Windham, and the Derrfield neighborhood of Manchester.

The Strawberry Festival, taking place at Windham High School, will take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For Nutfield 300th, there will be interactive demonstrations and hands-on experiences such as pottery, historic flax processing, and beeswax candle making. Crafts for children will include miniature kite decorating, candles, and clay medallion stamping. Local historians Derek Saffie and Carol Pynn will also be available to talk or answer questions. Some free items will also be on hand while supplies last, including the book Rural Oasis, maps of Windham, 275th Program Guides, 1718 Booklet. The Commemorative Nutfield 300th Medal complete with a certificate of authenticity will be available with a $10 donation.

Community members should make sure to come to the Strawberry Festival hungry. There will be Bruno's Food Truck with fried chicken, dog bowl French fries, cotton candy, strawberry lemonade, popcorn and fried dough. The Walking Gourmet Food Truck will serve soft, warm chicken and pork tacos and beef empanadas with a chili strawberry drizzle. The Kona Ice Cream Truck will have flavored shaved ice. The Grind will offer iced coffee and iced tea. Fresh strawberry summer salad will be served by the Common Man Booth, and Capri Pizza will serve freshly baked Italian style pizza slices. Mola Foods will offer Cameroonian cuisine, including balsa braised chicken, rice and plantains. Chuck Wagon will also be on hand for those craving burgers, fries and hot dogs with delicious toppings. For dessert, the festival's famous homemade strawberry shortcakes will be served.

The festival wouldn't be complete without games and raffles. There will be bounce houses, a new batter-up inflatable baseball, an inflatable basketball game, and several tabletop carnival games. And don't miss the virtual reality gaming that has been provided and donated by Club 14.

Back by popular demand this year is the Star Berry Punch Card, which can be used for the Star Berry Hunt Game. Children will attempt to find the eight strawberries located throughout the festival as part of the game. When they spot one of the strawberries, they can punch their Star Berry Punch Card. Those who have found all the strawberries will win a prize.

Part of the festival will also be the Book Fair. Friends of the Library members will have early admission to the books on Thursday, May 30 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Nesmith Library. The book fair will then open to the general public on Friday, May 31 from 9 a.m. to noon. at the Nesmith Library. Then, the fair will move to Windham High School for Saturday, June 1. After 4 p.m. on June 1, community members can fill a bag with books for just $5.

The festival is being presented by the Friends of the Library of Windham. For more information, visit www.flowwindham.org. Volunteer opportunities are also available.