Joel and Laura feed a fresh-picked POP berry to their baby. Fresh fruit pleases people of all ages!
Joel and Laura feed a fresh-picked POP berry to their baby. Fresh fruit pleases people of all ages!

The Annual Strawberry Festival hosted by POP partners Historic Woodford Mansion, Historic Strawberry Mansion, and East Park Revitalization Alliance (EPRA) took place on Saturday, June 20 at Historic Strawberry Mansion. It was JAM packed and a BERRY big success! In the morning, volunteers participated in a grape trellising workshop, learning to build a very sturdy trellis to help the orchard’s grape vines thrive. Around lunchtime, more children and parents arrived to participate in a myriad of activities, including playing corn hole, face painting, a children’s art activity, free tours of The Historic Strawberry Mansion, and, of course, experiencing the joy of picking and eating sun-warmed strawberries . Visitors could also eat a more hearty lunch provided by Historic Strawberry Mansion. Thanks to the hard work of students in the East Park Revitalization Alliance, guests also helped themselves to fresh-picked raspberries, and the food celebration was rounded out when a host of delicious strawberry-themed desserts were brought out for everyone. Participants could alsostrawberry learn about Grounded in Philly, a fantastic group aimed to transition vacant lots into green community spaces, with support from the Garden Justice Legal Initiative. POP would like
to give a huge thank you to all the volunteers from every group who made it possible for this event to take place. We look forward to seeing you at our next event!

Report written by POP Education Intern Rachel Baltuch. 

SUPPORT US!  If you found this entry useful, informative, or inspiring, please consider a donation of any size to help POP in planting and supporting community orchards in Philadelphia: phillyorchards.org/donate.