35th annual Cherry Festival preparations underway

The July 6 festival will include all the favourites, including 647 cherry pies.

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1 / 1 There will be lots of fresh cherries for sale, but much missed this year will be Judy MacLachlan, who was always at the cherry table, last year with Gary Burroughs and Barbara O'Connor. MacLachlan passed away last October.Penny Coles

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When St. Mark’s Anglican Church holds its annual Cherry Festival this year, it will feature all the favourite events locals and visitors have come to love. Front and centre, of course, will be the cherries.

Fresh cherries from Cherry Lane, a Vineland grower, will be available to purchase, there will be lots of cherry jam freshly made by volunteers and ready to sell, and of course, cherry pies.

This year there are 647 frozen pies not yet baked, lovingly made by volunteers, says festival organizer Andrea Douglas.

Some will be baked for sale the day of the festival, and some will be sold frozen for those who like to take them home and bake them ready-to-serve — they come with instructions, says Douglas. “They bake up easily, and they are fabulous, just as good as the ones we bake — you can’t tell the difference.”

The pies sell out quickly, so come early if you want to take a cherry pie home with you.

There will also be cherry floats, the customary table with baked goods, activities for kids, and the popular all-day barbecue.

Donated books, CDs, DVDs and record albums will be for sale on a table under the churchyard trees, there will be a jewelry booth, and music by the Fort George Fyfe and Drum Regiment to enjoy at noon.

A heritage interpreter will be offering tours inside the church, and the NOTL Museum’s Tiny Museum will be on the church grounds.

And in Addison Hall, the popular Haute Emporium will offer all kinds of high-end clothing, jewelry and other items for sale, says Douglas.

New and exciting this year is the St. Mark’s Cookery Book for sale, with a selection of recipes “by the beloved church ladies and gentlemen, some recipes handed down, some newer,” says Douglas, and put together by church member Susan Peacock. It also includes a recipe for “St. Mark’s Cherry Pie,” its cover proclaims.

This year’s festival, adds Douglas, “includes all the tried and true booths,” organized by more than 100 volunteers in advance of the event, including pie-makers, and with about 100 volunteers on-site the day of the event. “Many are from St. Mark’s, but we also have a lot of friends who come to help to experience the Cherry Festival that way — they love it.”

The Cherry Festival at St. Mark’s is at 41 Byron Street, NOTL, Saturday, July 6, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.