Are We There Yet?

Cabot festival celebrates succulent strawberries

Berries from Holland Bottom Farm should be available this weekend at the Cabot Strawberry Festival.
Berries from Holland Bottom Farm should be available this weekend at the Cabot Strawberry Festival.

CABOT -- Strawberry farmers around Cabot are happy to boast about their wares. The website of Holland Bottom Farm proclaims: "We grow the biggest and sweetest strawberries in the South."

The succulence of this locally grown fruit gets celebrated Friday and Saturday at the 14th annual Cabot Strawberry Festival. It's an event with a purpose, sponsored by the Junior Auxiliary of Cabot to raise money from concessions for projects in the Lonoke County community. Focusing on children, those activities include Christmas gifts for youngsters from low-income families and a reading program.

The festival's location has been moved this year to downtown Cabot, with booths set up on two parking lots and entry at the corner of Main and Second streets. Given the larger space available, the Junior Auxiliary is aiming for attendance of 5,000 to 7,000.

There's an abundance of entertainment on the schedule, starting with the Monroe County Band at 7:30 p.m. Friday. On Saturday, the entertainment begins at 9:30 a.m. with the Greater Little Rock Metropolitan Jazz All Stars. A total of 11 groups will perform on Saturday, wrapping up with headliner Tragikly White at 5 p.m.

Based in Little Rock, Tragikly White does a wide range of covers, including Usher, the Bee Gees, AC/DC, Kanye West, Chuck Berry and Buck Cherry. The band includes lead guitarist Alan Hash, guitarist Rick Martin, Jimmy Tomlinson on bass and Byron Hayes on drums.

New to the festival is a 5K "Glow Run for the Berries" with competitors wearing iridescent vests and stepping off at 7:30 p.m. Friday. It will be preceded by a 1-mile "Fun Run" at 6:30. Among Saturday's activities are the Strawberry Fest Pageant at 10 a.m. and a pie throwing contest at 11.

Expected to be on hand selling their strawberries are Holland Bottom Farm, the Cabot Patch and Barnhill Orchards. Last year, fresh berries were sold out by 4 p.m. Saturday, and this year's supplies may be even more limited due to uneven growing weather in the last few weeks.

But there will be plenty of other edibles for sale, from booths and food trucks. Strawberry shortcake will be a signature item, with other fare running from burgers and tacos to crawfish. If the fresh berries are all sold, visitors can go for the shortcake.

Admission to Cabot Strawberry Festival is free. Visit jacabot.com.

Weekend on 04/21/2016

Upcoming Events