Kiwanis: Strawberry Festival success at new location

• Festival Chairman Lynn Fawcett estimated attendance at 27,000 to 28,000, compared to 30,000 in 2014.
• The festival moved from the Courthouse Square because of installation of water and sewer lines.

NEWARK – The 32nd annual Newark Strawberry Festival may not have been perfect in a new location, but event organizers called it a success.

The Newark Kiwanis Club, sponsor of the event, reports attendance was down slightly from last year’s all-time record.

This year’s festival moved from the Courthouse Square to Locust Street because of the ongoing installation of water and sewer lines on the Square.

Festival Chairman Lynn Fawcett estimated attendance at 27,000 to 28,000, compared to 30,000 last year.

“I’d say based on the attendance, we were not impacted too much (from the location),” Fawcett said. “We’re going to be able to honor our commitment to Camp O’Bannon.”

The festival is a fundraiser for Camp O’Bannon, a summer camp for low-income children, and other local charities.

The commitment is a $25,000 donation to Camp O’Bannon. Last year, the Kiwanis donated the $25,000 to the camp and $10,000 to other local charities. Fawcett said expenses will be higher this year, due to the new location.

“The club knew going into this it wasn’t going to be perfect,” Fawcett said. “A lot of Kiwanians put in a lot of effort over the weekend.

“We kept the string alive. Eighteen years from now, we want to be able to say the 50th annual.”

The smaller site forced vendors and rides into a more congested area, but Bates Amusement praised the event.

“The ride company told us Friday night was a record ride participation that they’ve ever had in any location, and we had an even bigger Saturday,” Fawcett said.

Sunday attendance was down, as rain canceled one of the Squonk concerts, Fawcett said.

Some merchandise vendors complained about difficulty getting into the site, or worried about regular customers finding their location, but praised the friendly, helpful event organizers and the people who attend.

Kiwanis Club President Dave Doney said, “We’re all pretty pleased, as a club. Rain hurt a little bit. If that land is available next year, we’ll be back there.”

Construction will again prevent the festival from returning to the Square next year, and Jerry McClain has been trying to attract a new development to the Locust Street location.

kmallett@newarkadvocate.com

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Twitter: @kmallett1958