Strawberry Aftermath

See that little red thing, just to the left of the girl's foot? 

Dead strawberry slice.

All day Thursday, it somehow evaded being scooped 

into a bowl and eaten by an avid lover 

of strawberry shortcake,

only to end up soapily smeared on the

downtown sidewalk.

Oh, the ignominy of it all.

(I just wanted to use ignominy in a sentence.)

About a half dozen teenagers were engaged

in cleaning the 30-pound pails before

they were returned to the supplier. 

The Festival organizers estimate they sell about 

six tons of strawberries, which would make

about 400 pails of the fruit - not to mention the giant 

containers of whipped cream and the ginormous 

amounts of ice cream consumed.

(Damn, my day is complete! I just used

the words ignominy and ginormous

in one post! Spelled right, too! :-)

All the Fixin's!

Thursday saw the 49th Annual 

Christ Church Cathedral Women's Strawberry Festival. 

Held annually on Monument Circle, people line up early

for the treat and sit in the shadows of the Monument

and the Cathedral to enjoy strawberry shortcake with

ice cream as live music plays in the background.

People of all ages stand in line for some of the 

18,000 home made shortcakes and fixin's,

lovingly made and stored by members of the church 

in the months leading up to the Festival.

The Festival served an estimated six tons 

of strawberries to go with the cakes, as well as 

vanilla ice cream and whipped topping.

Ninety-five per cent of the proceeds from the Festival

will go directly to local, national, and international

outreach groups.

Strawberry Festival

Today, under tents in front of Christ Church Cathedral,

people gathered for the 47th Annual Strawberry Festival. Sponsored

by the church's Women's Guild, the Festival serves homemade

shortcakes topped with ice cream, strawberries and whipped cream.

This year, organizers expected to serve 6 tons of

strawberries and 18,000 shortcakes.

On the north side of Monument Circle, people gathered to enjoy their treats

on a pleasant sunny day. Searching for shade in the shadow of

Victory's pedestal, people sat on the Monument's steps as they were

entertained by various local musical groups.

Shown here are members of the Indiana Banjo Society,

who picked their way through a number of Dixieland

and patriotic standards. 

Here mom and her daughter enjoy their treats while listening

to the Shortridge High School Jazz Band.

And in the shadow of the surrounding trees, 

a group of women enjoys their lunch break.

Of course, since strawberries are my favorite food,

serving me as a breakfast staple when they are in season,

I could not let the occasion pass without

listening to Nina Simone singing "I loves You Porgy."

They're so soft and fine,

And they're just off the vine ... Strawberries.