Image courtesy of Dayton. 

The Troy Strawberry Festival is one of the biggest festivals in the Midwest. It is an annual festival that features over 100 arts and crafts vendors and more than 60 food vendors in downtown Troy. This historic city sits right along the Great Miami river, where the festival is held every year. On top of that, the Troy Strawberry Festival has been supporting local non-profits for as long as it's been around, and that has been for over 46 years. 

The Strawberry Festival follows a different theme every year. This year, the theme is “Peace, Love, and Berries.” It will be held on June 4th and 5th. Visiting the festival is an activity that is great for all types of people. It's great for adults, kids, and families. They offer plenty of fun activities to do as well as great food. Once you visit the strawberry festival for yourself, you’ll truly learn what all the hype is about!

History 

The Strawberry festival has been a feature of Troy for decades. 

The Strawberry Festival was first founded as a way to support community organizations and causes. The Troy leaders of the Chamber of Commerce decided to get together in the mid 1970s to figure out a festival idea that would accomplish that goal. They at first came up with ideas different from what the festival eventually became. The first idea was to have a sweet corn festival. More ideas followed, but strawberries won out, in part because the biggest strawberry patch east of the Mississippi river was found to exist right outside of Troy. It’s called Fulton Farms. 

Once they made the initial pivotal decisions needed for the festival, they held the first one in June of 1977. The first festival was small, but it kept growing over time until it eventually became what it is now. The festival is a largely self-supported endeavor, but it is also supported by many Troy area businesses that sponsor events. The event is now a community wide effort that is put together by thousands of volunteers. These volunteers are organized by a committee of 40 people. And even though it started out small, the Strawberry Festival now gets over 200,000 visitors each year!

Values

The Troy Festival espouses a specific set of values. 

The Troy Strawberry Festival was created to foster a vibrant and welcoming experience that brings positive recognition and economic growth to the community of Troy. And it has accomplished just that throughout its decades of existence. The institutions that benefit most from the festival include local non-profits. The festival was meant to help out the community and they have done just that. 

The festival benefits the community and also promotes Troy’s most important values. Some of those values include hospitality, hard work, and quality of life. Collaboration is also a value that is important to the community and the Troy festival displays that value well. Without collaboration, the Troy festival wouldn’t be what it is now. Many different collaborators have built and grown this festival and continue to be involved. Some of these collaborators include the Troy Area Chamber of Commerce, Troy City Schools, the City of Troy, local businesses, and several local non-profit organizations. The community at large supports the festival. 

Sustainability is another value espoused by the Troy Strawberry Festival. To reach that goal, the festival must follow strict organizational and financial processes. Festival management handles strategic planning, budgeting, auditing, and scholarship solicitation. They have managed to achieve that sustainability year after year. They make sure to serve the community with their profits and make sure it's financially viable for them to return each year. 

Excellence is another value that the Troy Strawberry Festival has espoused and accomplished. They aim for excellence in all areas. They plan, execute, and evaluate everything they need to with a critical approach that delivers great results. Because of this strong dedication to excellence, the Troy Strawberry Festival has been voted as a “best festival” in the past. They continue to live up to that title each year they come back around.

Festival Details

This festival is a blast for many different reasons. 

The Troy Strawberry Festival is centered around a different theme each year. Past themes have included volunteers changing the world, about strawberries, spotlight on strawberries, 25 berry good years, it’s a berry big world, buried treasure, pig out on strawberries and so much more. Most of the themes are centered around strawberries. A few themes don’t exactly mention strawberries, but the large majority does. Each different logo also comes with its own fun illustration. Most of the creative illustrations include fun drawings of strawberries. Giant strawberries, tiny strawberries, animated strawberries, and expressive strawberries have all been depicted at some point. These drawings are creative depictions that really give off the type of strawberry centered fun that will be had by anyone visiting the festival. 

The festival makes sure to accommodate travelers so that their stay is as comfortable as it can be. There is limited street parking and the other options are to park in different downtown parking lots. Because of this, they will be offering two free shuttles for the people using offsite parking. They also make sure to keep the shuttle rides comfortable and smooth for everyone. The ride also won’t be very long since you will just be headed from one part of downtown to another. The shuttle takes visitors right to the courthouse where they can then join the nearby festivities. 

Entertainment

The festival’s entertainment will be going nonstop throughout the event. 

The Troy Strawberry Festival has several acts that perform at different stages throughout downtown Troy. There are overall three stages. One is called the Greenville Federal Stage. This place is a bank that serves the community that has allowed the festival to use its space for performances. Another performance space is the Winans Chocolate & Coffee Stage. This is a chocolate and coffee shop that sells amazing treats. The third performance space is the Community Stage. 

The list of performers is a long one. On the Greenville stage, after the opening ceremony, you’ll see performances by the Nick Netherton Duo, Buzzard Kings, Doobies USA, Brother Believe Me, and Shazzbots. There will be a total of 13 performances on that stage. The Nick Netherton Duo is an energetic family-friendly band that plays a variety of music. They play anything from classic to country to rock. The Buzzard Kings are veteran rockers who want to renew your faith in the gospel of rock and roll. They pull a lot of inspiration from the music that comes out of Kansas City, Memphis, and Nashville. 

Brother Believe Me is an experienced group of musicians that are able to perform a wide array of genres. They perform all these genres with enthusiasm and accuracy. They maintain an upbeat atmosphere that keeps large crowds entertained at any type of event. Their style involves a mix of songs from the 70, 80, and 90s all the way up to the modern era. The Shazzbots is a kids rock band. They are the only original kid’s band in Ohio! They are a group of 5 that emphasize art and creativity in their music. Most of their songs are original, with names like, ‘My Cat’s Name is Peanut Butter,’ ‘Potluck at the Zoo,’ and ‘MILKSHAKE!’ The rest of their performance includes covers from Schoolhouse Rock and Sesame Street. Their goal is to get kids and parents up and dancing!

On the Winans Chocolates & Coffee stage, you’ll find acts like Will Freed, Vinyl Sunshine, Kid Politics, and The Avalons. Will Freed is an award-winning blues and rock guitarist. He plays multiple instruments, including a harmonica and mandolin. He is also a talented vocalist. He performs solo, as a duo, and even as a trio. The Vinyl Sunshine Band is a nostalgic one. They play the best of 60s and 70s pop and rock music. They primarily play what’s called “sunshine pop.” It focuses on the beauty of nature, sunny days, green grass, and warm breezes. Their cover songs are often upbeat and apolitical, but feature complex production and arrangements. 

Kid Politics is a band making a name for themselves in Nashville. Their name comes from the values, which they also showcase in their music. They believe that kids on the playground don’t care about adult fixations like money, skin tone, or nationality, and that adults should take an example from them. They believe that the world would be a much better place if adults thought more like children, which is why their recent album was named, “People Should Be Nice,” based on a poster a child made that stated, “Just be Nice.” The Avalons are a rock and roll oldies sensation. They have been selected for different awards for several years in a row and have recently qualified for the Dayton Business Hall of Fame. 

On the Community Stage, you’ll find different forms of entertainment. You can see line dancing, belly dancing, Zumba, cardio drumming, and even kung Fu. There are also other fun performances that can be seen there. You’ll even get to see a few stilt walkers. All these performances will be a lot of fun to watch, and if you’re in the audience, you may be moved to join in where you stand! 

Events

The events at this festival are beyond fun to participate in. 

The Troy Strawberry Festival is filled with several exciting events that anyone can get involved in. Some are events you can get into while you’re there, and some need to be signed up for in advance. One event is the Strawberry Queen Festival. It is a fun beauty pageant for high school aged girls. This event requires registration weeks in advance of the festival. There is also a Little Miss and Mr Strawberry Pageant for children ages 4-6. Another fun event is the children’s big wheel race. Children will be racing on small tricycles that have a large front wheel. Registration for this one will be open until May 27th. 

There will be a strawberry pie eating contest held. This contest is separated by age and gender and requires registration only when you’re at the event. There will be a strawberry classic run. Participants will run across a flat 5k and 10k course and will win prize money if they are among the top finishers. There is a 200 meter shortcake special run for children that will start around the same time as the adult run. And for the children who can’t yet walk or would rather not run, there is a strawberry kids crawl! Kids from ages 2-5 years old will be divided into two different groups and will have to crawl to retrieve strawberries from wading pools. This one requires registration by May 23rd. 

Other events include the Jr. Golf Tournament. This tournament is for boys and girls from ages 10-18. There are three separate age divisions to separate the older and younger kids, and the registration deadline for this event is on May 16th. There is also a 10 mile bike time trial that runs on country roads. It starts and ends near the Miami East Board of Education Building. There will be a tennis shootout for boys and girls ages 10-18. The deadline to register for that event is on June 1st. There will also be a Strawberry Car Show held nearby. It is adjacent to the Strawberry Festival and showcases over 400 cars. And for anyone who wants to show off their Strawberry Festival pride, you can adopt a strawberry! Mail the application in by May 24th and the Adopt-A-Berry team will decorate your patio, driveway, or sidewalk with a strawberry!

The Troy Strawberry Festival is a blast for so many people each year. While many attendees are from the area, a huge number of them are from out of town. This is an event that is more than enjoyable for all types of people no matter where they come from!