Berry sales are tasty prelude to strawberry festival

Even the threat of a rainstorm Wednesday didn't stop people from lining up for a quart -- or a flat -- of fresh, locally-grown strawberries. The sweet-tasting, plump berries drew customers from Cape Girardeau, Oak Ridge and other nearby towns to the Teen Challenge International Mid-America strawberry stand in the Town Plaza Shopping Center.

The annual Strawberry Festival planned for Saturday is expected to draw 800 people from throughout the region, and as far away as Arkansas and Kentucky.

The festival's events begin at 9 a.m. and conclude at 2 p.m. at the Teen Challenge Center, 303 MATC Lane off Cape Girardeau County Road 621.

Throughout the day there will be music from New Creations, the Teen Challenge choir, and a Christian bluegrass band. Charlotte Reed of Puppet Power also will perform. Guests also are invited on a hay ride to see the strawberry fields and enjoy a free serving of strawberry shortcake. Meals will be for sale and 2 quarts of berries will be given away every 15 minutes.

Auctions also will be held, beginning at 10:30 a.m. Bids for silent auction items will be accepted until 2 p.m.

Beverly Breithaupt, an administrative assistant for Teen Challenge, said that the organization will sell about 2,500 quarts of strawberries at the festival. Proceeds will be used to support the center.

The strawberry stand also helps bring in money for the center. The stand operates weekdays from 9 a.m. until all of the day's strawberries are sold or 5 p.m., whichever comes first.

Supply and demand

On Wednesday morning, as the Rev. Jack Smart helped fill customer orders, he answered questions about berry production and how many strawberries had been picked so far this season.

Smart said Teen Challenge is having a tough time keeping its production in line with its demand. The crews picked enough berries Tuesday to make 42 flats available for sale.

Darlene Williams of Cape Girardeau bought four quarts of berries.

"Some are for my mom, some are for me, and some are just to eat," she said.

Williams had prepared a strawberry dessert the previous evening and that whetted her appetite for the fruit.

Teen Challenge students began picking the strawberries May 13, and that helps them build a work ethic, Breithaupt said. Students, most of whom have abused alcohol or drugs, will spend 10 months in the faith-based rehabilitation program, rebuilding their lives and value systems.

"The purpose is not to teach a vocational skill," Breithaupt said. "It is to teach how to have a good attitude in spite of the circumstances and to give a basic understanding of how to approach a work situation."

Teen Challenge currently has 138 students living on campus.

dfarley@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 226