Strawberry Festival Sweetens Summer in Macomb Township – Macomb Daily

Those who can't afford a trip to Pasadena, Calif., to watch “America's Got Talent” live can catch a local version at the St. Isidore Strawberry Festival this month.

The St. Isidore Strawberry Festival church fundraiser will take place June 21-23 at the St. Isidore Catholic Church. The church is located at 18201 23 Mile Road in Macomb Township. The talent show will take place during the festival on June 23, at 1 p.m., under the main stage marquee. Winners will receive cash prizes.

Each act will last approximately three minutes and the judges will decide the winners. Amy Righi, the church's director of music and liturgy, is the show's producer. She said one of this year's judges will be Red Wings singer Deena Shields.

Family entertainers of all types eager to share their talents with the public can audition for the Strawberry Festival Talent Show on June 17. Performers of all ages can audition from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the church. Registration can be found at stisidore.church/talent-show-auditions, and there is no fee to audition. Those admitted to the show will receive an email 24 hours after the audition. Righi said singers, pianists and even dog acts have been included in the show in the past.

“We've had jugglers, comedians, magicians, pretty much any clean act,” Righi said.

The Strawberry Festival is open to the community and entry is free.

“We are very price conscious, to the point where we offer more value than most other festivals,” said festival president Michael Fontana. “We are keeping our prices roughly the same level and have not adjusted them upward for inflation.”

Throughout the festival, strawberry tarts and other strawberry treats, such as shakes and cheesecakes, will be sold. Raffle tickets for several different raffles will also be sold during the three-day festival. Each day of the festival, adult beverages will be served, the outdoor grill will be open and children will be entertained in the children's play tent and inflatables.

The festival will begin on June 21, from 5:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Guests can enjoy music from Steve King and the Dittilies at 7 p.m. Fontana said all musical performances will take place under a tent in the courtyard.

“Steve King and his Dittilies return Friday night. They’re our standard performers Friday night, they pair well with the car show,” Fontana said. “We added Killer Flamingoes on Saturday night, then Parallel Fifth was with us last year, they moved on Sunday.”

An ice cream bar will be open from 6 p.m. Dining at the outdoor grill will begin at 5:30 p.m., as will the taco bar.

“We’re adding a mobile taco on Friday nights. We have never done this. We’re trying to bring something different and also alleviate some of our lines outside our outdoor grill,” Fontana said.

A car show will take place at 6 p.m. Cars must enter from Romeo Plank Road and will be parked in a special section in front of the rectory. Prizes and dashboard plaques will be available. Fontana said registration is currently open at a cost of $15 per entry. On the day of the show, the entry fee will be $20. Currently, registration forms can be obtained from the church office during business hours, listed at the following address: stisidore.church/mass-times.

The festival will continue on June 22 and will be open from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Dinner will include a pasta dinner at 5:30 p.m. Guests will also be able to participate in a Sweet Walk at 5:30 p.m.

Entertainment will include a band and a clown. The band Killer Flamingos will perform at 7 p.m. and Oopsy Daisy the Clown will perform from 6 p.m.

Those who fancy a bit of competition can take part in the euchre tournament at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Fontana said there is no cost to participate in the tournament, nor the June 23 bingo event.

On the last day, June 23, the festival will be open from 12:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. On June 23, the band Parallel Fifth will perform at 3:30 p.m. At 12:30 a Polish dinner will be served. . The Sweet Walk will open at 1 p.m. and Oopsy Daisy the Clown will also perform at that time. Festival-goers will be able to enjoy bingo at 1 p.m. and the thematic draw will take place at 7:30 p.m.

Detailed timetables for the Strawberry Festival are available on stisidore.church/festival.