A ‘sweet’ family connection

St. Stephen’s Strawberry Festival celebrates 25th anniversary

By Elizabeth Landry
Staff writer

Where can you find basket raffles, a silent auction, kids’ games, putt-putt golf, music, chicken dinners, pulled pork sandwiches, Gianelli sausage, hamburgers, and Hofmann hot dogs, a dessert wheel, fried dough, and a variety of strawberry treats like strawberry shortcake and smoothies — all in one evening?

At the St. Stephen’s Church Strawberry Festival in Phoenix, of course!

This year is the 25th anniversary celebration of the festival, which was first organized in 2001 by Father Andrew Baranski and St. Stephen’s Altar Rosary Society, and it will be held at the church on the evening of Friday, June 26, from 4 to 8 p.m. In addition to being the 25th anniversary, this year’s festival is also special because an adorable part of the festivities is coming full circle. The “Strawberry Boy” mascot will be 3-year-old Beckham Frawley, son of Daniel Frawley, who was the original “Strawberry Boy” for the very first festival — a fun family connection that will make this festival feel extra special.

“I love that [Beckham’s] going to do it. I hope that he is a good sport the day of when he has to get in the costume,” Frawley said lightly. “It does feel pretty cool. … He’s the right man for the job.”

Sue Shatrau has been chairing the festival for around 15 years. She and her team prepare extensively to make sure everything comes together.

“It’s our 25th, I think that’s quite a milestone,” said Shatrau. “You know, it’s a real feather in our hat to know that this thing has been functioning for this long.”

The festival is the largest fundraiser of the year for St. Stephen’s parish, and Shatrau said that many people attend the festival from the wider community, as well — it serves as a fun way for the community to come together and kick off the summer season.

“It’s a huge event for the community,” she said. “It brings so many people together. We have a martial arts demonstration. We have a local dance group that comes in, and they do presentations. It draws such a large crowd from the community. The Phoenix Fire Department participates, and we usually have police officers that come. We have a DJ, Gordon, who is absolutely wonderful. We have an evangelization corner, if people have anything they want to offer up, you know, we do prayers. We let them know what our Mass schedules are and what our church has to offer if they’d like to join, if they’re not a member.”

All the food is homemade and fresh and much of it is donated locally — Hoffman, Gianelli, and Byrne Dairy have donated food items, among other businesses. The festival is free to attend, and food prices are kept as low as possible. Shatrau said that St. Stephen’s pastor, Father Scardella, is there the whole evening, helping out at the fried dough counter and also running the major raffle. 

“[The festival] is not only for the parish, but it’s really for the village of Phoenix. … It’s a wonderful community event. It’s a wonderful thing. These women in the Altar Rosary, and the men, they work very hard,” said Father, adding that there will be a special raffle this year because a local jeweler donated a very valuable necklace. Like previous years, the grand prize is a package including two tickets to a New York Yankees baseball game with parking and food included.

And Father’s favorite strawberry treat at the festival? He answered without hesitation.

“The strawberry smoothie. Absolutely.”