Wednesday, I had to satisfy a craving. For the past month, I’ve been typing STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL this and STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL that into the calendar, and my goodness was it making me hungry! That’s why I decided I accompany my work buddy Cathy to the Ladies Guild of St. Mary of Czestochowa Church’s annual strawberry festival. Cathy, a member of the church, was quite the celebrity at the event. I’m convinced that she knows everyone in this town!

When we arrived at the church's parish center, toward the end of the festival, we were greeted by Olga Gorey, the guild's secretary. She told us that large shortcakes were $5.25 and small shortcakes were $4.50, which considering the portions we received and the fact that the proceeds would fund scholarships for local students, were not bad prices at all.

I asked how much the guild brings in each year.

"It varies, but we do well," Gorey said. "It's probably our major fundraiser."

I placed my order and received a ticket to cash in for a plate of strawberry goodness, but stopped to talk to Bobby Stachura on the way. Stachura had just finished enjoying some shortcake and I wanted to know more about what brings the locals out.

"I've been coming since I was in kindergarten," said Stachura, now a student at Lasell College in Newton, Mass., on home for summer break, adding that it was "a little tradition" of his to return each year.

I met Terry Dykas, the group's president, to get all of the facts and figures about the event. With strawberry-stained hands, she flipped through a file containing information from past years' festivals. She said that last year, the group made 473 shortcakes, but this year was looking more promising.

"This year we're doing better," Dykas said. "We're almost at 500."

I also asked how long the group had been doing this festival, and no one could really pinpoint the exact start because it had been going on for so long. Dykas consulted other long-serving members of the guild, including Jane Opalacz, who I was delighted to see. It's part of the joy of being a small-town journalist that you get to see the same people again sometimes. I had written about Opalacz when working on a series about local fraternal organizations, as she is a member of the Middletown Polish Falcons nest. By consulting Opalacz, they determined that the festival must have gone back to the mid 1950s. They reminisced about the earlier years of the festival, when members of the guild would pick their own strawberries from an area farm and the festival was accompanied by an outdoor carnival. Now, the berries are bought pre-picked in large cases and the carnival is no longer.

To learn more about the shortcakes themselves, I stepped into the kitchen, where a handful of women were hard at work. I met Agnes DiStefano, who Dykas said was in charge of placing the kitchen orders and knew just how much it would take to feed the hungry locals.

DiStefano was convinced that this year's festival was the best yet, and despite the hard work in the kitchen, was very pleased to be part of the festival.

"These girls are the best to work with," DiStefano said.

I asked about the recipe, wondering if maybe there were pieces of paper listing the secret ingredients being hidden away from this reporter's eyes. No such luck.

"The recipe is all in our heads," DiStefano said. "We all know what to do."

I also met Regina Brodzinski, who was manning the take-out station. From one end of the station to another, she was a one-woman order-taking, dessert-making machine. She claimed that the take-out station was easy and that she had been placed there for a few years now, but I think she just made it seem easy with those fast feet.

Opalacz reminded me, after scribbling down notes about the day, that I still had not cashed in my ticket for my shortcake. So she took my ticket and served up a heaping helping of some of the seriously delicious strawberry dessert. I made my way to a table to sit with Cathy and sample the treat that this whole festival is centered on. It was there that I met Nick DiStefano, Agnes' husband. You see, while there are 35 members of the group, some extra help is needed, which is why husbands sometimes get roped in to helping the guild ladies out. He said the ladies had been working since 7 a.m., tearing through 30 cases of berries in preparing the desserts. He also said that there were some concerns about how many people would attend the event because the guild was one of the last area groups to have its festival, but those concerns were dashed after the day's turnout.

After finishing our desserts, we met Joe Russo who, at 98 years old, looks forward to the festival and has attended for many years. The ladies of the guild fawned over him while putting together a special sugar-free berry mix to top the shortcake and trying to talk him into just a small dollop of whipped cream to top the treat.

So with many pictures taken and many new people met, we made our way back to the office and I was delighted, because I had met so many new people, had such a great dessert and yet again had a story to tell.

Photos by Catherine Avalone

There is plenty to do this week in the area. Come Tuesday, Russell Readers will meet from 7 to 8:20 p.m. in Meeting Room 3 at Russell Library, 123 Broad St., Middletown. “Krakatau” by Jim Shepard and “Weekend” by Fay Weldon will be discussed.

On Wednesday, the 13th annual Cruise Night on Main will be held from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Main Street in Middletown. This promises to be a big event that many in the area look forward to every year. The event will feature hundreds of pre-1985 classic and vintage automobiles, which will line both sides of Main Street from Washington Street to the South Green. Free parking for the evening is available at the Middle Oak Corporate Center Garage on College St., Melilli Parking Arcade off Washington and Court Streets and Riverview Center Parkade with entrances on Court Street and MLK Way. Special interest vehicles will be on display with prior approval by calling Mark at (860) 250-7822. Registration for the cars will begin at 4:30 pm. by entering at the south end of Main Street. Registration signs will be posted in the area

Get doubles the movies on Thursday, with “Yes Man” being shown at 6 p.m. at Brainerd Library in Haddam and “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” being shown from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Arch Room of the Cromwell Belden Public Library, 39 West St., Cromwell.

Friday, check out The Buttonwood Tree, as Anne and Pete Sibley will be performing at 8 p.m. The suggested donation is $15.

Strawberry season is in full swing, and I couldn’t be happier about it. I hear tell from back home that strawberries are as big as fists in the Midwest, but I hear they are also incredible on the East Coast. Some coworkers checked out the Ladies Aid Strawberry Festival at Third Congregational Church in Middletown and had a great time. I heard they had some delicious treats there, and I’m sorry I missed out. The strawberry festivals are not all past, though. Saturday, St. Lawrence Church, 7 Hemlock Drive, Killingworth, will hold its annual strawberry festival, craft fair and auction from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Treat Dad Sunday with breakfast. A Father’s Day breakfast will be offered at the Polish National Home, 56 Warwick St., Middletown, from 7:30 to 11 a.m. For more information, call (860) 346-9915.

Last Saturday, I had the opportunity to meet a local celebrity -- Niko, one of the Middletown Police Department's K-9 officers. The police pup was meeting children at the Middletown Kids Health and Safety Day, and I must say I was really impressed. The kids loved Niko, who was great with them, and even gracious when a six-month-old Chihuahua named Honey made her presence known in a very loud way. The officer accompanying Niko said the dog was a real fan favorite. I thought I'd share some of the photos I took of all of the kids getting to know one of Middletown's finest.

It's another busy week in Middlesex County. Tomorrow, you can check out the arts and crafts fair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the Westbrook Town Green. It's been going strong for more than 20 years, so they must be doing something right.

On Tuesday, Joseph A. Hern, chairman of the New England Churchillians, will give a lecture and “magic lantern show” on the topic of “Winston Churchill in America as Seen Through his Visits to Boston,” at 7 p.m. at the Essex Library. The lecture is free and open to the public, but advance reservations are requested. Call the Essex Library at (860) 767-1560. What's a magic lantern show, you ask? From what I've gathered, it's a type of visual entertainment that predates motion pictures. Sounds interesting!

The travel film series at the Cromwell Belden Public Library will travel to Northern Spain from 2 to 3 p.m. No registration and no cost, so if you find yourself with an hour to kill in the area, it could be worth stopping by.

For a more mainstream movie, check out "Last House on the Left" at Brainerd Library in Haddam at 6 p.m. Thursday. Or, you could check out the Middletown Elks Lodge's Flag Day celebration, which kicks off at 5:30 p.m. that same day and brings a lot of local groups together to celebrate one of our nation's honored symbols.

As I am a sucker for book sales, it's worth mentioning that The Friends of Russell Library will be holding their book sale at the library next weekend. The books get cheaper as the weekend goes on, but I'm sure all the good stuff will get scooped up the first day. What a quandary.

Relay for Life will also be held next weekend at Woodrow Wilson Middle School. Many members of the community will be stepping out to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Thus far, participants have raised nearly $55,000, and they are sure to raise more as the event draws nearer.

This past Sunday, I found myself at the Westfield Memorial Day Parade. Here are some shots that didn't make it into the paper.

The more I type entries into the calendar, the more I realize that I can’t be everywhere in the county that I want to be to attend its various events. I do, however, wish I could see what the reaches of the county has to offer. That’s why I’m asking my readers to step in. One a week, I will chose a submitted photo at random and put it on the blog along with a description of the event and what is going on in the photo. I’ll be taking all types of photos of community events, from fundraisers to tag sales to concerts. Interested? Send an e-mail to lposter@middletownpress.com with your photo and tell me all about your event. With some luck, your photo will be chosen for the blog that week. I’m looking forward to seeing what my shutterbug readers have to share – snap away!

There is plenty to do this week, believe me. My pick for Sunday has to be the B.O.M.B. fest, an all-day concert starting at 10:30 a.m. at the Durham Fairgrounds. Tickets are $60 at the gate. This was a tough pick for me, however, and the close runner-up is the Chester Lions Club annual antique tractor pull at the Chester Fairgrounds. For a $1 donation you can check out the excitement. What can I say, my dad is a former tractor pull champion, and we call that big entertainment where I am from.

Come Monday, you can have your pick of plenty of Memorial Day parades in the area. Check out our Let the Summer Begin special section for more information.

Now, I type in entries for things called "travel films" pretty often. I wish I knew more about what they are. Anyone know? Well, a travel film on Kentucky will be shown from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Arch Room of the Cromwell Belden Public Library Wednesday. No registration required for this free event.

Speaking of movies, “Love Happens” will be shown at 6 p.m. at the Brainerd Library in Haddam Thursday. What can I say, I love a good chick flick.

Come Friday, The Phoenix Theater Company will be presenting the 25th anniversary of Dan Goggins’ “Nunsense” at 8 p.m. at Town Hall Theater, 174 Main St., Deep River. Tickets $20 for adults, $18 for students and seniors and $15 for groups of 10 or more. I hear it's a riot. Check out the Weekend special section of the paper to read more about it. For reservations and information, visit www.phoenixtheater.us or call (860) 291-2988.

There's something for the whole family this weekend with The Community Kids Carnival at the Middlefield Community Center Saturday, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information contact Susan D’Orvilliers at (860) 349-2454.