Waupaca’s first taste of summer event relocated

After being canceled last summer, Strawberry Fest will be held this year in a different downtown location due to the Main Street reconstruction project.

The event will take place at Trinity Lutheran Church’s parking lot, part of Jefferson Street and the back parking lot of the new Waupaca Area Chamber of Commerce office building.

Scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 19, the fest will include an arts and crafts area with more than 150 booths, a variety of food options at Strawberry Lane Café, Strawberry Shortcake and the Lil’ Strawberry Sally and Sam Costume Contest.

Dizzy D. Balloon Twister wand Tiny Treasures Daycare. will provide children’s activities. Fun Pros Bounce Houses will be located next to the Waupaca Park and Rec Center.

Other activities include the Waupaca Area Model Railroaders Train Show from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, June 19-20, at the Waupaca Park and Rec Center.

On South Main Street, the Waupaca Historical Society will have an outdoor exhibit and sell refreshments 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Holly Center and St. Mark’s Episcopal Church will hold a bake sale and refreshments in their Prayer Garden.

Trinity Lutheran Church will have a silent auction in their fellowship hall.

The Historic Soo Line Depot will be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

The Waupaca Lions Club will host their Father’s Day Fly-In/Drive-In Pancake Breakfast at the Waupaca Municipal Airport from 7 a.m. to noon Sunday, June 20.

“We are excited to have Strawberry Fest and other events back this year after canceling in 2020,” said Mitchell Swenson, vice president of tourism with the Waupaca Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Though we are setting up in a different location, we are glad to welcome visitors to this festival and the Waupaca area.”

An estimated 9,000 people attend the one-day festival. The first Strawberry Fest was held in 1989.