Summer nights are back again, but “strawberry nights” are on the picnic table this summer.
For 117 years, the community has welcomed summer with sweet berries, bright flowers and a festival that feels a little like coming home. This year, the tradition gets a splash of leather jackets, pink hair and high school flashbacks as the Strawberry Festival rolls into town with the theme “Strawberry Nights.”
Inspired by the iconic film “Grease” tune “Summer Nights,” this year’s celebration is packed with hometown spirit, a dash of vintage flair and enough nostalgia to make anyone want to cruise downtown in their hopped-up hot rod.
So tell us more, tell us more – who are this year’s Strawberry Princesses? What events are returning? Perhaps more importantly, what’s new? You’ll find all that inside this special section dedicated to one of Lebanon’s most beloved traditions.
It all goes together like ramma-lamma-lamma-ka-dingity-da-dinga-dong.
From carnival lights glowing after sunset to the scent of strawberry shortcake drifting through Main Street, festival week has a way of turning ordinary summer evenings into memories that stick around long after the music fades.
But before the music fades, the Strawberry Festival Association is inviting the community and its neighbors to gather together for parades, entertainment and a particular event that may only come once around: an attempt to perform the largest coordinated hand jive performance in the books.
The association will also reveal an updated float for the “world’s largest strawberry shortcake,” and Sunday will feature performances by local youth talent.
On Saturday, Bryan Martin leads as this year’s musical headliner, followed by Brady Goss, the hand jive event, and then an Alabama tribute band, Roll On. Fireworks will be the day’s finale event.
So grab your shades, shine up those dancing shoes and get ready for a celebration that’s “electrifyin’.”
Summer may only last a season, but Strawberry Nights is one to be remembered.