Community Spirit Set to Shine at Troop 46’s Upcoming Strawberry Festival

By Nicholas Mistretta

Montgomery residents have something sweet to look forward to this weekend as Troop 46 prepares to host its 57th annual Strawberry Festival on Sunday, June 1st, at the Lower Middle School. The beloved community fundraiser is expected to draw bout 2,000 attendees for an afternoon filled with food, fun, and fellowship.

Originally launched in 1968, the Strawberry Festival is one of Montgomery’s longest-running traditions. In fact, it predates even the Troop’s signature holiday wreath sale, which began about 55 years ago. With 91 years of local scouting history, Troop 46 continues to lead the way in community-building and service.

The event, which began in Moores Grove and later moved to the Elks during the 1970s, originally featured homemade angel food cakes topped with a now-famous secret-recipe strawberry sauce—still prepared fresh by Scouts each year. While homemade baking is no longer allowed due to health regulations, the iconic dessert remains intact, now served with premium Sweet Parlor ice cream and strawberries freshly sourced from Montgomery’s own Kasia Market.

The festival’s footprint has grown over the years, outgrowing the Harlingen Church venue in the late 1990s and settling into the Lower Middle School, where it has thrived for the past two decades. After a brief hiatus due to COVID-19, the event was reimagined and reintroduced in 2022 with an expanded lineup and renewed community energy.

This year’s entertainment lineup will include performances by the Montgomery High School Jazz and Stage Bands, Lower Middle School Jazz Band, and Hopewell Valley A Cappella groups. Audiences can also enjoy dynamic cultural showcases, including Bollywood and Chinese dance groups, martial arts demos, and the much-anticipated return of the Blawenburg Band for the first time since the pandemic.

In addition to live entertainment, the festival will feature vendor tables from local businesses, fun games, giveaways, township service booths, and free face painting by Maya, a perennial family favorite. Younger children will have the opportunity to race Lego-style Pinewood Derby cars courtesy of Cub Scout Pack 185.

Behind it all are the 83 active Scouts of Troop 46—currently the largest troop in New Jersey—who collectively contribute nearly 1,000 hours of community service each year. Proceeds from the Strawberry Festival help support their programming, including many notable Eagle Scout projects that continue to enhance Montgomery’s public spaces.

Recent Eagle projects include the creation of new outdoor locker rooms for the UMS/LMS track, updates to Otto Kaufman Center signage, improvements at Blawenburg and Harlingen churches, and conservation work at parks such as Hobler and Mill Pond.

Tickets are available from Scouts around town for $7 in advance or $10 at the door, this includes event entry plus a serving of the signature strawberry dessert. With nearly 600 pounds of strawberries expected to be served and support from more than 30 local businesses, the event promises to be one of the township’s most festive gatherings.

Photo Credit: Nicholas Mistretta/headlinenewsmontgomery.com