Troop 46 Continues Tradition with 58th Annual Strawberry Festival

Nicholas Mistretta

Montgomery residents have something sweet to look forward to again as Troop 46 prepares to host its 58th annual Strawberry Festival on Sunday, June 7th, at the Lower Middle School. The beloved community fundraiser is again expected to draw about 2,000 attendees for an afternoon filled with food, fun, and fellowship.

The entire event is organized and run by the Scouts themselves—from setup and logistics to preparing the signature strawberry shortcake dessert topped with their special secret strawberry sauce and ice cream. Behind it all are the nearly 90 active Scouts of Troop 46—currently the largest troop in New Jersey—who collectively contribute well over 1,000 hours of community service each year. Proceeds from the Strawberry Festival help support their programming, including many notable recent Eagle projects at local houses of worship, conservation work at Montgomery parks, and a free golf warm-up hitting area at Sommerset County Municipal golf course.

This year’s festival entertainment lineup will include highly anticipated performances by the Montgomery High School Jazz and Stage Bands and Lower Middle School Jazz Band. Audiences can also enjoy dynamic cultural showcases, including Bollywood and Chinese dance groups, martial arts demos, and it all kicks off with the Blawenburg Band at 1pm sharp. In addition to live entertainment, the festival will feature vendor tables from local businesses, fun games, giveaways, and township service booths. 

Younger children will have the opportunity to race Lego-style Pinewood Derby cars courtesy of Cub Scout Pack 185 and get free face painting by Maya, a perennial family favorite. And for the third consecutive year, the Scouts have partnered with the Montgomery Township Mayor’s Health and Wellness Campaign, encouraging attendees to participate in active movement at the event and beyond. Tickets are available only directly 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 20 local businesses, the event promises to again be one of the township’s most festive gatherings.

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 56 years ago. With 92 years of local scouting history, Troop 46 continues to lead the way in community-building and service.

The event, which began in Moore’s 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, with all ingredients locally sourced: cakes from the ShopRite bakery, fresh strawberries from Montgomery’s own Kaisa Market, and premium ice cream from a local Hillsborough retailer. 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 its current expanded lineup of entertainment and renewed community energy.

Photo Credit: Nick Mistretta/headlinenewsmontgomry.com