Homemade ice cream and strawberry shortcake, plus homemade old-fashioned sugar cookies, at the Chapel Hill United Methodist Church; strawberry pancakes and sausage at the First United Methodist Church; rib eye steak sandwiches and strawberry shortcake presented by the 4-H on the Episcopal Church lawn; homemade strawberry shortcake offered by the ladies of the local American Legion. Yes, it’s time for the West Virginia Strawberry Festival in Buckhannon, which began Saturday and continues through Sunday, May 17th.

An award-winning strawberry basket

An award-winning strawberry basket

There’s more than strawberries, of course. Also scheduled: orchestra and concert band competitions, photography exhibits, craft, art, and quilt shows, a carnival, a recipe contest, antique engines and tractors, car shows, parades, street parties, fun runs, something called Irish Road Bowling, and fireworks.

Here is the festival website description of Irish Road Bowling: "You score Irish Road Bowling like you would golf. Participants use a 28 ounce iron and steel "bowl" the size of a tennis ball and hurl it down Turkey Run Road in Buckhannon. The fewest shots over this 1.5 mile course wins!"

Here is the festival website description of Irish Road Bowling: “You score Irish Road Bowling like you would golf. Participants use a 28 ounce iron and steel “bowl” the size of a tennis ball and hurl it down Turkey Run Road in Buckhannon. The fewest shots over this 1.5 mile course wins!”

There’s a pie eating contest, a strawberry blonde contest, a Sweetest Berry competition between strawberry growers, and a strawberry basket competition where the entrants’ baskets will be auctioned off afterwards. One competition features “strawberry capping,” where entrants try to remove the tops of a quart of berries in the shortest amount of time. Festival admission is free. For more information see the festival website.