My hometown festival

In Chassell, every July we celebrate strawberries.

The Copper Country Strawberry Festival originated in 1948 to highlight the delicious strawberries grown in and around the small community of Chassell in the western Upper Peninsula. The oldest strawberry farm in the area, the Ohtonen Farm, is celebrating its centennial anniversary in 2022 and is on its third generation of family ownership.

The Strawberry Festival, organized by the Chassell Lions Club, is always held the weekend following the 4th of July holiday and includes a queen coronation, arts and crafts and exhibits, two parades, music, a fish boil and chicken BBQ, and, of course, plenty of strawberries!

Strawberry shortcake is served for the duration of the festival, all baked and prepared by hundreds of community volunteers. Thousands of quarts of the delicious berries are picked each year and the local berry farms compete for the Sweepstakes prize.

It is a truly special event for Chassell and the entire U.P., attracting thousands of people, many who grew up in the Chassell area and make the annual pilgrimage home for the festival and to reconnect with friends and family.

That’s really what makes the weekend so great, the traditions and love that go into the festival, and the people who make it happen.

I’ve always lived by the adage: Do what you love and the rest will come. And maybe (if you’re really blessed) there will be whipped cream on top 🍓🍰