Gallons of strawberries disappeared as rapidly as vendors set them out at Long Grove’s 16th Annual Strawberry Festival last weekend. Long Grove Confectionery Co. Manager Jina Tangen estimated that more than 600 pounds of the yummy, chocolate-dipped variety would leave her store during the three-day fest. “It’s one of our specialties,” Tangen said. “Some people come here just for that.”
But strawberries were not the only lure for the nearly 50,000 people who had stopped by the village.
Barrington couple Vern and Viv Kuhlman, frequent visitors at the town’s Thursday concerts in Fountain Square but first-timers at the festival, weathered the oppressive heat at midday Saturday to catch a favorite band.
“We like the Banjo Buddies. We think they’re great,” said Viv Kuhlman, who was enjoying the music from a nearby shady bench. “It’s hot. But I’m glad we came. I think its fun. And it’s a good idea. It introduces more people to Long Grove.”
The Kroeger family of Lindenhurst stopped munching their burgers just long enough to say what brought them.
“Lots of food,” Paul Kroeger said. “The shops,” his son, 10-year-old Alan, said. Daughter Marie, 7, also gave the shops a thumbs up.
Indeed, with food booths lining the north side of the Crossroads (the town’s name for its main intersection of Robert Parker Coffin and Old McHenry Roads) and about every spare inch of sidewalk, the festival could have been dubbed Taste of Long Grove.
Among the top draws were Long Grove Lions Club’s brats tent, where water was in as much demand as beer, and the Farmside Bakery & Ice Cream Shop tent, which offered tastes of the store’s gourmet sauces and spices, including WGN radio personality Spike O’Dell’s Feel Good Products line of flavored mayonnaise.
It didn’t hurt that O’Dell was dishing up a seafood dip he concocted with his zesty horseradish mayo and a BLT dip with his Smokey mayo. But turn in his mike for a mixing spoon? Not a chance.
“This is just for fun,” he said. “They’ll have to drag me away screaming from radio.”
