Everything you need to know about the Mattituck Lions Club Strawberry Festival on Thursday, June 14 through Sunday, June 17, 2018. You'll find highlights of the event (carnival rides, performances, more), strawberry recipes, where you can pick your own strawberries, East End restaurants and fun for families, as well as reader photos and more.

News

Mattituck Strawberry Festival 2015

The Mattituck Lions Club Strawberry Festival is the granddaddy of all berry fests, running for four days and drawing thousands to the rural farmland grounds of Mattituck each year. It's a full carnival experience with rides, games and live entertainment. A Strawberry Fair Queen is crowned. 
On Thursday night, hundreds of volunteers come out to hull thousands of strawberries that will be used for the rest of the festival to make nonalcoholic daiquiris, shortcake, pies and chocolate-covered berries. Admission is free, with reduced-price rides on the midway as the festival gets underway and a short fireworks show, weather permitting. 
The full festival begins Friday and continues through Sunday. While the fruit takes center stage all weekend, food vendors sell all kinds of carnival foods, from sausage-and-peppers to gyros to ice cream. 
Reithoffer Shows runs the carnival for the event, with the largest movable Ferris wheel in the country. "They are much different than the ones you usually find at these things," says Phil Centonze, a past president of the Mattituck Lions Club, about the carnival operators. "They do state fairs." 
Bands play throughout the carnival. A Strawberry Queen is crowned Saturday at 3 p.m. Additional fireworks shows are planned for Friday and Saturday nights. 
WHEN | WHERE June 13-16. 5-10:30 p.m. Thursday; 5-11 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday;&nbsp; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday at 1175 Rte. 48, Mattituck 
INFO&nbsp;<a href="http://mattituckstrawberryfestival.org" target="_blank">mattituckstrawberryfestival.org</a> 
ADMISSION Thursday: Free ($25 ride bracelets); Friday: $5 ($30&nbsp;ride bracelet); Saturday-Sunday: $5 ($30-$50 ride bracelets). Free admission for children younger than 5. Free admission for dads with paid child admission on Sunday. 
PARKING For those coming from the west, park at 660 Herricks Lane, Jamesport, where shuttle bus service runs continuously to the festival. Handicapped parking is available only at the festival grounds.

mattituckstrawberryfest

Mattituck Strawberry Festival: What you need to know

Plan before you go: Mattituck Strawberry Festival

The Mattituck Lions Club Strawberry Festival is the granddaddy of all berry fests, running for four days and drawing thousands to the rural farmland grounds of Mattituck each year. Here are highlights of the rides, strawberry treats, entertainment and more at the 2018&nbsp;festival.

Entertainment

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Mattituck Strawberry Festival 2018 photos

Mattituck Strawberry Festival: Must-see photos

This time of year, happiness comes in the shape of a bright-red, juicy strawberry. Smother it in chocolate, mix it with ice cream or add it to a drink, the local crop is a standout that comes but once a year. The quest to find the sweetest in the bunch starts in June, when berry-lovers head east to pick their own.

With this spring's lingering chill and long stretches of rain, Long Island's own harvest is going to be hearty, if a bit slower to ripen.

"Even though the crop is a bit late, the quality of the berries is good," says Jeffrey Rottkamp of Rottkamp’s Fox Hollow Farm in Baiting Hollow. “We just can’t help that weather dictates agriculture.”

Pick-your-own strawberries are generally sold by the quart on Long Island — from $4 to $6.50 each — with fields open on a day-to-day basis. Farmers recommend calling ahead to check conditions and hours.

Things to Do

Recreation

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Where to pick your own strawberries on Long Island

Places to go strawberry-picking on LI

From sweet treats to savory salsa, here are some delicious strawberry recipes to try this summer.

FeedMe

Food and Drink

Grilled peach and strawberry salad

Mixed berry shortcake

 Banana split with dulce de leche and strawberries

Strawberry cheesecake smoothie

Ginger panna cotta with strawberries and mint

Roll-It-Up Strawberry Roulade

Strawberry-basil granita

Strawberry frangipane

Cream Cheese "Crepes" with Warm Strawberries

Strawberry, mascarpone and amaretti parfaits

Strawberry cream brunch cake

Strawberry apple bars

Strawberry salsa

Strawberry-rhubarb crisp

Strawberries with sweetened ricotta and balsamic-black pepper syrup

Strawberry recipes

15 strawberry recipes to try this summer

The Mattituck Lions Club Strawberry Festival is the granddaddy of all berry fests, running for four days and drawing thousands to the rural farmland grounds of Mattituck each year. Here are highlights of the rides, strawberry confections, entertainment and more at the 2017 festival. 

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Mattituck Strawberry Festival 2017 photos 

Heading to the Hamptons or the East End with your family in tow? 

 Besides visiting the beautiful beaches, there are plenty of things to do with your kids from museums and water parks to animal farms, berry picking and more.

 Here's a list of family-friendly places to check out on Long Island's East End.

Family

Puff and Putt Family Fun Center

Puff and Putt Family Fun Center 2017

Children's Museum of the East End

Children's Museum of the East End  2017

Animal Farm Petting Zoo and Family Park

Animal Farm Petting Zoo  2017

Fairview Farm

Fairview Farm  2017

Splish Splash

Splish Splash  2017

Long Island Live Steamers

Little Steamers  2017

South Fork Natural History Museum and Nature Center

South Fork Natural History Museum  2017

East Hampton Town Marine Museum

East Hampton Town Marine Museum  2017

Southampton Golf Range

Southampton Golf Range 2017

Hampton Arts Cinema

Hampton Arts Cinema  2017

Ride a historic carousel

Greenport carousel cropped  2017

Montauk Lighthouse

Montauk Lighthouse  2017

Main Beach Surf and Sport

Main Street Surf and Sport  2017

Parrish Art Museum

Parrish Art Museum  2017

The Big Duck

The Big Duck  2017

The Milk Pail

The Milk Pail  2017

Long Island Aquarium and Exhibition Center

Long Island Aquarium 2017

Red Creek Park

Red Creek Park  2017

Sag Harbor Whaling Museum

Sag Harbor Whaling Museum  2017

UA Hampton Bays Theatre 5 

UA Hampton Bays Theatre 5  2017

Water Mill Museum

Water Mill Museum  2017

Shinnecock Nation Cultural Center and Museum

Shinnecock Nation  2017

East End fun for families

22 things for families to do on LI's East End

Each year, hulling night is sponsored by the Lions Club community service organization and attracts at least 1,000 friends and neighbors to the Route 48 Mattituck fairgrounds on the eve of the three-day strawberry festival. This year’s event will take place on Thursday, June 15, where volunteers will don aprons and vinyl gloves under a huge white tent to remove leaves and cores until no strawberry is unturned. 
“The hulling itself is a remarkable story,” says Philip Centonze, who has been a Mattituck Lion for 30 years. “Can you tell me another event on Long Island where over a thousand people who are not affiliated with the Lions Club give up their time anonymously to help a charity fundraiser and then come back the next few days and support this event by buying the strawberry goodies they themselves help prepare?” 
<h3>A bonding experience</h3> 
Hulling night is a time for fellowship, family bonding and an opportunity to create good memories, says Centonze, who lives in Riverhead and practices dentistry in Mattituck. The festival is the unofficial kickoff to the tourist season on the East End. 
When Hulling Night began 62 years ago, the strawberry festival was a one-day, eight-hour event. At the time, the Mattituck Lions and their families would handle all the hulling. Now that the festival has grown significantly, so too have the number of volunteers and the volume of strawberries needed. 
Centonze, who has been hulling for more than 30 years, says the activity is the best part of the annual fair. 
“To see people laugh and maybe sneak a berry in their mouth and chat with sometimes total strangers, makes it all worthwhile,” he says. 
Centonze typically works in post-hulling strawberry preparation at one of the berry washing stations. After the hulling is complete, each berry is washed and stored in a refrigerator until it is mashed and prepared for the festival’s signature shortcake topping and nonalcoholic daiquiri smoothies. 
The festival will&nbsp;have three fireworks shows including a small light show at 9:15&nbsp;on hulling night. Throughout the&nbsp;weekend, there will be food, games, rides and other amusements.

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Mattituck Lions Club Strawberry Festival: Community unites for hulling, fireworks, more

Strawberry Festival kicks off on LI: Hulling, fireworks, more

The Mattituck Lions Club Strawberry Festival is the granddaddy of all berry fests, running for four days and drawing thousands to the rural farmland grounds of Mattituck each year. Here are highlights of the rides, strawberry confections, entertainment and more at the 2016 festival.

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Mattituck Strawberry Festival 2016 photos

2016 Mattituck Strawberry Festival: Must-see pics

The Mattituck Lions Club Strawberry Festival is the granddaddy of all berry fests, running for four days and drawing thousands to the rural farmland grounds of Mattituck each year. Here are highlights of the rides, strawberry confections, entertainment and more at the 2015 festival.

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