Community News

STRAWBERRY SOCIAL RETURNS TO THOROLD

FUNDS RAISED WILL GO TOWARD UPDATES TO THE PORT ROBINSON COMMUNITY CENTRE

ABBY GREEN agreen@metroland.com

Dig out your lawn chairs for what's bound to be a berry good time.

A Strawberry Social is being held on Sunday, June 26 at the Port Robinson Community Centre in Thorold.

While the city has had Strawberry Socials in the past, board chair Marty Wilson said this will be the first for this board.

The event runs from 1 to 4 p.m., and Wilson said admission is by donation to Community Care St. Catharines and Thorold.

Wilson said the outdoor event will feature music from O'Malley's Mates, a barbecue, and of course, strawberries and strawberry-themed desserts.

Between the band's sets, Wilson said local historian Tom Russell will teach attendees about the community centre's history.

"The kids from when the school was a schoolhouse, signed some of the bricks," she said. "Some of them have dates from like the 1800s or early 1900s, that type of thing. So, Tom is going to point those stones out, and it's names of prominent Port Robinson residents that were involved with the building of the first Welland Canal and things like that."

Proceeds from the social will go toward the board's beautification projects, which Wilson said include updating the building's signage, and redoing the round window.

"Back actually pre-COVID, we were cleaning out the attic that we found, but we didn't know what it was when we found it. It was in three pieces, but it turned out to be the old (round window) of the community centre," she said. "Right now, it's just a big circle painted white type thing. So, we have had it milled and it's now in one piece instead of three and it's all painted in. We are just deciding where to put stained glass in it, but we're looking at different things. We were thinking maybe to make it represent different things in the communities."

But the most important part of events like this for Wilson? Community.

"I love to have everybody out there," she said, adding that if the event is successful, they hope to make it annual.

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2022-06-23T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-06-23T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://communitynews.pressreader.com/article/281663963686277

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