STRAWBERRY FAIR IS LAUNCHED
GOLDEN JUBILEE OF STRAWBERRY FAIR POISED TO BE A FAMILY FRIENDLY WEEKEND OF FUN
THE 50th annual Strawberry Fair was launched last Tuesday with a lively and colourful taste of what to expect during the festival.
The contribution made by successive committees of the County Wexford Strawberry Fair over the past 50 years to the cultural and social fabric of Enniscorthy was lauded by the Chairman of Enniscorthy Municipal Authority, Cllr Oliver Walsh at the launch of the 2017 festival programme.
Outlining how the fair had contributed enormously to the tourist economy of the town over the past half century, Cllr Walsh said the festival was first established as a way of recognising the wonderful reputation of Wexford’s soft fruit industry and, in particular, Wexford strawberries.
Cllr Walsh said he was amazed that wherever he travelled in Ireland during the summer months, Wexford strawberries always appeared to dominate roadside sales of fruit and vegetables which, he added, was a clear indication of the quality of Wexford’s soft fruit industry.
Saying the industry is now a major player in the overall economy of the county, Cllr Walsh paid tribute to the many growers who had helped establish Wexford’s jealously guarded reputation as the Soft Fruit Capital of Ireland.
Years of careful development and cultivation of the strawberry crop were the main contributory factors in achieving that reputation, he said, and the annual hosting of the County Wexford Strawberry Fair was, in itself, a celebration of that achievement.
Cllr Walsh paid tribute to this year’s organising committee of the Golden Jubilee Fair and said the programme for the festival, which takes place in Enniscorthy over the June Bank Holiday weekend, contained the ideal elements of a local festival.
The fair is centred around local products and brings town and country together to celebrate the finest of local produce, talent and entertainment, he said. He congratulated the originators of the fair on their initiative before saying ‘a great debt of gratitude is owing to the present day organisers who have maintained, and in many instances improved, on the standards of past years.’
‘2017 is a very exciting year for the fair,’ said Cllr Walsh. ‘It sees the coming together of the fair committee, the Street Rhythms committee and the Strawberry Roots committee to present a programme of music, song and dance which will showcase Enniscorthy and all it has to offer in a most favourable light.’
He also spoke of the Municipal Authority’s involvement with the Fair through its generous sponsorship which, he said, illustrated how local government, businesses and the community in general can work together in partnership for the betterment of the entire district.
Cllr Walsh referred to the upcoming Golden Jubilee Ball in The Riverside Park Hotel on Wednesday, May 30, and said he very much looked forward to welcoming back to Enniscorthy some past Strawberry Queens as VIP guests. He also made reference to Anne Doyle, former RTE News Presenter, and spoke of her as a ‘great Wexford Ambassador’ whose presence at the opening ceremony on Friday, June 2, was sure to be a crowd puller.
Another major attraction during the June Bank Holiday weekend festival was the All-Ireland Farmers’ Market, said Cllr Walsh, and he hoped the high standards of entries in this year’s competition would exceed all that had gone before.
He was satisfied the All-Ireland Farmers’ Market, now in its 10th year, would attain new standards of excellence in food production and that the winning entries would uphold the fabulous reputation the All-Ireland has achieved over the past decade.
Cllr Walsh, who was deputising for Minister of State, Paul Kehoe, said he was proud to officially launch the 2017 festival brochure which features the line up of events taking place over the weekend.