Strawberry Festival Parade steps off from BHS at 11 a.m. Saturday

The annual Belleville National Strawberry Festival Parade steps off at 11 a.m. Saturday from Belleville High School. The parade will travel east on West Columbia Avenue to Five Points and then up Main Street to the museum.
Grand Marshal of this year’s parade is Peggy Curtis, who during her 39 years of coaching led BHS softball teams to two back-to-back state championships, the only state championship ever won by a team at BHS.
After the 2016 season, in which her team won the fifth Michigan High School Athletic Association district title in a row, the varsity softball field was named for her and her name put on the scoreboard.
Curtis was a member of the staff that started the softball program in the school district, so she basically built the field and program from scratch into one of the most successful in the state.
Curtis is a BHS graduate and now has grandchildren who attend school in the district.
While honoring her before the school board in 2016, Athletic Director Joseph Brodie said, “She is a true example of loyalty and dedication.”
He said on the field, Curtis accumulated more than 700 wins, numerous coaching honors including induction into the Michigan High School Athletic Association Coaches Hall of Fame, as well as league, district, and regional championships.
Brodie said, to his count, Curtis had been involved with getting 35 of her players signed to play at the collegiate level.
Besides the Grand Marshal, parade coordinator 34th District Court Judge Tina Brooks Green announces the following units had signed up for the parade as of Monday.
Judge Green said to units in the parade: “Please note that only vehicles that are participating in the parade will be allowed to enter Davis Street. All other vehicles are asked to park west of the high school in the parking lot and walk around to the line up. There is no parking available behind St. Anthony’s Church. This is a CHANGE from prior years. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.”
• Grand Marshal Peggy Curtis
• VFW 4434 – PLAV 167 with Color Guard
• City of Belleville elected officials
• Van Buren Township elected officials
• Sumpter Township elected officials
• Belleville Police and Fire
• Van Buren Police and Fire
• Van Buren Honor Guard
• Sumpter Police and Fire
• Augusta Fire
• Meijer
• Wayne County Community College
• Wayne County Fairgrounds
• Strawberry Queen and Court
• Congresswoman Debbie Dingell
• State Senator Erica Geiss
• State Representative Kristy Pagan
• P and P Dance Centre
• Moslem Shriners
• Master Lockman’s Black Belt Academy
• Booze Realty of Keller Williams
• Open Arms Lutheran Church and School
• Southwestern Wayne Democratic Club
• Zap Zone Family Fun Center of Canton
• River of Life
• Belleville High School Marching Band
• Huron Valley Ambulance
• Miss Great Lakes Teen
• Belleville Area Women’s Club
• Michigan Black Horsemen Association
• Belleville Community Chorus
• Belleville Central Business Community
• Chances Are Youth 4-H Club
• BACA Music Lakeside Guest of Honor 2019
• BACA Music Lakeside Guest of Honor 2018
• Jitterbugs Elite Dance
• A-One Limo
This is the festival’s 43rd year and for the first time one of the festival’s founders, St. Anthony Catholic Church, is not participating. There will be no beer tent this year or other activities on the church grounds.
The Strawberry Queen Pageant is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 14, at BHS, and the winners are expected to ride in Saturday’s parade.
Early on Saturday morning, registration for the Strawberry Run Lakeside starts at 6:45 a.m. at Horizon Park. The free 1K Fun Run for those 10 and under starts at 7:45 a.m. The 5K Run/Walk starts at 8 a.m. Those 19 and older pay $35 and those 18 and under pay $30. This is a fundraiser for the Belleville Area Chamber of Commerce and its presenting sponsor is Genisys Credit Union.
Cinnamons’ 18th-annual Father’s Day Car Show runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, June 16, in Victory Park.
The Arnold Amusement carnival hours at their two midways — Main Street and BHS — are from noon until 10 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, and noon to 7 p.m. on Sunday. The carnival is sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce.
Juried crafters, commercial vendors, and non-profit organizations will line five blocks on Main Street in the city throughout the three days of the festival.
Trinity Episcopal Church at 11575 Belleville Rd., next door in Van Buren Township, is open from 4-9 p.m. on Friday, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Trinity offers juried crafters, strawberry pies, jam, smoothies, and gluten-free options. The food tent offers Trinity’s popular sloppy joes. Free parking and wi-fi.
Belleville Presbyterian Church, 11900 Belleville Rd., offers tours of its historic Martha-Mary Chapel. Entertainment and free parking.
A shuttle bus will carry festival-goers from both Trinity and the Presbyterian churches into the city. The churches invite people to park at their locations and ride the bus into the city where parking is more of a challenge.
Besides stopping at the two the churches, on all three days the shuttle will stop at High Street and BHS, with two stops on North Liberty Street.
Headquarters for the festival is at the Belleville Area Chamber of Commerce building at 248 Main St., where information will be available.