Help Rebuild Owego New York’s Iconic Strawberry

Our community is full of fun things to do during the warm weather months, and there are many events and festivals held around the Southern Tier of New York and Northeast Pennsylvania.

One of those events is the very popular Strawberry Festival held in Downtown Owego. This year's festival will be held June 13th through the 15th. The festival is about to celebrate its 42nd year.

One of the icons of the Strawberry Festival that has greeted visitors and residents of the Owego community, is the bright red, wooden Strawberry that sits on the Front Street bank of the Susquehanna River.

Read More: Ride Your Bicycle On The Watkins Glen Race Track!

Unfortunately, due to exposure to the many weather elements over the years, along with bird and insect invasions, the once proud beacon of the Strawberry Festival is showing its age. Due to deterioration, it will soon become unstable and unsafe according to a news release.

The owner of the property where the Strawberry sits, Kim Trahan, is heading up an effort to replace the icon. The news release notes that the Historic Owego Marketplace, host of the annual Owego Strawberry Festival, is supporting the effort.

At the Pumpelly House, Kim Trahan is pictured below, next to the tree that will be utilized to carve the new strawberry.

JR Carving of Elmira has been retained to carve a new Strawberry from a large trunk of a damaged tree from the Pumpelly House Estate on Front Street in Owego (pictured below.)

J. Hulslander Custom Concrete will be providing a permanent base for the new Strawberry carving. They have designed a stylized stamped concrete base and steel support to accept the new wood  Strawberry.

Richards Monument Service of Owego will assist with a new Owego sign which will be sandblasted into the concrete base. The carving process will occur on Saturday, June 15th where the original Strawberry sits during this year's Strawberry Festival.

All this effort will cost money and the local community can help. Since the land that the strawberry icon resides on, is private property, no municipal grants or funds are available.

For more information on the campaign, visit the 'Save the Strawberry of Owego' link. For information about the 3-day event, visit the Owego Strawberry Festival website.