A Strawberry Celebration: Planting the Seed! @ Beverly Heritage Center
May 30 @ 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm
Join the Beverly Heritage Center in celebrating strawberries this spring! We in West Virginia love strawberries today, but their importance in our region predate our festivals by a long while. Strawberries, and the “wild” strawberry in particular, are celebrated by the Indigenous people and communities who have lived in these mountains since time immemorial.
We welcome Chef Lorinda to Beverly to lead us in learning more about Seneca connections to the strawberry, celebrating this first fruit of the spring. Chef Lorinda visits us from Cattaraugus Territory, Seneca Nation. She is a Spring 2025 graduate of SUNY Buffalo’s Hospitality program, and has presented her food and culture across the country, including in Elkins, WV in 2024. Chef Lorinda has partnered with the NFL’s Buffalo Bills as Hometown Chef, and has an established private chef and meal prepping business.
On Friday afternoon, May 30th, from 4pm to 5:30pm Chef Lorinda will host a children’s program of crafting and storytelling.
Celebrate the early summer with art, stories and treats! Children will learn from Haudenosaunee stories about the wild strawberry, the first fruit of the season, and how it connects generations. Chef Lorinda (Seneca) and Beverly Heritage Center staff will lead experiential learning about cultivated strawberries through the Heritage Center’s interpretive garden, where attendees will dig into soil, touch and smell the growing plants, and ultimately plant a seed to take home. Leave your mark! Youth will make fingerprint strawberries on canvases–some to take home, and some for Strawberry Celebration dinner guests the following evening. Attendees will have the opportunity to try frybread, a hallmark of contemporary Native American cuisine, with fresh strawberry jam.
This free program will be outside, weather-permitting. Guests of all ages are welcome, but programming is tailored for elementary ages. Pre-registration with the Beverly Heritage Center is recommended but not required.
Looking for information about the Strawberry Celebration dinner and prep classes? Follow the link below to that event page on our site: