Bostwick readies for company | Palatka Daily News, Palatka, Florida

Volunteers prep pounds of berries in anticipation of festival

Judy Johnson, left, grabs a few more blueberries from a bin as she, Sharon Finch, center, and Tom Johnson, right, volunteer their time to help prepare the berries for the Bostwick Blueberry Festival set to occur Saturday.
Dakota, left, and her brother, Dillon Ray, both 10, spend some time at the Bostwick Community Center helping separate stems and unripe blueberries from the good fruit Monday.
Positively Putnam FL

BOSTWICK – The tiny, heart-healthy blueberry is about to be celebrated in a grand style.

The Bostwick community is gearing up for the 23rd Bostwick Blueberry Festival 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, where more than 650 pounds of blueberries will be the featured item on the agenda.

“I think it will be really fun for people to get out and we’re expecting it to be a beautiful day,” said Linda Bazar of Bostwick, who is part of the volunteer planning committee with the Bostwick Community Association, sponsor group. “Other than all the medical goodness, people just love blueberries.”

The festival will be at the Community Center, 125 Tillman St., north of Palatka, and will feature music during the day, as well as vendors selling arts and crafts. Items set to be sold include macrame, Whirligigs for outside, datil peppers and relish, handcrafted potted plant hangers and Pampered Chef items, not to mention blueberry plants, ice cream, fresh blueberries from Miller Blueberry Farm in Interlachen, pies, muffins, blueberry pancake breakfast, and T-shirts and ball caps.

Parking is free and so are golf cart shuttles that will take guests from the parking lot to the festival and back. The library, next door to the community center will also have a used book sale during festival hours and SAFE Pet Adoptions will be available.

The Bostwick Blueberry Pancake Breakfast is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. and will include pancakes, Nettles sausage, homemade blueberry syrup, as well as regular syrup and sugar free, and the choice of coffee, orange juice, milk or water. Breakfasts are $8 each.

Blueberry pies and muffins can also be purchased beginning at 8 a.m. in the bakery area at the festival. Pies will sell for $20 and large muffins for $3.

Once sold out, organizers plan to sell pancake a la mode, which includes blueberry ice cream for $5.

“We usually have a line of festival-goers waiting to purchase our fresh homemade pies and muffins before we even open,” said Dawn Rawls, volunteer who lives in Bostwick and oversees the pie and muffin making. “We usually sell out by 10 a.m.”

Lori Gill will be part of the entertainment and will sing the National Anthem during opening ceremonies. The festival’s royalty, who were crowned king, queen, prince and princess will also be on hand to greet guests.

The first festival was started in 1997 after Vera Daniel and Marilyn Downs, both Bostwick residents, were looking for a way to raise money for the community center, and attended the Melrose Grape Festival looking for ideas.

“Mrs. Daniel owned a blueberry farm,” said Bazar. “It’s the only thing I can think of in why they decided to do blueberries and they were available.”

The Bostwick festival wasn’t held the last two years because of COVID, but this year it’s back in full force.

“I really enjoy that morning standing around in the community center talking to a lot of people waiting in line for the pancake breakfast,” Bazar said. “Their enthusiasm just fills me up. It makes me happy and is worth any sleepless nights from worrying about things for the festival. People are always happy when they come. We are expecting a beautiful day filled with lots of activities and fun.”