Strawberries are one of the first crops to ripen in the spring, signaling the advent of warmer weather. Here in Bedford, it’s the appearance of strawberry shortcake that truly indicates the season is underway.

The fourth annual Strawberry Festival, sponsored by the Friends of the Town of Bedford Cemeteries, will be held from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Saturday, June 2, at the Bedford Town Pool. The perennially popular strawberry shortcake eating contest will be held at 1 p.m.

According to John Wood, founder and chairman of the Friends of the Town of Bedford Cemeteries, the contest is something people look forward to all year long.

He recalled a visit to the town’s transfer station before last year’s festival, during which a girl approached him about the contest.

“I’ve done this at other festivals before, and I wouldn’t miss this,” she told him. “It’s just fun to make a pig of yourself.”

This seems to be a common sentiment, as the event draws a number of eager competitors.

“We had maybe 60, 70 people participate last year,” Wood said. “The kids love it.”

In light of its popularity amongst the younger set, the contest is divided into four age groups: 3-5, 6-7, 8-11 and 12 and older.

No advance sign up is required and there’s no fee to enter. One winner will be named in each of the age groups.

“The first one that finishes, wins,” Wood said.

Everyone who participates in the contest receives a ticket for a free ice cream from the Clam King restaurant, which sells a creamy, premium variety of the frozen treat. Winners receive multiple tickets, along with bragging rights.

In that sense, Wood said, “nobody loses.”

All participants receive another important item at the contest’s end.

“We provide napkins that they can use afterwards,” Wood said, explaining that things can get a little messy because of the whipped cream on the strawberry shortcake.

Though kids particularly enjoy being rewarded to scarf down dessert, the contest has its fair share of grown-up entrants.

“Both men and women” participate, Wood said. “It’s a lot of fun.”

For those who prefer to eat at a more leisurely pace, strawberry shortcake will also be for sale at $2 per serving.

“We give them a good portion, too,” Wood said.

All of the ingredients – strawberries, biscuits and whipped cream – are donated by Hannaford. New Hope Christian Fellowship is volunteering their time and energy to make and serve the strawberry shortcake.

“They cut the fresh strawberries and make a sauce, which goes in the bottom of the shortcake,” Wood said, “and then we put fresh whole strawberries on top.”

Though the delicious dessert is in understandably high demand, there’s plenty to go around.

“Last year, we sold about 400,” Wood said. “Almost everybody had several.”

In previous years, proceeds from the shortcake sales have gone to the Friends of the Town of Bedford Cemeteries to fund the cleaning and repair of gravestones in Bedford’s four cemeteries.

This year, the proceeds will be used to continue the process of converting the old Stevens-Buswell School into a fully functioning community center.

“We thought we’d do something a little extra for outside groups this year,” Wood said.

“There’s a real shortage in Bedford for meeting places,” he continued. “There’s a need for another building that can be used for meetings, recreation, things like that. You go to book a room at the library, there’s nothing available.”

Though the Friends of the Stevens-Buswell School Committee has been diligent in applying for grants and raising funds, making the community center a reality still requires a significant financial investment.

“Anything that can help them meet their objective money-wise is really needed. They have a lot of things they need to purchase,” Wood said, noting that a furnace in particular is still needed.

In addition to supporting a good cause, the Strawberry Festival provides an opportunity for people to become better acquainted with the Bedford community and all that it has to offer.

About 25 organizations and town departments will be represented at the festival, including the Bedford MOMS Club and the fire and police departments.

Born Wild, a fourth-grade Destination Imagination team, will have a table where festival-goers can recycle bottles and paper, Wood said.

Richard Poisson will be selling bricks that will be incorporated into a war memorial for town veterans. The memorial is being built on the Bedford Village Common, a public green space in Bedford’s historic center that has been

in development over the last several years.

“There’s nothing in Bedford like that at all right now,” Wood said of the war memorial.

Town Clerk Lori Radke will be at the festival to handle dog registrations for residents. The Bedford Women’s Club will be selling their Bedford cookbooks, the library will be selling used books and the historical society will have the town hearse out of storage and on display.

“We have about ten different craftspeople … with a variety of different items,” Wood said.

“There will be local artists that are showing their paintings for sale.”

Above all, the aim of the Strawberry Festival is “getting people to talk to other people,” Wood said.

Because Bedford has historically lacked the common that’s so prominent in most New England towns, he explained, there haven’t been as many opportunities for true town-wide activities. The Strawberry Festival helps to fill that gap.

“It’s a good meeting place,” he said. “You see people you don’t see that often.”

Teresa Santoski can be reached at 594-6466 or tsantoski@nashuatelegraph.com. Also, follow Santoski on Twitter (@Telegraph_TS).