PONCHATOULA (WGNO)— This year you will notice there’s a new addition to the Strawberry Fest’s royal court. They now have their very first “Strawberry Blossom.” WGNO’s Kenny Lopez introduces us to Willie Mae Cummings.
With her crown, a broach, and decorative strawberry earrings, Willie Mae Cummings is ready to reign as the very first “Strawberry Blossom” in the festival’s 50-year history.
“I was ecstatic, I couldn’t believe they thought of me first. In order to become a “Strawberry Blossom” you have to be affiliated with a farm,” she said.
Willie Mae and her husband owned a strawberry farm for over 35 years. She is reminiscing here at her friend’s farm—Landry Poche Farms. Her love for strawberries sure is sweet.
“Means everything to me,” she said.
She’s very protective of the berries.
“We don’t want our blooms or berries to freeze. We put a cover on it like a blanket, the strings hold it up, and then we put sandbags over to hold it down to protect the strawberry blooms,” she said.
She says as “Strawberry Blossom” she wants to promote more blooming.
“I hope we can get some younger farmers coming in. A lot of the farmers are getting old,” Cummings said.
But what never gets old for her is having visitors support the strawberry farmers in Ponchatoula at the Strawberry Fest.
“It does mean a lot to the town, to the city. It means everything to the farmers that everyone comes out and gets those strawberries. I promise you will have a berry good time,” she said.
For her strawberry fields are forever.
Strawberry royalty runs in Willie Mae’s family. Her husband was King in 2000 and her daughter was Queen in 2001.
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