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Courtney Trzcinski, 13, of Cutchogue. (Credit: Vera Chinese)
The scent of freshly cut strawberries filled the air as hundreds of volunteers hulled thousands of berries for the Mattituck Lions Club’s Strawberry Festival on Thursday.
Hulling night, an annual tradition, is held the first night of the four-day fair. The hulled berries are made into strawberry shortcake, daiquiris, pie and more.
“This is how we get them ready to be mashed for our famous shortcake,” said Mattituck Lions Club Third Vice President Steve Bialeski.
Of the nearly 10,000 clamshells of strawberries used, some are grown on the North Fork — though many more are imported.
“We go through so many, and the crop was bad so we had to outsource,” Mr. Bialeski said.
The festival continues today, Saturday, and Sunday at the Strawberry Fieleds on Route 48 in Mattituck.
Joseph Robert McCormack, 9, of Aquebogue. (Credit: Vera Chinese)Aaliyah Shorter,9, and Lynette Wigington of Mattituck.(Credit: Vera Chinese)(Credit: Vera Chinese)Bill Shannon, Ruth Shannon, Sue Hohn and Don Hohn all of East Marion. (Credit: Vera Chinese)Dotty Boyle of Southold. (Credit: Vera Chinese)Jolin Chen, 7, of Mattituck. (Credit: Vera Chinese)Stony Brook University students Lisa Jackson (left) and Greg Metzger (plaid shirt.) (Credit: Vera Chinese)Kate Kiesgen, 3, of Cutchogue. (Credit: Vera Chinese)Jan’s Chinese owner Andy Chen with Jay,6, and Jolin, 7.(Credit: Vera Chinese)Jaime Gaffga, 14, of Mattituck, Alissa Dabrowski, 13, of Laurel, Larysa Andreadis, 14, of Mattituck, and Alley Peters, 14, of Mattituck. (Credit: Vera Chinese)(Credit: Vera Chinese)(Credit: Vera Chinese)Ryan McCaskie, 15, of Mattituck. (Credit: Vera Chinese)Jonathan Nyilas of Cutchogue. (Credit: Vera Chinese)Ryan Janis of Laurel, Gabriel Perez Colombo of Cutchogue and Kuva Kodym of Mattituck. (Credit: Vera Chinese)Ryan Sidor, 21, of Mattituck lobs a berry into a bucket. (Credit: Vera Chinese)Jenna Smith of Baiting Hollow. (Credit: Vera Chinese)(Credit: Vera Chinese)
Jessica Makucewicz, 17, of Mattituck. (Credit: Vera Chinese)
Annabel Donovan, 12, of Mattituck, Mary Grace Hartmann, 12, of Cutchogue, Meghan Riley, 13, of Mattituck and Courtney Trzcinski, 13, of Cutchogue. (Credit: Vera Chinese)Andrew McKenzie, 7, of Laurel. (Credit: Vera Chinese)Rebecca Breitel of Rocky Point, Art Tillman, advisor to the Mattituck High School Leo Club and Tom Schiliro of Manorville. (Credit: Vera Chinese)Nicholas Altman of East Moriches and Stephanie Visek of Aquebogue. (Credit: Vera Chinese)Laura Cebulski, 14, of Florida. (Credit: Vera Chinese)Mattituck Lions Club member Rob Nine. (Credit: Vera Chinese)Gacin Timmers, 5, of East Islip. (Credit: Vera Chinese)Kayla Timmers, 5, of East Islip. (Credit: Vera Chinese)Longtime hullers Henry Bokina of Peconic and Dan Kaelin of Aquebogue.(Credit: Vera Chinese)Michele Wiwczar of Wading River enjoy a daiquiri. (Credit: Vera Chinese)Ray Wiwczar of Mattituck. (Credit: Vera Chinese)
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Vera Chinese has been the editor of northforker.com and northforker magazines since May 2014.
Prior to that she spent two and a half years as a staff reporter for the New York Daily News.
She joined the Riverhead News-Review as a staff writer in January 2010 and was named Associate Web Editor nine months later.
She previously worked for the Southampton Press Western Edition and was named the third place 2008 Rookie Reporter of the Year by the New York Press Association. She graduated from Wagner College in 2006 where she received a bachelor's degree in English. She earned a master's degree in English education from New York University in 2007.
She is a 2002 graduate of Eastport High School and has lived on the East End for more than 20 years.
