40th Annual Strawberry Festival Canceled Due to COVID-19 Restrictions

Dear CS Community,

Due to restrictions and guidelines put in place by the Center for Disease Control as well as state and local government regarding the new corona virus (COVID-19), we will be canceling Community School’s 40th Annual Strawberry Festival scheduled for May 1 and 2, 2020.

This is a decision that pains us greatly as each year we look forward to, not only bringing this festival to Roanoke, but also watching our community come together to make this fundraiser happen. As many of you know, the Strawberry Festival was founded 40 years ago by a group of Community School parents as a fundraiser to help bridge the gap between tuition and school operating costs. (Some of you have been a part of the festival since in began in 1981!) During its most successful years, the festival has also provided additional funding to support programs for our students and teachers and, most critically, financial aid to families in need. The value of this event within the community and to our school is priceless.

As a CS community we will feel the absence of this festival in our hearts but we will also feel the financial loss in a big way.

At this time, we have no plans to reschedule the Strawberry Festival in 2020. Timing and logistics make a postponement within the calendar year impossible. We are working hard on an alternate but smaller scale fundraiser and may ask for your help in the future. Stay tuned. In the meantime, please consider any of the following to support the school.

  • Purchase a student-designed 40th anniversary t-shirt and show your Strawberry Festival spirit.
  • Register for the Strawberry Sprint Virtual 5K. (This fun activity meets the social-distancing protocol! Find more information at StrawberrySprint.com.)
  • Consider, if you are able, making a tax-deductible donation to a CS program, a classroom, a grade level or scholarship fund. You can find more information about Ways to Give on our website or contact us at Development@CommunitySchool.net.

Thank you for your ongoing support of Community School.