WELLBORN
Wellborn Blueberry Festival
By Hayli Zuccola
The Sweetest Event of the Summer
Ah , blueberries : bite-sized treats packed with sunsoaked sweetness , and for the town of Wellborn , a fruit worth celebrating . Last year ’ s surge in the coronavirus was met with the foreseeable cancellation of Wellborn ’ s tastiest event of the year , which meant its return in 2021 had to be bigger and more delicious than ever .
On Saturday , June 5 , locals and blueberry-lovers from around the north Florida area converged at Andrews Square to partake in the 27th Annual Wellborn Blueberry Festival . The over-two-decade history of the event dates back to the early ’ 90s , but the reason behind the Suwannee County community ’ s decision to honor these popular baby blues wasn ’ t due to their mouthwatering flavor , rather , at the time , it was because a nearby farm was one of the only places in the northern part of the state growing the refreshing summertime berries .
The day-long event typically kicks off with the much-anticipated blueberry pancake breakfast , which takes place from 7 am to 10 am . While admission into the family-friendly festival is free , the cost to enjoy a warming blueberry-based breakfast is $ 5 , which is a small fee that helps cure morning hunger and raise funds for the Wellborn Community Association – the organization in charge of putting on the event .
“ The funds that we raise , we reinvest that back into the community ,” said Mayso Martin who ’ s the President of the association . “ This is a nonprofit organization , and it ’ s , really the primary [ purpose ] of it is to raise funds to go back into the community .”
In 2019 , the festival sold a whopping 815 pancake breakfasts – making it the organization ’ s biggest fundraising event of the year .
88 SUWANNEE CHAMBER IMPACT | 2021-2022