May 22, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • Page 21 Saddle River Valley Notes Lions announce carnival, events The Saddle River Valley Lions Club Carnival will be held from Memorial Day, May 27, through June 1. The carnival will be held at Lions Park on Lake Street in Upper Saddle River. Rides and game booths will be available for all ages. Each evening, the carnival will be open from 6 to 10 p.m. and wristbands for unlimited ride admission will be available for $25. The winner of the Lions’ contest for a grey 2014 Mustang will be announced at the carnival on June. 1. Tickets for this year’s contest are available through club members. On Sept. 16, the club will sponsor a Golf Outing at Spook Rock Golf Course. The day will feature food, golf, and prizes. Proceeds from these events will benefit charities that support the visually impaired and other local organizations. This year, the club expects to reach the goal of $2,000,000. Visit www.srvlions.org for a picture of the Mustang and further information. Book discussion groups to meet The Coffee Talk book group will discuss Chad Harback’s “The Art of Fielding” on May 23 at 10 a.m. at the Upper Saddle River Library. This meeting had been rescheduled from earlier this month. On June 5, the Novels at Night book group will discuss Ian McEwan’s “Sweet Tooth.” This group meets the first Wednesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. Copies of the books are available at the circulation desk. For more information call (201) 327-2583. The library is located at 245 Lake Street in Upper Saddle River. Gardeners set meeting Pat Libutti will discuss flowers and herbs at the May 21 meeting of the Saddle River Garden Club. The group will meet at 7 p.m. at the Bishop House located at 176 East Saddle River Road in Saddle River. The public is welcome. Annual Strawberry Festival announced Bergen Highlands United Methodist Church welcomes everyone to its 56th Annual Strawberry Festival. This popular event will be held Saturday, June 8 from 1 to 7 p.m. at 318 West Saddle River Road in Upper Saddle River. The festival will feature hand-picked strawberries, homemade ice-cream and strawberry shortcake, hot dogs, hamburgers, and other treats. Artisans and merchants will be selling a variety of items, and a special auction will take place inside the church. Festivities will include old-time piano music and entertainment presented by the Applause Performing Art Center. There will be games and entertainment for children of all ages. Bergen County was once known as the strawberry capital of the world. According to the Upper Saddle River Historical Society, strawberry picking in Bergen County dates back to the 1850s. Wild strawberries were indigenous to the area and grew in over 100 different varieties and shapes. Without cultivation, wild strawberries were the size of today’s blueberries. The strawberries were brought to market in half-pint containers constructed of ash or hickory and then sent to Paterson for distribution. In 1855, strawberry pickers were paid a half-cent per basket. Those same baskets were then sold in New York City for three cents each. By the early 1860s, as many as 130,000 baskets were being shipped to New York City during a single day. For more information about the Strawberry Festival, contact the church office at (201) 327-3960 or e-mail bergenhighlands @optonline.net. BHUMC offers CareerWorks Bergen Highlands United Methodist Church hosts the CareerWorks Catalyst Job Club on the first and third Sunday of the month. The group meets from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at the church located at 318 West Saddle River Road in Upper Saddle River. Members are offered suggestions and direction based on individual employment or unemployment situations. Registration is required. Call (201) 327-3960 or email to www.gbgm-umc.org/bergenhighlands, to confirm that the group is meeting. Tennis permits available Tennis permits for the use of the Upper Saddle River Tennis Courts are now available at borough hall, 376 West Saddle River Road, and at the courts, which are located on West Saddle River Road in front of Reynolds School. Those who purchase permits at the courts should ask for Tennis Pro Sharron Mattiace. A family membership is $40 and an individual membership is $25. All residents must have a permit and must display that permit on the new sign up board located at the entrance to the courts. For more information, contact the USR Recreation Department at (201) 327-3634 or USRRecreation@aol.com. Visit the borough website at www.USRtoday.org for information about all recreation programs. Upper Saddle River Library offers investment research center The Upper Saddle River Library now has Morningstar Online available to Upper Saddle River cardholders. This investment research center offers information on over 23,000 stocks and mutual funds. The program allows cardholders to download the user guide, view the online tutorial videos to learn more about the database and how to navigate particular features, and access the most-popular newsletters from mutual funds, stocks, and strategists. To access the program, visit www.uppersaddleriverlibrary.org. There is no fee for Upper Saddle River library cardholders. For more information, call the library at (201) 327-2583. Press releases for this column may be emailed to editorial@villadom.com. Deadline is Wednesday at noon.