The Lions Club prepared an extra 160 quarts of strawberries for this year’s shortcake to meet demand. But many people Friday weren’t taking any chances.

Gena Koelker of Ontonagon came with friends from Missouri, who had raved about their experience last year. The only downside they’d noted was arriving too late for the shortcake this afternoon.

That wasn’t a problem Friday, with Koelker and her grandson Hudson both enjoying the treat.

She was enjoying her first trip to the festival.

Jamie Robillard of the Ishpeming-based Mi Fab catches the light with a metal fish at the festival Friday. More than 50 vendors were on hand for the event, which continues today. (Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette)

“I like it, definitely, and he loves the strawberries,” she said.

People also browsed more than 50 vendors, selling everything from kombucha to snowshoes.

MiFab360 in Ishpeming sold a variety of fabricated metal art. A more complex piece, such as a brightly colored fish, takes about four hours, first using a plasma cutter on a flat sheet of metal, said Jamie Robillard.

“Then we’ve got to bake each color, so we spray it on, bake it, let it cool, then spray another color on,” she said.

She has been coming to the festival for the past six years. Last year was the best yet, Robillard said.

The Chassell Friends of Fashion exhibit is seen at the Chassell Heritage Center, which is holding open houses during the festival. (Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette)

“The second day is always the best day,” she said. “I love coming here because of the strawberry shortcake and the chicken dinner tomorrow.”

Robillard taunted her husband at home, sending him a photo of the shortcake she was eating.

People could also learn more about the history of Chassell and its legacy of strawberry farms at the Chassell Heritage Center, which is holding an open house Friday and today. Members of the center assemble the events based on historical research and the items in its collection. Recent additions have included informational panels of leading families of the area, and an exhibit on the history of the festival. A history of the area’s lumber industry is in the second-grade classroom of the building, which served as Chassell’s school before the construction of the current one.

Another room showcased the Friends of Fashion’s upcoming historical fashion show, which will be at the center at 2 p.m. on July 31.

By demonstrating how the town formed and its history, the center builds community pride, said Dave Bezotte, a member of its board who’s been volunteering with it since it opened in 1993.

Strawberry Festival is its biggest weekend of the year, he said.

“It’s when people originally from here who have left come back,” he said. “They bring family here to see it.”

Other events set for later Friday included a fish boil, the kids’ parade and Strawberry Queen competition. Those results, along with coverage of today’s events, will be included in Monday’s Gazette.