2022 Blueberry Festival Raises $2K+ (Photo Gallery)

The festival began with 12 contestants competing in the Blueberry Cook-off.

FH resident and MC, Jeff Griggs, kept things light throughout the Cook-off and the evening concert.

New FH resident, William Spates, went all out with a spectacular spread of food for the judges.

Onlookers made quick work of all the extra, tasty food!

The Cook-off judges — Krimson Black, Kalin Hill and Brian Head — hard at work.

Awards went to Rick Marr (Most Unusual), Rebecca Vander Plaats (Most Delicious) and Samantha Lipkin (Best Presentation).

Best Overall award for the Cook-off went to Jay Domingo for his blueberry cheesecake cookies.

Kerem Kilic gave tours of his early-stage food forest and permaculture practices, while kids painted butterfly feeders in the shade.

Kerem explains how the Paw Paw fruit was once widely grown in the South.

The Blueberry Jam concert sponsored by Oglethorpe Garage had a big turnout.

A silent auction of lightly used donations added to the fundraising achieved through merchandise and door prizes.

Direwolf kicked things off with some Grateful Dead covers.

Hampton Park resident and artist, Jacob Wenzka, demonstrated he’s got musical chops as well.

Pink Razor poured it on with a rare performance by everyone’s favorite sound guy, Patrick Ware.

FH resident and festival organizer, Maxim, served it up from his food truck, Da Munchiez.

FH resident and runner extraordinaire, Luke Rushing, performed a solo set.

FH resident, Rick Bedell, gave everyone an absolute ear-treat on the flute.

The crowd grew as the evening went on.

Teen sensations, Panic Wave, rocked the trailer stage.

Oliver Domingo (aka Organically Programmed) dazzled with beats and keys.

Kevin and Max were the penultimate act.

The Wydelles brought it home under the streetlight.

The 2022 Forest Heights Blueberry Festival was a huge success, drawing more than 600 people across three events and raising more than $2000 for the community blueberry project.

The final fundraising tally is undetermined as we’re still gathering a small percentage from the food and craft vendors and doing another print run of merchandise. However, the total cost of putting on the festival this year was $2,160. The total revenue from merchandise, door prizes, donations, silent auction, sponsorships, bake sale and the vendor fee will eclipse $4,300. The proceeds will be used to plant and maintain blueberries this winter and to help cover costs of next year’s festival.

Thank you to Oglethorpe Garage for sponsoring The Blueberry Jam and taking on a big chunk of the festival cost.

Thank you to the festival committee, which shared the burden of organizing the event, and also to the volunteers and performers who donated their time to help make it happen. To continue the festival in coming years, we will need more organizers and volunteers. If you’re willing to pitch in (and we don’t already have your contact info) please fill out the form below.