When Carlee Sparks joined Alpha Xi Delta, she said complete strangers would say, “Oh, you’re one of one of those strawberry girls.” 

This year, Alpha Xi Delta’s annual Strawberry Breakfast, a tradition that has continued for 68 years, will be held Thursday, April 25 from 7 to 11 a.m. at the Alpha Xi Delta house.

“It’s amazing how this breakfast has connected the Marshall and Huntington communities,” said Sparks, an Alpha Xi Delta member and sophomore finance major. “It’s actually one of the reasons I joined Alpha Xi.”

Sorority members have been selling tickets for the past couple of weeks, said Madison Ray, the event’s organizer and junior elementary education major. She said multiple people have reached out to buy a ticket. 

“I think it’s the tradition that brings people in,” Ray said. 

Not only does Strawberry Breakfast connect with members of the community, it unites the sorority members with their mothers, according to Ray and Sparks. 

“We (Alpha Xi Delta members) organize and work the event, but many of our moms, and also dads, come and help throughout the week and the day of,” Ray said. 

Sparks said her mother is the main mother in charge of the event and it has been a way for her to see her daughter’s home away from home. 

“Even though my actual house is 20 minutes away, it’s been pretty fun to get my mom involved at my sorority house,” Sparks said. 

Ray said the event is “a lot of preparation and work, so it’s always nice to have our moms there to help calm us down.”

To make this event a success, Ray said, the members and mothers have to plan early.

Preparation and work for this year’s event started in January, she said, and “it’s not something you can just throw together.”

Ray said she and Spark’s mother have had to create flyers, press releases and tickets, to buy decorations and to place the large wooden strawberry in Alpha Xi Delta’s front lawn. They will also soon have to place an order for the food, Ray said. 

Strawberry Breakfast may be a little overwhelming at times, Ray said, but she said she is proud and happy she organized the event. 

“I mean it’s our 68th year, so we are probably doing something right,” Ray said. 

Tickets are five dollars for the breakfast, which includes pancakes, eggs, sausage, biscuits, strawberry butter, chocolate covered strawberries and a beverage, and people interested in purchasing a ticket can reach out to the sorority’s social media platforms or sisters, Ray said. 

Paige Leonard can be contacted at [email protected].