If strawberry shortcake is your idea of a heavenly treat, head to Sandwich on Saturday for the annual Strawberry Festival at the Thornton W. Burgess Society's Green Briar Nature Center. The shortcake here is as traditional as it comes -- of course, the whipped cream is real -- and you can get a lesson in making strawberry jam at the same 20-burner stove the center has been using since World War I.
The festival runs from 11 a.m.-2 p.m., but the kids might want to show up early for story hour at 10:30. Burgess, who died in 1965, wrote thousands of children's stories about a bevy of animals, including Peter Cottontail. The kids can also visit with bunnies in the 57-acre Briar Patch Conservation Area.
After dessert, walk off those calories on the property's nature trails, admire the wildflower gardens, or watch a swan and her cygnets as they circle the pond.
Strawberry Festival, Green Briar Nature Center & Jam Kitchen, 6 Discovery Hill Road, East Sandwich. 508-888-6870. thorntonburgess.org. Directions from Sagamore Bridge: From Route 6, exit 3, turn left on Quaker Meeting House Road off exit 3, then left on Route 6A, left on Discovery Hill Road. The center is on the right.
KATHY SHORR 
