CHASSELL — It’s certainly one of the tastiest festivals of the summer.

They’re ripe, juicy and ready to eat. The strawberries that are featured in the Copper Country Strawberry Festival have become things of local legend. Chassell’s signature annual festival is underway and this year’s crop looks like it has produced some prime berries.

Chassell Lions Club President Gary Worrall said, “Last night, we had the whole town out helping us clean the berries. We cleaned 1,200 quarts of berries in a little over two hours. Then the whole town pitches in so it makes it a nice community event.”

It may be all about the berries, but the festival draws in a huge crowd every year for its wide range of activities. One of those is the Pageant with 15 young women competing to be crowned the 2016 Strawberry Queen.

Houghton resident Josie Ledgerwood is sponsored by the Houghton Lions Club. She said,”I’ve been to the Strawberry Queen Pageant before and I’d always kind of admired the girls, so now I get to be one and it’s really cool.”

The festival runs through Saturday.