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BEVERLY — The Beverly Heritage Center will welcome an experienced chef from the Seneca Nation for strawberry-centered programming, classes and a Strawberry Celebration dinner for all ages on Friday and Saturday.

On Friday, May 30, from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Chef Lorinda John will host a free children’s program of crafting and storytelling at the Beverly Heritage Center. The program will be outside, weather-permitting. Guests of all ages are welcome, though programming is tailored for elementary ages, the Beverly Heritage Center said in a release.

Coming from the Cattaraugus Territory in the Seneca Nation, John is a 2025 graduate of Buffalo State University’s hospitality program. She has worked as a chef with World Central Kitchen, the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area, Wills Creek Museum of Cumberland and other organizations. She has also worked with the Seneca Nation.

“Children will learn from Haudenosaunee stories about the wild strawberry, the first fruit of the season and how it connects generations,” a Beverly Heritage Center release stated. “(John) will teach about Seneca connections to the strawberry through cooking and sharing stories.”

John and the Beverly Heritage Center staff will also lead children in experiential learning about cultivated strawberries through the Heritage Center’s interpretive garden, where attendees will dig into soil, touch and smell the growing plants and ultimately plant a seed to take home. 

Children will also be finger-painting strawberries on canvases – some to take home, and some for Strawberry Celebration dinner guests the following evening. Attendees will also have the opportunity to try frybread, a hallmark of contemporary Native American cuisine, with fresh strawberry jam.

On Saturday, May 31, at noon and 3 p.m., John will lead two hands-on workshop and prep classes as well as prepare a gourmet dinner and presentation. 

John will share some of her recipes, and attendees will have a chance to learn in a small group setting while helping to prepare the meal for the community, the Beverly Heritage Center said. Joining the prep class allows guests to attend the dinner for a special price.

At 6 p.m. on Saturday, the community is invited to join the Beverly Heritage Center for a Strawberry Celebration dinner. The dinner will consist of a strawberry-centered menu with meat and vegetarian entree options. The meal will be prepared with locally-sourced ingredients when possible, the Beverly Heritage Center said. There is a cost to attend the dinner, with discounts for children, Heritage Center members and those who attended the prep class earlier in the day.

The Beverly Heritage Center will also be hosting a storytelling program on American writer, anthropologist, folklorist and documentary filmmaker Zora Neale Hurston on June 20. Beverly Heritage Day returns on July 19.