Habitat for Humanity cancels Strawberry Festival

Instead of two strawberry festivals in Brevard County next month, there will be one.

Less than a month from opening its gates at Wickham Park in Melbourne, Habitat for Humanity of Brevard County has canceled its Strawberry Festival. Scheduled for March 14 and 15, leaders of the nonprofit organization decided to shift focus and efforts to its mission. The decision was made Tuesday night, according to J. Brewer, director of development.

Brewer released a public statement about the Strawberry Festival's cancellation on Wednesday morning: "To dedicate our resources to fulfilling our mission of serving Brevard families, Habitat for Humanity of Brevard County is canceling the 2015 Strawberry Festival. While we are disappointed that we will not be able to celebrate with supporters and volunteers at the festival, we are fully invested in completing our vision to eliminate substandard housing in Brevard County. We look forward to working with the community to ensure families in Brevard County have a decent place to live."

Habitat builds and rehabilitates houses, serving families in need who have poverty or substandard housing issues.

"Our efforts will be geared around sharing what our mission is, what our vision is, how we do what we do and how people can get involved with us in a variety of ways," Brewer said. "We are not closing the door on future strawberry festivals. We simply are canceling this year's Strawberry Festival."

Signs touting the festival are being taken down.

Plans are still going strong for the North Brevard Strawberry Festival, which is set for March 6 and 7 at the Pentecostals of Titusville, 1010 Norwood Ave. Admission is free, and features include food, entertainment, vendors and more.

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Contact Sangalang at 321-242-3630 or jsangalang@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @byjensangalang

The details

What: North Brevard Strawberry Festival

When: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 6 and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 7

Where: Pentecostals of Titusville, 1010 Norwood Ave.

Cost: Admission is free.

Info: Call 321-269-4041 or visit experiencetpt.com.