A Strawberry Festival and tours of the historic Potts mansion will take place on Saturday, June 18, from noon to 5 p.m. at St. Mary of Providence Center, 227 Isabella Road, Elverson. The event will include food, entertainment, children's games and craft vendors.

The site has held various Christmas open houses and summer events through the years, but this year marks return of the Strawberry Festival. "We have been having festivals, but we haven't called it a Strawberry Festival for 20 or 30 years," said Sister Brenda McHugh, site director. "It was an annual event. Some of the older locals still ask about the Strawberry Festival. It is a historic revival."

Food that will be offered at the Strawberry Festival includes strawberry shortcake and ice cream, along with hamburgers and hot dogs. "We have a great group of volunteers that are coming together to prepare the food," said Sister Brenda. "The back of the chapel has a meeting area, so we will use that as the serving area. There will be a lot of picnic tables outside for eating."

Craft vendors will be on hand offering items such as jewelry, artwork, garden statuary, painted birdhouses and handmade soap, and there will be an opportunity to win prize baskets.

Live musicians will perform throughout the day. "We have about four different groups of local musicians. It will be fun to have a little live music going as people eat and visit the vendor stations," Sister Brenda said.

A highlight of the day will be guided tours of the site's mansion. Construction of the mansion was started in 1890 by Joseph Potts, whose family members were local ironmasters. Joseph's great-great-grandfather was John Potts, the founder of Pottstown.

For the first time, people will be able to schedule a tour in advance. "The reserve-ahead allows you not to have to wait in line. In the past, we had a lot of waiting, especially at the beginning," Sister Brenda pointed out. "The tour guides will be dressed as historic personages of the mansion - Joseph and William Potts and their wives."

According to a history of the site, the mansion is known as Langoma, which is a Native American term that means "homestead." The mansion features 76 rooms and 22 fireplaces, one of which was made with pink marble. Other features include original brass lighting fixtures that were converted to electric; marble floors; staircases made of marble, onyx and alabaster; and multiple stained-glass windows, including one made of Tiffany glass.

William Potts died in 1943, and the property eventually went to the Daughters of St. Mary of Providence, who acquired the Potts mansion in 1948 to be used as a training and education center for children with developmental challenges. In 1984, the children were transferred to a new complex built by the Diocese of Philadelphia in Springfield. Today, the St. Mary of Providence Center functions as a retreat facility and provides housing for senior citizens.

For more information and to reserve a mansion tour by Friday, June 17, visit http://www.stmaryprov.org/strawberry. The rain date for the event is Sunday, June 19.