The 71st Annual Mattituck Strawberry Festival is officially underway, marking the return of one of Long Island’s most beloved summer traditions. Hosted by the Mattituck Lions Club, the festival kicked off on Wednesday and is expected to draw thousands of visitors to the North Fork throughout Father's Day weekend.

Before the gates opened, volunteers spent hours preparing strawberries for the festival’s signature treats. Organizers say more than 200,000 strawberries will be needed over the course of the weekend, with volunteers carefully hulling berries that will be used in everything from strawberry shortcake to daiquiris and chocolate-covered strawberries.

“A lot of those strawberries will be used to make our daiquiris, our strawberry shortcake, and for full strawberries, we use them for chocolate-covered strawberries,” said Richard Jernick, first vice president of the Mattituck Lions Club and Strawberry Festival chairman.

Festivalgoers wasted little time sampling the event’s famous strawberry-themed offerings.

“Just picked up some strawberry daiquiris. Fresh-made and everything is delicious,” said Bryan Judge, of Southold. “My son got a strawberry red-and-white cookie. The kid is happy as can be.”

The festival menu features a wide variety of strawberry favorites, including strawberry shortcake, crumb cake, cupcakes, chocolate-covered strawberries and the crowd-favorite strawberry daiquiri.

While the strawberries may be the main attraction, organizers emphasize that the festival’s impact extends far beyond food.

“We donate to many organizations here locally, provide scholarships to schools on the North Fork and help families that are in need,” Jernick said.

Proceeds from the festival support numerous local causes. Among the beneficiaries is the Southold Robotics team, which has competed at worlds.

“The money the Lions Club gives us covers half the plane tickets for the kids to get there,” said Bob Gammon, a mentor with the Southold Robotics team.

That community focus is one reason the festival has remained a staple of North Fork summers for more than seven decades.

“I've dreamed about being the Strawberry Queen since I was 5 years old,” said Morgan Dunne, the 70th Strawberry Queen. “I've been coming to the Strawberry Festival since I was 4.”

Visitors say the festival has become a tradition worth passing down to future generations.

“I’m going to tell my kids to come for next Father’s Day,” said Peter Bourboulis of Brooklyn. “That would be a cool thing to do.”

Even for those who aren't strawberry enthusiasts, the festival offers plenty of attractions, including food vendors, drinks, live entertainment, carnival rides and family-friendly activities throughout the grounds.

The festival runs through Sunday.