The Maltese do love their five-a-day, but if there's one fruit we're especially big on, it's strawberries. This versatile fruit can easily be added into a number of our favourite daily dishes such as cereals, bakes, shakes, sweet treats, fruit salads, fruit flans, you name it!

Going back to the roots

Paul, who has been Mgarr’s mayor for 20 years, comes from a long line of farmers who have cultivated strawberries for nearly five generations. Paul tells me that this much-anticipated event has been up and running since 2007. “We wanted to organise an activity that puts a spotlight on something local to promote it and our town.” Paul explains that strawberries grow in abundance in Mgarr, so this was the perfect product.

“We immediately received a good response. We just wanted to try something different and it ended up being a great success, enjoyed by many families,” he says.

History of the Maltese frawla

The word frawla (strawberry) is known to have been first recorded in Maltese dictionaries in the 1760s. In the last three years, research on the Maltese frawla was carried out and this concluded that strawberries always grew in abundance in Mgarr, especially in April and May.

As history goes, this fruit was so delicate that it would be gifted to nobles as signs of appreciation in the 1400s. And it’s such an important part of history that it is even mentioned in one of Gan Anton Vassallo’s poems called Tifhira lil Malta.

According to tradition, the cultivating of strawberries requires a lot of patience, so historically, women used to take care of the fruit. In order to keep the strawberries as fresh as possible, they would be stored in a basket that would have been wet overnight and would have leaves at the bottom to prevent the fruit from bruising. 

This year’s event

This year, Festa Frawli, organised by the Mgarr Local Council and helped by volunteers from Lejla Mgarrija is once again back by popular demand. And apart from all the strawberries, Paul reveals that there will also be dancing and singing, folklore events with traditional costumes and various competitions. These include a poetry-writing competition and a drawing competition aimed at primary school children. The final poetry submissions will also be published.

Moreover, after last year’s success, the countryside walks are back, exploring different areas of Mgarr. The walks last around an hour and the meeting and return point is the main Mgarr square.

This is all happening on 7th April from 10am onwards at the Mgarr square. Parking will be available near the square, as well as a park and ride service from Ta’ Qali.