FORESTVILLE – The 34th edition of the annual Strawberry Festival will take place at Merritt Estate Winery in Forestville today and Sunday.

While Merritt’s festival usually features some of Western New York’s finest athletes and area celebrities, this year it turns to the silver screen for the celebration. Portions of the proceeds will go to the Carol M. Baldwin Foundation for Breast Cancer Research with the monies staying in New York State to help women throughout Central and Western New York through their battles with cancer.

The foundation was formed by the Baldwin family in honor of their mother, Carol, a breast cancer survivor. The foundation holds a special place in the Merritt families hearts as winery founder William Merritt and General Manager and son, Jason lost their wife and mother to the disease a few years ago. Jason met the founder’s leader, daughter Elizabeth Baldwin at a wine show in Syracuse after a mutual friend introduced the pair. It was then decided that the winery and the family would team up on several projects to help fight the dreaded disease.

Daniel Baldwin recently finished an appearance on ABC’s “Celebrity Wife Swap” television series pitting Baldwin against Jermaine Jackson in the reality television show. Daniel is the second oldest of the famous Baldwin Brothers (Alec, William and Steven) Baldwin played a detective on NBC’s “Homicide: Life on the Street” as well “Born on the Fourth of July” with Tom Cruise, “Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man”, “Mulholland Falls” and “Hero”. Daniel also played a role in HBO’s Award Winning series, “The Sopranos.” Baldwin will be appearing Saturday from 1-7 p.m. at the festival. He will be signing special edition “Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research” wine bottles as part of his appearance.

The annual two-day festival features live music throughout the day with National Recording artists: “The Hootn’Anges” headlining the Saturday Night stage. The band is currently opening for country star Josh Thompson on his current tour and has recently played Toby Keith’s music hall. Area crafters, along with chocolate covered strawberries, strawberry shortcake, free wine tastings and tours will be featured throughout the weekend. A Classic Car Show featuring the Lakeshore StreetRod Association will also run both days of the Festival. Admission to the event is free. The festival begins today from noon to 11 p.m. and Sunday noon to 6 p.m.