It’s time to savor the sweetness of Strawberry Festival

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Vashon’s Strawberry Festival has been held yearly for more than a century, showcasing local skills, creativity, and community-minded celebration over the course of one wonderful summer weekend of fun and celebration.

After a one-year pandemic hiatus in 2020, the festival returned in 2021, with a new theme: “By Vashon, For Vashon” — a guiding principle still happily in place this year.

It’s a time for neighbors to greet neighbors, shop locally at local businesses and island-connected vendor booths and dance the days and nights away to a lineup of local and Seattle musicians on the festival main stage and at other island venues.

Festival-goers can also join in the Festival’s ancillary traditions, such as the Bill Burby Inspirational Fun Run.

And don’t forget the parades!

Islanders and visitors alike will be able to enjoy a high-spirited Strawberry Festival Grand Marshal Parade on Saturday, July 16.

The parade will kick-off, in fine Strawberry Festival tradition, with a Kid’s Parade, which will line up at 10:30 a.m. at the Vashon United Methodist Church (VUMC).

The Kid’s Parade is open to anyone in the public with no registration required. All children are welcome but must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. The march will begin at 10:45 a.m.

The Grand Parade will begin at 11 a.m. — led by Grand Marshal Mukai Marshall Strawberry.

This year, islanders can expect such parade crowd-pleasers as Thriftway’s inimitable shopping cart drill team, Vashon Senior Center supporters, wearing tutus and tooting on kazoos, performers from the UMO School and ORBIT, and puppet-bearing supporters of Vashon’s Backbone Campaign.

The parade will be emceed by Craig Beles and Truman O’Brien, with Voice of Vashon live-streaming it all at voiceofvashon.org. The station will also post a recording for later viewing as well.

On Sunday, there will be yet another parade, as vintage and classic cars roar, rattle and roll through town at 10 a.m. and then park at Vashon Center for the Arts. Starting there, at 10:30 a.m. islanders can ogle the retro hotrods, roadsters and muscle cars in the Tom Stewart Memorial Car Show. Don’t forget to join in the fun by voting for Best of Show!

And speaking of votes — have you cast your votes (yes, you can vote as many times as you like) in Vashon’s zany and civic-minded Unofficial Mayor Contest?

Looking for art at the Strawberry Festival? Head to Vashon Center for the Arts (VCA) during the weekend to see wonderful new work by local artists, showing in VCA’s Summer Arts Fest. VALISE Gallery, in downtown Vashon, will be open too.

What’s the best part of Strawberry Festival? For some, it is munching on takeout from one of Vashon’s superb local eateries. For others, it’s finding a spot in the shade, within earshot of live music. For others, it’s meeting up with friends at the Festival’s beverage garden.

There really is something for everyone at the festival.

For kids, that means finding something new to climb on and explore — and there will be chances for them to do just that in the parking lot of Vashon Theatre, where there will be inflatables, games and other lively activities. Island Queen, right next door, is also hosting a raft of outdoor activities for kids.

Families also shouldn’t miss a good, old-fashioned ice cream social, scheduled to take place at the Vashon Heritage Museum from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 15.

Vashon-Maury Island Community Council will also have family-friendly fun on tap, outside Mica’s Kitchen.

Sales of Mica’s strawberry shortcakes — made with real whipped cream fresh strawberries and Mica-made biscuits, will benefit the community council. There will also be a bubble station at the restaurant, as well as performances of Howard the Clown at 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Mica’s Kitchen will also offer a pie-eating contest on Saturday, with toddlers competing from 11 a.m., and youth and adults vying to win at 1 p.m.

But perhaps the best place to be at Strawberry Festival — for grownups and teens — is in the thick of it, running around from here to there and helping the whole thing tick.

It’s not too late to volunteer and make yourself useful — helping to pull off a beloved, more than 100-year-old tradition on Vashon. To sign up, visit thisisvashon.com, and follow the link to volunteer.

See you at the Festival!