WinterFest brings out the best on Vashon
Published 5:00 pm Tuesday, December 9, 2025
The holiday season got off to a joyful start with Vashon’s annual WinterFest celebration on a chilly but mostly rain-free night last Saturday.
Organized by the Vashon Chamber of Commerce, Vashon Highway was closed to traffic and transformed into a bustling pedestrian mall for the occasion. Open houses were held at several uptown shops — including art spots affiliated with Vashon Island Visual Artists’ ongoing Holiday Studio Art Tour.
Local eateries also filled up fast, with window seats occupied by those who wanted to peer outside as the parade passed by.
By 5 p.m., hundreds of islanders lined Vashon Highway to cheer on the annual march through the middle of town — led by an exuberant mob of Santa cap-clad third graders, wielding jingle bells and singing the old familiar tune at the top of their lungs.
Following close behind was a fire truck from Vashon Island Fire & Rescue, festooned with lights that a helpful and eager elf from Ace Hardware Service Center had swooped to fix in the nick of time.
Then came a long line of lit-up, evergreen-draped vintage tractors and pickup trucks, filled with inflatable snowmen, reindeer and human revelers young and old. Other parade entrants included representatives of Granny’s Attic, Voice of Vashon and King County Metro Van, as well as members of Vashon’s Guide Dog Club, Cub Scouts, VHS cheerleaders and a fully costumed cadre of “Nutcracker” dancers on break between performances at Vashon Center for the Arts.
Of course, the island’s community marching band, VasHonk, made a supremely joyful noise as it marched through the middle of town.
And then came the biggest WinterFest celebs of all: Mr. and Mrs. Claus, waving to the crowd before it fell in behind them for the main event — Vashon’s tree lighting. The crowd swelled in front of Island Queen, where a wondrous blizzard suddenly filled the sky with fat fake snowflakes.
Then, as the Vashon High School Band played on the front lawn of the Presbyterian Church, it was time for the most magical moment of all — the countdown to the successful lighting of Vashon’s community tree. You know, the kind when all the strands of the lights actually turn on at the same time.
Rockefeller Center it wasn’t. But it was our tree, in our town, and we were all together to see it sparkle on a wintry night, so it was even better than that.
Remember to visit Santa’s Cottage, at the Village Green, from 12-3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 13 and 14.
