This weekend’s Strawberry Festival boasts music galore, with chances to dance the days and nights away as local favorites and acts from the mainland storm stages all over Vashon.

The Festival’s Main Stage and Beverage Garden, presented by the Vashon Island Chamber of Commerce, returns to Ober Park this year, with plenty of room to spread out and dance on the lawn.

Continuing a long tradition, Portage Fill — a big band formed 50 years ago on Vashon — will play a street dance in front of Sporty’s, in the center of town, at 6 p.m. Saturday, July 19.

A youth stage, dubbed TeenJam, will boast musical acts at the Pandora’s Box stage on Friday evening.

Independent music stages will also pop up all over town — at Sporty’s, Snapdragon Bakery & Cafe, Sugar Shack, Mind + Set Apothecary, The Hardware Store Restaurant’s new addition, The Yard (behind The Hardware Store Restaurant), Vashon Eagles, and Vashon Times, a business located in Courthouse Square, and at the Vashon Farmer’s Market in the Village Green.

Here’s your guide to all of the sounds of Strawberry Festival.

Main Stage and Street Dance

Head to Ober Park to see Vashon Chamber of Commerce’s lineup for its main stage and street dance performers for this year’s Strawberry Festival, coming up Friday-Sunday, July 18-20, in Ober Park. The Chamber’s Beverage Garden will be close to the stage to serve libations to those 21 and older. This year’s Saturday night street dance with the venerable Vashon big band, Portage Fill, will take place in front of Sporty’s restaurant at 6 p.m.

Friday, July 18

Friday’s main stage lineup starts at 4 p.m. with Rumor Has It, a Vashon band that plays a blend of bluegrass, country, rock, Afro-Celtic, and blues.

At 5:30 p.m., The Reptile Man, a repeat visitor to Strawberry Festival, will return to show off his menagerie of slithering and amphibious friends.

At 7 p.m., Little Creatures — Vashon’s only Talking Heads tribute band — will perform.

And at 9 p.m. Friday, Bowie Rex & His Boogie Army will storm the stage, offering up megahits from David Bowie, Marc Bolan & T-Rex, Roxy Music, The Cars, The Kinks, Talking Heads, Joy Division, Blondie, Prince, Sex Pistols, Lou Reed and more. The band is a supergroup of some of the regions’ finest musicians, including Dave Dederer, Tim Dijulio, Michael Musburger, Billy Stover and Jeremy Lightfoot, rounded out by front-man Martin Feveyear and backing singers “The Suffragette Sisters — Rhiannon Walther, Melissa Feveyear and Sarah Howard.

Saturday, July 19

On Saturday, the main stage fun starts at 11:30 a.m. with The Dusty 45s, a legendary Seattle band fronted by its dynamic founding member, singer-songwriter Billy Joe Huels. Islander Debra Heesch is presenting this show.

At 1:30 p.m., Kimmi Bitter — dubbed as “the future of classic country,” will take the stage with her hard-driving band, The Westside Twang — another show presented by Debra Heesch.

At 3:15 p.m., Debra Heesch will present Ron Artis II and his band, playing original music that has energized audiences across the globe. At 5:30 p.m. Jealous Dogs will passionately bring the music of The Pretenders to life.

One of Strawberry Festival’s most-beloved traditions — a street dance with Portage Fill — will take place at 6 p.m. in town, in front of Sporty’s. Don’t miss falling under the band’s timeless big band and swing-era spell.

And when that’s over, head back to Ober Park’s main stage for The Power Players, an 11-member band with a full horn section that specializes in the music of Chicago, Toto, The Doobie Brothers, Wings, Boz Scaggs, Earth, Wind & Fire, Joe Jackson, Steely Dan and more.

Close out Saturday night at 9:30 p.m. with Vashon’s very own Publish the Quest, fronted by Jacob Bain. Publish the Quest features bold horns with a cracking snare, melodic guitar, and bass going heavy on the funk. If you like Afrobeat and organic hip-hop, you’ll find yourself swaying in the moonlight to the band’s irresistible beats.

On Sunday, get up and get back on your feet at 12 p.m., when The Panda Conspiracy, a six-piece, genre-bending band will fuse reggae and funk grooves with riff rock. At 2 p.m., rock out with Hell’s Belles, an all-female AC/DC cover band. And at 3:45 p.m., a festival tradition will continue, when beloved local band Loose Change wraps up the main stage offerings.

Farmer’s Market Stage

Head to the Village Green on from 12-2 on Saturday to hear Colette Jones, followed by High Class Brass from 2:30-4:30 p.m. On Sunday, Mark Wells will take the stage from 10-11:30 a.m., followed by Triskelion from 12:30-2 p.m.

Mind+Set Apothecary

This Vashon business, located in the annex building of 17917 Vashon Highway SW, will host a vendor market and music lineup throughout the festival in its shady back courtyard. On Saturday, the music lineup includes Alberta & the Dead Eyes (12-1:30 p.m.), King’s Highway (2:15-3:45 p.m.), Croaker (4:30-6 p.m.); and E.O.S. from 6:45-8:30 p.m. On Sunday, three more music acts will take the stage: Alchemy (12-1:30 p.m.); Swedish Finnish (2:15-4 p.m.) and Pat Reardon (4:45-6 p.m.) The venue is family-friendly and wheelchair and scooter-accessible.

Snapdragon Bakery & Café

As always, Snapdragon will present a slate of performances and activities throughout the festival, complete with an all-day dunk tank in operation on Saturday. Art-making stations will also open on Saturday, where islanders of all ages can make community prayer flags that will later be hung at Snapdragon.

The weekend-long party will start at 5:30 p.m. Friday, with a performance by Star Anna, a Vashon favorite, presented by Debra Heesch. At 8 p.m. Friday, DJ Mr. Fun will spin Afro and Latin grooves.

On Saturday, beer and wine will be served all day under a shaded tent in front of Snapdragon. Acclaimed islander and musician Benjamin Hunter will play with his frequent duo partner Joe Seamons from 6-7:30 p.m, followed by an 8 p.m. dance party with Queen Sativa and deejay Brit Hansen. A drag brunch with Queen Sativa will take place from 11 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. on Sunday.

Queen Sativa’s appearances on Vashon are also a Debra Heesch production.

Sporty’s

The legendary local band Troll’s Cottage will play at an unannounced time on the evening of Friday, July 18, at Sporty’s. Publicity for the show instructs “don’t ask what time, just show up.”

Made up of lifelong friends, the band’s members have included Jacob Bain, Gabriel Blake, Mike Marlatt, Earl Clay, Erik Reimnitz, who now play in the memory of another founding member, Ian Metler, who died in 2025.

Rooted in acoustic reggae and layered with heartfelt lyrics, Trolls Cottage’s songs reflect the charm and beauty of island life. Now, according to advance notices for their Strawberry Festival show, the band’s performances will also carry Metler’s spirit, with his lasting influence woven into every chord.

At 8 p.m. Saturday, July 19, Sporty’s will offer a show by the Stray Rails, with Collette Jones.

Sugar Shack

Sugar Shack will offer a weekend of free entertainment on its back lawn, starting on Friday, July 18. That night, Whiting Tennis, a Seattle-based indie-rock storyteller and artist, will play at 7 p.m. The island band Patrons of Husbandry, with Jeff Roeser, Ethan Cudaback, Scott Boggan, and Rusty Willoughby, will play at 9 p.m. Iska Daff, the high-octane duo of Nathan Quiroga and Benjamin Verdoes, will play at 10:15 p.m.

On Saturday, July 19, the Sugar Shack stage will present Maxmiano at 4 p.m., Ellery Harper at 6 p.m. and The Buckaroosters, a popular and rollicking Buck Owens tribute band, at 8 p.m.

The Vashon group Croaker will play at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 20.

TeenJam

This new festival tradition, begun last year, will be aimed at island middle school and high schoolers. TeenJam is a youth stage sponsored by Vashon Events, Vashon Youth & Family Services, Pandora’s Box, VARSA, Orbit Youth Space, and King County Local Services.

TeenJam will take place from 6-9 p.m. Friday, July 18, at Pandora’s Box, with the following line-up of acts: EI, at 6:30 p.m.; Miss Ogeny, at 7 p.m.; Magnolia, at 7:30 p.m.; and headliner, Caspian Coberly, a rock musician climbing in Seattle’s scene, at 8 p.m.

TeenJam is a sober, substance-free event.

The Yard

The popular Vashon band, Tim Couldn’t Make It, will play from 7-9 p.m. Saturday, July 19, in The Yard, a new outdoor dining space located behind The Hardware Store Restaurant. Enter the space via the alley behind the restaurant.

Vashon Eagles

Blue Monster, a three piece instrumental funk band from Vashon, will play a free show at 7 p.m. Friday, July 18, at the Vashon Eagles Club. The band is known for live performances combining lacing funk grooves with psychedelic improvisation. The club is located at 18134 Vashon Hwy SW, Vashon.

Vashon Times

Russ Baum, a central-Indiana touring musician who plays musics he describes as “a total island vibe and an old-school hip-hop beat” will play a free live outdoor show at Vashon Times, a business selling cannabis products located at 19001 Vashon Hwy SW. No substance consumption is allowed at the show.

Baum forged a Vashon connection during the COVID pandemic, when he live-streamed his musical performances, resulting in his appearance now on the island. Folk singer Megan Baum, Russ’s wife, will open the show. The event will feature food vendors, tarot readings, and more, according to advance publicity.

For a deeper dive into the music acts at Strawberry Festival, visit thisisvashon.com and vashonevents.org.

Lou Mangione, of Portage Fill, will croon his heart out again this year during the big band’s annual street dance peformance on Saturday evening, in front of Sporty’s. (Alex Bruell photo)