Vashon’s biggest party of the year — Strawberry Festival — will take over the town next weekend, running July 14-16.

Following years of pandemic cautions that shrank the footprint of the festival, this year’s event may seem a bit bigger — while still maintaining the cozy “By Vashon For Vashon” theme established by the Vashon Chamber of Commerce during the pandemic years.

Some off-island vendors will join the usual mix of island businesses and nonprofits that will have booths lining Vashon Highway during the festival.

Plan ahead to get from here to there during the festival weekend: Vashon Highway will be closed southbound at Gorsuch Road and northbound at 178th, and Bank Road, westbound, will be closed near 97th Pl SW, and eastbound at 100th Ave. All closures start at 4:30 p.m. on Friday and will reopen at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Unofficial Mayor Race

Election season for Vashon’s beloved unofficial mayor race has opened.

Now through Saturday, July 15, islanders can cast their votes (as many as they like!) for their favorite candidates and their sponsoring nonprofits.

Every year, the Vashon-Maury Chamber of Commerce partners with its non-profits members to host this fundraiser. Every dollar donated is considered a vote, and at the end of the campaign, the candidate with the most votes wins, representing Vashon for the next year at events and on other occasions.

This year, candidates include Templeton, a pig, representing Emerald City Pet Rescue; Douglas Fir, a tree, representing Vashon Rotary; Ed, a chainsaw wood carving, representing Camp Burton; Maddie, a Sheltie and certified therapy dog, representing Vashon Senior Center; Bowie, an adorable pup, representing Vashon HouseHold; Jolene and Moose, respectively a rescued baby longhorn and her guardian dog, representing Old Goats Home; and Eric Heffelfinger, an actual human artist, teacher and lifeguard, representing Vashon Center for the Arts.

Learn more and donate today here.

Music

This year’s festival will also boast two music stages for the first time since 2019.

The main stage, located at the Village Green adjacent to the festival’s Beverage Garden, will boast bands including One More Mile, Loren Sinner and Friends, Loose Change, and Riverbend. The stage’s Saturday headline act, at 8:30 p.m., will be a longtime local favorite, Publish the Quest. Some off-island music acts, including Wild Rumors, a Fleetwood Mac tribute band, will also return this year.

The festival’s Homegrown Stage, at US Bank, will also offer music on Saturday and Sunday, July 15 and 16. One notable concert at that location, at 7 p.m. on Saturday night, will celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Portage Philharmonic big band.

Read all about the music offerings at the festival at thisisvashon.com/mainstage and thisisvashon.com/homegrown-stage.

Music stages will also pop up at Snapdragon Bakery & Café and Sugar Shack. At Snapdragon, a full three-day festival lineup will include a Friday night headline show at 7 p.m. by Troll’s Cottage – another beloved island band.

Find out more about what’s happening at Snapdragon and the Sugar Shack at instagram.com/vashonsugarshack and Snapdragon’s Facebook page.

Parades

The Strawberry Festival Parade — always a big draw for those attending — will start at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 15.

Those who have registered with the Chamber to participate should begin lining up on Vashon Highway, south of Vashon United Methodist Church, beginning at 10 a.m. A kid’s parade (no registration necessary) will start the parade as usual, with participants lining up no later than 10:30 a.m. All kids in the parade must be accompanied by adults.

One big parade entry that made its debut in last year’s parade will be back again this year — the Vashon Island Marine Band & Procession, celebrating all things from the Salish Sea, from algae to octopi. Led by a 5-gallon bucket drumline, the procession will include giant puppets and islanders of all stripes sporting recycled and up-cycled sea critter finest as jellyfish, otters, eels, and eelgrass.

The creative team behind the procession has invited all to dress up and line up at 10 a.m. on July 15 for the parade. Need help with your costume? Contact vashonmarineband@gmail.com.

Is one parade not enough for you? Come back to town by 10 a.m. Sunday, July 16, for a Classic Car Parade, with cars winding their way back to Vashon Center for the Arts for a classic car show, complete with prizes and festival food, that will run from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Fun for the whole family

Check out thisisvashon.com/kidactivities for a list of this year’s especially kid-centered activities at the festival, which will include pie-eating and strawberry costume contests, activities and games at Island Queen, and a new attraction this year — the Puget Sound Lego Train Club will be at Ober Park on Saturday and Sunday with a large-scale working train model, a giant topographical map of Vashon Island, and plenty of legos for kids and adults to play with and build.

An ice cream social at Vashon Heritage Museum, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Friday, July 14, also promises fun for the whole family.

Fun Run

The Bill Burby Fun Run, another mainstay of the festival, will have its 41st annual race on the morning of Saturday, July 15. starting at 8:30 a.m. at VES Fields (The Harbor School.) Find out more at billburbyrace.com.

Grand Marshals

This year — continuing the tradition of honoring the island’s community heroes — Vashon Chamber has designated Vashon’s United Postal Service mail carriers and service staff as the 2023 Strawberry Festival Parade’s Grand Marshals.

“We are incredibly grateful to the small but mighty and hard-working staff who put in long hours to deliver the mail on Vashon,” said Amy Drayer, executive director of the Chamber. “We recognize the outsized burden placed on individual carriers and the post office staff and thank them for their service.”

The work of the carriers has been front and center in the community since late last year, particularly during the holiday season. Backups at the post office, caused by a huge volume of holiday packages combined with staffing shortages, made local and regional news.

Despite the backlog, the carriers and clerks carried on.

Strawberry Festival Grand Marshals have been selected from diverse sectors of the Vashon community since the parade began. Past honorees have been some of Vashon’s most prominent civic leaders.

In 2021, the Chamber recognized the incredible work done by a coalition of groups responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and honored leaders from VashonBePrepared, the Medical Reserve Corps, Vashon Pharmacy, and the Vashon Community Emergency Response Team.

Last year, the Chamber named Mukai Farm & Garden as Grand Marshal.

While postal carriers are invited to walk in the parade, most will not be able to participate — because they’ll be out on their routes, delivering the mail. Given that, the Chamber will also host a special ceremony to honor the Grand Marshals at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, July 15, on the Festival’s main stage.