Strawberry Festival 2024: Events Guide

Vashon’s annual Strawberry Festival, an almost 100-year-old tradition, is a joyously creative island celebration that takes place over the course of an unforgettable July weekend.

It’s a time for neighbors to dress up in their best tie-dyed splendor, chow down on street food, peruse wares offered by local and off-island vendors, and also visit booths staffed by worthy local nonprofits.

Looking for your favorite vendors? Find a full, printable map of festival vendors on Vashon Island Chamber of Commerce website, at tinyurl.com/e6vw4779.

Strawberry Festival also means music in the streets — check out the wealth of talent from Vashon and beyond that will grace this year’s stages on page 14.

Invite your friends

Washington State Ferries expects boats on Vashon’s Triangle Route to be exceptionally crowded, particularly with a two-boat schedule — so they advise visitors to check the schedule at tinyurl.com/hb326tz8. Plan to leave early, and keep an eye on service notices.

A better option from Seattle, on Saturday, is to take the King County Water Taxi, scheduled for a rare Saturday run on July 20. Find the day’s schedule at tinyurl.com/26um8p72.

King County Metro’s 118/119 buses run from both Vashon ferry terminals to the center of town, and will be running an alternate route to accommodate street closures. Please check the route 118 schedule for detailed information at tinyurl.com/24z9ejrs.

Taking it to the streets

During Strawberry Festival, presented by the Vashon Chamber of Commerce, streets from 171st to 178th on Vashon Highway will be closed to traffic. Bank Road will be closed from 97th Ave to 100th Ave.

The closure is in effect from 4:30 p.m. to midnight on Friday, all day and all night on Saturday, and midnight to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.

For Saturday’s Festival parade, Vashon Highway will additionally be closed northbound, at 192nd St, between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.

No parking will be allowed in the closed sections of Vashon Highway or Bank Road beginning at 4 p.m. on Friday.

The race is on

Islanders can join in the 42nd annual Bill Burby 5K Fun Run — a fundraiser to provide support for island sports programs and scholarships for local youth to attend college.

This year’s run/walk will begin at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, July 20, starting at the VES Fields at the Harbor School. The race course follows paved country roads with some challenging hills along what locals call “The Dilworth Loop.”

For more information and to register for this beloved island event, visit billburbyrace.com.

Do you love a parade? Or two?

The official Strawberry Festival Parade starts at 10:45 a.m. Saturday, with a kid’s parade followed by the official parade.

For the kid’s parade, all kids and accompanying adults should line up no later than 10:30 a.m. at the Vashon Methodist Church.

Will this year’s parade live up to your memories of Strawberry Festival’s past, filled with giant puppets, vintage tractors, ukulele bands, and tutu-wearing, kazoo-tooting island elders? You have to show up to find out, but we’re betting many traditional favorites will be back — including the iconic Vashon Thriftway Shopping Cart Drill Team, of course.

Candidates in Vashon’s zany but community-minded Unofficial Mayor Race (see page 12) are also sure to be on hand, glad-handing the crowd for more votes, at $1 each.

Be sure to save some extra cheers for this year’s Grand Marshals — Beth Lindsay, Wendy Aman and Rick Wallace, representing Islanders for Ferry Action.

Want the best spot in town for watching the parade? Reserve a spot in front of Vashon Presbyterian Church, which is offering limited parking and front lawn chairs for Saturday’s parade. There is no fee, but donations will be accepted and forwarded to the Journeymen Institute on Vashon. Email rwspang@centurytel.net to reserve, noting how many seats you are requesting and any wheelchair accommodation needed.

Is one parade not enough for you? Come back to town at 10 a.m. Sunday for the Classic Car parade, with fossil-fueled finery winding through town and then parked from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Vashon Chamber of Commerce, at 17141 Vashon Hwy SW, for an awards ceremony and further viewing. Staging for the parade will take place at Vashon Center for the Arts (VCA) at 9 a.m.

Sponsors and partners of the parade include Island Insurance, Vashon Center for the Arts, Voice of Vashon, and, of course, the Vashon Chamber.

Kid and Teen Fun

What does the festival offer for kids, besides parades, chances to dance in the grass and in the streets, and a visit to see the Reptile Man (see page 14)?

Families shouldn’t miss the old-fashioned fun of an ice-cream social at the Vashon Heritage Museum, from 6-8 p.m. Friday, at Vashon Heritage Museum (See “Happenings, page 1).

How about lots and lots of Legos? From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, take your young ones to visit the display of the Puget Sound Lego Train Club, at Vashon Library.

And on both Saturday and Sunday, head to Island Queen for IQ and Friends Shenanigans for kids’ games, vendors, and must-have face-painting by Girls to Girls, a Vashon High School organization.

Islander Mo Davis will present an antique pinball arcade on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the Strawberry Festival, at the Station at Vashon Inn, at 17816 Vashon Hwy SW. It will feature a selection of electro-mechanical games from the 1960s and 70s you won’t find anywhere else for public play.

Parents in need of free emergency nutrition for their kids can pick up sack lunches at the Festival booth for the Vashon Food Bank, with volunteers offering Picnics in the Parks-style grub: PB&J/turkey/ham sandwiches, fruit/veggies, hummus, string cheese, and granola bars.

There’s also something new this year for middle- and high-schoolers: TeenJam, a free carnival-style event in the Vashon Theatre Backlot on Saturday from 5-9 p.m. Teens are invited to perform, bring their art, play games, hang out, and enjoy activities hosted by island youth and nonprofits. The lineup includes teen bands, aerial performances, and a headliner from Seattle, Pilot Seat, to close out the night.

TeenJam is a sober, substance-free event. Persons who appear to be under the influence will not be admitted. Want to volunteer? Reach out to outreach@vyfs.org.

Get involved

Remember, Strawberry Festival is run by volunteers, so if you want to help it run smoothly, lend a hand. To sign up, or find out more about the festival, visit thisisvashon.org or vashonevents.org/strawberry-festival 2024.