Annual Bellevue Strawberry Festival off to a Wet Start

Storm clouds and predictions of inclement weather didn’t scare hundreds of festival goers from coming to the first day of the annual Bellevue Strawberry Festival.

The is putting on the festival this weekend, June 23 to 24, at from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free, but attendees must purchase tickets to participate in the events.

With over 80 vendor booths and over a dozen food booths set up, festival goers had plenty of attractions to visit as they wandered around the park.

Patra Hughes, who lives down the street from Crossroads, came to the festival with her young daughter.

“We’re coming back tomorrow, so we’re scouting now,” she said.

Those who attended the festival in previous years will notice some familiar events including the big purple slide, the train ride, rock climbing the “mini mountain” and carnival games.

Grace Lee and her family have been living in Bellevue for almost a year and were interested in finding out how the Eastside celebrated their strawberry festival.

“We’re from California, so we’re used to the strawberry festivals down there,” said Lee.

During the festival, the Eastside Heritage Center will have a “Tell Your Story” booth set up near the mini museum. People can stop by the booth and share the story of their life journeys. The Center adds the testimonies to their Eastside Heritage Collection.

The Bellevue Strawberry Festival has a rich history. The first festival was held in 1925 and became an annual event, but was cancelled in 1942 due to the internment of Japanese Americans who were the primary strawberry growers.

The festival was revived in 1987 but didn’t return to its full glory until 2003, when the Eastside Heritage Center turned it into the two-day community-wide event that it is today.

Despite the festival’s addition of other attractions over the last ten years, the main focus is still the strawberries. Groups of people huddled near the strawberry shortcake booth all morning.

Nahomi Tsuchiya, who recently moved to Bellevue, came to the festival for that specific reason, “I’m here for the strawberry shortcakes,” she said.

For more information about the festival, visit the website.