86th Berry Dairy Days Festival was a hit!

The 86th Annual Berry Dairy Days Festival was a huge success! All due to the people that come and support our local community year after year. This event draws people to Burlington from far and wide, attracted to celebrate one of the oldest festivals in Skagit County and to come together to appreciate the Bounty of the County, grateful for the farmers who make this rich valley abundant in its diversity of crops and dairy products. We got to host lots of creators at the Vendor fair! The vendors were so happy with the outcome and support from our community.

Thank you to all that participated as well as to all who supported our local businesses. Another big thank you to Don Wick, if you don’t know Don, you should!

He was this year’s Grand Marshal at the Grand Parade and for good reason. If you’d like to know more about him, reach out and I can send you a PDF of his life and accomplishments. He is an outstanding member of this community and is still very actively participating wherever he can!

The Heritage Flight Museum provided the Grand Parade Fly-over to kick off the festivities and wow that was a great show!

We also had the pleasure of having the Skagit Humane Society and the Because we care animal rescue join us to showcase some of their adorable puppies and kittens up for adoption.

This year was the first year for the Upper Left cornhole Competion and the Train Wreck’s Beer Garden. We are so grateful for them both to provide another source of entertainment and of course delicious beer! Our Entertaiment stage was absolutley rocking! We had the Troy Fair Band, the Dogtones, Miller Campbell, and the Lazy Acres band played Friday night at Skagit River Park to kick off the firework show! I have to say, one of my favorite moments was the pie eating contest where the face of the CEO of the chamber, Steph, was covered in strawberry cream!

The Berry Cool car show was a great time as well. Rows and rows of classic cars lined the streets as googly eyed spectators lovingly peered over these beauties.

The Smoke and Grill Competition draws people in like bees to honey. Yum, yum, yum! If you come next year, bring your appetite. The competition is fierce and these teams really stepped up to the plate. The winner for best side was @joshssmokehouse

One of my favorite parts of the whole festival was the Kid Zone. I didn’t get to participate, but the creativity of the games provided by the Hub City Church were top notch!

Lastly, let’s not forget about the Strawberry Shortcake : ) In 1937, the first annual “Berry Dairy Days” was launched when the Burlington volunteer firefighters organized a fundraiser to purchase new equipment. The community event served as a fundraiser and a way to celebrate strawberry farming in Burlington. To add excitement and draw a crowd, they made a giant strawberry shortcake that was pulled down Fairhaven Avenue in red wagons. Pieces of the cake were handed to the crowd that had gathered to catch a glimpse of the shortcake.

Although times have changed, we still celebrate the rich agricultural history of this region. Please join us next year!