Mayberry on the Water

This is Strawberry Festival weekend here on Vashon Island, sometimes called Mayberry on the Water. We have art and game booths, animal rescue displays, carnival rides, beer gardens, and lots and lots of food that is really bad for you. This morning was the parade led by Vashon Island Veterans, followed by the fire truck, antique tractors, politicians waving and cheerleaders cheering, tap dancers and samba dancers, the library cart drill team and—my favorite—the Thriftway shopping cart drill team. Every kid and dog on the island is welcome to join the parade and most of them do. The softball championship is happening at the park down the road, and around the corner are free puppetry workshops. We don’t grow strawberries anymore on the island but we do a great Strawberry Festival.