Outsiders Flock to Ninth Annual Blueberry Festival

MOSSYROCK — What started out as an afternoon street fair has become a three-day affair that attracted hundreds into the town of Mossyrock for the ninth annual Mossyrock Blueberry Festival.

The constantly growing event seems to be shifting its focus to entertainment, with eight performances taking place on the stage in Klickitat Prairie Park. 

The fun kicked off on Friday evening with performances ranging from bluegrass to classic rock covers as three bands graced the stage while dozens of vendors prepared their business for the bustle of the following day.

Phil McDaniel, festival coordinator for the last three years, says it’s the vendors that keep the festival’s growth in an upward direction.

“I’d say it’s grown about three or four times in the past seven years,” McDaniel said. “The vendors are at the center of it. These aren’t just normal vendors you would see everywhere. You’re seeing a diverse amount of food and merchandise being offered that is really made to appeal to all.”

Saturday’s action opened up bright and early, with both 5K and 8K trail runs where runners made their way across the Mossyrock

Dam. Bouncy toys, a car show, a quilt show and the traditional parade kept all visitors busy in the early afternoon.

The parade, featuring floats and tractors showing off Mossyrock’s blueberry heritage, has always been the piece of the festival that Mossyrock mayor Tom Meade takes the most enjoyment in.

“I’m partial to parades ever since I was a kid,” Meade said. “We put a central-easter kind of spin on the parade. Each one across the county is different and we focus on agriculture and small farm projects that we have going on here.”

Following the parade, attendees adjourned back to the stage in the park to watch the Blueberry Pie Eating Championships. After plenty of messes were made, three winners were crowned — Gabriel Ramos won the 6-9 age bracket, while 13-year-old Kendra Miller took victory in the 10-13 contest. Ligaya Lagasse came out as the unlikely winner in the ages 14 and up bracket, nicknamed the “heavyweight division” by festival MC and Meade’s son-in-law Lupe Ramos.

“I think this whole thing really brings awareness to the town because there is tourism here, even if people don’t necessarily see it,” Ramos said.

The remainder of the festival was highlighted by a dog show, a kids art contest, blueberry pancake breakfasts and bicycle rides crossing the Mossyrock Dam. The event wrapped up on Sunday with a performance from Best of Lewis County musician Chris Guenther.

Above all else, the event is about the community coming together to show off the merits of the town of Mossyrock.

“This is it as far as bringing everybody together of every different background and interest,” Meade said. “It tells people who we are and shows them that we can accomplish things together rather than individually.”

Not only is the festival set to attract tourists to Mossyrock, but with the continuing growth of the festival the citizens are now looking for more young volunteers to keep the tradition going.

“The key point there is we need to keep enough volunteers to make it happen,” Meade said. “The work for next year starts next week and people get burned out after a certain amount of years. We really need to get the young people to take interest and start coming out to meetings so we can continue to grow.”