American Food Festivals - Visit this corner of America for some super sweet berries!
How does a bowl of raspberries and ice cream sound?
Although food festivals are held year-round in America, summer is particularly popular for these fun events. Aside from warm weather and long days, many seasonal fruits come to harvest during the summer months.
Today's stop on the 2024 Summer American Food Festival tour takes us to the great Northwest for the Northwest Rasberry Festival. This annual festival is in Lyndon, Wash., north of Seattle and a few miles from the Canadian border.
Washington, along with California and Oregon, are the leading raspberry-producing states. Interestingly, Washington produces 90 percent of the frozen raspberry crop.
The two-day event starts on Saturday, July 19. Unlike the other festivals highlighted on our tour, especially the Traverse City, Mich., cherry event, the Rasberry Festival has a small-town feel.
Even though the festival starts on Saturday morning, there are Friday night kickoff events. Being the great Northwest, there will be a BBQ salmon dinner and a kids scavenger hunt. Scheduled events include live music, a food court, a kid zone, and a street fair.
For those hoping to enjoy some raspberries, there will be $2 raspberry and ice cream bowls, and for the adventurous, there are raspberry wine tastings. Farm tours are available to see how the tasty small berry is cultivated.
If you are athletically inclined, the festival features a three-on-three basketball tournament. That event, the Curt Maberry Memorial Classic, has several competitive categories for youth and adults.
Air travel from Sacramento to Seattle is easy, with several daily flights. For those who enjoy a good road trip, there are all sorts of things to do between Sacramento, Seattle, and the Canadian crossing, given Lyndon is just five miles from the international border.
