If you love raspberries, you’ll want to soak up the festivities at the annual Northwest Raspberry Festival, held on Front Street in downtown Lynden, WA the third weekend in July. The celebration has been a Lynden tradition for 20 years, starting as a humble sidewalk sale back in 1997.
The event features two stages with live local talent, an arts and crafts street fair, a kids’ zone with free activities, a car show for auto enthusiasts that draws up to 300 vehicles, and the state’s largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament, with 250 teams. The festival is also a destination for the best $2 raspberry sundae available!
Unbeknown to most visitors, Lynden’s verdant raspberry crop yields up to 60 million pounds of berries, representing 93 percent of all U.S. raspberries that go to processing. For the duration of the 40-day season, which creates 6,000 seasonal jobs, Lynden’s raspberry farmers supply national corporations including Dreyers, Kellogg, Yoplait, Haagen Das, Dove, Dairygold, Smuckers, Welches, Knotts Berry farm and Pepperidge Farms.
“The Northwest Raspberry Festival is our annual tribute to agriculture in our community and a celebration of the Pacific Northwest’s status as a world leader in the raspberry industry,” says Tammy Yoder, marketing and events coordinator for the Lynden Chamber. This year’s event includes a 5K fun run or walk, a scavenger hunt for kids, a talent show and a raspberry pancake breakfast. Visit https://www.lynden.org/events/details/northwest-raspberry-festival-2019-07-20-2019-6714 for a complete schedule of events for this great celebration.
If you want to take raspberries home with you, July is the month when these luscious berries are ripe for the picking.
Barbie’s Berries
Bellingham Country Gardens (Grubbs family farm) - No-spray u-pick, berries and veggies.
Boxx Berry Farm - U-pick and we-pick strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and flowers. Also a variety of homegrown vegetables and Eastern Washington fruit; homemade jams and syrups; fresh strawberry shortcake, and ice cream cones.
Haugen’s Raspberries and Blueberries - Highest-quality Meeker raspberries and Duke blueberries; u-pick field and we-pick stand.
Kamm Creek Farm - No-spray strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and currants at farm stand and u-pick patch. Corn and pumpkins in the fall.
Lubbe Organic Strawberries and Veggies - Open for u-pick organic strawberries and raspberries, to be determined by availability.
Shumway’s Berries - Raspberries and blackberries, no-spray, u-pick.
