In honor of the upcoming Strawberry Festival (June 28-29 at Crossroads Park), all of the Heritage Corners this month will be devoted to the Festival’s history.

Bellevue: The Home of the Strawberries

The purpose of the first Strawberry Festival, held in 1925, was to bring in tourist dollars through a celebration of Bellevue’s agricultural bounty. This poem was found written on one of the tablecloths after the first Festival concluded:

We have wandered from the city

In search of a new thrill.

We found a place so pretty

We stuck around until

We filled up on strawberries,

Shortcake and lovely cream

The berries red as cherries,

The shortcake just a dream.

It was the town of Bellevue,

A rustic little place,

Where all this classy food grew,

To feed our hungry face.

We thank thee, little township

We liked your festival.

When’er we make a short trip,

Upon you we will call.

– Gloria Nourse, Seattle.

To learn more about Bellevue and Eastside history, contact the Eastside Heritage Center at 425-450-1049 or visit www.EastsideHeritageCenter.org.