Strawberry Festival provides week full of family fun

MARYSVILLE There is no official count, but Marysville Strawberry Festival organizers are thinking there was a pretty healthy sized crowd lining State Avenue for the 2008 Grand Parade.
Admitting she is lousy at guessing at crowd figures, festival board member Jodi Hiatt put the number of parade watchers at around 30,000.
Fellow festival board member Carol Kapua guessed the crowd came closer to 50,000. In any case, whatever the actual tally, both agreed the crowd probably was the largest to ever watch the parade.
All told, the parade featured nearly 140 entries ranging from the Seattle Seafair Pirates to, of course, the official Strawberry Festival float. Naturally, the latter featured the reigning Marysville Royalty, winners of the annual April Friesner Royalty Pageant.
It was busy, but it was so much fun, said Queen Danielle Wilcoxson, who with several of the other pageant winners was still out representing the city June 22 at the Pig Out on the Farm held at Biringer Farm.
Besides what might have been the last Pig Out on the Farm, the 2008 Strawberry Festival included all the expected activities and events, from the adult tricycle races June 20 to the carnival at Marysville Middle School. There were some 150 entries to the Emerald City Car Show held at Asbery Field. Of course, fireworks ended the day June 21 on State Avenue.
We had great weather, we had great crowds, said Hiatt, who said she spent most of her festival days at the arts and crafts market at Asbery Field.
Even if the festival is over for this year, Hiatt said Danielle and the other festival royalty arent quite finished with their duties. They and the Strawberry Festival float will continue to appear in parades through September. In late December, they hope to be part of the Holiday Bowl Parade in San Diego.
As for festival organizers, they dont get much time off either. Hiatt said the group shortly would gather to critique this years efforts. They start formal planning for next years event in January.

(See more photos in the StrawFest Gallery)