Strawberries, art to mix at annual Burien festival
Tue, 06/13/2006
Burien will host its annual Strawberry and Arts Festival Saturday, June 17, and Sunday, June 18.
Festivities again will be at the Burien Community Center and Dottie Harper Park at Fourth Avenue Southwest and Southwest 146th Street.
New this year is the Family "Art Jam" Stage, Invitational Juried Art Show and Tiki Bar serving strawberry margaritas, with a huge assortment of innovative, vibrant performers, including Latino musicians and dancers.
But don't worry traditionalists, the Burien Arts Association will still offer the festival's signature fresh strawberry shortcake from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.
The city's Arts Commission and the Burien Arts Association will have a juried exhibit featuring regional artists. The association will also have "artists-in-action" in front of the gallery.
Along with the Tiki Bar, expanded food booths will feature over 70 craft vendors.
Transform Burien, a consortium of local churches, is sponsoring a new halo video game tent and inflatable bouncers on Saturday.
The second annual skateboard contest will take place Saturday from noon to 5 p.m.
The schedule for Main Stage headliners is:
Saturday -- Show Brazil's spectacular Brazilian music and dance; The Lonely Forest, winner of EMP's 2006 Soundoff contest; Rumbeggae's Mexican and tropical music; The Purple Carpet Gang, Burien's own rockin' Moms and Dads; and Joyas Mestistas youth Hispanic dance troupe.
Sunday -- Parading artists include the Dangerettes Stomp Team and ValmoLa Dance & Drummers.
Musicians include The Evin Rudes Band playing hits from the 80s and 90s; the Po'okelas Street Band's Hawaiian, reggae and world beat; and Loose Gravel and the Quarry's blistering blues.
Also on the Main Stage, students from the Abyssinian Twins, New City, Momentum, and MacRae's studios and Evergreen High School will dance.
The Highline Community Band, Hi-Liners Youth Musical Theater, Highline High School Jazz Band and Miss Burien will also perform.
On the Family Art Jam Stage, hands-on fun will happen both days from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., including creating a Burien Wish Flag to keep and adding to the "all City" flag. Kids also can play with Lego Man.
Other family stage activities include:
Saturday -- the Seattle Symphony will bring its Soundbridge program of musical storytelling. Eric Herman and his Invisible Band, Momentum Dance Academy, and Kimmy the Clown will also entertain.
Sunday -- Bubbleman, Marco Cortes, Snapdragon Puppet Theater, and worldwide storyteller Margaret Read MacDonald will perform.
The Art Gallery Stage schedule is:
Saturday -- saxophonist Danny Ward, and jazz groups Quartet of Four, Urban Oasis and Jump Ensemble.
Sunday -- Mudbug Cajun Band, Duo Romantic's Mariachi and Mexican ballads, Concoction's pop standards, and the Black Diamond Brass Band perform.
Shuttles will also take participants to the Father's Day Car Show on South 152nd Street on Sunday.
The festival is presented by the city's Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services Department, Discover Burien, the City's Arts Commission, and the Burien Arts Association.
Community sponsors joining this year's event include the Burien Library Guild, Page 2 Books, Rainier Photographic Supply and Dick's Camera, Prudential, The Mark Restaurant and Bar, Rightway Auto Sales, Transform Burien, Millennium Ford, Bonney-Watson Funeral Home, Chuck Cox Financial Services, Northwest Publishing, and the Banana Pages.
For performance schedules and other information, go to www.burienparks.net or call 206-988-3700.