Sponsored by the Downtown Business Community, the Street Fair is being held April 18, 19, 20 in downtown Mount Vernon. Eight blocks of Downtown’s First street will be closed and filled with arts, craft, music, magic and more. Food vendor cook up a wide variety of delicious cuisines from good ol’ American burgers, corndogs and curly fries to Mexican and Thai specialities. For dessert don’t miss the mini-donuts, fruit on a stick, apple dumplings, elephant ears, ice cream and more, much, much more!

Rain or shine, the Fair is on, but we have ordered nice weather. Due to the cold spring/winter, the tulips fields are also in bloom so come enjoy the beauty of the flowers and take home some wonderful handmade arts and craft. This year we have more things for the kids from clowns with balloon animals, face painting, to decoratable Frisbees and be sure to check the schedule for Uncle Stinky the Magician’s performances on the stage in Pine Square.

Part of the reason we are able to pull things together so well, and also the reason people have commented on how clean our streets and sidewalks are, is our partnerships with the Mount Vernon Parks and Recreation. Led by Larry Otos, we are blessed to have a dedicated crew who work hard from Thursday through Monday to leave no detail untouched. Crowds of between 15,000-30,000 people visit us the weekend of the festival, and by Monday at noon, you would never know an event of any kind had occurred. We are proud to work side by side with the crew from Parks and Rec. And we have an awesome parks system you should check out, too! The City Streets Dept., the Mount Vernon Police Dept. also partner with us to make this a great event. Skagit County even open its parking lots for customer parking on Saturday and Sunday.

Many fan favorites will be back again this year. Lee Mann, of Lee Mann Photography, Sedro-Woolley, has generously donated an image of tulips for the Tulip Festival poster and the Street Fair’s postcard. You can find the postcard in downtown businesses or purchase the Tulip Festival poster at the Tulip Festival office.

Be sure to check out the entertainment schedule. This year we have a wonderful collection of family-friendly performances of both music and dance. Ellen Gamson has worked tirelessly to assemble a wide variety of music styles and other acts that will be sure to please everyone’s tastes.

This year’s festival has the most diverse group of artists we have ever had. Artists from nine states (Washington, Oregon, California, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Arizona, and Nevada) are coming to showcase their hand crafted goods. We are very pleased and happy with group of artisans presenting at this year’s Tulip Festival Street Fair, and we invite you to come to downtown Mount Vernon and see for yourselves!