32nd Cranberry Harvest Festival sweetens Grayland

Over this past weekend, the 32nd Annual Cranberry Harvest Festival took place at Grayland Community Hall.

On Saturday, the day kicked off with a cranberry harvest pancake breakfast at South Beach Christian Outreach in Westport from 8 to 11 a.m. Continuing to the separate location of Grayland Community Hall for the festival to begin, the activities lasted from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday.

Saturday had continuous options for attendees to explore. The big berry weighed in, where local farmers and workers would search for their largest grown cranberry of the season, and a win, certificate, and bragging rights would be presented the next day. Four cranberry bog tours were available by bus only on the initial day of the festival. Tickets were available throughout the day, starting at 10 a.m.

During bog tours, attendees got the opportunity to see different bogs, showcasing the history and preparation of cranberry growing.

On Saturday there was live music performed on the grounds, and the Firefly Parade after the festival day at 7:30 p.m. in the Grayland Community Hall parking lot.

As the next day of the festival continued, there were artisanal vendors with baked goods, honeys, all forms of art, jewelry, knit wares, and a plethora of harvest and fall-themed goods.

At 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, the cranberry eating contest happened, where anyone could participate on stage, where they were asked to eat 15 cranberries as fast as they could. Then, the top three winners were awarded with bragging rights. Overall, the winner of this year was a teenager who had the chance to compete in the adult round because she was the only non-adult to enter. She ate 15 cranberries in 17 seconds

The big berry winner was awarded.

Tonya Wood is the executive director at the Westport and Grayland Chamber of Commerce and one of the organizers.

“It’s unique because it is a small community, and nobody knows about it. And so when you get to the cranberry festival, you get to enjoy all these wonderful berries during the harvest season, and actually be on the bog tours where they can actually see how the cranberries are actually processed and where they come from, which a lot of people don’t even know that we have them on the West Coast,” she said. “I deal with a lot of the growers. I know a lot of new growers this year, and they’re amazing. What do they do and how do they do it? They’ve had a little bit of a slower season, but you know what? They came through.”

Trina Flanagan grew up in Grayland and she wanted to volunteer.

“The most important thing I want to iterate is that small communities are all about getting together, kind of horse trading, and sharing your ideas, and your goods, coming together as a festival,” she said. “There’s always somebody who really has to kind of organize and get it together. You have to let somebody lead, you have to follow. It’s really important about the clam digs. I know a lot about the area, not so much cranberries, but it’s just really important to share ideas, connect with each other, stop the online and the social media, and get back to the community. That’s what we need.”