Kimmswick Strawberry Festival Invites Families Back for a Weekend of Food, Music, and Small-Town Charm
There are some events that are not just something to put on the calendar. They are the kind of days that remind people why small-town traditions still matter.
The Kimmswick Strawberry Festival is one of those events.
This year’s festival will be held Saturday, June 6, and Sunday, June 7, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days, bringing families, vendors, visitors and longtime festivalgoers back into one of Jefferson County’s most historic river towns.
For 30 years, the festival has helped mark the beginning of summer in Jefferson County. It is a weekend filled with food, music, shopping, family attractions, and the kind of hospitality that has made the town feel like coming home.
Mayor Ken Kraft said the festival has become part of the identity of Kimmswick.
This year’s festival will feature more than 125 vendors, including more than 33 food vendors, giving visitors a full day’s worth of reasons to walk through town, step into local shops, talk with craftsmen, listen to music and find something good to eat.
A Day Made for Walking, Shopping, and Staying Awhile
Jennifer Kraft, Kimmswick’s event coordinator, said what makes the festival special starts with the town itself.
That charm is what turns the Strawberry Festival into more than a vendor fair.
It is a day for walking slowly up and down the streets, moving from tent to tent, meeting artists and makers, browsing handmade items, petting friendly dogs, running into people you know, and finding something unexpected along the way.
Some vendors bring festival favorites. Others bring detailed woodwork, laser art, jewelry, handmade goods, and carefully designed booths that feel like small shops of their own.
Ken said the city uses a review process to help keep variety and quality throughout the festival, so visitors are not simply walking past rows of the same kind of booth.
The food is another reason to make a day of it.
Jennifer said the festival will include more than 33 food vendors, with options such as barbecue, hamburgers, crepes, donuts, and other festival foods.
Family Fun Around Town
The festival is also built with families in mind.
Visitors can expect face painting, henna tattoos, a popular Lego vendor and baby kangaroos at the playground. Ken said the Lego vendor has become one of those attractions that surprises people with how much attention it draws, keeping a crowd from the time the booth opens until the festival winds down.
Live music will also help carry the weekend.
Jennifer said bands will play throughout the day Saturday and Sunday near the playground area, with additional music in the afternoon at Veterans Park. The lineup includes the Rocky Martin Band, AMF Duo, Grassroots and Wings of Eagle.
For families, that means the festival does not have to be rushed. Visitors can shop for a while, listen to music, let the kids enjoy the playground area, grab food, and then head back into town to see what else they missed.
Parking, Shuttles and a Town Ready to Welcome Visitors
Parking and shuttles are part of making the weekend work.
Festival parking will be available at Windsor school parking areas, with buses transporting visitors into town. Additional parking will be available at the school parking lot on K Highway and at the city ball fields. Ken said the shuttles run continuously, usually every eight to ten minutes, making it easy for visitors to get into town and back out again.
The city has also expanded accessible parking options near the city fields on K Highway. Ken said the number of handicap-only spaces has grown significantly, and the school also has accessible parking with shuttle drop-off available.
Behind the fun is a great deal of work.
Ken said the festival is supported by an events committee made up of residents, merchants and local people who care about Kimmswick and want the weekend to be successful. Although the festival lasts two days, he said it takes months of preparation to make it happen.
In the final stretch, it becomes an all-hands effort. Maintenance crews prepare the town, organizers coordinate vendors, and city leaders work with public safety officials to help keep the weekend organized and welcoming.
Cleanup is also part of that hospitality.
Ken said the city spends Sunday and Monday cleaning up and putting Kimmswick back in order, with the goal of having the town ready for merchants to return to normal business by Tuesday.
That matters because Kimmswick is not just a festival backdrop. It is a town where people live, work, own businesses, and welcome the rest of Jefferson County in for a weekend.
For Ken and Jennifer, that welcoming spirit is central to what the Strawberry Festival is supposed to be.
A County Jewel That Welcomes Us Home
Kimmswick is a county jewel not just because it is historic, and not just because it hosts amazing festivals. But because it is a piece of our history that welcomes us home every chance it gets.
That feeling is what families can expect when they come to the Strawberry Festival.
A weekend that reminds people there are still places in Jefferson County where history does not feel locked away, but alive in the streets, the storefronts, and the people who keep showing up to care for it.
The Kimmswick Strawberry Festival is not just an event to attend.
It is a weekend to enjoy, a tradition to support, and a town worth coming home to.
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