Northwest Cherry Festival

At eight o’clock on the morning of Saturday, April 25, 2026, the Mid-Columbia Senior Center on West Ninth Street in The Dalles served breakfast. At 8:30 it crowned the festival’s royalty: the Little Royals, King Bing, Queen Ann and the Grand Marshal of the parade. The Little Royals that year were Brynlee and Dominic. Brynlee introduced herself as four years old and ended her statement with “I love my family and friends. Most of all, I love my papa and grammy.” Dominic, six, was born and raised in The Dalles. The Chamber’s write-up says he wants to be an FBI agent and an artist when he grows up.

In 2023 Lisa Farquharson, president of The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce, described what the children receive: “a special backpack full of fun prizes and gift cards including a gift card to Fred Meyer to go shopping for their outfit for the parade and coronation.” She added: “They all get to ride in a vehicle provided by Tonkin of The Gorge, our parade sponsor.”

The Northwest Cherry Festival is held every April in The Dalles, in Wasco County, and the Chamber runs it. The Chamber called the 2026 edition the 45th annual festival and “The GREAT Cherry Adventure.” Its ticket page called it the 44th. The main weekend ran April 24 through 26, and other events ran across the whole month, April 1 through 30.

Saturday from Sixth and Webber

Saturday is the main day. Columbia Gorge Community College organized the Cherry Fun Run, which started at 8 a.m. and offered 3k, 5k and 10k distances. The run starts and finishes at Polehn Farms, 2121 Dry Hollow Road, and its routes pass through cherry orchards. At nine the River City ABATE Teddy Bear & Poker Run left from Coastal Farm & Ranch. At ten the parade stepped off from Sixth and Webber streets. The Chamber calls it the largest parade in the Gorge.

Growers take part in the parade more than in other events. “It’s hard for farmers to volunteer for the day but they participate in the Cherry Parade which is super fun and it’s a great way to have visibility to the community,” Farquharson said in 2023. A 2023 article says The Dalles is surrounded by thousands of acres of cherries and that the area has been labeled the third largest cherry producer in the United States. Farquharson put it this way: “The Dalles has an unusual known fact in that we are the largest sweet cherry producer per capita.” She said the town’s sweet cherries go into Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia and into Dilettante Chocolates’ chocolate-covered cherries.

The 2026 parade judges gave these first places:

• Walking: Torito de petate
• Floats: The Dalles Kiwanis Club
• Equine: the NW Pro Rodeo Association

The Mayor’s Choice went to The Dalles Middle/High School Marching Band and Most Cherry Spirit to Bishop Sanitation. A photo caption from the 2025 parade shows local gymnasts working their way down Second Street.

After the parade the events spread through downtown:

• Car show: The KODL Classic Car Show lined Federal Street between Second and Fourth from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with awards at three.
• Vendor market: An open-air market of handcrafted goods, art and food vendors ran on Federal Street and Tony’s Lot until 8 p.m.
• Quilt show: Local quilting groups hung their work at St. Peter’s Landmark on Lincoln Street, with more quilts next door at Victor Johnson’s Herbring House.
• Fairs: A community fair filled Fourth and Washington. A children’s activity fair took the Civic Auditorium parking lot.
• Dancing Horses: From two to four at Second and Laughlin streets, riders took trained horses through choreographed routines set to music.
• Storefronts: Downtown businesses had decorated their windows with cherries for a contest the public voted on. Makayla’s Boutique on East Fourth took first place.
• Music: All weekend, pubs, restaurants and other venues held live music under the name Little Music City.

The day ended with the Cherry Stomp Dance at the Civic Auditorium from seven to nine. The Icons of Rock Tribute Show played, and the Civic ran a beer garden. The Civic Auditorium team brought the dance back as a returning tradition. It had first appeared on the festival program in 1985.

A carnival moved to the river

In 2026 the city’s First Street Project tore up part of downtown, and the festival had to fit around the construction. A Chamber release says the Chamber and the City spent months, starting in October, on site visits and discussion about space, access, power, water and public safety. “We heard the concerns from businesses along 4th Street and took them seriously,” Farquharson said. “The 2026 festival has been modified, downsized in certain areas, and relocated where necessary to reduce impact while still preserving the economic and community benefits this event brings.”

The biggest change was the carnival. In 2023 the Rainier Amusements carnival had set up on First Street. In 2026 it moved to Lewis & Clark Festival Park, at Union and West First Street on the riverfront, and it was smaller. Ride tickets cost 50 cents apiece, and each ride took ten to fifteen tickets. Children had to be at least two years old to ride. The vendor market, which had run all three days in 2023, ran on Saturday only. Matthew Klebes, the city manager, called the revised plan one that “reflects collaboration and balance.”

The month-long Cherry Hunt also spread the festival across town. Shoppers got a stamp in a paper passport for every $10 spent at a participating business. Players using the Goosechase app could instead earn points by completing missions and finding hidden art pieces. Farquharson had explained the idea behind it in 2023, when it was called the Great Cherry Trail: “Years ago I noticed that even when one block was closed off, businesses can suffer because of all the additional outside vendors and other entertainment. The Cherry Trail program can get folks back into the stores.”

In 2023 Farquharson was in her eleventh year with the festival. “I remember when Cherry Fest was only scheduled for one day and was limited to one City block,” she said. “We’ve drastically changed the event to a three day festival that covers the whole downtown.”

Growers, a Sweetheart and an aluminum plant

A 2014 history in the Columbia Gorge News says the festival “has several beginnings,” including the launch of the modern festival in 1979.

1940: the Cherry Queen. Some people trace the festival back to 1940. That year Helen Spickerman of The Dalles was picked as Cherry Queen and rode a float fielded by local growers in the Grand Floral Parade of Portland’s Rose Festival. The float was not repeated the next year, and America’s entry into World War II after Pearl Harbor put the idea on hold.

1960: the Cherry Sweetheart. The Wasco County Fruit and Produce League, The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce and the Washington Fruit Commission joined to promote a new symbol of the industry, the Cherry Sweetheart. Cherry orchardists felt overlooked at the time. Harvey Aluminum had started operating in The Dalles in 1958, and the growers believed the new aluminum industry was drawing the attention of government, merchants and the town. “At least it gave us a little recognition in the area,” Mabel Renken told The Dalles Reminder in 1993. “I don’t think the people of The Dalles knew how much we contributed to the area. We did most of our shopping here, especially the big stuff, equipment and such.”

The 1960 program was small:

• Judging: At 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 23, out-of-town judges interviewed three local candidates. One judge came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Portland office.
• Announcement: At a noon reception at the Hotel Dalles they named Sharon Lee Parman of Maupin. Because the agreement covered two states, a second sweetheart was chosen in Yakima.
• Coronation: It was held the next day at a buffet dinner at The Dalles Junior High School, hosted by the Chenowith Grange.
• Orchard drives: Organizers suggested two driving routes for seeing the orchards in bloom.
• No parade: A parade had been planned. The Chronicle reported that “A downtown parade was planned originally but has been cancelled because of commitments that would prevent musical and other groups from taking part.”

1961 to 1993: one Sweetheart and four schools. In 1961 the Washington Fruit Commission agreed that the Sweetheart from The Dalles would represent the cherry industry of both Oregon and Washington. The Washington apple court would represent apples in both states. By 1962 the contest had four contestants, one from each of four Wasco County high schools: The Dalles, Wahtonka, Dufur and Maupin (later Wasco Union). That format lasted thirty years.

For some years the coronation was held with The Dalles Lions Club’s Home and Auto Show at the old Seufert Cannery. The cannery was torn down after the 1967 show, and the coronation moved to an annual banquet. In 1992 a single Sweetheart reigned without a court. From the following year, finalists were chosen from all entrants without regard to school.

Donkey basketball and a minesweeper

The 2014 history calls 1975 a third beginning. That year the number of events grew sharply and the Cherry Festival Parade began. The 1975 program included:

• a carnival at The Dalles Junior High
• a tropical fish show by the Wet Pet League
• a four-wheel-drive and RV show
• a play by The Dalles Masqueraders
• the first slow-pitch softball tournament
• the Mosier Grange smorgasbord

In 1977 the event was called The Dalles/Mosier Cherry Festival. The next year it went back to the Northwest Cherry Festival.

The history lists many events, each with the year it first appeared:

| Year | Events added | |---|---| | 1978 | Art show | | 1979 | Native American dancers; Battle of the Bands | | 1983 | Nationally sanctioned Pit-Spitting Contest | | 1984 | Bed race before the parade | | 1985 | Cherry Stomp; donkey basketball game | | 1988 | Polka Daze, with music, dancing and a beer garden at St. Peter’s Parish from noon to midnight; Big Wheel races for preschoolers; junior royalty, Little Miss Royal Ann and Little Mr. Royal Andy | | 1989 | Helicopter rides | | 1992 | “It’s the Pits” Lip Synch contest; Shriners oyster feed | | 1994 | King Bing and Queen Ann | | 1995 | Mountain bike races above Sorosis Park | | 2000 | Quilt show, held then in the Civic Auditorium | | 2001 | Very Cherry dessert contest |

The parade grew along with the program. The U.S. Air Force Band marched in 1985, and by 1987 the parade had 70 entries. Governor Barbara Roberts and Scott Gill, a soldier from The Dalles wounded in the Gulf War, were Grand Marshals in 1991. A steel drum band, the Lions of Batucuda, played in 1999.

The U.S. Navy came to the festival twice. In 1986 the 172-foot minesweeper USS Pledge tied up at the marina, and in 1990 the USS Conquest made the trip. The Conquest was due back in 1992, but the captain fell ill and the visit was called off. The Sternwheeler Columbia Gorge filled in, and it came back for several years after.