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PHOTO COURTESY OF FERN HILL STREET FAIR AND CAR SHOW

CAR SHOW. Park Avenue South in Fern Hill will be lined with up to 90 classic and vintage cars Aug. 10, an eye-catching part of the neighborhood’s annual summertime festival.

Get a taste of small town America at Fern Hill Street Fair and Car Show

By Matt Nagle

Down in South Tacoma, there is a quaint neighborhood called Fern Hill that is small in size but big in historical significance. About the size of Ruston, Fern Hill is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Tacoma and home to some of the city’s most interesting historical buildings. With its appealing architecture and eye-catching ornamental lights along tree-lined streets perfect for a relaxed stroll, Fern Hill offers a lot of hometown charm in a tidy package.

Each summer Fern Hill holds a free outdoor street festival and car show, providing the perfect opportunity to discover the neighborhood and the friendly people who live and work there. This year, the 11th annual fair is Aug. 10, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., along Park Avenue South between South 82nd and 84th streets. Upwards of 3,500 people are expected.

“People refer to us as Mayberry RFD the way we all wave at each other,” said Fern Hill Business District President Deborah Pittman, who also owns a business in the district called A Fine Design. In that spirit, both newcomers to the district and those who have been there before will get to see the “best of” Fern Hill through arts and crafts vendors, informational tables, music, food and more.

Offering something for every taste, food vendors will include neighborhood favorites like Underdog Espresso that will be featuring lattés, iced drinks and sandwiches, Burrito Boys serving their Mexican specialties, and Fast Franks cooking up their popular hot dogs. Also, Alt Heidelberg, which once did a brisk business in Freighthouse Square, has moved to Fern Hill and will be offering up all kinds of German delicacies.  

The car show is a big part of the day, with up to 90 classic and vintage cars parked side-by-side along Park Avenue South. The awards ceremony happens at about 3:30 p.m.

With many families living in the neighborhood and two schools there as well, Fern Hill “is all about kids,” Pittman said, which is reflected throughout the Fern Hill Street Fair and Car Show. There is much offered for children, like face painting, a Scooby Doo bouncy house, a badminton contest, and even a 60-foot long transportable bowling lane courtesy of Pacific Lanes to introduce the youngsters to bowling.

From 1-3 p.m. at Grace Community Church (8243 Park Ave. S.), Masonic Families of Washington will be providing peace of mind to parents in a unique way by offering the children’s identification program called CHIP. This program gives parents the tools they need for identification of their child should she or he ever become missing. Qualified individuals make a video of the child, take an impression of their teeth, make a DNA swab, and take the child’s fingerprints. These are all put into a kit and given to the parents for safekeeping; nothing is kept by CHIPs. Pittman noted she likes that it all goes home with the parents. “That’s why I jumped on this,” she said. “I’ve done my research and this one is pretty thorough.”

For more information on this free summertime event, and on how to escape the hustle and bustle of modern life by spending a day in Fern Hill, visit www.tacomabusinessdistricts.com and click on “Fern Hill Business District.”

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