Get Free Help At These Upcoming Burien Master Gardener Clinics

With the recent wet spring weather, and the subsequent blooming (and bugs!) that’s suddenly happening, it’s likely that you’ve got some questions about your garden, lawn or yard, or that... [Read more]

Highline Hysterical Society File: Burien’s Forgotten Festival

Photo courtesy Highline Hysterical Society.

by Stefan Hovland

Burien is more than just a town with a funny German name and a Strawberry Festival.

It holds a deep history of togetherness and community festivals. This is best seen in the long-forgotten springtime Caterpillar Festival. All residents of Burien know those annoying tent caterpillars which come out every spring and devour all the plants in sight. These bugs, which are seen as a nuisance, were once given a full day of celebration.

In the early 1910s, the young town of Burien started celebrating the emergence of the several species of caterpillars after the start of spring. Along with the common tent caterpillars, several farms of silkworm caterpillars were located in Burien. In the early 1900s Burien and several other towns along Puget Sound had become well known for their silk; an industry brought to the area by the Asian immigrants. The yearly festival showed Burien’s love of these insects whose industry played a large role in establishing their city…

Amazing Local Insect Photos By Cheryl Moorhead

The B-Town Blog is proud to present more amazing work by local Photographer Cheryl Moorhead, an incredibly talented B-Towner who has taken many superb nature photos. This week, we’ve got an entire... [Read more]