Kent Cornucopia Days draws thousands of visitors | SLIDESHOW

Published 5:25 pm Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Thousands of people attended the 45th annual Kent Cornucopia Days last weekend.

Attractions included a large street fair on downtown streets, dragon boat races on Lake Meridian, a 5K run and walk along the Green River, a youth soccer tournament and a parade. The parade featured floats, dance troops, the Seafair Pirates and politicians running for state office, including Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Bryant.

The Kent Lions, a nonprofit organization, produces the festival each year.

The event began in the 1930s as the Kent Lettuce Festival before it went away during World War II. The festival came back n 1946 as the Cornucopia Festival. The event disappeared later for a number of years before the Kent Lions took over in 1972 calling the celebration Meeker Days before changing the name in 1980 to avoid confusion with a Puyallup festival.