Ima Blueberry Celebrates Twenty Years
Twenty years ago, the person known as Ima Blueberry was approached about being a giant blueberry at farmers’ markets in the Willamette Valley. She thought it might be fun, so agreed to slip on a blueberry costume and promote blueberries that summer.
“I thought my new summer job would last only a year or two tops,” Ima said. “It started with 13 markets, but to my surprise, it blossomed from there.
“The following year I thought, ‘Oh, how fun! I’m doing another summer.’ And then the next year I thought again, ‘How fun! I’m doing another summer.’ And it just kind of went on,” Ima said.
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Ima Blueberry, who is celebrating 20 years of promoting blueberries at farmers’ markets, fairs and festivals, speaks to participants at the Oregon Blueberry Conference after receiving the Oregon Blueberry Commission's Friend of the Industry Award. |
Today, Ima is embarking on her 20th season of promoting Oregon blueberries at farmers’ markets, fairs and festivals in Oregon. And, according to Oregon Blueberry Commission Administrator Bryan Ostlund, she has been both a delight to work with and a perfect ambassador for the industry.
“She just couldn’t be better,” Ostlund said. “She is just a delight to work with and very professional. And she’s just so good with families and kids. It has been a great opportunity for us to work with her and have her represent the industry.”
The Ima Blueberry program actually dates to a few years before the current Ima Blueberry started in the role in 2004. The first Ima Blueberry, however, didn’t work out so well.
“It started out small, and we did it on a shoestring budget,” Ostlund said. “The initial costume was kind of a foam thing, and it looked more like a blueberry pear than an actual blueberry. And we were working with a PR company out of Portland, and one of their reps was interested in wearing the costume and going to some of these festivals. So, we did it with him, but we realized pretty quickly that we probably needed to reevaluate what we were doing.
“So, it didn’t take us long to kind of catch our stride and realize, okay, this thing actually has great potential. So, then we had our first real costume made and we started working with the current Ima Blueberry, and she is just fantastic,” he said.
At her peak, Ima was participating in 50 to 55 events a year. The program grew so fast that the commission had a second costume made and began supporting two Imas, the second being Ima Blueberry Too.
Ima was so popular that even during the height of the COVID pandemic, when farmers’ markets suspended all entertainment, they invited Ima to participate.
“Even though they didn’t have entertainment or children’s programs that year, there were many markets that still wanted Ima Blueberry to attend,” Ima said. Although she didn’t hand out recipes or tattoos that year, she shared mini-hand sanitizers and carried a sign that read, “Thanks for Shopping Local!”
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“I greeted people as they entered the markets and thanked them for coming,” she said. “The reception was great. Many vendors and patrons said they were grateful to see me and said it brought a sense of normalcy to the markets. It truly was amazing and wonderful to experience.”
A part of the job that Ima Blueberry enjoys most is the connection she makes with people from all walks of life as she hands out free blueberry stickers, temporary tattoos, bookmarks and blueberry recipes.
Often, she said, people will seek her out at events to talk with her or get pictures with her."
“At Ag Fest this past year, a family sought me out and showed me a picture from about ten years ago, and they wanted to recreate it, so we all replicated the same exact pose. It was fun,” she said. “That kind of thing happens often. People love posing with Ima Blueberry and some try to take a picture annually.
“In the process, I’ve watched a lot of kids grow up, which is kind of shocking. It doesn’t seem like so much time has passed, but it has,” she said.
One reason Ima’s schedule has increased over the years is simply because there are more farmers’ markets than when she started in 2004. “There weren’t many markets at that point,” she said. “And there definitely weren’t many midweek markets. There were only about three midweek markets in the area. The markets really took off in the following years.”
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In 2005, Ima Blueberry visited the Interstate Kaiser Permanente Farmer’s Market in Portland, and the organization encouraged her to participate in other events they sponsored.
That increased her schedule dramatically
“With their help, I started representing them in their ‘Thrive’ campaign at events they sponsored, like the Portland Marathon and their large events, like the Sunday Parkways,” Ima said. Sunday Parkways is a family-friendly event that the health organization sponsors to promote well-being through physical activity.
That participation came to an end when COVID hit, she said, and since then, the number of events she participates in is down slightly from the peak of around 55 a year. But you can still see Ima regularly at the Race to Save the Harvest, a 3K and 5K family-friendly fun run in Salem, and regularly at fairs, festivals and farmers’ markets in the Willamette Valley. And always with a smile.
“All in all, it’s been an amazing adventure,” Ima said. “It’s been such a joy and privilege to work with such a great team and to represent the blueberry industry in this crazy, fun capacity. As I always say, ‘If you are going to be a super food, be a blueberry.’”