Seattle’s Gone Festival Crazy. Your Guide to the Summer’s Best Events.
What type of event-goer are you? There's a weekend for that.
By Seattle Magazine Staff June 13, 2017
This article originally appeared in the June 2017 issue of Seattle magazine.
The Local Lumberjack
Pack your flannel and head to Carnation for Timber! Outdoor Music Festival celebrating camping, music, barbecue and all things Northwest in the great outdoors. July 13–15. timbermusicfest.com
The Trendsetter
See and be seen at the Capitol Hill Block Party, where music and fashion, both impressive and questionable, often make headlines. July 21–23. Capitol Hill, capitolhillblockparty.com
The Cool Parents
At West Seattle Summer Fest, an always solid list of performers, carnival rides, and plenty of food and booze options ensure fun for the whole family. July 14–16. West Seattle, wsjunction.org/Summerfest
The Burning Man (or Woman)
Witness art, community and (probably) a lot of glow sticks at Paradiso, a euphoric celebration of the interdependence of humans and nature. June 23–24. Gorge Amphitheatre, paradisofestival.com
Budget-busting Music Lover
The city’s signature cultural festival isn’t the bargain it once was, but Bumbershoot’s stages hum with music for all, from headliners to niche bands. Don’t miss the other offerings: comedy and theater performances, art exhibits and more. September 1–3. Seattle Center, bumbershoot.com
The Camp Counselor
Enjoy acoustic sets, sing-alongs, and camping under the stars at Doe Bay Fest, an annual grassroots event is a grown-up camp masquerading as a festival. August 10–13. Orcas Island, doebay.com
The Buy-Local Local
Award-winning arts and crafts return to Bellevue with the BAM Artsfair, for another year of purchasable handmade excellence. July 28–30. bellevuearts.org/bam-artsfair
The Beer Baron
What better way to celebrate Father’s Day weekend than at the 12th annual Washington Brewers Festival, where more than 500 beers will be ready for tasting at Redmond’s Marymoor Park. Pace yourselves. June 16–18. washingtonbeer.com
The Diehard Local
Focused on the history of fishing and Nordic culture in the Pacific Northwest, the Ballard Seafood Fest includes an alderwood smoked salmon dinner, beer garden and more. July 8–9. Ballard, seafoodfest.org
The Water Rat
It’s sink or swim at the Seafair Milk Carton Derby at Green Lake, where dozens of homemade milk carton boats—and their creators—compete for prizes and bragging rights. July 15. seafair.com. More solid feats of design can be found at the Wooden Boat Festival, where you can tour wooden boats, graze through the food and listen to live music. July 1–4. South Lake Union, cwb.org
The Traditionalist
It’s a classic summer weekend: The hydroplane boats race on Lake Washington and the Blue Angels perform their airborne acrobatics. The two events are the culmination of Seattle’s annual Seafair festival. August 4–6. Lake Washington, seafair.com
The Cruiser
Catch the craziest rides in town at the Greenwood Car Show, a mile-and-a-half stretch celebrating all things auto. June 24. Greenwood, greenwoodcarshow.com
The Urban Farmer
Fill up on freshly-picked strawberries at the weeklong Marysville Strawberry Festival, which has been happening here since 1932. It also includes a car show, arts and crafts, and a fun run. Third week of June. Marysville, maryfest.org
Follow Us
AANHPI Month: Where to Celebrate, Eat, and Learn Around Seattle
From festivals and museum exhibits to food tours and historic neighborhoods, here are a few ways to mark the month across the region.
Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month—known as AANHPI Month—is observed in the U.S. each May. It began as a weeklong observance in 1978 and expanded to the full month in 1992. Asian, Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities in the United States extend back much further, including to the late 16th century, when…
Black Panther Park in Skyway Becomes First Black Panther Park in the World
The new community garden honors the Black Panther Party’s legacy of food justice and the Skyway neighbors who helped bring it to life.
On a sunny Sunday earlier this month, at the corner of 75th Avenue and Renton Avenue South, the community gathered for the opening of Skyway’s Black Panther Park. Inspired by the Black Panther’s Free Breakfast for School Children program that compelled the federal government to provide breakfast in schools, Black Panther Park is a community…
Rearview Mirror: A Family Coming Apart, SIFF, and My First Fashion Show
Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).
The Family House A house can hold a lot, and Seattle Rep’s Appropriate knows that. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Tony-winning play, directed here by Timothy McCuen Piggee, drops the Lafayette siblings into their late father’s hoarded, falling-apart Arkansas plantation home for an estate sale, and lets the whole thing crack open from there. The sibling dynamics are…
Studio Sessions: Raili Jänese
The Kirkland painter brings a playful eye to daily life and the little rituals of being human.
Artist Raili Jänese pays close attention to the small stuff. It might be a goose on the move, a rabbit in the yard, or a person lost in the rituals of coffee or cooking. The Estonian-born artist, now based in Kirkland, makes colorful acrylic works that turn everyday behavior—human and animal alike—into something funny and…