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Fun in Seattle by
Calendar
It rains lots in winter (..., and spring, etc.), but summer
is beautiful, and there's a lot more to do here than just sip
espresso (Starbucks Coffee).
New in town? Short on ideas? Here are some of our ideas
of a good time...
It has Space Needle in
Seattle
; in the
Puget Sound
areas surrounding with water, mountains and lakes such as Mountain Rainier
The best part was this laid-back city has festivals and season-kickoffs
all year long. Here's a sampling to help you plan your visit:
January: Rain or shine (usually rain), New
Year's Eve is celebrated with fireworks set off from the top of the Space
Needle (400 Broad St. at Seattle Center; 206-905-2100; www.spaceneedle.com)
and an evening of live music for all ages around the grounds of the
Seattle Center (206-684-7200; www.seattlecenter.com).
February: The Northwest Flower and Garden
Show is an exhibition full of vivid colors and renewed possibilities in
the form of 11 acres packed with demonstration gardens, outdoor vignettes
and more than 350 exhibits and displays. Its downtown at the
Washington
State
Convention Center
.
1515 N.W. 51st St.
; 206-789-5333; www.gardenshow.com.
In Seattle
Chinatown/the International District neighborhood in either
February or March (sometimes late January; the date depends on the Lunar
Calendar), the Chinese
New Year is welcomed in with a parade peppered with lion and
dragon dancers and all manner of cultural performances, kid-oriented
activities, food, firecrackers, and fun. (http://chinatown.cwok.com,
www.cidbia.org, ) The
folks at the
Wing
Luke
Asian
Museum
, which celebrates multiple Asian cultures year-round, are usually
up-to-date on festival plans and details. 407
Seventh Ave. S.
; 206-623-5124; www.wingluke.org.
March:
Seattle
doesn't just have a St. Patrick's Day Parade, it has an entire Irish Week,
including a downtown parade, an Irish film festival, a two-day festival of
art, food, dance, song and Irish history celebrations at
Seattle
Center
's Center House, a road race, and an Irish soda bread contest. www.irishclub.org.
April: Baseball blooms in town, but about 60
miles north of the city, more than 1,500 acres of tulip fields are
erupting with color. The town of
Mount Vernon
lures you north for the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, featuring field
tours, parades, and a street fair. 360-428-5959; www.tulipfestival.org.
May: Boating season in
Seattle
kicks off on the first Saturday in May with crew races, a sailboat race
and a grand parade of decorated boats and on-board parties. Landlubbers
line the shore along the Montlake Cut, between Lake Washington and
Lake
Union
, (north of downtown) and it's all great fun even if you're never likely
to leave shore.
Seattle
Yacht Club:
1807 E. Hamlin St.
; 206-325-1000; www.seattleyachtclub.org.
Northwest Folklife Festival:-Around May every year Seattle
Center - Downtown Seattle Washington
This is the largest Folk Festival in the Country... drawing thousands
of people from all over the world, to come and enjoy the multitude
of Ethnic Traditions showcased here, which include: Food... Dance...
Art... and Crafts.
Watch hundreds of Cultural Acts on 18 Stages set up
around the 74 Acres of
Seattle
Center
. Bring the kids... find a spot on the spacious lawns... and enjoy the
sights and music on a beautiful
Seattle
spring weekend
Seattle
International Children's Festival
Around May - Seattle
Center - Downtown Seattle Washington
The Seattle International Children's Festival began as a small
Arts Event for kids... and has now grown into the largest Performing
Arts Festival for families in the United States. The annual
Six-Day Event... featuring artists from
Africa
...
Asia
... Europe and the America's, has introduced more than 500,000
people to the sights, sounds, music, movement and theatre arts of our
brothers and sisters worldwide.
The International Children's Festival is held on the grounds of Seattle
Center in the downtown Seattle district, offering a wide-variety of
Activities for the young & young-at-heart.,The International
Children's Festival is usually held in early May and features an
international roster of children's performers who gather here to present
crafts, storytelling, puppet shows, music and theater for kids and their
parents. Held at the
Seattle
Center
, some performances require tickets, but many events are free. 206-684-7338;
www.seattleinternational.org/seattle.
The long-running Northwest Folklife Festival packs
in more than 1,000 performances of traditional and ethnic music, dance and
storytelling on 17 stages, indoors and out at
Seattle
Center
downtown. The festival usually takes place on or around Memorial Day
weekend. 206-684-7300; www.nwfolklife.org.
The Seattle International Film Festival
usually runs from mid-May into June and offers up hundreds of new films
from around the world. Venues include various movie theaters around town.
Many locals buy a full-festival pass, take vacation time and see as many
films as they can, but it's perfectly acceptable to pick up tickets for
single screenings. 206-324-9997; www.seattlefilm.com.
June: Summer arrives with the fun, funky,
and ever-growing Fremont Fair, in the
Fremont
neighborhood just northwest of downtown. A gala Solstice Parade packed
with whimsical floats, giant puppets and a contingent of naked bicycle
riders kicks off this 30-year old neighborhood-sponsored celebration which
features music, craft booths, plenty of food, dance, and lots of
entertainment.
North 34th St.
; 206-632-1500; www.fremontfair.com.
July: On the Fourth of July, Seattle offers
two official fireworks displays in the downtown area: one on Lake Union,
capping off a day of family-oriented activities at Gas Works Park (206-281-8111;
www.onereel.org)
and another one on Elliot Bay, which ends a day of concerts and
entertainment at Myrtle Edwards Park (206-587-6500; www.keepclam.com).
Choose one or ask around for a spot where you can see both.
July 4th Celebrations
July 4, 2007 - Various Locations throughout the Seattle Washington Area
Anywhere you are in Seattle, you'll find birthday parties for the
good old U.S.A. Local newspapers carry all the particulars... so you can
find anything from 'huge' fireworks displays ... to
small-town parades and picnics.
Myrtle Edwards Park ... near Pier 70 at the Waterfront is home to
Seattle
's day-long Fourth of Jul-Ivar's celebration. Live music
& entertainment begins at 12:30 and ends with a great Fireworks
Display at 10 PM. 300,000 People have attended this popular
43rd annual event in the past ... plus it's free.
Hosting the largest Fireworks Show in the
Seattle
area,
Gasworks
Park
will light up the beautiful
Lake
Union
district with a 'huge' Pyrotechnic Extravaganza at 10 PM.
Bite of Seattle
Around July every years
- Seattle
Center - Downtown Seattle Washington
First introduced to the Seattle area in 1982 at Greenlake with 26
Restaurants and 1 Entertainment Stage, the ` Bite of Seattle
' has grown into one of Seattle's largest Summer
Festivals, with more than 50 of Seattle's finest Restaurants...
30 Food Product Companies... 5 Beer Gardens... live Entertainment...
a Comedy Club... Piano Bar... Wine Tasting... and more!
Festival Hours: Friday & Saturday 11 AM - 9 PM; Sunday 11 AM - 8 PM.
There are so many nice restaurants in
Seattle
and restaurant to visit and what live music to go hear. It all comes to
you at the mid-July Bite of Seattle (206-684-7200; www.biteofseattle.com).
Browse restaurant tasting booths such as www.cwok.com
for Chinese and Asian restaurants and
while listening to great music on a half dozen stages at the
Seattle
Center
downtown. In July, there many
festivals parades is held before
the SeaFair. For
Example, Seattle Chinatown/International District Summer Festivals (www.cidbia.org,
http://chinatown.cwok.com
) is held around July every year; Miss Chinese Seattle Pageant is selected
in June/July every 2 year. www.chinesechamber.net/
Around the Fourth of July, the three-day Lake Union
Wooden Boat Festival features is held, more than a hundred visiting boats
(wooden, naturally) of all sizes and types, toy-boat building, free boat
rides, boat tours, boat-building contests, and food, music and other
activities. Admission by donation. Center for Wooden Boats
Chinatown-International District Summer
Festival
Around July every year - Hing Hay Park - Downtown Seattle WA
Known to be the largest
n Washington, the International District Summer Festival offers
a variety of Asian-inspired Entertainment including...
Japanese Drumming, Chinese Martial Arts, Filipino Dancing, Lion and Dragon
dances plus ... live concerts featuring Jazz, New Age and Pop
music.
You'll find lots of hand-made Arts & Crafts, authentic
Asian Cuisine, even a Karaoke Stage for those that feel
inspired to showcase their vocal talents.
Chinatown
-International District Summer Festival hours are: Saturday, 11 AM
- 8 PM; Sunday, 11 AM - 6 PM. Admission is Free. e south
end of
Lake
Union
): 206-382-2628; www.cwb.org.
Torchlight Parade at Seafair
around July , 2007 - Seattle
Center - Downtown Seattle Washington
Come celebrate the Northwest's largest lighted parade in Downtown Seattle!
The famous Torchlight Parade at Seafair is one of Seattle's biggest nights
for family tradition, so you won't want to miss the Macy's-style helium
balloons, local bands, drill teams, beautifully illuminated floats, and
naturally the Seafair Clowns and Pirates.
The parade begins at 7:30 PM at
Seattle
Center
, and continues south down
Fourth Ave.
to
Second Ave.
and
King Street
. Over 300,000 people lined the parade route last year... so we suggest
you get here early for the best viewing spots
August: Seafair
2007 (
see 2007- seafair pictures
)
July 7 - August 5, 2007 - throughout the
Seattle
area
For over a 1/2 Century in Seattle ... Seafair Seattle has
been an annual tradition for both locals & visitors alike. Celebrated
for just about a month ... usually until the first Sun in August, Seafair
Seattle is the largest Festival in the Northwest and
is rated one of the Top 10 Events in the Country.
There's always something for everyone at Seafair Seattle,
from Arts & Crafts to live Music... huge
Parades... Triathalons... Festivals and more!.
Major Events include the Milk Carton Derby, Torchlight Run &
Parade, the KeyBank Air Show featuring the famous Blue Angels,
and General Motors Cup Unlimited Hydroplane Races held on beautiful
Lake Washington
. Seafair, a
well known giant community-wide festival, is celebrated each summer with
events all that include everything from milk-carton boat races and air
shows to pageants and parades. In July, there many festivals parades are
held before the SeaFair. The
celebration tops off with the grand Seafair Torchlight Parade through
downtown and a weekend of hydroplane racing on southwest
Lake Washington
. 206-728-0123; www.seafair.com.
Bumbershoot Festival
August/September every years-
Seattle Center
- Downtown Seattle Washington
Bumbershoot Seattle is a huge 4-Day Party that celebrates
the end of Summer with a really-spectacular showcase of with
more than 2500 Artists, displaying their Eclectic and
Cultural Masterpieces from all over the world.
Seattle
Center
plays host to this year's Bumbershoot Festival ... creating a 74-Acre
Playground where folks can celebrate all of the festivities. You can
enjoy a world-class Film Festival, learn some new Dance
Steps, rub shoulders with renowned Authors & Artists,
or just sit-back on the side-lines and enjoy one the fun
Parades. September: Bumbershoot, a giant arts and culture
festival, takes over the grounds of
Seattle
Center
each Labor Day weekend. The schedule includes folk, rock, jazz and world
music of local, national, and international notoriety, as well as theater
and dance performances, a film festival, great food and more. At the
Seattle
Center
. 206-281-8111; www.bumbershoot.org.
The Western Washington State Fair, better known as
the Puyallup Fair, is a 17-day end-of-summer blowout complete with a
rodeo, all manner of barnyard animals, amusement rides, product and craft
exhibits, lots of food, and plenty of music Puyallup is 35 miles south of
Seattle.253-841-5045; www.thefair.com.
October: The annual Earshot Jazz Festival
runs several weeks and presents more than 100 different local and
internationally known artists in performance and educational settings at
venues around town, ranging from concert halls to community centers. 206-547-9787;
www.earshot.org.
November: Winterfest kicks
off the holiday season at the
Seattle
Center
(just west of downtown) with a five-week festival featuring a carousel, a
train exhibit, and more than 1,000 performers. It runs from the last
weekend in November through early January.
305 Harrison St.
; 206-684-7200; www.seattlecenter.com.
December: Whether or not you officially
celebrate Christmas, these local seasonal traditions help spread
mid-winter cheer. From early December until just before Christmas, there's
a nightly parade of seasonally decorated boats. You can join the
festivities aboard an Argosy cruise ship or bundle up and watch from the
shore. 800-642-7816; www.argosycruises.com/specialevents/xmas.cfm
Downtown, Westlake Park (Pine Street between
Fourth and Fifth avenues) makes space for a vintage holiday carousel,
while the Four Seasons Olympic Hotel (411 University St.) welcomes
kids and their parents to visit with the cuddly and finely stitched Teddy
Bear Family in their specially decorated holiday suite |
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