Through Sept 24
The Washington State Fair will showcase big-name musical performers like the Beach Boys, Hank Williams Jr., Modest Mouse, Earth, Wind and Fire, and others, but that's only a part of the festivities. There are also rides, a rodeo, variety and music shows included in admission, and lots more.
Washington State Fair Events Center, Puyallup, $14-$100
Sept 8–10
5th Annual San Gennaro Festival
Enjoy three days of food, traditional and pop music, crafts, and kids' activities.
1225 S Angelo St, free
IMAGINE: Music and Arts Festival
The mission of this music and arts festival is "to bring a sense of beauty, joy and awe to the world, offered up with a bit of love and kindness."
Doe Bay Resort, Olga, $50-$225
Seattle Philatelic Exhibition (SEAPEX)
Browse the international wares of 25 dealers and philatelic organizations, including the Society of Australian Specialists/Oceania and the China Stamp Society Convention.
Tukwila Community Center, free
Sept 9
Make your own lantern out of whatever you like, dress up, eat, and prolong the magic of sunset. There will be folk music, trapeze artists, belly dancing, and more in this dreamy melange.
Dottie Harper Park, Burien, 5 pm, free
Snork down brats, sauerkraut, pretzels, and root beer in the buff at this family-friendly nudist party, featuring music by the Bavarian Village Band. The fun will continue afterwards at a bonfire party—don't stand too close—with the 8 Second Ride Trio.
Tiger Mountain Nudist Park, Issaquah, 3 pm
This literature-inspired festival promises readings, talks, signings, books for sale, costumes, face painting, food trucks, a Jim Valley concert, and a Last Leaf Productions children's play.
Magnuson Park Theatre, 11 am
Sept 9–22
In the words of Charles Mudede, writing in 2015: "By intersecting social justice, urban planning, ecology, and capital, [SDF] transforms design into a moral issue." This year's festival will expand on the theme of "POWER" and investigate how design can shape global progress. 30,000 people attended last year's festival, and the installations, exhibits, and activities are likely to attract equally enthusiastic crowds.
Various locations, free-$25
Sept 10
Live Aloha Hawaiian Cultural Festival
Experience what it means to "live aloha" with hula and mele performances, Hawaiian music, ono food, and lei-making workshops with members of the 50,000-person-strong Pacific Northwest Hawaiian Islander community.
Seattle Center, 11 am, free
Sept 16
Punk trio Whores will crown this punk, rock, and noise festival, which will also feature Aaron Crows, Brackets, Cages, Dead Asylum, Dry T-Shirt Contest, and more.
Various locations, 4 pm, $20/$30
Sept 16–17
Enjoy the many cultures and traditions of the wide array of Latin American countries represented at this celebration. Experience live mariachi music, cooking demos, visual arts, a children's soccer demo, a vendor marketplace, and more.
Seattle Center, free
Sept 20–24
Sure, it rains a lot here, and in winter it gets dark at two. All the more motivation for Northwestern fashion to bring a little elegance and color into our lives. If you've got visitors from out of town, bring them to Bellevue Fashion Week to show them we don't only dress in flannel.
Bellevue Collection, $75-$150
Sept 21
From the same people who bring you the naked painted bicyclists of Fremont Solstice every year comes a rager against the dying of the light. Luminata is a great gathering of shiny, blinky, glowing things and the people who love them. Expect to see some super cool art projects and costumes from Seattle's most defiantly weird neighborhood.
Green Lake Park, 7 pm, free
Sept 21–23
Camping, comedy, cannabis. Come on Thursday for a "throwback" concert of tribute bands, then spend the weekend hearing acts like Sin Circus and a lineup of stand-up, including the Dope Show.
AYH Ranch, Vashon Island, $40-$100
The compound of Kremwerk will be throwing their first ever venue-specific festival, with three days and three rooms of forward-thinking electronic music and technology. The current lineup includes Voiski, Paint (Huxley Anne and Tsuruda), Vektroid, Black Milk, Doctor Jeep, Josey Rebelle, Throwing Snow, Greases, and more.
Kremwerk
Sept 22–24
At Fremont Oktoberfest (hailed as one of the top ten places in the world to celebrate Oktoberfest), you'll have the chance to try more than 80 different microbrews in their sports bar and "Buxom Beer Garden." In keeping with tradition, kids are absolutely invited on Sunday, when they'll have games, music, and more.
Fremont Oktoberfest, Fremont, $25-$50
Grab a bier and celebrate Oktoberfest with live music and a bevy of games like stein races, keg rolling, beer pong, stein hoisting, cornhole, and human foosball.
Marina Park, Kirkland, $20-$30
Breathe some fresh air in a scenic North Cascade valley and enjoy hiking, horseback riding, climbing, and more—when you're not at a rock or folk concert by the likes of Joshua James, Saint Claire, and Old Salt Union.
Sun Mountain Lodge, Winthrop, $60-$120
At this annual Greek festival, try homemade delicacies from calamari to baklava, enjoy live music from Taki and the Mad Greeks, and watch dance performances from a variety of groups.
St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church
Sept 23–24
Celebrate the spirit of the Italian people with food everywhere, live music, a grape stomp, kids' activities, puppetry, Italian films, and a bocce ball tournament.
Seattle Center, free
Sept 29
New Orleans Food & Funk Festival
Celebrate the food and music of New Orleans at this festival featuring "Big Easy" bites from a variety of local restaurants (like Restaurant Roux and Toulouse Petit) as well as musical performances curated by Upstream.
WaMu Theater
Sept 29-30
13th Annual Great Pumpkin Beer Festival
There will be more than 80 pumpkin beers (including about 20 from "Elysian’s pumpkin-crazed brewers and their collaborators"), food trucks, pumpkin carving, the Chaotic Noise Marching Corps, DJs, and other seasonal festivities at this annual celebration of the fall-flavored beverage. Plus, like every year, there will be a several-hundred-pound pumpkin that's filled with Elysian pumpkin beer and tapped.
Seattle Center, $5/$28
Sept 29-Oct 1
Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Sausage. Fest. No. Wrong. Not funny. This is a Bavarian-style food fest for the whole family. So please behave yourself and enjoy live music, a wine garden, a carnival, food (besides sausages), a raffle, and more.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Everett, free
Sept 30
Life:Forms Art Gem and Music Festival
Whether you love them for mystical or nerdy scientific reasons, crystals and minerals beautify your life. Buy some from 45 rock and mineral vendors and enjoy live musical acts, live artists, and an adjoining marketplace of leather goods, jewelry, clothing, and more.
Albert Davis Park, 10 am, free
Sept 30–Oct 1
This convention aims to provide a safe space for women to celebrate their self-proclaimed geek status and to facilitate an unapologetic pursuit of their various passions. Attendees are encouraged to geek out over organized activities ranging from panels and workshops to a market, a DIY science zone, photobooths, and cosplay.
Washington State Convention & Trade Center, $30-$55
Seattle Center Exhibition Hall, $15
Oct 1
Experience the wonder that is Eastern Europe at this celebration of the people, traditions, and culture of Croatia, with food, dance, music, and a crafts marketplace.
Seattle Center, free
Oct 6–8
Oktoberfest NW is Western Washington's largest Munich-style "festhalle biergarten," complete with German food, dancing, and entertainment.
Washington State Fair Events Center, Puyallup, $0-$12
Oct 6–15
Drink beer, learn about the future of urban manufacturing, attend demos, and party the night away at this week of events celebrating all of the wonderful things that are Made in Seattle.
Seattle Center
Oct 7
Being a beer lover in the Pacific Northwest can sometimes feel like death by a thousand IPAs. At some point, the bitter, hoppy onslaught is too much for my taste buds, and I revert to the gentler, more understated domain of pilsners and pale ales. But then fresh hop season rolls around and I remember that, contrary to what all the one-dimensional hop monsters out there might lead you to believe, hops are our friends. Fresh hop IPA is made with whole fresh hops, as opposed to compressed hop pellets. The difference might seem insignificant, given that it's all the same hops with the same terpenes at the end of the day, but an Amarillo flower pulled straight off the vine and tossed into the boil does something very different from an Amarillo pellet. Fresh hop IPAs are lush and vegetal, offering you the richest expression of the hop possible. There is no purer way to experience the hop and its terroir, and no more potent reminder of why we love IPAs so goddamn much. Fremont has a line of fresh hop IPAs celebrating individual hops, as well as a single farm brew. You should get them, and you should also keep your eye out for two of my other favorite fresh hop makers' releases—Schooner Exact and Two Beers. TOBIAS COUGHLIN-BOGUE
Hale's Palladium, $25
Oct 8
Children of many cultures will gather to celebrate folk diversity "from traditional Chinese dance to beat boxing." There'll be dance shows, workshops, crafts, and music for and by little ones.
Seattle Center, $10 suggested donation
Oct 13-15
Cowabunga USA, a beef-filled bacchanalia brought to you by Seattle Met and Amazon, is three days full of 9,481 pounds of red meat. There will also be over 50 chefs preparing said beef.
Various locations, $25-$150
Olympic Peninsula Apple & Cider Festival
It's a fact that cider is one of those things essentially Northwest—it defines our region, and it's always seemed to especially define the fall. Take advantage of apple season this year with the first annual Olympic Peninsula Apple & Cider Festival, an ambitious, three-day celebration of cider and the fruit it comes from.
Various locations, $40-$150
Oct 14–15
Thousands of antique books, manuscripts, photographs, posters, and other ephemera will be on display at this event, featuring the better part of 100 dealers from the US, Canada, England, and beyond.
Exhibition Hall, 10 am
Enjoy a vision of the Eastern/Western contemporary influences and cultural touchstones that make up modern-day Turkey, in the forms of live music, dancing, food, visual arts, and an authentic Turkish tea house.
Seattle Center, free
Oct 17–18
Seattle Interactive Conference
SIC brings technology, creativity, and current trends to one place for tech lovers to explore and discover. Attendees will be able to network and mingle while enjoying disruptive technology, social media apps, new games, advertising, and more hands-on entertainment.
Washington State Convention & Trade Center, $399
Oct 21–28
Celebrate the changing environment at this festival presented by Pacific Bonsai Museum and the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden—they promise tours, demonstrations, and guest speakers.
Pacific Bonsai Museum, Federal Way
Oct 27
Annual high-key wild-out throwdown FreakNight raises the bar for their 20th anniversary celebration, with a two-day set of live music, dancing, and a darkly neon environment of circus surprises, bizarre sideshow wonders, and carnival rides.
WaMu Theater, $90
Oct 27–29
It's a three-day celebration of all things steampunk. Spectate future-past style parades at the Tea and Fashion Show, snoop out the villain at the Murder Mystery, and hear concerts by Abney Park and Unwoman.
Pier 66, $50-$110
Nov 2–4
The International Comic Arts Forum
This academic conference is a chance for scholars to share their studies in comic art, graphic novels, cartooning, etc. This year, they've invited Peruvian author/illustrator Jésus Cossio, artist/author Emil Ferris, manga artist Moto Hagio, comics writer Kelly Sue DeConnick, and artist Jim Woodring to speak, along with many others. The keynote speaker will be Professor Ramzi Fawaz from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Husky Union Building, $75-$115
Nov 4
Short Run Comix & Arts Festival
An overwhelming yet essential Seattle indie experience, Short Run gathers underground artists, self-published zine writers, and comics creators for a sprawling sale followed by music and a dance party. Look for some of the most beloved names in the comics/printing scenes, like Fantagraphics and Cold Cube Press, but don't neglect the up-and-comers or the solitary DIYers either.
Seattle Center, 11 am, free
Nov 4–5
This convention aims to provide a less expensive and "Hollywood driven" alternative to Comic-Con, with a special focus on Northwest artists.
Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center, $10-$20
Nov 18–19
Celebrate the holidays the Nordic way with traditional Scandinavian dance, music, and crafts.
Nordic Heritage Museum, $5
