Is it going to rain this weekend? Maybe. But if you’re a true Seattleite, that won’t stop you from doing cool stuff, whether it’s taking part in Native traditions at the Festival of the River and Pow Wow, dancing to the Dandy Warhols at the South Lake Union Block Party, or spending the evening by the water at the 1000 Lights Water Lantern Festival.
ARTS
Coupeville Arts and Crafts Festival
Venture to Coupeville’s waterfront for two days of live music and shopping from over 100 arts and craft vendors at this 50th annual festival.
Saturday-Sunday, Coupeville Waterfront (Whidbey Island)
Index Arts Festival
See and support local art of all kinds, plus enjoy live music, dancing, yoga, food, and more.
Saturday, 200 Fifth Street (Index)
COMMUNITY
AuburnFest
Auburn’s summer festival features two stages of live music, a beer garden, food and craft vendors, a car show, a small press book fair, and more outdoor activities.
Friday-Sunday, Les Gove Park (Auburn)
1000 Lights Water Lantern Festival
Write a message or draw on an LED lantern, then watch it drift across the lake with others’ at sunset. Show up early for food, music, and family-friendly entertainment.
Saturday, Juanita Beach Park (Kirkland)
Delridge Day
Delridge celebrates its community’s cultural diversity with special performances, live music, a community bike ride, and more.
Saturday, Delridge Community Center & Skate Park (West Seattle)
Festival At Mount Si
This community festival has all of your typical activities, plus some not-so-typical ones, including a chili cook-off, a blueberry dessert contest, a cherry pie-eating contest, a wife-carrying race, and a pet contest.
Friday-Sunday, Si View Park (North Bend)
Flavor of Federal Way
Celebrate the cultural diversity of Federal Way at this festival, which will have kids’ activities, food vendors, live entertainment, employment opportunity exhibitors, health care access, financial and educational service exhibitors, and more.
Saturday, Town Square Park (Federal Way)
Kirkland Waterfront Car Show
Soak up some sun and feast your eyes on fenders of all stripes.
Sunday, Kirkland Waterfront
Live in D5 with Councilmember Debora Juarez
Stranger-approved (and, according to the primary election results, Seattle-approved) District 5 councilmember Debora Juarez will host a celebration of North Seattle. All ages are invited to join her for local bands, free food, a petting zoo, a beer garden, and local community booths.
Saturday, Hubbard Homestead Park (North Seattle)
Omak Stampede
From the bull stampede ride-in to the Suicide Race to the Indian Encampment and Pow Wow, this weekend is dedicated to “western entertainment” of all kinds.
Friday-Sunday, Omak Visitors Center
Othello Park International Festival
Did you know that Rainier Valley is home to speakers of over 59 different languages? This annual festival celebrates the neighborhood’s diversity with a day of multi-cultural dance performances, food vendors, live music, and art in Othello Park.
Sunday, Othello Park
CULTURE
Ethnic Heritage Council Fifth Annual Ethnic Potluck Picnic
Win prizes for your best ethnic potluck dish, check out educational displays, dance to live world folk music by the Lonely Coast, and play games.
Sunday, Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center (Magnolia)
2019 Festival of the River and Pow Wow
This annual pow wow will celebrate its 30th anniversary with two days of live music, circus arts with the New Old Time Chautauqua, a 5K fun run, and a traditional alder salmon bake.
Saturday-Sunday, River Meadows Park (Arlington)
Seattle Arab Festival
The Arab Center of Washington presents its annual celebration of Arab culture. Music, dance, and food (including an Arabic coffee shop) will all be featured, along with a traditional bazaar, children’s activities, and cultural information booths providing a larger picture of the 22 Arab countries.
Saturday-Sunday, Seattle Center
FOOD & DRINK
Augtoberfest
Can’t wait until October to bust out your lederhosen? Get into some German-style fun a couple months early with tastes from local brewers like Elliott Bay Brewing Company and Georgetown Brewing, plus food and live music.
Saturday, Innis Arden Clubhouse (Shoreline)
Brew Five Three
This Tacoma block party will have beer from more than 35 Washington State breweries, tasty food trucks, and live music from local blues, Americana, and rock acts.
Saturday, Tacoma Arts Live
Gilman Summer Wine Beer & Spirits Fest
Local wineries, breweries, and distilleries (including Heritage Distilling Co., Dru Bru, and 425 Cellar) will sell their stuff tax-free at this bring-your-own-glass bacchanal.
Friday, Gilman Village (Issaquah)
Kitsap Wine Festival
Bremerton’s annual Kitsap Wine Festival promises live music, bites from regional food purveyors, outdoor games like cornhole and ladder golf, and a wide variety of vino.
Saturday, Harborside Fountain Park (Bremerton)
2019 Snohomish Hard Cider Festival
Quaff apple-pressed libations (or opt for beer) and snack on cheeses and charcuterie at this Snohomish festival.
Sunday, Thomas Family Farm (Snohomish)
GEEK
Seattle Marauder’s Scavenger Hunt
Gather your wizardly friends and explore Seattle on a scavenger hunt. At the finish line, hang out in Magnuson Park for games, food, and live music.
Saturday, Magnuson Park (Sand Point)
Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire
For the second weekend of this annual faire, dress up in your flowiest garments and take a journey through mystical realms alongside fairies, goblins, dragons, and other fantastical creatures. Fairy artist Amy Brown will be signing autographs and there will also be food and a marketplace.
Saturday-Sunday, Kelley Farm (Bonney Lake)
MUSIC
107.7 The End Summer Camp 2019
Summer Camp is 107.7 The End’s version of Warped Tour: all the bands you hear on your favorite Seattle rock station, but actually in the flesh on stage at Marymoor Park, playing all the hits. This year’s lineup features Walk the Moon, the Revivalists, Oliver Tree, Joywave, IDK How But They Found Me, SHAED, and Skating Polly.
Saturday, Marymoor Park (Redmond)
Caribbean Cool Fest
New York-based ska/reggae band Pilfers (they call their sound “raggacore”) will headline at this Caribbean-themed bash. They’ll be joined by a slew of other genre mutuals, including the Von Tramps, Rundown Kreeps, and Monkey.
Friday-Saturday, El Corazón & the Funhouse (Eastlake)
Chillography 12 – A Free All Ages Day Party in the Park
For those who appreciate daytime dance parties and the “mellower side of electronic music,” this waterfront festival offers live DJs from Seattle and beyond.
Saturday, Myrtle Edwards Park (Downtown)
Doe Bay Fest 12
Doe Bay Fest’s grassroots festival weekend of camping, local music, food, and dancing in a little Orcas Island cove will return for its 12th year. Annie Ford, Beverly Crusher, Great Grandpa, NAVVI, Versing, and Tune Yards are just a few acts to look forward to on the 2019 lineup.
Friday-Sunday, Doe Bay Resort (Olga)
Montlake Music Festival & Family Night
Enjoy live music from School of Rock Seattle, Seattle JazzED, and Hyperion at this family-friendly festival, which will also have bouncy houses, face-painting, and balloon-twisting.
Friday, Montlake Community Center
Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival 2019
Sink into 16 days of concerts celebrating various expressions of chamber music on scenic Orcas Island. Think of it as “classical music with a view.”
Friday-Saturday, Orcas Center (Eastbound)
Rizal Park Jazz Festival
On the 40th birthday of the Beacon Hill park named after Filipino engineer, doctor, and activist Dr. Jose Rizal, gaze out onto Elliott Bay and enjoy live jazz from the Rizal Park Jazz Band, Roger Rigor and the Barriotiques, and other local musicians, plus a special menu created by Henry Pacheco.
Sunday, Doctor Jose P. Rizal Park (Beacon Hill)
South Lake Union Block Party
Every year, South Lake Union throws itself a party featuring diverse musical pleasures from local bands (this year’s lineup includes the Dandy Warhols, Naked Giants, Whitney Mongé, Polyrhythmics, and Sisters). There will also be food trucks, a beer garden, a free print-your-own-poster station, a “letterpress steamroller smackdown,” and a “Community Village” featuring booths from local businesses. The event is co-sponsored by Amazon and will benefit FareStart, a James Beard Award-winning nonprofit that aims to empower people experiencing homelessness through job training and employment in the foodservice industry.
Friday, South Lake Union
PERFORMANCE
Island Shakespeare Festival
Head to Whidbey Island to see performances of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Winter’s Tale, and Inferno at this festival in its 10th season.
Friday-Sunday, Langley
The Scratch: Seattle Workshop Series
Join more than 100 theater artists for the beginning of a week of networking and workshopping 12 new plays and musicals, including 10-minute shorts by five young writers, two developmental labs, and five staged readings by professionals.
Sunday, 18th & Union (Capitol Hill)
