I just happened to run into the Elves while working! On a whim I asked if they would come across…read morethe street to my work and serenade some guests. They said "Yes!" What a great group of performers and it was so nice of them to spread their cheer. My client and guests LOVED it. I think it gave their Christmas party one amazing finishing touch. Thank you again for you (pro bono!) work. Friendly, accommodating, and genuine--if they don't make you smile your brain is full of spiders and you have garlic in your soul.

I'm sorry to say that the Sea-Meow (2025) was disappointing. There were too few kitties to pet (and…read morethose that were there, were hogged by little kids who I frankly would not allow around my own cats) and the vendor merchandise was mostly junk. Unattractive spray-painted cat 'art', t-shirts and other 'kitty things'. We purchased some sophisticated, well-done cards. But they were the only classy things we saw. The guy who spoke on stage talked WAY TOO LONG! It was a waste of $33+ per person. We will definitely not go again

A crowd attended & seemed to like it but I won't be returning if it comes to Seattle again. The…read moreadmission was a hefty $35, senior discount nonexistent. Host provided a small package of cat treats without a carry-bag. The items I was hoping to see were almost completely absent: only ONE kitty litter vendor - booth presenters there with limited English language skills; zero cat-trees, zero cat shelves/perches. No demos nor videos at the vendor tables, but very little of what they were selling would have benefited from that anyway. There were a few cat toys - most that would be carried in any pet store. I was hoping to find innovative new products for my cats - to make their home life more interesting, comfortable, or convenient. Instead, I saw a lot of art: there were at least 4 truly good artists, but the rest was mostly common kitsch and plastic; clothing, jewelry, tattoos, stickers - stuff for people who like to advertise to the world that they like cats, rather than items that can be used with cats.

Not too many people are aware of the LeMay Collections at Marymount. The more popular museum is the…read moreLeMay - America's Car Museum off the 5. The special Motorcycle Days exhibit gave me an excuse to make the trek here. The museum did a great job with their variety of programming. I enjoyed seeing not only the vintage and modern motorcycle exhibits, but also the area that guests could park their own bikes for others to see. The property used to be a military academy. Each building has been well preserved and housed a mix of historical artifacts and vehicles. I particularly liked the Union State building because it displayed vehicles in chronological order from the late 1800s to the early 2000s. The signage throughout were very informative. We did not upgrade our passes to the guided tour of the White Building, but you can add that anytime during your visit. Two other things I learned during my visit is that they have car auctions there and host weddings!

This is an incredible find. Well worth the already reasonable ticket price for entry - be sure to…read morepay the extra to see the 2nd building - it is worth the entire ticket by itself. So the first set up is you go through a series of rooms featuring various cars from the collection displayed in an orderly fashion, with explanations that are historical, contextual, and interesting. Then, if you purchase the add-on, you are escorted across the grounds (cool in itself) to a large garage holding a plethora of vehicles lined up in rows according to a timeline and with explanations - plus other memorabilia such as examples of what a kitchen would have looked like from a certain era that a car came from. Really wonderfully entertaining and educational.

South Lake Union or SLU Block Party is an annual summer event that takes place at Denny Park in…read moreWest Lake. It is a cool free concert gathering in the park with music going on throughout the day, food trucks and a beer tent. The concert space is fenced off as it shares space with the beer tent, so 21+ to get in. The park is centrally located around a bunch of other restaurants and pubs in the area if the food trucks lines are too long or are just not to your liking. This years SLU line up had a some local or otherwise lesser known bands. The Smoky Brights and Moondoggies as the headliner toward the end of the evening. Having never heard of these bands, I found the Smoky Brights to be better than the headliners. The crowd showed up, including some real dedicated fans rocking 'Moondoggie' T-shirts so they definitely have a following. The party was good. You had grifting vendors going around with light up toys, overpriced small can beer, about 5 food trucks to choose from and security all around including those checking ID to get in the park. There were some SPD patrols hanging out so it felt alright walking about. You can sign up to be a vendor although I didn't see anyone there selling anything beyond food and drinks and there are several sponsors for the event, chief among them Amazon of course. Overall I think it's cool and would come back. It's free music, and if it's a band you happen to know or have heard about, even better.

I went to South Lake Union Block Party this year, and found that there were some changes made to…read morethe event from previous years. Unfortunately, they no longer have a Burger Competition, where five different South Lake Union eateries provide sliders, in hopes of winning the best burger in South Lake Union. It was one of the highlights of my time here in the past, so was sad to see this no longer happened. Instead, of the burger competition - they have a Food Truck Alley, but the problem was that there were only about five food trucks for hundreds of people, so long lines everywhere. My friends and I decided to skip out on the food trucks and eat at a restaurant nearby. The beer garden is no longer hosted by Brave Horse Tavern, so doesn't have a lot of variety in local beers. You have two Fremont beers, PBR, Rainier and a rose. Also note that for the lines - they do not indicate which line/cashier accepts card or which is cash only. When my friend and I got to the cashier he told us to go to the line next to us because they had the ability to accept card, so a bunch of people ended up cutting the people who were already standing in the long card line. An improvement of the event seems to be the music. They had a series of live bands playing at the main stage, which was nice, and made for a lively time. Just remember it's super loud from the beer garden so speaking to friends can be difficult. Overall, if you're already in the area - check it out. It used to be one of my favorite summer festivals and would make the trek from Bellevue for it, but can't say I would again if there were other events going on. (Bummerz.)

Our first time to this festival. We enjoyed it greatly. So if you are like me and LOVE family…read morefriendly events, traditions or day trips - this is for YOU! With a variety of Irish vendors, cultural exhibitions, and more, festival goers will be immersed in Irish culture and customs There was lots of great music. Wow those fellows can play! I want everyone to know that this festival is the absolutely the best. This annual Irish celebration will feature non-stop Irish music, singing and dancing, art and cultural displays (including educational workshops and lectures), as well as Irish/Celtic vendor booths, information about Seattle's active Irish community, and other activities in the Children's Activities Center. Psst! On Sunday afternoon, there's even a drawing for a free vacation to Ireland! Explore and experience the cultural roots and contemporary influences of Ireland through live performances, visual arts, hands-on activities, foods, games and a lively marketplace. Irish tunes, step dancing and the Irish jig keep the energy flowing at this Irish Festival. Festival-goers may trace their roots in genealogy workshops, learn the Irish language have a "great craic" (gaelic for "a great time").

A stand-out if only from the standpoint of its having anchored the local art scene for decades now…read more I always felt it was head over shoulders compared to its competitors. The high ceilings and spaciousness of its warehouse-style space contribute to a viewing experience unlike that of the galleries in Pioneer Square proper. Knowledgeable, friendly staff of three. The outdoor gallery on the second floor towards the back is outstanding, with its haunting brass (or copper) scupture by Will Roninson, set against a view of the steeply rising embankment/Firehouse/southern view towards King Street Stataion.

I had a really uncomfortable and disappointing experience here. I was simply filming content for…read moremyself when a woman approached me claiming I couldn't film because "they were in the video." The reality is they were extremely far away from my camera, and nowhere near being visible in the shot. On top of that, I was questioned about shoplifting while I was just minding my business with a small side bag. It felt like I was being singled out and profiled for no reason. The interaction came across as very passive-aggressive and honestly felt like racial harassment. No one should feel watched or accused while just existing and creating content peacefully. This experience made me feel unwelcome and uncomfortable, and I hope management takes situations like this more seriously in the future.

I looked around Chinatown Artwalk and only saw one item that could be categorized as art: a…read morerectangular block painted with a variety of pictures that looked like graffiti. If this was all they had to showcase their artwalk, then it's quite sad. I'm thinking that perhaps I just missed the real artwalk because my map took me to the wrong place. In any case, I wasn't the slightest bit impressed.

The Chinatown Artwalk is a great way to get to know some amazing local artists. Two of my friends…read morehave had shows here for the past artwalk: Monica P (a Yelper), and Carina del Rosario. Monica makes some moving mosaics with bright, vibrant colors. Her lizard piece is probably my favorite. Carina finds a way to capture her travels, life, and life's ironic moments in some moving photography...and recently showed a slide show at the last artwalk. Her pieces have a lot of character and charisma, and some like an alley piece in Guanajuato bring back memories of travel as well. This is an ongoing event, and the next one will be August 15th. There are a lot of cool restaurants and Happy Hours nearby as well. Art and Green Leaf anyone? Oh yeah.

In contrast to the fellow yelpers' reviews, I'll say, "Yay! I'm a fan."…read more I agree with the previous reviews in that there wasn't enough food, the lines were too long, people were shoving a little, the traffic was bad and the sushi wasn't all that good. But as a Japanese-American, I love stuff like this. I like being a room with all my peeps. I ran into a few friends. I actually liked browsing the silent auction. I liked contrasting the various sake. I went way over the 7 sake sample limit. (There was more than enough sake, so why was there a limit?) It's only $50, so you get what you pay for. If it were $100, I guess I'd expect more. Plus, if you want good fresh sushi, I wouldn't go to a banquet hall in the Westin. I didn't expect the sushi to be all that good so I guess that's why I wasn't disappointed. I don't know if I'll go again, but I'll probably consider it. I'll probably just use it as a festive and charitable appetizer to a good meal in Belltown.

I too had a mediocre experience at the 8th Annual Sushi + Sake Festival which made me quite sad. I…read morehad attended the two years previous and had a great time, enjoying food + drink with a lot of friendly folk. But this year felt different, people shoved a little more and there was a distinct lack of civility in the attendees. There were less vendors offering sushi and samples of Japanese food than in previous years. I remember in previous years sampling miso soups, Beard Papa puffs and flavoured soy milks. I was saddened by the entire debacle because it was my third year attending the Sushi and Sake Festival and I imagined my third year to be as good, if not better, than the previous two. Despite the hour long traffic from Broadview, my companions and I attempted to have a good time even though we arrived shortly after 6:45. We were going to sample sushi and sake with friends while also contributing to a worthy cause. I could paste the e-mail that I sent in response to the Executive Director's but it feels like I'd be repeating what the previous poster said. The entire evening felt like a bust. It wasn't worth the headache nor the cost so we decided to leave hungry. The night felt like a free for all for mediocre sushi and tiny shots of sake. We ended up going to Wann to sate our craving for Japanese food and to erase the previous event from our memory. In as much as I was disappointed, I took two people that had never been and ended up disappointing them. They knew it wasn't my fault but with financial times as they are, we would have preferred spending our ticket prices directly on sushi instead with a side donation to Densho. Unless I hear that the 9th Festival has made changes, this is definitely my last year attending. I do not want a repeat of 2009 where my time and money are both wasted on something that wasn't even fun.