The Bellevue Arts Fair is Bellevue's best, annual event that occurs the last weekend in July. For…read moreart lovers in the Seattle area, it's a fair to visit and explore as there's a lot of artwork of all mediums to see and learn about. And it's always a fun time! The Bellevue Arts Fair occurs from the Bellevue Galleria area across the Bellevue Transit Center to the parking garage area by Bell Square, pass Nordstrom. Everything is walking distance, and they do block certain streets for where vendors are. With that said, I recommend taking public transit if you want to avoid the parking mayhem that can occur this busy weekend. However, you can still find parking in the mall and around the Bellevue Downtown Park if you get there early enough. As mentioned earlier, there's artwork of all mediums, so a lot of variety. The artwork also ranges in different price points and it's cool to see where the artists are from, as many travel from all around the West Coast to Bellevue, just to showcase their craftsmanship. In addition to the artwork to explore, there are food trucks and live music, and the Bellevue Arts Museum offers free admission all weekend and hosts a wine garden. Fun times. It's one of my favorite summer festivals to check out. Support the arts and small business!

Cool stuff and so many vendors, selling wood crafted items, copper, wall art, photography art,…read moreceramics, jewelry and clothes. Vendors were from OR, NM, Ok, WA and more.

Honk! Fest happens once a yr. in June. It's free admission since the bands play Outdoors…read more It's a very exciting music Festival with local and a few out of town horn bands or drumming teams. I've been going for the past 7-8 yrs now. They only skipped during the Cvid Shutdowns. This yr in 2022, on Sun they had Yesler Terrace for the Venue park for the first time. I parked at the Bailey Gatzert School since there is no Parking near Yesler Terrace with a Game at T-Mobile Park. The view is great at Yesler and there is a bus stop and trolley stop next to the Park. Sani-can restrooms were provided since the Community Ctr was closed on Sun. I went to Columbia City on Sat. I missed the Fri night at Georgetown. I went to the Bobby Rush concert instead at the Bellevue Jazz Fest, since I got a comped tix from Goldstar. But prior yrs, I went to the Georgetown and South Park shows since I live near by. Honk! Fest tries to use POC neighborhoods the past few yrs. They played in the Central District yrs. ago on 23rd and E. Union. A Band from New Orleans showed up. Years ago Honk Fest was held after the Fremont Parade at Gasworks Park.

What a neat event to see on a Friday afternoon in Georgetown. This event happens once a year but…read moreis also on Sturday at Columbia City and White Center on Sunday...each once s year. Marching bands get together and play at different stages, dressed in costumes and play loud fun music. Around the area everyone is lively, is a cheerful mood dancing and socializing. When you have a chance check out this event.

It's Not Just For Stoners' Anymore :)…read more SITREP Nowadays, if it's mi mamasita's birthday, it's time for HEMPFEST! I always get a kick spending a week or so with my mom back in Seattle! THE SETUP I always have fun here with the music and DJ'ing, with the food, with the people, and with the energy. THE PARKING Okay. Let's deal with the bad stuff first. PARKING SUCKS. And if that's not bad enough, the fact that it's in a rather remote location on the sound at both the Elliot Bay and Myrtle Edwards parks makes it's a CONSIDERABLE HIKE to get to in the first place. THE AMENITIES & HYGIENE STANDARDS Okay. Not terrible, but consider the crowd this attracts: Hippies. Alternative Rockers. Punks. Gypsies. Free Spirits. Free Spirited Alternative Punk Hippies That Don't Bath. You get the idea. And since this is outdoors, in August, and it's hot, and people are moving around, and DANCING, AND SWEATING, you can get some pretty pungeant aromas. FUN Still, there is so much to see, so much to do, so much to eat, so much music to listen to, so many vendors to check out. And it's IN Seattle. I usually have to travel hundreds of miles away to be in a big group of smelly people with smelly paraphenalia. However, with Hempfest there is the extreme convenience of all THAT.... coming to YOU! MUSIC Grab a schedule, check out the bandstands, and enjoy the music. Also check out the tents because that is where some of the best DJs hang out. I really enjoyed my first time I ever went to Hempfest precisely because of the DJs. This is where I saw some really talented individuals introduce to the whole concept of "POWER MIXING" - using no more than a 30-second / 1 min segment of a song before moving on to the next track, but in a seamless stream of musical-construction that built beautiful musical pieces. These guys did it really well too. DON'T WORRY, MARYJANE! Though public perception may be otherwise, there is significant relegation of smoking at these events, and if you find it, it will be mainly on the perimeter and/or on the waterfront itself on the rocks. SECOND FUNNIEST MOMENT I couldn't stop my mom in time from buying and eating a brownie from the fairy princess gal. She was impossible to deal with the rest of the afternoon with her goofiness. This was the first time I took her. She's learned her lesson and been a good girl the 2-3 other times we've been together. THE FUNNIEST MOMENT This was just too sublime. A group of skater dudes were mosing through the asphalt path, between gaggles of giggling girls and some families with their screaming kids. Getting *bumped around* accidentally is going to happen. A small packet of *something* dislodged itself from a pocket of one of the guys. Perched on the side of the grassy rise were 4 police on horses overlooking the path, the groups of people, and the crew of skater dudes. I happened to be close enough to see it was a baggy of joints. I'm sure these 4 Horsemen of the Seattle Apocalypse noted that too. EVERYONE froze when the joints hit the ground. Then the mounted policeman who appeared to be the most senior of the group nonplussed just said to the skater dude, "You dropped something, son." After a pregnant pause, the dude picked up his baggy, waved and the police, and said, "Thank you!" THE LOWDOWN I LOVE THIS FESTIVAL! [Survey Question - "Good for Kids?" Uh. I'm saying "YES".]

Seattle Hempfest is the world's largest annual cannabis festival, drawing in hundreds of thousands…read moreeach and every year. The 3 day festival occurs during the second to last weekend of every August across Olympic Sculpture Park, Myrtle Edwards Park, and Centennial Park...Spread along the Seattle Waterfront....The event was founded in 1991, self described as a "humble gathering of stoners," by 500 Mary Jane enthusiasts congregating to advocate for the decriminalization of marijuana. It was truly a civil struggle to establish such reform and cannabis culture throughout it's 27 year lifetime.... as 60 people were cited for illegal marijuana use in 1997 while attending. The following year, about 20 were arrested for the same offense. Since then, local authorities have gradually looked the other way... which is what prompted peak attendance in 2008 to grow to over 310,000 people....2008 was the first Hempfest I personally attended, and I've been to every one since. Until about 2014, the festival was more of a celebration exercising local liberal NW behaviors to freely consume weed. It focused on the theme of social justice activists working to bring cannabis knowledge to the world at large ....Unfortunately over the last couple of years following recreational legalization, Seattle Hempfest has become a business avenue focusing exclusively on making as much profit as possible. It's apparent that money has become the focal point, superseding it's original purpose to expand knowledge and to educate...Vendor booths range from $1,000-2,000....staff members heckle attendees for 10 dollar donations at the entrances, while scolding with derision if you choose not to 'donate.' They also used to be pet friendly, but have decided to harass any and all attendees with even service animal verification. Yet they couldn't care less about people bringing babies and small children around other event goers smoking. Security also now yells and harass people who smoke blunts or joints, yet are okay with people smoking from recently purchased pipes and bongs from vendor booths....I wonder why that is.....Overall, I feel that Hempfest has taken a turn for the worst- falling into the hands of greedy businessmen while regressing back to strict social confinements and politics.........Consequently, the turnout has diminished noticeably....This year's attendance was abysmal to say the least.... "Sponsorship is the best way to maximize your vending and information display presence. Show you are a strong Hempfest-supporting brand to all our audiences, from the masses at the festival to our year-round online community and the larger markets Hempfest licensed events reach. Pricing ranges from $1,500 to $30,000 for full packages. This includes premium vending placements, information displays in a range of print and online media, and additional exposure opportunities that are only available exclusively to our sponsors. This includes banners on our stages and/or logos on all our collateral materials." On a positive note....peep this vid..!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJcHjj2awT0

This is such a lively event! It's centered on Hing Hay Park, as from11 a.m. to 4 p.m. they have…read morecultural performances every hour or so there, including the lion dance and other cool demonstrations. This coincided with the $6 food walk that surrounding restaurants participated in, although there were also vendor booths selling food in addition to crafts and other goodies lined up along S King St. The festival was busier than I expected, but I had a great time and a stuffed belly. I'll be sure to keep an eye out for next year's festival!

I give this festival four stars more because it is was a new cultural experience for me and was a…read moregreat deal of fun seeing the Dragon and Lion dances. I could see coming here every year to be tiring though. The crowds in the neighborhood is tremendous and it is a serious effort to see the performers but with persistence you can probably get some good pictures and a view at some point but it isn't easy and can get exhausting. They have a $2 food walk but so many people are waiting in line it feels very overwhelming. Despite crowds and long waits the festival was still worth while going to.

The Dragon Fest was once a day time summer event, focused on the Chinatown portion. Because of…read moreCOVID this year, it's instead evolved into a day and night C-ID Night Market, representing all of Chinatown-International District - an 8-hour event from 1pm to 9pm. I must say I am impressed with the turnout. While it has always been well attended, we arrived at 8:50pm, expecting to see a mostly closed street fair. Instead, all the booths are still hopping. Shoppers are shopping, and eaters are ordering food and drinks. There may have been such a HUGE turnout that the food lines were very long. When we arrived so late, the vendors were still merrily cooking while some food trucks had "sold out" stickers on selected items. How exciting for them to make up for the losses during COVID closures. As this is a C-ID market, the crowds gravitating towards the booths that sold cute Asian themed items, east Asian to be exact. Food choices were also predominately Asian, including SE Asian. I am not complaining. Hehe. The food truck that caught my attention is YS Street Food Group selling their Sizzling Squid at $12. I also bought a Thai Iced Tea at $4. It's been at least 2 years since I had their well marinating tongue numbing mala squid. It's also very tender. I love it! Folks were buying 3 or more of them! Their Thai iced tea is quite good too, not too sweet and flavorful. Even though we just had a big dinner, we managed to consume more. LOL!

For what could have become a hectic food festive the people who organized the event did a great…read morejob. There were performances every 30 minutes and the groups that performed clearly practiced and put on a show. There were a lot of places to eat and the food walk that offered $3 menu options were awesome. I was so happy to be able to try places like Tai tung and kau kau bbq which were places on my list. There were a lot of vendors and stalls and I was super impressed by the dragon dances! One thing I will say is I think they would do a lot better if they put their informational booth more prominently as a lot of people asked me where to get the maps and food walk pamphlets I was looking at in passing. Overall will be back next year!

It was great being able to attend the Thai festival in Seattle. They had this over at the North…read moreSeattle college campus and there was plenty of room for all the venues with lots of parking, even though it still filled up. There was so much food, clothing, drinks, desserts, and Asian condiments being sold. Prices were a bit high, but that's what you kind of expect at these festivals. So glad that it did not rain while we were there. it was a nice experience and hopefully they'll do this again.

First time attending Thai Festival in seattle, not sure what to give 3 or 4 stars. Parking is free…read more There are portable toilets, area to eat, entertainments like games, Thai dance, Thai boxing demonstrations, face painting, and fake tattoos. Now to the food part that what I would give 3 stars, the line was long and not organized by the vendor. Food options were similar, there was no mango sticky rice or pad Thai or pad se ewe. There was a lot of som tum and grill sticks. It could have been a map of all vendors or directory on the facebook page. Overall my friends and I have fun so that is why I decided to give 4 stars. Price of the foods are from $6-$30 depending on what you ordered. Som Tum was $12, 4 grill pork $12, $3 small bag of sticky rice, and $12 for Thai sausage.

Attended the Live Aloha Hawaiian Cultural Festival over the weekend at Seattle Center. This is the…read morefestival's 6th year. I found this year's event to be the best edition so far. The festival has grown for the better. Compared with a past edition that I attended, this year's event had significantly more food vendors and entertainment. If you wanted to try Hawaiian barbecue, shave ice and malasadas in Seattle (in one place), this event is your best opportunity to do so. As for entertainment, there were three stages (two outdoor and one in the Armory). As well as a side stage in the Armory for "talk story" events. I thought the attendance for the event was quite large compared to other heritage festivals that I have been to at Seattle Center. There was plenty of people wearing Hawaiian aloha wear at the event and talking in pidgin that you felt a little like you were actually back in the islands. Being a Hawaii native, it was nice to see that there was a large turnout celebrating the place that I call my real home. Like being in Hawaii, there was a wait for food. Though the lines for Hawaiian barbecue did move rather quickly. The fare was plate lunch grinds and most of the vendors were selling many of the same things. I had a great laulau/kalua pork/ahi poke plate from Kama'Aina Grill that was delicious. If you like grilled marinated meats, attending this festival is an awesome event to get some. I did also try out the shave ice from Da Hula Hut. There was a large line for it, but I decided it was worth waiting for given the summer heat. The shave ice was not bad (syrups are sweet), though better in Hawaii. It is no Waiola Shave Ice, but I will take what I can get. There was also a long line for malasadas, but that was a line I refused to get in. I will just wait till I can get some at Leonard's in a few weeks. I would have liked though to have seen a Hawaiian cake vendor (haupia/chantilly/guava) at the event though since we do have a few of these in the Northwest. Enjoyed my time at Live Aloha and look forward to coming back next year for more Hawaiian culture and food.

I love going to events of my home state, here in Washington state! No, this is no cheesy luau event…read morecultural appropriation everywhere. This event got almost everything, besides the weather and REAL beaches to cure those home sicknesses. Food was delicious, I got a chicken pastele stew plate with passion orange guava Hawaiian Sun and poi mochi. Hawaiian music to put you into that feel good vibe, made me reminisce about Birthday Bash at the Shell. Wish the event more into the middle of summer, especially, not the first week of the NFL. My fantasy team still got the W, though. But I'd still go, every year! Cheeeee!

Over 300 booths of all sorts of handmade arts and crafts! An entire block and a good portion of the…read morefirst floor of the parking garage behind the Bellevue Square is filled with exhibitors. A smaller section of booths are also located down the road by the Bellevue Collection. Plus there are plenty of other activities: - Bellevue Arts Museum (BAM) offers free admission along with a KIDSfair consisting of mini hands-on projects. - Bellevue Square hosts performances at a BAMboozle Stage outside of Macy's and at a Sound & Movement Stage inside at the center court. - Chalk It Up on the road outside of BAM is reserved for free-style art. - Food vendors are available to purchase meals, snacks, or drinks. It's a great annual event to spend an afternoon at, especially if you are a fan of art!

Since the 1940s, BAM ARTSfair has been celebrating the connection between community and the world…read moreof art, craft, and design. Devoted to bringing some of the nation's most talented artists, the Fair features thousands of original artworks, including painting, sculpture, fashion, and jewelry. With over 300 exhibiting artists, both emerging and well-known, BAM ARTSfair is one the region's largest gatherings and a unique opportunity to acquire art directly from the makers. The Fair also features live music, artist demonstrations, community art projects, KIDSfair, and complimentary admission to BAM. The BAM ARTSfair is an annual, summertime events that attracts locals and tourists. They were so many booths/tents to look at. They all had different types & styles to look at. I also loves looking at the photography they had, beautiful pictures from all over. I haven't purchased any for myself because it's too expensive. Anyway, I love the ARTSFAIR! Recommend and will return next year.