Big Events Happening in Seattle This Year

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival 2024 @ Skagit County

April 1 – 30

📅 Monday, April 1st – Tuesday, April 30th
📍 Locations around Skagit County and Mount Vernon, Washington | Find a brochure here
🎟 Tickets start at $13 | Find tickets and farms here

There’s an unwritten list of attractions that define being an Emerald City local. It starts with the typical tourist haunts: the Space Needle, Pike Place Market, Kerry Park, and the Fremont Troll. Then, it expands outside the city. Doing the Puyallup, Bavarian-ing it up in Leavenworth, making a trip to Mt. Rainier, and, of course, finding all the ways to soak up every second of spring and summer. To help with that last mission, the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival has given locals 41 years of flower fascination. 

Held for the entirety of April, the event is the right spot for a planned or impromptu photo op. It incorporates more than buds with breweries, restaurants, and farms—like this alpaca farm or the art in the pickle barn exhibit at Schuh Farms. The festival is free, but you’ll need a ticket to enter the gardens. Each of the four tulip fields offers distinct experiences, ranging from different tulip varieties, acreage, and even one that offers U-Pick. 

Numerous events are available all month, including the tulip parade (April 6th), the annual photo contest, English tea at Willowbrook Manor, the Kiwanis salmon barbecue, and the downtown Mount Vernon street fair. Visitors can find a full schedule of events online. 

🖊 PATHERESA WELLS

Seattle International Film Festival 2024

May 9 – 19

📆 Thursday, May 9th – Sunday, May 19th

2024 is a big year for the Seattle International Film Festival. It’s turning the big 5-0. 

For the past half-century, the film festival has brought Seattle audiences boundary-pushing feature-length movies, shorts, and secret screenings from around the world. SIFF’s history is mythical—they premiered Ridley Scott’s Alien back in 1979, served as Dutch director Paul Verhoeven’s American launching pad, and supported films from Seattle directors like Lynn Shelton and Megan Griffith. 

Although SIFF has had to shrink its length and screening schedule, 2023 saw a bump in in-person attendance, meaning people are hungry for IRL movie experiences. Last year, I saw Ira Sach’s chaotically European bisexual drama Passages at SIFF Egyptian. I then immediately hopped on a Lime bike to check out the fest’s Pacific Northwest shorts screening at SIFF Uptown. Both were just too good to miss! From my first SIFF in 2019, I still remember the wonder of watching Fantastic Planet while DJ NicFit spun The Flaming Lips over the freaky animated movie. Cinema? Is powerful! 

Running from May 9th to 19th this year, SIFF is going all out with their 50th birthday celebrations. While programming details are still mum, they’re running an Early Bird special for members through February 29th, so you still have a chance to get a deal on a SIFF film pass. Plus, this year promises to be extra exciting because SIFF has officially christened SIFF Downtown (FKA Cinerama). They’ve been showing big-budget films there like Wonka and Lord of the Rings—but I’m partially hoping that during the 2024 SIFF season, they’ll screen offbeat movies like a silent Polish horror or an experimental Midwestern drama about time. A film nerd can only dream. 

🖊 JAS KEIMIG

Northwest Folklife Festival 2024

May 24 – 27

📆 Friday, May 24th – Monday, May 27th

Northwest Folklife is a Seattle tradition that spans more than five decades. The 53rd iteration of the yearly event takes place May 24th to 27th at the Seattle Center. (And streaming online!) For those new around here, the festival celebrates the arts, cultures, and traditions of a global Pacific Northwest. It’s community-powered and free to attend—though donations keep this Seattle staple going.

Each year, the fest sets a specific cultural focus. In 2022, coming out of the pandemic, the theme was Metamorphosis. This year, it’s Meraki, a Greek word that means passion, joy, and the actualization of desire. Very fitting, considering the lockdown inspired many of us to seek out self-realization.

Expect a big festival, with performers on 20+ stages and hundreds of food and craft vendors showcasing local ingenuity. This year, enjoy “Threads of the People,” a new take on a fashion show, “Kuleana Corridor,” which highlights those working in food justice, and “The Maker’s Space,” where numerous hands-on demonstrations will happen. And see the 15-inch quilt blocks, which will make up the “Community Quilt” to honor the art of quilting. 

Stay tuned to Folklife’s Instagram for the festival schedule as we approach May. 

🖊 PATHERESA WELLS

HONK! Fest West 2024

May 31 – June 2

📆 Friday, May 31st – Sunday, June 2nd

HONK! Festival West is all about bringing music to the streets during an annual multi-day fest in public spaces. This year, it’ll happen from May 31st to June 2nd, 2024. 

Imagine the energy of a second-line procession from New Orleans brought to a neighborhood near you in the Seattle area. In 2024, HONK! goes down in Georgetown on May 31st, Columbia City on June 1st, and another TBD location on June 2nd. A worldwide festival, it started near Boston in 2006 when a group of renegade street bands got their groove on. Two years later, the event spread to Seattle. Now, it happens all over, including in our neighboring cities of Tacoma and Portland. 

In addition to brass bands, find percussion groups, punk rock marching bands, and even Seattle-based cultural performances all jamming away. Previous banks that have played include Neon Brass Party, 8-Bit Brass Band, and Filthy FemCorps—Seattle’s all-women, nonbinary, and trans street band! Expect color and costumes from the performers and an all-ages crowd psyched for summer. Plus, the harmony of the horn section.

🖊 PATHERESA WELLS

Seattle Pride Month 2024

June 1 – 30

📆 All of June

If Seattle is one thing, it’s proud.

As one of the gayest cities in America, the LGBTQ+ community in Seattle is strong and shows out in support of one another. That’s what makes Pride such a special time in the city—everyone is always poised to clackity-clack their fans and down to revel. Pride is all month long in June, but Seattle traditionally celebrates being queer on the last week of the month. This year, June 29th to 30th is Seattle’s 50th Pride, which is major! 

Like every year, Seattle PrideFest will host a big two-day party.

On Saturday, the festival takes over Capitol Hill, closing Broadway Ave between E John and E Roy for vendors, food trucks, and performances. I’ve always loved Bait Shop Pride, where some of my favorite drag entertainers lip-sync in the blazing sun on a stage just outside the bar. (The perfect moment for Jello shots.)

Then, on Sunday, loads of hungover gay people lounge around the PrideFest Seattle Center ground, watching more musical and dance performances or cooling off in the big fountain. It also serves as a landing place for the Seattle Pride Parade, which takes place earlier that morning with hundreds of groups marching downtown and usually around 300,000 paradegoers cheering on the past, present, and future of the LGBT community.

Though not officially announced yet, usually Queer/Bar, Rhein Haus, The Cuff, and Wildrose all host big festivals and parties, typically just outside their respective bars on Pride weekend. You should also keep an eye on queer-focused clubs like Kremwerk and new-to-the-scene Massive for all your late-night dance music needs. And, of course, there will be tons of one-off Pride events hosted by clubs, bars, and restaurants across the city, not just on Pride weekend but throughout June. Clear your schedule!

🖊 JAS KEIMIG

ZooTunes Concert Series 2024 @ Woodland Park Zoo

June 16 – August 21

📆 Sunday, June 16th – Wednesday, August 21st
🎟 Individual tickets available here
📍 Woodland Park Zoo: 5500 Phinney Ave N, Seattle

For 40 years, Woodland Park Zoo has welcomed fans to a summer concert series on the lawn. ZooTunes is more than a show. It’s a fundraiser for the zoo’s upkeep and its educational and conservation programs like Living Northwest, an effort that works to promote human-wildlife coexistence. (And also to protect endangered species like the Oregon silverspot butterfly. Bet you didn’t realize listening to a band could do all that.)

Shows take place in the zoo’s north meadow. General admission is first-come, first-served festival-style seating. Children two and under are free. ZooTunes often becomes a family affair due to the ability to pack your own food. However, local food trucks are on-site for those who want to splurge. And in true PNW style, all shows are held rain or shine—or heat or smoke! 

Some dates like The Roots, Violent Femmes, and Norah Jones have already sold out—but you’re in luck. The following shows still have seats as of March 11th: 

Mother Mother/Cavetown with Destroy Boys
Saturday, June 16th, 2024

The Decemberists 
Wednesday, July 31st, 2024 

Sierra Ferrell with Nick Shoulders
Sunday, August 11th, 2024

The Japanese House with Skullcrusher
Monday, August 12th, 2024

Waxahatchee with Woods
Sunday, August 18th, 2024

Elle King
Thursday, August 21st, 2024

Note: Tickets to ZooTunes do not include zoo admission. To see the critters before the concert, purchase zoo admission separately.

🖊 PATHERESA WELLS

Capitol Hill Block Party 2024

July 19 – 21

📆 Friday, July 19th – Sunday, July 21st
🎟 Presale passes available
🎶 UPDATE 3/5: Kaytranada, Kim Petras, Still Woozy and more performing this summer

Nothing says summer in Seattle like the Capitol Hill Block Party (CHBP). 

For one weekend every July, the three-day music festival takes over four blocks in the Pike/Pine Corridor on Capitol Hill. It brings some of the hottest names, locally and globally, to perform for crowds of sweaty, enthusiastic concertgoers. You haven’t seen anything until you’ve watched Charli XCX perform “Vroom” right next to the 79 on Pine, Yves Tumor slink around the outdoor Vera Stage, or raucous Tacoma band Enumclaw chuck CD cases at the crowd. 

CHBP’s roots go back to 1997 when Jen Gapay organized a free one-day event on the Hill with five bands, a couple of DJs, and a small stage on 10th and Union. In the 26 years since, the festival’s footprint has expanded to encompass several venues in the area, bringing in big-name talents like Lizzo and Diplo. And it’s certainly no longer free. However, CHBP is a good opportunity to see an eclectic mix of popular, upcoming national acts alongside Seattle musicians on big stages. 

This year, the block party goes down from July 19th to 21st. While specifics are still yet to be announced, CHBP typically has close to 10 stages to check out: a main stage near Broadway, the Vera Stage on 11th and Union, the entire Neumos complex, Cha Cha Lounge, Vermillion, Cafe Racer, Wild Rose, and activations in Chophouse Row. The block party is for all ages, but there are beer gardens and 21+ venues for those who want some distance from teeny-boppers stanning Dominic Fike. And, of course, there’ll be a food court to satisfy your dietary needs. 

If you check out CHBP, I have two pieces of advice: wear sunscreen and stay hydrated. Thank me later!

🖊 JAS KEIMIG

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Neumos || Barboza (@neumos_)

Seattle Art Fair 2024 @ Lumen Field

July 25 – 28

📆 Thursday, July 25th – Sunday, July 28th
📍 Lumen Field Event Center: 800 Occidental Ave S, Seattle
📍 More locations TBA
👀 More here

Since its inception in 2015, the Seattle Art Fair has become a summer staple for the art-hungry.

For four days every year, several dozen galleries from around the world bring the best work for curious and discerning Seattleites to take in and admire. The 2024 edition of Seattle Art Fair returns to the Lumen Field Event Center from Thursday, July 25th to Sunday, July 28th, with Nato Thompson serving again as the art fair’s artistic director. While the official list of participants has yet to be released, typically you can expect to sip wine while getting lost in the maze of gallery booths featuring local, national, and international galleries. 

Last year, I crossed a whole ocean in minutes. After I stumbled on (and took a million photos of) Ross Bonfanti’s cute and bizarre concrete teddy bears at London’s Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery booth, I took in Emily Count’s serene porcelain moth sculptures at Seattle’s studio e booth. Those are the kind of fun, unexpected discoveries and connections you can make at the fair, even if you have no intention of buying anything. Every Seattle Art Fair includes special programming—everything from featured artist talks to site-specific installations. In 2023, art fairgoers could watch Tariqa Waters do a live presentation of her “Thank You, MS PAM” talk show, gawk at Marita Dingus’ large-scale doll sculptures, and touch grass with Eunsun Choi’s tactile LED installation. 

The fun continues beyond the art fair itself. Galleries around town host satellite events during the days and evenings. Places like Forest for the Trees at Railspur and Nii Modo Gallery often put on big group shows for those still on an art-seeing high. 

Keep your eyes peeled—there’s a lot to see! We’ll keep updating this post as organizers reveal more information.

🖊 JAS KEIMIG

Lowrider Block Party 2024 @ Nepantla Cultural Art Gallery

August

Nepantla Cultural Arts Gallery was started in 2018 to provide a space focused on Chicana/o Latinx artwork. As the only art gallery in the Seattle area devoted to this artistic legacy, it’s become a staple since its opening in White Center, a diverse neighborhood sandwiched between the Duwamish River and Puget Sound. Also known as Rat City, this unincorporated part of King County lacks some of Seattle’s regulations and rules. It’s also become a Seattle hot spot for nightlife, food, and art.

In 2021, Nepantla owners Jake Prendez and Judy Avitia-Gonzalez brought the community the Lowrider Block Party, a now-annual event that celebrates lowrider art, music, and culture. For its 4th year, Nepantla will transform the streets with hydraulics, heritage, and harmony. It’s usually in August, although Nepantla has yet to announce the festival’s date for 2024 as of this post’s publishing. 

Expect to grab coffee sweetened with piloncillo, listen to Mexican rap music, and eat yummy Peruvian Street food. Each year, the block party opens an accompanying art exhibit of the same name. Though speaking of exhibits, you can stop by Nepantla all year long and see art, like the Lucha Libre Art Show (March 2nd–April 21st), where you can score a sweet luchador mask in the gift shop.

🖊 PATHERESA WELLS

PAX West 2024

August 30 – September 2

📆 Labor Day Weekend 2024: Friday, August 30th – Monday, September 2nd

The countdown to PAX West 2024 is on. 🎮 

The annual gaming festival returns to Seattle for the Labor Day weekend, from August 30th to September 2nd, 2024. Expect this one to be massive—the con is turning 20! Born from the humble origins of the Penny Arcade Expo, PAX came to life in 2004 as a gaming industry-specific show. It’s a beast that’s grown as large as any video game boss. Catering to all sorts of gamers, from consoles to tabletop to VR, the festival includes numerous components such as free play, tournaments, a “Bring Your Own Computer” (BYOC) party, panels, an exhibit hall with merch—and, famously, the Omegathon, a mega tournament featuring games of all platforms and genres.

Last year, PAX brought Nintendo Live to Seattle, the first time the Nintendo-focused convention was held outside of Japan. For this double-decade birthday party, expect surprises and celebrations. And speaking of celebrations, PAX has had more than its share during its history, including many wedding proposals—like the Halo one or this somehow cute and cringe Pokemon proposal. This year, expect an anniversary as epic as any RPG game. PAX badges typically go on sale a few months in advance. Badges will get you access to almost all content. Unlike many other nerdy cons, there are no added fees for panels, autograph sessions, demos, and workshops.

Sign up for PAX’s newsletter for updates. 

🖊 PATHERESA WELLS

Washington State Fair 2024

August 30 – September 22

📆 Friday, August 30th – Sunday, September 22nd

“Doing the Puyallup” is an annual tradition for many Washingtonians. Whether you go for the scones, elephant ears, or rides like the Xtreme Scream, the fair is full of PNW flavor. Not only does it let us ride a culinary roller coaster with all of its good food, but there are also all the attractions, from the fair’s well-known concert series to a new “udderly amazing” birthing exhibit. For 2024, the Washington State Fair returns from August 30th to September 22nd at the Puyallup Fairgrounds. 

Though the fair is still far away, its Umpqua Bank Concert Series just announced two live performances. First, catch Foreigner for the band’s farewell tour, then hear country singer-songwriter Thomas Rhett. Tickets for those concerts are on sale now. In addition to the paid concert series, the fair has numerous stages featuring free entertainment—everything from comedy to juggling, plus local bands. And don’t forget the fair’s hobby hall, fair farm, and rodeo. As always, there’s a fireworks show each night at 10 pm. 

Tickets are cheaper if you buy in advance online. Each year, select days are free to enter (usually with a donation of nonperishable food for the food bank or school supplies). There are also Military Mondays and a Free Kids Weekend. For those who love rides, grab the Xfinity Dizzy Pass for unlimited rides. 

🖊 PATHERESA WELLS

Bumbershoot 2024 @ Seattle Center

August 31 – September 1

📅 Saturday, August 31st – Sunday, September 1st
📍 Seattle Center: 305 Harrison St, Seattle
🎟 $70–$350

Seattle summer feels like Seattle summer again now that Bumbershoot is back in action. 

After a three-year hiatus, the summer festival took over Seattle Center with force for its 50th anniversary last year, attracting an estimated 40,000 people to the grounds to revel in music, art, fashion, and wrestling.  

Over Labor Day weekend this year, Bumbershoot will again sprawl across the many lawns of Seattle Center from Saturday, August 31st, to Sunday, September 1st. While Bumbershoot is mum on the music lineup (the official announcement comes later this spring), organizers New Rising Sun and Third Stone have dropped their arts lineup for the festival—and it’s pretty stacked. 

The 2024 Bumbershoot arts experience is split up into many categories. They include returning “districts” like a Fashion District with catwalks and marketplaces, wrestling and skateboard competitions located in a Recess District, a large-scale contemporary Pacific Northwest-focused art show courtesy of Out of Sight at the Fisher Pavilion, a DIY music photography show called If You Know You Know at ANT Gallery, and Bumbershoot’s microenvironment concept Geodesic Dome, featuring the popular Cat Circus from last year and a new Comedy Dome curated by Dan Hurwitz.

New this year is an Animation District held at Cornish Playhouse, where Bumbershoot will host an international competition to see who can make the best Bigfoot deepfake in what they are calling a “comedic and harrowing portrait of current deepfake technology.” Pacific Science Center will house a Century 21 District, replete with a large-scale sculpture show in the main courtyard with an exhibition—done in partnership with NASA—of James Webb Space Telescope images in the IMAX theater shown alongside live vocalists singing gospel, opera, and Gregorian chants. Mosey over to SIFF to check out Exceptionally Underrated, a Bumbershoot TV competition where local musicians will screen their original music videos for a $5000 prize. And keep your eyes peeled for Free-Range Artists doing contemporary performance art or Lion Dances around the festival grounds. 

More announcements to come! Tickets, however, are available already right here. 

🎟 Saturday GA (Tier 2): $70
🎟 Sunday GA (Tier 2): $70
🎟 2-Day General Admission: $125
🎟 Deluxe GA Weekend Pass (21+): $350

🖊 JAS KEIMIG

Freakout Festival 2024

November 7 – 10

📆 Thursday, November 7th — Sunday, November 10th

Every November, a suspicious amount of people with cool wolf haircuts and fat silver rings congregate in dark bars around Ballard to listen to acts from around the world as they shred guitars and scream into mics while gloopy blobs of color project onto them. It’s psychedelic. It’s fun. It’s so Seattle.

I’m talking about Freakout Festival, an annual music fest that celebrates all things punk, rock, and psychedelia. Started in 2013 by musician Guy Keltner, Freakout has nurtured a community of freaks who like to get down to all manners of music while Mad Alchemy Liquid Light Show projects sick visuals onstage. There’s always local talent on display, with bands like Monsterwatch and Biblioteka regularly playing, but the festival also brings in national and international acts like No Age, Allah-Las, and Os Mutantes. There’s a strong connection with the Latin American punk underground, with bands like Margaritas Podridas, Carrion Kids, and Sgt. Papers gracing Freakout stages. Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of many bands on the lineup—half the fun is discovering groups you might not have gotten the chance to see otherwise. 

At every festival, dozens of bands usually spread across venues like Sunset Tavern, Tractor Tavern, The Salmon Bay Eagles, and Caffe Umbria in Ballard over three days. This year, Freakout Fest runs from November 7th to 10th, and while it will still focus on Ballard, they have plans to expand the debauchery into Fremont at Nectar Lounge and High Dive. The official lineup is still on the way, but expect their specific brand of local, Latin American, European, and national acts to play the fest. 

🖊 JAS KEIMIG