📆 Saturday, August 3rd – Sunday, August 4th
🕓 Saturday: 11 am – 8 pm | Parade @ 1 pm on 23rd + Cherry
🕓 Sunday: 11 am – 6 pm
🎟 Free to attend
📍 Judkins Park: 2150 S Norman St, Seattle
The annual Umoja Festival in Seattle’s Central District celebrates Seattle’s Black community. Named after the Swahili word for unity, Umoja started in the 1940s, with roots in the International Festival and the origins of Seafair. Today, the free two-day event includes Africatown’s heritage parade, hip-hop fest, basketball tournament, gospel fest, vendor marketplace, and community resource fair. Drill teams, classic cars, the Buffalo Soldiers of Seattle, and community groups will march the parade route down 23rd Ave.
Held Saturday, August 3rd, and Sunday, August 4th, at Judkins Park and the surrounding neighborhood, the event kicks off with the parade at 1 pm along 23rd. Find music and dance performances at Judkins Park, as well as a fashion show and food. Vendors offering eats include Jumpin Jambalaya, Po Boy and Tings, and others. This year’s headliner is the “Human Beat Box” Doug E. Fresh, part of the duo known for one of the most sampled songs in hip-hop history: la-di-da-di, we like to party.
Check out Saturday’s parade route below:
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