Kirkland Summerfest is a neighborhood summer event. It has everything from kids events, beer…read moregarden and live band stage, booths for sales and information, booths for food and drinks. The Kirkland Summerfest is one of the prettiest festivals, aesthetically speaking. Incorporating the use of beach, park, Heritage Hall, and the streets, there is a lot to appreciate the natural beauty in this area. It's moderate in size. Over the years, they have changed how many streets they close for this event. This year (2019) is more modest in size. The good thing is that they are open from Friday to Sunday so you can choose the convenient time for you to attend. Be sure to study the map so you're not missing out! Parking is street only, or library or city hall.

I participated in the Kirkland Summerfest in conjunction with the Sip Kirkland wine tasting event…read more I had a really great time here and even though there were a lot of people at the event it wasn't overly crowded unlike other food / festival events that are overwhelmingly busy and the lines are really long. The weather was perfect and this year it was located at the downtown Kirkland Marina Park and it is an absolutely beautiful park especially to eat and drink and enjoy the scenery for a social event like this.

This is a local carnival held every year with some rides, lots of vendor booths, food trucks/tents,…read moreparades, and love music/events. it's exactly what you'd expect from a local carnival, and they have some nice big open park space for everything so it's all close together. As you can expect, carnival vendors are of mixed quality goods/foods, but it's nice to get a chance to check new things out. The event is also extremely packed, so you'll be pretty much back to back with people most of the time. It's worth checking out at least once though.

Fun in the sun! There's also a park & ride nearby! Lots of booths with different types of food to…read morechoose from! A great place to be outside and enjoy the sunshine today! It's going on until 9pm 07/15/23

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

Locals gather for an annual right of passage for the Ballard area. I attend this annually to…read morecelebrate the mid summer events in the Northwest. Ballard Seafood festival brings our community together for music, arts and food. Now you'll find a huge beer garden, local food vendors serving everything from local seafood to other delights. Biggest line today was for scallop truck which like 30 people deep. Most others vendors you can get food within minutes. I walked streets today mingling and eating. Oh beer garden activity's are kept private. & confidential. But as the music blares and the booze flows it's nothing but a good time. Parking is challenge, eventually you find a spot or Uber into the feeding zone... Some lots exist at a premium charge. Until next year Au revoir!

After visiting the National Nordic Museum, I stumbled into what can only be described as an…read moreunexpected seafood paradise - the Ballard SeafoodFest! I'd never been before, but the FOMO kicked in immediately. I wandered through all the vendors, soaking in the sights (and smells) before finally settling on what to eat. The choices were overwhelming in the best way; everything looked amazing! Luckily, a few repeating themes among the food stalls kept the lines manageable. For lunch, I went all in: a refreshing honeydew agua fresca, twice-fried fish sauce chicken wings, Korean chicken wings, and the much-hyped bacon-wrapped scallops (and yes, the Instagram hype is very real). Every bite was a win. No notes. No pics either because these wings were messy in the best way.

What a wonderful annual event celebrating an era and ethnicity! Poulsbo is normally a small yet…read moreadorable "Norwegian themed" town that has deep roots in this culture and is doing everything it can to keep the traditions tied to it alive. This VikingFest occurs yearly in May and involves the entire town. The people are kind and the foods are fabulous. We tried 4 different meat pies and can't tell you which we liked best! It was set up perfectly with the carnival and rides set away from the entertainment, craft, and food vendors that were located near the marina, which kept the lines down. We even attended the Lion's fundraiser Pancake Breakfast on Sunday! It was great. Yummy pancakes, eggs, sausage, etc.! All breakfast funds are going towards the Lion's scholarship. (I was a recipient back when I attended college in the Dark Ages, so please help out this group if/when you can!) Highly recommend this festival that runs Friday afternoon through Sunday.

I love Viking Fest! The weekend is a fun time and no matter whatever day you go, you'll likely…read moreenjoy yourself. Not only do you get to explore all the little shops in downtown Poulsbo, there are many little vendors set up along the waterfront. They range from the same old people that show up at every festival in Kitsap to people specializing in things like drinking horns. They have a carnival ride area that runs throughout the weekend. On Saturday during the festival there is a parade that is a lot of fun to watch. The "vikings" may not be the most authentic, but it is a lot of fun. There is a viking village where you can learn from the people that staff it and are set up in tents and wearing traditional clothing. The stage is filled with all sorts of entertainment throughout the weekend.

Cramped, gross, stinky and no sitting room anywhere! Only free space was outside of the honey…read morebuckets! Yummo guys, eating next to 30 toilets! Its clear elysian needed a bigger piece of the pie, sacrificing a lot of comforts and beauty the seattle center has that capital hill does not. Will not attend again if the venue is like this year.

I really liked it. Wow if there was a wide variety of seasonal beer. Loved the creative Halloween…read morenames :D partying feeling was there. Great vibe. There were also brew employees that explained some of their beer variety. Super fun. Specially when the fireworks and the band came out :) Get your orange costume ready! Liked the way they organized it in different booths. It was also very fun the face painting and the slushies booths!! Very yummy! There was pumpkin spice and rosè besides the regular beer fro.different breweries :D I just wished there would be more food truck options and tables. I am super glad we got food and table early on :)

Super friendly people! Everybody with the best attitude to meet others and have a good time…read more I know these events are very joyful and I always like them! Maybe after going to Santacon it wasn't that big as I was expecting :( We weren't that many this year and we were all over the place. It was until 3pm that we fill one place.

I think this year has been one of the largest groups for BunnyCon and as you know, it will only get…read moremore word of mouth and popularity. There are already people signing up for next years event. BunnyCon is the Bunny Bar Hop that you've seen in previous years hosted by David LeClair. I have attended many of his meet up events in the past and he shows that he has years of event experience by the amount of people he can manage and yield as well as communicate and coordinate with the local bars in the area. Because there was such a great turnout of over 1,500 people for this years event, many bars that were on the listed hop areas were overwhelmed with bunnies. I felt it was a successful event and because it is Seattle; many bars were available to take the overflow of bunnies from neighboring restaurants that were on the list. Entertainment was fun and tastefully presented as well as the control of crowd. Even though Sakura-con was going on, parking was still to be had and there were no messy situations (that I know of). Everyone seemed to be respectful and wanting to just have clean fun. I attended from 3pm to midnight and followed the rules to stay fed, hydrated, and well full of energetic fun. Because this is a large festival, the experience is what you make of it. There are all possible options and venues available to choose from as well the whole geographic area of downtown Seattle at your fingertips. it could be as exciting or as boring as you wanted since it was up to you to go further from or closer to the action of BunnyCon as your legs could take you (in case you needed a break from the crowd). Good times. I am a fan! Thanks for the event and memories through the Seattle rain.

I attempted to see all of this festival but due to road closures and poorly managed parking, the…read moretraffic was a mess and it was hard to get in. They posted signs for no parking for the festival so people could still shop but didn't enforce it. Tried getting into Albertson's to do an errand before going to the festival and the entire parking lot was full. That's never happened before in the 16 years I've gone there. The part of the festival that I did see was cool, which was just the arts and crafts booths. They also had a stage, pet area, bouncy toys, rock climbing wall and more but didn't bother crawling through the crowd to see them. If I had kids with me, I would have.

Good food, but crowded. Lots of dawglies, how exciting, but very little parking. Guess we should…read morehave committed to driving to the high school and taking a shuttle. Need to have a map because I didn't find the car show or pet pavilion. The main stage didn't have enough chairs. So much home improvement stands in the bazaar, but precious little crafts, knitting, and such. This didn't have a small town feel to it. Not bad, but don't think I'll be back. Still the kids were having fun with the basketball competition. That place was packed.

We came this weekend to Victoria specifically because we had lucked into this annual Festival on a…read moreprevious visit and were really impressed. However, this year the published times did not match the venues nor the performers. So we ended up seeing the same performance over and over. And apparently the venue in the Inner Harbour has nothing to do with the Festival and the performances that we saw there were just as good if not better.

A must see, they have 7 stages, shows start at 12pm and finish at 10pm. Street performers and they…read moreare great at what they do.

Luminara is a wonderful free annual festival that occurs on a Saturday in July at St. Ann's…read moreAcademy. This lantern festival attracts between 15,000-20,000 people. The festival features installation art, costumed performers, and lots of lanterns. Kids will love Luminara and so will adults.