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    University District Street Fair

    3.6 (42 reviews)

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    Brian F.

    The University District Street Fair happens every year in May and takes up multiple blocks in the area, including the main street University Way. It's very convenient as it's located right off the U District light rail station that just opened within the last year. The cool thing is that it is the longest running festival of its kind in the nation (51st year in 2022). It takes place over Saturday and Sunday and spans from at least 42nd Street to past 47th Street and has plenty of food and shops in between. There are artists, live entertainment, and music throughout both days so there's something for everyone. It gets quite crowded especially during the lunch rush so lines are long to get food and you're pushing your way through crowds to get anywhere. The one gripe we had was that we noticed was that there were multiple food areas, including one on 42nd Street and another on 47th Street. They're far apart so it can take a bit of walking to get from one to the other. Even more of an inconvenience is that you don't know which food vendors are where because the brochure they give you when you arrive doesn't have any information on stall locations, so you have to wade through the crowd to maybe find what you're looking for. It's a free event and takes place on a nice day during the year, but other than that it's just a typical street fair. It was close by but I wouldn't go out of my way to check it out.

    Umbreon Crochet by MiaNova Boutique.
    Ting A.

    Running ten blocks from NE 41st St to NE50th St, the U District Street Fair was an endless sight of booths on University Way. Vendors were primarily arts and crafts. Plenty of food trucks and tents were branched out to the sides of The Ave. Various performances take place on the main stage, such as taiko, kung fu, dances, and live music. A couple of street performers were scattered across the blocks. The Ave is also full of local businesses and restaurants. We stayed for about an hour. Central Plaza Garage has ample parking that is free to the public on Sundays.

    Giant squid, grilled, and cut to pieces
    Eva M.

    If you ask me maybe 5+ years ago if I would recommend the University District Street Fair, I would have enthusiastically said, "Heck yeah! Definitely, it's awesome, etc. etc." It's always scheduled for the weekend before Memorial Day weekend. This fair marks the start of the summer festivals. I love them all! However, between store fronts becoming gentrified, COVID impacts, crime that left a changing landscaping, increasing homelessness, it's really hard to be enthusiastic with such a recommendation. Some of my favorite quirky stores have long ago been priced out of the Ave, unable to afford the rent. At least once a year (typically more often), I return to the Ave to cheer on what's left at the street fair. During this year, 2022, post COVID, the fair has decided shrank, occupying less streets and less of the side streets and parking lots. Some of the community booths moved to where the new U-District light rail station is, which we didn't find until all the booths were closed. (Doh!) There is still a lot of life left at this fair, with most folks crowding around the food booths and food trucks. We tried our best to buy from the vendors to make their time/booth cost worthwhile. It's not over yet. We'll still be back, cheering on the Ave. Realistically, the rating is 3 Stars or maybe 3.5 Stars. I have hope for the future and am rounding up to 4 Stars.

    The 49th Annual Street Fair in 2018 on Sunday May 20th
    Rick S.

    This is a great Annual event we stumbled upon. I'd not make it a destination trip if you're from out of the area, but if it's driveable, I'd say it's worth a trip to come see if you're in the Seattle area or state of Washington. It's like many "Farmer's Market" type street fairs with independent vendors, lots of crafts, foods, artesinal stuff, and an energetic vibe and spans many blocks and their perpendicular side streets. Lots of food trucks with things to choose from as well as local merchands on University Avenue.

    Tokyo dog
    Liz C.

    The University District Street Fair only occurs 2 days a year. The roads close on University District from 40th to 50th street. The whole street is line up with street vendors, stages, and food stands. I was really excited to go to the street fair. Personally, I think it's a great opportunity to go out and get some sunshine, try some foods that normally aren't around, and spend time with friends and loved ones. However, the downside, especially for college students, is that street fair food is quite expensive. I came here last year and the prices definitely have increased a bit. However, it wasn't going to stop me from getting street fair food. Let's talk about food first. I tried a variety of things while I was here. The first was Tokyo Dog. This is a food truck that can be found in downtown Seattle. My partner thought it would be good to try. We got the Tokyo Dog ($8) and marveled at it's appearance before digging in. YUM. I took a bite and the outside skin was a bit tough but once you bite through, it becomes incredibly juicy. It was incredible how delicious this bratwurst cheese sausage was. The Japanese mayo was a perfect addition and the bun was not your original hot dog bun. It was definitely a luxurious hot dog. The second thing we tried was some Afghan food. It almost looked like Indian food to us because it was on naan and had a curry look to it. We paid 12$ for the "everything on naan" combo. However, I was quite disappointed that there was barely any rice and chicken compared to the naan. The naan was actually white and tasted a bit different than traditional Indian naan. I was disappointed that it was less flavorful. We finished the chicken, rice and eggplant mixtures before finishing the naan. We had a ton of naan left after eating the bulk of the meal. We then decided to get some Chinese food. We got some Mongolian chicken (spicy) with noodles. It was pretty decent, and definitely was more filling than the Afghan food. However, the noodles were nothing special and almost seemed pretty plain. The chicken was quite juicy and very flavorful. The fourth thing we got was some Cajun shrimp. This was by far my favorite food from the street fair. It was perfectly breaded and spiced shrimp along with some crisp fries. For the price, $8, they definitely gave the most food for your buck. And it was quite delicious I must say! I hope they come back next year. For sweets, we got a cinnamon elephant ear ($6.50) and ice cream ($5). Both were delicious. The elephant ear is always my go-to and I always get one because it's not something I have access to easily. It's a perfect mix of cinnamon and butter. I know it's definitely not the healthiest, but it's definitely worth it. We got mint chip ice cream and it was a perfect touch to a nice and sunny day. Very refreshing, creamy, and cold. Most of the shops sell things that I didn't find any interest in or found no use for. However, there are a lot of vendors. From soap to honey, hair ties to paintings, and scrabble pieces to clothing. There was a lot that people were bringing to the fair. There are tons of kettle pop sellers, along with face painting, caricature drawings and a balloon man. My favorite purchase of the day is the Studio Ghibli stand. This stand sells photos of drawings of Studio Ghibli characters. I bought one last year for my partner, and another one this year. Definitely worth the money. Overall, the street fair is full of music, performances, food, and shops. It's a great time to just walk around and see what's new. I can't wait to see what next year's street fair will look like!

    http://isellpictures.com
    Jenny B.

    I've lived in Seattle most of my life, attended school here, worked here, played here and prayed here! How have I not been to the University District Street Fair until now? Actually, I think I may have been once before a long time ago, but the experience was uneventful - not like this year! My first street fair of the Summer season! The one that starts it all off and sets the tone for the time! The University District Street Fair did not disappoint! The Ave was almost completely blocked off for 10 blocks: 40th up to 50th. Mostly arts, crafts, foods and services vendor booths along the Ave and a few street performers. I really enjoyed the variety of the booths - lots to see and so many new vendors that I've not seen at other fairs in the past! The cross streets are blocked off for either local access or mini food courts filled with food booths and food trucks! My favorite foodie delight at this fair by far was the Brazilian Chicken sandwich by Samborosa! Very tender white chicken breast filet covered in mango salsa wrapped in a thick doughy soft rectangular bun (like an extra soft ciabatta roll,) with garlic aioli! Wow! Now if this doesn't make your taste buds sit up and take notice- I don't know what will at this street fair! The sandwich was absolutely incredible! Parking isn't super great since many of the side streets are also blocked off. So get there early if you can and be prepared to walk a ways. I lucked out and found great parking on my last looky loo lap in the University Bookstore parking lot. The UW Bookstore on the Ave hourly rates are slightly higher for the street fair weekend but worth it as I didn't have a whole lot of time to spend at the festival like I'd hoped.

    Popcorn
    Shereen A.

    The University District Street Fair is a good time. I suggest taking the bus, as parking will be horrendous to find! Once I die and go to heaven, this is what it will look like. Food EVERYWHERE!! We: ate Filipino food (love the different noodle textures), African sambusas (which were HUGE and so flavorful!), sno cones, elephant ears, Vietnamese chicken skewers, salmon piroshkys, bubble tea, popcorn samples, had some honest tea and naked juice samples, smelled potpourri, cooed at kittens, and looked at tons of shimmering jewelry. Prices were very reasonable for portion sizes, however (this is the ONLY time you will everrrr hear me say this) I wish the portions were smaller; almost tasting size. We found that it was just too much per plate and there was so much food per square inch on each block that I wanted to eat everything and didn't have enough space in my tummy. The entertainment was great! Everything from a hula hoop man, to live bands, to song and dance. It's nice that performers were staggered throughout the street fair instead of being in a central area. Much to see while feasting. Even though we shared the majority of our food with each other, I still didn't cover as much ground (food-wise) as I wanted to. I am still thinking of all the food I missed, especially those curly pull apart garlic fry cubes :(

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    Super crowded and not much to see. I wasn't terribly impressed, but it's nice to take a stroll and people see with your new pup.

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    Ask the Community - University District Street Fair

    Review Highlights - University District Street Fair

    At least once a year (typically more often), I return to the Ave to cheer on what's left at the street fair.

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    Seattle Street Food Festival - Caveman eats

    Seattle Street Food Festival

    3.7(35 reviews)
    3.2 miSouth Lake Union

    Food trucks for days, stands and even more food! If you're a big foodie, want to sample awesome…read morelocal eats or just hungry then you've found yourself in the right place. Finding parking will probably take forever to find unless you come early or Uber over here. The lines get long fast so if you come anytime after 12, it might be too late (unless you don't mind waiting of course). The Wow Wow Hawaiian Lemonade line and a couple desserts trucks were the longest, gotta be that summer heat. So good if you're lucky to try it tho! Oh and there's a beer garden if you're just tryna chill out. Tacos = amazing! Sandwiches = amazing! Poke = amazing! Raclette = amazing! Mangonada = amazing! Basically everything I ate at the food festival was bomb! Come hungry, leave with a food coma and maybe a couple extra pounds.

    The Seattle Street Food Festival is possibly the best street food gathering in the greater Seattle…read morearea. We were there from 3:30 to 5:30pm. The lines were mostly reasonable being in the middle of the day. There is a map set up in the intersections. Even though there are only 4 blocks of space, there are PLENTY to choose from. For reasons unknown, Block 1 is the most packed, side-by-side, with food tracks. Coincidentally, I also think this block easily had the best food. Based on the crowded foot traffic, others agreed. The organizers need to spread things out better considering there are space in the other blocks. For the food, we chose: 12 Spice or Indonesian Rendang The mushroom topping over turmeric rice was AMAZING!! For such a seemingly simple dish, the flavor is absolutely incredible. Highly recommend. Cost is $8 Alaska Weathervane Scallops We chose two options - mushroom sauce over rice pilaf and over coleslaw, their salad. They also have a taco option. Rice pilaf is the better option by far. Their coleslaw is not remotely refined enough. The scallops are amazing, though! The entrées at $14 are very reasonable. Taco Bahia We had the Nellie - Grilled Salmon tacos at $14. You can request grilled instead of fried. Definitely a better, healthier option. Took pictures but didn't buy Character Cotton Candy - a bunny! Many people paid $8 for the Instagram photo. I just asked to take the picture. LOL

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    Seattle Street Food Festival - KungFu JianBing's Teriyaki Chicken JianBing ($12).

    KungFu JianBing's Teriyaki Chicken JianBing ($12).

    Seattle Street Food Festival - Nosh

    Nosh

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    Georgetown Carnival

    Georgetown Carnival

    4.7(6 reviews)
    7.7 miGeorgetown

    This is one of those places I find myself humming Bikini Kill when I think about it…read more It's a free little carnival in the heart of Georgetown on the second Saturday in June and it really fits in with the neighborhood - nice and weird! There are several stages with different events throughout the day so you can pick and choose your own adventure! I really liked the fact that almost all of the vendors were local and weren't selling DH Gate/MLM garbage. There are a lot of bars and restaurants to choose from in this area and they bring in a bunch of food trucks as well, because it wouldn't be a carnival without fried food and games! Seemed like things changed fairly rapidly throughout the day so it's a great idea to come early and plan to stay for the duration of the event! There are even after parties to keep the fun going if you're so inclined.

    Since this is our first Georgetown Carnival I can't say whether it's the best or the worst but I do…read moreknow I had a really good time. This is a fun event, but take a city bus because finding a place to park will take a lot of time and could cause frustration. A pretty cool place to check it out. ABOUT: The Georgetown Carnival is a free, multidisciplinary arts festival held on the second Saturday of June each year since 2006. Colorful contemporary art complements traditional circus and performing arts in several venues throughout the neighborhood. Acrobats, stilt walkers, jugglers, creative carnival games and confections appeal to visitors of all ages. Interactive visual arts exhibitions combine with diverse music, theater, dance, literary and media arts in a wide variety of urban environments. DAY/TIME: Saturday, Noon to 10PM LOCATION (Airport Way S): from S Lucille to S Bailey PARKING: Can be quite difficult

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    Georgetown Carnival
    Georgetown Carnival
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    Ballard Music & Seafoodfest - Alaska Weathervane Scallops

    Ballard Music & Seafoodfest

    3.5(83 reviews)
    3.4 miBallard

    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.

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    Ballard Music & Seafoodfest - Steamed clams

    Steamed clams

    Ballard Music & Seafoodfest - Mussels in broth

    Mussels in broth

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    Gingerbread Village - Wonka themed

    Gingerbread Village

    3.3(25 reviews)
    3.7 miDowntown

    If you are looking for a free holiday event to do in downtown Seattle this is worth checking out…read more It's inside, warm and dry. I would not come here solely for this event, but I would add it on to something you are already doing in Seattle. If you come on Sunday you might be able to score free street parking, but this is challenging. There is a Starbucks inside, places to sit and a bathroom. I have seen much bigger and impressive displays in other cities, but I am certain people worked hard to make these happen. We waited in a long line, but it was a good chance to visit and socialize with our group. You do stand the whole time so beware for those that this is difficult for. When you finally get to the entrance there were some people passing out free candy canes. This year there are only a few houses, but 2 of them are fantastic and photo worthy. The theme is this year is "Toy Shop Time Machine". It supports Breakthrough T1D. You can certainly take your time looking at the gingerbread houses and take photos and videos, but the actual time needed to walk thru is very small, its the line waiting that takes forever.

    While the gingerbread creations are amazing, and awe-inspiring, the lines can be long. Too long for…read morethe quick visit, to be honest. But the young employees handing out mini candy canes are kind and full of smiles.

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    Gingerbread Village - 2023 - "The Chocolate Factory"

    2023 - "The Chocolate Factory"

    Gingerbread Village - Wonka themed

    Wonka themed

    Gingerbread Village - 2023 - "The Chocolate Factory"

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    Dragon Fest - POG, lychee, and likikoi + snow cap from DB Ice Shave

    Dragon Fest

    4.0(17 reviews)
    4.5 miChinatown International District

    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!

    Photos
    Dragon Fest - Crowd shot

    Crowd shot

    Dragon Fest - Dukbokki from tofully restaurant

    Dukbokki from tofully restaurant

    Dragon Fest - BeanFish

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    Issaquah Salmon Days - Endless booths

    Issaquah Salmon Days

    4.5(30 reviews)
    15.4 mi

    Wow! What a lovely day. Pack with a lot of patience because parking was tough. We arrive not that…read morelate, but ut took us a bit yo get to a lot even when we already got a map for the available parkings. Slow movement but we got there.Some stress are closed. There are lots and lots of booths. Plenty of things to see, purchase, and eat along. We had some dumplings, lactose free dole (yaaay!), and cotton candy. Everything was great! I wanted some BBQ but lines were huge!!! We lost an hour for the cotton. Candy. Kids were playing in the meantime, but I suggest to keep an eye because there's gazillions of people! It is a fair!

    Salmon Days!! Always a fun time while we watch our salmon friends move through the area (and you…read morecan eat them). This is the first year I've got in many, many years and I'm glad that I did. Like any other festival that shuts down a large area, the parking is pretty crazy. I got there nice and early to find a good spot and walked about a mile. Overall good selection of vendors! Most of them were artisanal and not something you can buy from a direct-from-China shop. The food court had a lot of great options, and, of course the Kiwanis salmon BBQ. They also had a large field section with games for the kiddos and a water dog competition! There were lots of salmon going through the ladder, so that was nice to watch for awhile. Overall Salmon Days is a great festival to get out and do something a little different!

    Photos
    Issaquah Salmon Days
    Issaquah Salmon Days - More salmons

    More salmons

    Issaquah Salmon Days - Enjoying the beer garden

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    Enjoying the beer garden

    Fremont Fair - Live music at Stage 2

    Fremont Fair

    3.7(36 reviews)
    1.8 miFremont

    I have been coming to the Fremont Fair for decades. It is still one of my favorite fairs to visit…read moreevery year. My agenda is likely different from many folks. I don't come on Saturday anymore since everyone is there for the Solstice parade. It is borderline insane for those who drive there and need to find parking. My routine: - I arrive midday on Sunday, typically about 3pm. This gives me three hours at the fair. Many folks are beginning to leave by then. Parking is slightly easier to find even if we need to loop a time or two. - Visit the art cars. This is my absolute favorite at the Fremont Fair. They are insanely fun. My favorite is from 10+ years ago. A sedan is fully covered with Big Mouth Billy Bass with lobsters on top that are synced up to sing Bohemian Rhapsody. I am sure I have a video somewhere. - Stroll the many blocks of the fair, exploring the booths. I go to many fairs. I recognize most vendors going to the same fairs. Fremont Fair is still able to surprise me with new-to-me booths. It is why I return year after year. - Look for free swags. Many community booths give free swags. I look for the cute items that a child might like so I can give those swags to teachers as classroom rewards. - Free food sampling - We enjoy buying new-to-us foods. - Skip the food booths, mostly. Once upon a time, food booths were the source to find unusual eats or to have a small bite. We stop eating from food booths when they became more expensive than going to a restaurant. Sorry, not sorry. We support the local restaurants in the neighborhood instead. We still look, but it is uncommon for us to find something we don't already know. - When all is done, take a stroll along ship canal. It is both peaceful (for us) and chaotic (for the vendors packing up and/or taking down their booths). It is part entertainment seeing the staff direct traffic. For this year's fair, the highlight is once again the art cars with the spaceship car. Inter Milan gave away blue ice cream, while a Raspados Del Sur gave away their excess fruits after the fair ended. It was awesome! Of course, I bought items and enjoyed music from the stages, too.

    Decided come check this out as it was a very nice day and only thinking it would be just a bigger…read moreversion of the usual Fremont Market and oh it is! and much more! It is also known as the Seattle Solstice weekend fair. The usual set up of vendors is present but there's like 4+ blocks of food vendors/trucks, live music and guest vendors selling all their crafts and wares. A few activities for the little ones including face painting, balloon making and one of those huge slides. The first thing I checked out were the art cars, another thing unique to the fair. These art car enthusiasts come out every year and show off their creations. I even chatted with one of them. A very interesting and unique hobby indeed I especially liked the chalk van, which had a bucket of chalk where you could write on the van. Another one was a truck that looked like it was straight out of Mad Max or Twisted Metal. There were not one, two but 3 stages of musical acts which was cool. My favorites were Elevator Operator and Miles Ebony and the Deep Cuts. I got me cocktail from the 'beer garden' and El Koreano (separate review) and had a good time. A nice way to spend some of the day.

    Photos
    Fremont Fair - Puppy parade

    Puppy parade

    Fremont Fair - Lots of folks out at the fair

    Lots of folks out at the fair

    Fremont Fair - Merch tent

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    Merch tent

    Viking Fest - Carnival

    Viking Fest

    5.0(2 reviews)
    16.1 mi

    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.

    Photos
    Viking Fest - Beautiful view of Poulsbo Marina

    Beautiful view of Poulsbo Marina

    Viking Fest - Having fun at VikingFest!

    Having fun at VikingFest!

    Viking Fest - Dancers!

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    Dancers!

    University District Street Fair - festivals - Updated May 2026

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