WHat a silly way to take a tour of the lake! I've actually come twice, once for a birthday party…read more(in which we shared the boat) and one for a corporate event (in which we did not share the boat). The birthday party was on a Saturday and was arguably much more fun because a bunch of people were into it and dressed up and having fun, and there was more drinking and merriment. The work one was still a nice cruise of the water, and they were actually really nice about letting us bring catering onto the ship so we could eat dinner on the boat. The private cruise also had a little show with another pirate who we had to shoot down, and that was pretty fun. Vibes-wise, this is definitely better with people more into it. I'd say 90% of my workmates were talking about work the whole time, which is less pirate-vibe and more corporate retreat vibe, I guess.

I have nothing but good things to say about this…read more I went on a public cruise on 2019 and had the best time, did a private in 2022 and had a blast again, and just went back a few weeks ago on another public. Start to finish, this is an iconic Seattle adventure. We met at the dock at MOHAI (booked paid parking ahead of time online which I do recommend). Got there a little early to hear the rules/directions, which they always make fun. Checking in was easy, and it doesn't really matter which order you get on in. I was one of the last people on board and felt like it had no bearing on the spot I took as people were moving around. There is only one bar and one bathroom, so I would recommend grabbing a drink before and using the restroom so that you can limit time spent in both lines. The bartender was wonderful. Quick but kind. I ordered a marg and she asked if I wanted a floater of tequila. Ordered a mimosa and she asked if I wanted a splash of guava. It was like she could read my mind. The staff goes all out with the theme. They kept us all safe, but made it fun with costumes, an exciting playlist, and by letting us squirt water at nearby hot tub boats. Book with your friends and have an amazing time. You will not regret going all out on your costume!

As a musician, I play a lot of weddings and people often ask me about affordable event and…read moregathering spaces. The newly renovated Dakota Place Park Building in West Seattle is a great new venue run by the City of Seatte which can accommodate up to 200 people. It's former City Light substation, located within walking distance of California Junction, a popular neighborhood with lots of shops and restaurants. The building retains some of the old brick architecture, but has lots of modern amenities such as a full A/V system with video projector and built in sound system, a catering kitchen with icemaker, and comfortable tables and chairs. The best part of this venue is the adjoining outdoor patio, which would be great spillover for guests during the summer when weather is nice. Venue rental includes one staff member, who will stay throughout the event and help coordiante cleanup. Visit the city website for more information! http://www.seattle.gov/parks/Reservations/DakotaPlaceSpecialsFlier.pdf

We reserved the Dakota Place Park building for our Dad's 90th birthday party. It worked perfectly…read morefor our group of 100. They have a great setup with tables that roll into place and then lock. We only set up tables for 50 and left 1/3 of the room for people to stand and mill about looking at memorabilia. They have an AV system that we used to show a video of the birthday boy's life. The AV on the east wall didn't work, but the AV on the north wall did. They have screens for both. The venue is open every Saturday morning to go and look and plan for your event. We recommend using that time in the weeks leading up to the event. We rented the building from 1-6 and our event was 2-5. That left very little time to get all the tables and chairs set up, catering to arrive, set up the AV, etc. If you plan well, as we did, you can do it, but we had to develop a good plan on the Saturday morning strategy sessions. Also, be sure to test your video a few times on the Saturday mornings. That's how we found out, on the day of the event, that the HDMI doesn't work on the east wall. Some thoughts: bring your own hangers if guests will be arriving with coats, they only have about 10, but they do have a nice portable coat rack. We put signs on the steps off Dakota directing people to use the west entrance, which is handicapped accessible. It worked well to only use one door. Parking is problematic, as there are only about 3 spots, but no one complained. The Parks Department staff are very helpful, but they're not AV experts, and we didn't expect them to be. You have to figure out the video system mostly on your own. We chose not to use the wireless microphone (provided) because we were sure everyone could hear us. However, once we got 100 people in there absorbing sound and making noise, we wish we had. All in all, it was super. Hopefully they get the HDMI fixed on the east wall. We had to change our seating plan at the last minute once we found out it was not working (the video played, but kept pausing inexplicably). (Oh, and you have to call and bug them after 10 days to get your deposit back...they don't seem to have any sort of system in place to process the refund, but after a couple of calls we got ours back no problem). Great venue. Great staff. Plan Ahead!

Certain traditions never get old for me…read more The Seafair Pirates have been landing on Beach's in West Seattle for 75 years. I'm aware of one thing, when this swashbuckling motley crew arrives on the shores of Alki Beach with cannons booming , guns blazing and the blade of a sword dragging on the ground it means one thing, SEAFAIR has begun in the Pacific Northwest . Seafair's annual Pirate landing on celebrates a generational folklore of a men dressed as pirates, yet it's more about the tradition many for community's in Seattle. It's a celebration and the landing is an annual official kick off to summer activity's in Seattle. Once the pirates have raided the beach's the gentleman jump on the "MOBY DICK" a motorized "Spanish galleon" and head to Benbow Inn for rum potions. Once the party has kicked into gear and over the next 30 days you will see them at every parade and community pillaging events around town... You must do the landing at least one time in your life or you will walk the plank.

A local tradition since 1949, the Pirates' arrival draws thousands of fans. Parking in the area is…read moreextremely limited, so if you can, go by bus or water taxi. If you must drive, allow plenty of time to find a place to park. There are unfortunately not a lot of bike racks in the area, so biking in may not be a great option. Due to the unpredictability of the tides, the Seafair Pirates cannot predict exactly what time they'll land. However, they normally arrive around 1:30 p.m. COME ON FOLKS, PIRATES ARE LANDING ON THE SHORE BEFORE YOUR VERY EYES! PIRATES! PIRATES! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES, SHIT YOUR PANTS, DO SOMETHING, ANYTHING AT ALL!!!! As they walked up the shore, the motley crew with thick arms raised their swords and axes, some tossing souvenir Seafair coins for onlookers. "Arrgh!" one pirate yelled. "Who wants to lose a leg today?" Though the landing itself is over, the party is not - it's on until 5 pm. Live music started at 11am. Overall, the pirates were enjoyable!

The old world charm, right next to the International District…read more I love to take the train. I am always amazed at the new cityscape around the station. I relax when I enter - it's going to be a good slow day.

The Union Station Great Hall is a beautifully built train station that serves the waterfront and…read moreChinatown districts and also close to the sports stadiums. Inside the Great Hall, the ceilings are very high and the architecture is really stunning. This building looks pretty historic and the day I was checking it out, it was very quiet and clean inside. There was a private conference going on inside some of the meeting rooms but the main lobby area was empty. No homeless zombies roaming inside, only outside. The public service employees seem to do a great job of protecting the public and there was janitorial staff outside cleaning and mopping the sitting areas. I would say that this area is mostly safe during the day but you wouldn't catch me there at night unless I was in a large group.

Fraternal Order of Eagles / F.O.E. were formed in Seattle in 1898 & why you have Social Security &…read moreMother's Day. PEOPLE HELPING PEOPLE. This is a MEMBERS ONLY club charitable organization, therefore a member must sign guests in. Volunteer run organization. Only paid employees are the bartenders. Full service bar, pulltabs gambling, game room (darts & pool table), karaoke (Friday's) , trivia, TouchTunes jukebox, cribbage, poker, live music (Saturday's), & dancing. Food is cooked by volunteers as specials or an event. Great venue to rent! 2 private parking lots.

I recently joined the Eagles and have been really impressed with the mission, the people, and the…read morefacility. People helping people! I am happy to have found such a group of caring people who want to make a difference in the lives of others. Almost any given day food is served and funds are raised to help causes. The members of the Eagles are so friendly! It's a great community! The facility is so versatile. The front portion has a bar with with nice people, great music, drinks, snacks & games. The back portion is a fantastic event hall. In fact, my bestie threw an engagement party there a few years ago and it was amazing! I have since seen many large charity benefit dinners, cornhole tournaments, trivia, karaoke, and more! Part of the event hall is a large industrial kitchen. I had always wanted to join the Eagles... but had never checked into it until recently. It was an easy process and was so inexpensive! Many of my friends have also been joining... I am looking forward to many new memories to come, helping people with this wonderful group!

Let's just say this on one of the better stadiums I've been too.great views, yummy food, people are…read morefriendly and th environment make You feel like home. The vip section for the tailgate party was awesome with open bar and food I would Highly recommend coming for an experience that will be worth the $$$.

Formerly just known as Seahawks Stadium, Qwest Field is still the fairly new home of the Seattle…read moreSeahawks except with a new sponsor name. It is a modern and open-air complex where one can catch a football game. Many seats will allow for cool views of the city, which may distract you from the game you are supposed to be watching. Next to the stadium is an exhibition center.

Went last year and this year was not as much fun as last year. There were more interesting vendors…read moreand activities last year. This year was quieter and seemed smaller.

The Georgetown Carnival is one of those festivals I hear a lot about it. It is supposed to be…read moreeclectic and unusual, reflecting the neighborhood. Alas, perhaps time has changed things. In the 2026 carnival, the food booths and vendor booths are same as every other festival (I go to many). The 'carnival' has crafty, homemade type of games and designed for children, limited to 5 feet and under. There are two bands on separate stages. The coolest aspects are in the neighborhood itself as I admire murals on the walls. We wandered in somewhere that had free viewing of movies that were made by handheld-cameras; that was unusual though not necessarily enjoyable. The best part was finding bathrooms to use. I doubt I will prioritize revisiting in future years.

This year's Ballard Music and Seafoodfest on a Saturday had Built to Spill as the headliner, along…read morewith Low Cut Connie. Both groups attracted the most people to the main stage of this multi-block event taking up NW Market St and 22nd Ave NW, among other streets. I made the mistake of getting here around 2:30pm way past the event start time, then spending half an hour to find parking near the Ballard First Lutheran Church and then walking about 15 minutes to reach the main stage on Market St around 3:15pm. When you do get here, there's a lot of noise and crowds going on. This was also during Seattle's World Cup crowds, so many bars around the block were broadcasting the games with people gathering to watch and cheer. Many vendors also line up the streets as well, most of what you would see if you go to similar events like Bite of Seattle or even the Georgetown Carnival. This particular fest had a big salmon BBQ booth from Trident Seafoods which requires tokens you can purchase from the information booth. I saw the longest lines for there in particular. Besides that, I didn't see much seafood for this year. I ended up not doing the salmon BBQ, and the vendors were mostly what I've seen before in other events, so I mostly relied on the surrounding Ballard businesses for dinner and my matcha fix. I will say Built to Spill was actually really good despite indie rock not being my type of music, and my friends made my experience here better. This is an all-right event for me in particular, but I might still come back next year for the music acts.

Nitewave band headliner which is always fun…read more Lively with food trucks. We went on Friday so none of the artsy stuff and the Salmon Bake were on. Ballard is always fun to visit and this event is always fun to go to.