This year's Bumbershoot had a stacked lineup, including but not limited to: Peaches, Chase &…read moreStatus, Blood Orange, Death Cab for Cutie, Atarashi Gakko, De La Soul, TOKiMONSTA, Sextile, Pixel Grip and plenty others. For this year there were also mermaids, magic shows, puppet shows, wrestling, an ant mobile and stands of merch in the Armory. Even better, nearly all food vendors this year were local and included Chicken Supply, Indigo Cow, Spice Walaa, Kottu, Communion and many others. Whether you went one day or both this year, there was always something to do and enjoy, and that's looking past the scorching Seattle sun which we obviously have no control over. Entrance to the venue is near the Armory just after you pass MoPoP. Tickets - whether you got ones with re-entry or not - were strictly enforced by security at the front, as were the security lines, bag checks and the lines for those who want 21+ wristbands to enter any beer gardens and/or purchase alcohol. There aren't many places for shade besides going inside the Armory, and I only saw one water refill station before reaching the Fisher stage; others were in buildings like the Armory. Those buildings are also the same areas where restrooms are located for the duration of the event. The events other than the music made up a huge bulk of this visit for me, with all of them operating at set times over different intervals: - Wrestling was my foodie friend's favorite event outside the music, as we came back here at most three times per day to see performers slam each other and eventually take the fight over to the fountain. - This year was probably the first to feature a mermaid who showed up at set times throughout the day. Concertgoers lined up and got to have photo ops with the performer. - Magic shows by both Taylor Kyle and Travis Kim kept me and my foodie friend thoroughly entertained while we were taking a break from all the concert cacophony. I saw magic performances from both on different days. - I caught an improv puppet show during one of my breaks and had a blast hearing an improv musical on tuxedos and Transformers... wonder how those two got lumped together in one performance. - Unfortunately, I was unable to catch the cat carnival booth as lines for that attraction were too long throughout all of Bumbershoot this year. Events like these aren't complete without food! And the booths this year were lined up around the fountain and Armory, covering a wide variety of cultures: - The Chicken Supply's chicken was one of my favorites, as their "bites" come in huge portions... I could not finish it all in one sitting and had to bring the rest home! - Indigo Cow is a solid choice for their Hokkaido-based soft serve, both in milk and matcha forms which I got as a combo. - I got garlic lamb curry from Kottu, a Sri Lankan cuisine popup and it was one of the best things I've had in a long while! Tons of rich flavor, and a deceptively small portion that actually keeps you more than full! Great spice levels and flavoring, along with tender lamb meat. - I need to give the mango lassi at Spice Walaa's actual location a try since I got the one at their booth here; it's refreshing and too good to pass up! - Jojos from Communion R&B was the awesome kind of spicy. - Thai tea from Thai Street Food was sold out when I got there but their lemonade drinks still satisfied my sweet tooth and general thirst. Of course, this is a music event so the music lineup makes up the largest and most important portion. Crowds were generally benign for the most part except for the highly anticipated ones, and acts take place in any of three stages at set times depending on the schedule. Speakers on each stage blasted crystal-clear sound, though I wish more close-up footage of the musicians would show up on the big screens on the sides of the Fisher stage more often, especially for Blood Orange and Death Cab for Cutie. There's also a fashion area for merch and some fashion shows near Climate Pledge Arena and the KEXP building, where one of the stages is located near. This year's lineup in particular covered a lot of ground in terms of generational relativity; there is something for everyone to listen to regardless of age. I will try coming back for next year's lineup!

It was such an amazing experience! It was my first time, and I'm already excited to go again next…read moreyear!

Annual September event for my desire to find the ultimate meatballs and sip a ice cold Peroni…read more. Yes, the streets of Georgetown become one giant festival of celebration of Franks heritage and a quest to mingle with fellow Paisanos.... For you Yelpers let me fill you in that The San Gennaro Festival in Seattle is a free, annual Italian street fair held the weekend after Labor Day, featuring Italian food, music, vendors, and and a procession for the saint...Yes just like in The Godfather except no mayhem in the streets from mafia thugs.. Can't wait to celebrate again a wonderful festival..

Okay I am always looking for something cultural to do and I I decided to check out the San Gennaro…read moreFestival. It was much smaller than I imagined, I had visions of the San Gennaro festival in little Italy in Manhattan where I grew up... It was much smaller and intimate. They had some local musicians on stage and some vendors. I was disappointed with the food selection because the two things I wanted to eat were both not available and they are staples of these kinds of Italian street festivals. Sausage and peppers was my food choice and zeppolas as my dessert. They had some mini conolli though. Some of the vendors had done nice Italian gifts, so that was the most interesting thing to me. This is the third year I think so there is plenty of room to grow...

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!

Came here with friends and had a lot of fun. The husky game and mariners playoff games were both…read moreon, so there was a good sized crowd watching the games. You purchase token coins which you use to redeem for food and drinks at the various vendor stands. If you don't use all your tokens, you can return them later and they will buy them back. The credit card token line tends to be much longer than the cash token line, so I recommend bringing cash if you have it to speed things up. I think their website suggests that you get about $40 worth of tokens per person to have a full experience. This seemed like a lot, and in actuality we ended up spending a lot more. So, it was more expensive than I thought it would be, but some of the food/drink deals are actually pretty good ($6 beer/wine - very healthy pours on the wine, no tax). Highly recommend trying their gyro. The hot entree options also sounded very good and seemed reasonably priced. The problem is you want to try so many things that you're going to need a lot of tokens :) There is live music, dancing, and also a separate section with a market where you can buy some pantry goods and cheese. They offer tours of the church as well. Overall, had a really fun time, ate lunch and dinner here, and left full (but with much lighter pockets :P)

St Demetrios Fest. Is a fun Greek Food event. They have lamb sandwiches, greek fries, pastries,…read morecalamari, casseroles, roasted chicken, soup, falafel, meatballs and rice. Greek coffee. Beer, wine, greek juices. There's kids games too. I bought 3 earrings for $6 total in their rummage sale area. I seem to find something every year at their sale. A convent also sales candles and soaps. There's a huge outdoor tent . The volunteers are really friendly. It will get extremely crowded on Sat snd Sun. Street Parking is limited. They will accept credit cards in exchange for tokens. Bring cash to speed up the lines.

This is an annual festival held in August at Renton Uwajimaya. Although it is called a Polynesian…read morefestival, it is essentially a mini version of the Hawaiian festival held at Seattle Center in September. And it coincides with the Hawaiian week promotions that the store offers. Most of the festivities are outside in the parking lot. There are a handful of vendors and an entertainment stage. The store also does some Hawaiian product promos inside. It is a modest size festival that I go to every few years when I am looking for a taste of home.

One of the most interesting, fun and beautiful cultures in the world. The performers were awesome…read more It was good to hear the Island Style music. And to see the dancers. You don't have to be Polynesian to attend, the festival is open to everyone. Good shows, good peeps, good grub... good times. The event is free to attend! The line for the shaved hawaiian ice is always long! Although I do wish they had more vendors and the lines aren't so long for the food. I'm always hoping to one day see Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson there lol or like Troy Polamalu... sweet! If you've ever been to Hawaii you know there are some very great quality Hawaii brands (such as Island Heritage) that you can only get over in Hawaii, or ship with steep shipping charges. I bought beautiful towels, lunch totes and jewelry. Hearing the Hawaiian music as you stroll into the festival and seeing all the dances really makes you feel like you're at the best luau in Honolulu. All in all a good time to be had!

Wonderful West Seattle Community free outdoor movie! There is food and coffee available for…read morepurchase (all proceeds go to charity!), and raffles, and this week they had two comedians performing while we waited for it to get dark! So great that all this is provided - all you have to bring is yourself and a chair and blankets .. Some people were pretty nifty with sleeping bags! The movies they play are great - this week is Guardians of the Galaxy :) the only thing is that it is at a cement lot not grass... That doesn't stop people from setting up on the floor - just be prepared :) ps u can also bring your own food - this is a wonderful free community event!!

Whoever thought that the already popular Fremont Sunday Street Market could get any better...? How…read moreabout throwing in a little beer tasting and 15+ food trucks!?! Yeah, that'll do it! I've been following the "Mobile Food Truck Rodeo" since 2011 and have been more than happy with their recent developments!! No longer charging for admission, additional food trucks and a better choice of venue(s). Food trucks started rolling in about 10:00am which was about the same time my anticipation started to rise! My friend and I visit the market on a regular but hearing that there were going to add 15+ food trucks to the mix made us that much more excited! The line up consisted of a few regulars, such as Snout & Co, Street Donuts, Veraci Pizza and Tandoozy with addition to Crisp Creperie, Xplosive, Jemil's Big Easy, Grilled Cheese Experience, Wiseguy Food Truck, I Love My GFF, Jerk Station, Buns, Curry Now, Raney Bros. BBQ, Bistro Box, Street Treats, Falafel Salam, Chicarepa and Los Agaves. The food trucks provided a delicious aroma which flowed throughout the market and almost made you forget that it was raining! The indoor market, including a few food trucks provided a little shelter but Tandoozy was sweet enough to provide two covered tables for our convenience! Having tried a little something from most of the food trucks, we found ourselves returning to the wonderful Tandoozy for their "Everything Naan"! My friend lloves it with "everything" which includes rice, chicken and chutney but I'd be satisfied with just a simple serving of their Naan drenched in their olive oil, garlic and cilantro sauce! YUM! A few trucks provided "specials" just for the event and we just had to try "The Bomb" from the Grilled Cheese Experience. "The Bomb" was a buttery grilled cheese sandwich stuffed with oxtail and mac n cheese. A little rich and heavy for our pallets but knew we were going to walk it off with a stroll through the market!

Traditionally, gatherings of food trucks are not held in December. That's why I was excited to hear…read moreabout The Winter Feast & Beer Festival. I am often at Fremont Sunday Market anywhere from one to three times a month. Having food trucks there is just an additional incentive for me. The weather today was much better than I expected. I was there for 3 hours or so and it didn't rain very hard. It was a little cold and the heaters that were added a few weeks ago were absolutely perfect for today. You could order your food from trucks, then wait under the heaters to keep warm. It was pretty sweet. The Red Door Ale House had tasters of beers. It was nice that we were able to take our food truck food inside to sit down, keep warm, watch the ballgame, and chill out. Unfortunately, the jacket I had my eye on was not there today but I did talk to the vendor and hope I can buy it next week. For those of you who know me, you know I'm into food trucks. Today, I visited Street Donuts for their first return to Seattle since September. They had a seasonal peppermint and chocolate flavor but my heart belongs to cinnamon and caramel. Fantastic as usual! The Bistro Box was in the house with Arancini (fried risotto balls). They were fried crisp and full of creamy mushroom risotto. At $6.00 for 2 balls - I was totally full! Jemil's Big Easy brought peach cobbler to the party and I was all in! I wasn't sure how an outdoor event in December would go but I think the event had a little something for everyone - food trucks, shopping, and beer. What more could you ask for?

You definitely don't have to be Polish to enjoy this event, so mark your calendar for next year! I…read morecan't believe access to such a great experience is free. They had fabulous entertainment events, particularly the traditional music straight from Poland. As a violinist myself, the experience of seeing such high-level musicians up close was priceless. Whether or not you're familiar with Polish music, you can appreciate hard work, talent, and a catchy beat. Food selection and pricing were also great. They require you to buy tickets to redeem for their food options, and there's some standing in line, but it was absolutely worth it. I had a delicious assortment of pierogis with sauerkraut and was super full for less than $10. We also did the vodka tasting, which was fun. I'm not a big vodka lover but I enjoyed learning a little about the different types and how they're made, both locally in Seattle and in Poland. There's also an outdoor beer garden. Finally, the atmosphere of the event was lovely. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming, even to people who are obviously not Polish. The Armory looks nice and provides plenty of covered space to walk around and browse vendors, use a nice bathroom, or just sit down inside. The outdoor Seattle Center lawn had plenty of space for kids and dogs to play while listening to what's going on onstage, all in the shadow of the Space Needle. If you are Polish, it's a great place to find ways to connect with the local community. If not, you're still welcome to celebrate a wonderful culture.

Attended the second annual Polish Festival in Seattle over the weekend. The organizers pushed up…read morethis iteration to be on a weekend that was jam packed with festivals all over town. At least it had Seattle Center to itself this time. The inaugural event was held at the Intiman just a few hundred yards from another heritage event, the yearly Italian Festival. No, I didn't see no West Side Story-esque rivalry between the groups. Though there was a difference in mood between the events. The Polish event seemed a lot more festive and hectic compared to the relaxed feel of the Italian event. With the Polish Festival taking up the space where the Italian event took place as well as room at the Seattle Armory, I did notice a change in the mood of the event. It did take on a more leisurely feel compared to last year's one. The Intiman courtyard was simply too small to accommodate such a large gathering. The food lines last year were quite ridiculous. The reason being that there was no separate ticket stand. This year they rectified that and it did make the lines move a bit better. The pierogi (dumplings) line was still long, but the wait was not as bad. Food pricing was pretty reasonable for a cuisine in short supply in Seattle. The meat pierogis with sauerkraut ($6) were decent. Though I still have a preference for Asian dumplings. The meat filling goes down a bit better. Inside the Armory, there was numerous things going on. There was a cooking demonstration and dancing on stage. Polish arts & crafts were being sold and there was a dessert table as well which of course included paczki (Polish doughnuts). I found this event to be better run than last year's iteration. It is a nice festival to attend if you are interested in Polish culture. Not to mention one of the best events to try some Polish food since it is in short supply in Seattle.