Seafair Weekend Festival on Lake Washington

Seafair Weekend is the culmination of Seattle’s summer festival. One of Seattle’s favorite traditions at Genesee Park in south Seattle on Lake Washington. It’s an exhilarating rite of summer like nowhere else in the country.

The 3-day festival features the U.S. Navy Blue Angels highlighting the Boeing Air Show hydroplane race competitions, and pro wake boarders performing incredible stunts. Mix in food vendors, beer gardens, live music, and activities for the whole family, and you have one spectacular weekend.

Seafair Weekend includes hydroplane races on Lake Washington and an air show overhead, headlined by the U.S. Navy Blue Angels, plus wakeboard competition, food booths, entertainment, and more – photos and photo collage by Carole Cancler

2023 Seafair Weekend Information

Dates: Friday, August 4 – Sunday, August 6, 2023

Location: Main Gate, 4326 South Genesee Street, Seattle, WA 98118.

Time: 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Be sure to get the Seafair App, available in Google Play or Apple iTunes. The Seafair App features up to the minute event information, customizable digital schedules, festival maps, food & drink information and specials, social media integration, and more.

Seafair Weekend regular ticket prices

General Admission gets you into the fair; bring a blanket, chairs, etc. to sit along the grassy (hard, bumpy) shoreline. Pit passes are extra, which get you up close and personal to the hydroplanes and their crew. If you want to sit in the bleachers, you need to purchase Grandstand seating (unreserved) or Captain’s Club (reserved) tickets. The following list includes regular admission prices. Available Discount Seafair ticket deals are listed below.

• General Admission Friday: GATE ADMISSION is FREE on Friday.
• One-day General Admission: (Saturday OR Sunday): Adult (age 13-61) $35. Seniors (62+)/Youth (6-12) $13. Children 5 and younger are free. 
• 3-day GA pass: (Friday-Sunday). Adult (age 13-61) $55. Seniors (62+)/Youth (6-12) $22. 
• Grandstand seating: Includes GA bleacher seat (first-come, first-served). Friday $45. Saturday OR Sunday $95. 
• Pit pass (Friday-Sunday): $15/per day. Not included with general admission or grandstand ticket. This is worth the bucks. Get up close to the racing action, boats, crews, and drivers.
• Captain’s Club & Pit Pass: Includes reserved bleacher seat. Friday $150. Saturday OR Sunday $175. 3-day pass $450.

Seafair Weekend Discount Tickets

Here are the ways to save on admission to Seafair Weekend.

• Early bird discount: $5 off GENERAL ADMISSION tickets thru June 30: Ticketing — Seafair
• General Admission Friday:  GA is FREE courtesy of Quil Ceda Creek Casino. So, you can attend two days for $35 by purchasing a general admission ticket for Saturday or Sunday, as well as attend for free on Friday.
• Military discounts: Show your Military I.D. at the gate for free entrance. Military Family Discount $20 Per Person with military I.D. at the gate.
• 3-day GA pass: (Friday-Sunday). Adult (age 13-61) $55. Seniors (62+)/Youth (6-12) $22. 
• 3-day Captain’s Club reserved seat & Pit Pass $450.

More info: Seafair Weekend Festival (seafair.org)

Spirit of the Navy hydroplane at Seattle Seafair – U.S. Navy photo by 2nd Class Eric J. Rowley [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons. This file has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights.

Seafair Volunteer Opportunities

Seafair’s volunteer opportunities are endless, whether you want to volunteer for a few hours one day or for a whole weekend on the water with a front row seat to the Blue Angels. There are also group volunteer opportunities and leadership training.

It’s a memorable way to earn community service hours or become a leader in your community or simply join the behind the scenes fun and meet lots of people.

Seafair uses Shiftboard, an online scheduling software, for all volunteer registration, scheduling and messaging. In order to volunteer, first you must create a free account and register. It takes Seafair 48 hours to process your registration before you can then sign up for available jobs and shifts.

Find out more about volunteering at Seafair, visit: Volunteer — Seafair

Seafair Parking and Transportation Information

Parking and transportation options to Seafair at Genesee Park in south Seattle:

Park at Seafair (not recommended). Traffic is very congested and slow in the neighborhoods surrounding the Seafair Weekend site. So, it’s generally recommended to avoid parking at the Seafair site because it is expensive, very limited, sells out early, and you’ll spend considerable time waiting in traffic to get to and from the site. However, if you wish, it is $50 each day (Friday-Sunday) to park in the official Seafair parking lot. The Seafair Parking lot is located South of S. Genesee St. and is accessed from 42nd Ave. S. Limited paid ADA parking is available on-site on a first come, first served basis. A state-issued, accessible placard is required for access. Buy a parking pass in advance on the Seafair website.

There are several other transportation options, summarized below. Depending on the size of your group, some of these parking options may cost about the same as on-site parking. But you will spend more time at Seafair and less time sitting in traffic.

Link Light Rail + Metro Bus #50.

• In Seattle, park at any convenient Sound Transit Link Light Rail station (parking prices vary) and take Light Rail to Columbia City station. Round-trip adult (19-64) fare is $4.50-$7.00 round trip, depending on distance traveled. Pay with ORCA card or the Transit GO Ticket app or use ticket machines at each station. An ORCA card is advised to facilitate transfer from Light Rail to Bus: Trip planner | Sound Transit.
• In north Seattle, you can also park at University of Washington E17-19 & E21 lots, just south of Husky Stadium ($4/hour)— Pay by phone parking is available.
• In south Seattle, you can also park at the Sea-Tac Airport General Parking Garage ($6/hr; $36/day)—Pre-Booked Parking is available at ParkSEA.org. Take Metro Bus #50 from Columbia City Station to the Seafair entrance (about 1 mile, so you can also walk it).

Metro Bus Route 50 will be operating a standard schedule with stops at Genesee Park & Columbia City Station. Use the Sound Transit trip planner to figure out your route. An ORCA card is advised to facilitate transfer from Light Rail to Bus: Trip planner | Sound Transit

More info: Seafair Weekend Festival (seafair.org)

But wait! There’s more…

• Seattle Seafair history: 1950 to present day
• Seafair signature events and community festivals
• Seafair Torchlight Parade in Seattle
• Where to see the Blue Angels for free Seafair Weekend
• Find more Cultural heritage festivals in the Puget Sound region.
• More festivals of all kinds on our big list of annual festivals, fairs, and parades.
• More free and cheap things to do every day: Greater Seattle on the Cheap event calendar.
• Still more ideas for frugal fun: Greater Seattle on the Cheap home page.

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Dolls Drill Team 2008 Seattle Chinatown Seafair Parade (cropped) photo by Joe Mabel (CC3)

Upcoming Seafair Events in the Puget Sound region

(If nothing is listed below, there are no upcoming Seafair Events in our calendar. We usually update our calendar beginning in April or May. Most Seafair events occur June-August with a few promotional and fundraising events at other times of the year.)