Many people think that Seattle’s Seafair summer festival is the hydroplane races on Lake Washington with the Blue Angels flying overhead during Seafair Weekend in August. Far from it.
Seafair is a summer-long festival from June through August, with several signature events and many, many community events celebrated throughout King County. Some Seafair community events have been going on since before Seafair was started in 1950. Others are quite new; perhaps re-envisioned from an older festival and adapted as the local community has changed. We’re nothing, if not pioneers in most things we do in the Pacific Northwest.
Get more information about Seafair history and events.
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Seafair Signature Events
![U.S. Navy Blue Angels balloon in 2005 Seattle Torchlight Parade photo by U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Eli J. Medellin [public domain]](https://www.greaterseattleonthecheap.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/U.S.-Navy-Blue-Angels-balloon-in-2005-Seattle-Torchlight-Parade-photo-by-U.S.-Navy-photo-by-Photographers-Mate-2nd-Class-Eli-J.-Medellin-public-domain.jpg)
U.S. Navy Blue Angels balloon in 2005 Seattle Torchlight Parade photo by U.S. Navy Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class Eli J. Medellin [public domain]. This file has been identified as being free of known restrictions under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights.
Seattle Seafair Pirates | Facebook. Sometime in late June (or before July 4th), the pirates land on Alki Beach.
Seafair Summer Fourth of July over Lake Union. Watch from Gas Works Park or South Lake Union Park. More info: Where to see fireworks in the Seattle-Tacoma metro area – Greater Seattle on the Cheap
Seafair Milk Carton Derby. Cancelled 2022. A quirky celebration of creativity and boatmanship features colorful milk carton boats of all shapes and design. You don’t have to be a sailor to have fun at this event! Children, adults, families and businesses build milk carton watercraft and compete on the waters of Green Lake for prizes and bragging rights. Participants and spectators can visit interactive exhibit booths, satisfy hunger with food vendors, and meet Seafair personalities. Free to watch. Register and pay the fee to compete.
Seafair Torchlight Parade. Takes place the weekend before the Seafair Festival. Thousands of devoted spectators line Seattle’s 4th Avenue for the Alaska Airlines Seafair Torchlight Parade. Celebrating the cultural diversity and traditions of the Pacific Northwest with 100+ luminous entries, from dragon dancers to precision drill teams and marching bands to prancing horses. It’s free to watch the parade, but to guarantee the best views, reserved seating is available for purchase. Arrive early and check out pre-parade activities like the iHeart Radio Block Parties, the Running of the Queens, and the Seafair Torchlight Run.
Seafair Fleet Week. Takes place during the week leading up to the Seafair Festival. A Seafair tradition since 1950, Seafair Fleet Week celebrates the men and women who serve our country at sea. Ninety percent of the consumer products you use every day arrive in the U.S. by way of the ocean. With 70 percent of the earth’s surface covered in water, it takes state-of-the-art technology to protect the world’s waterways. It is all powered by the best and brightest young men and women from across the United States. Come say hello – you will be impressed! Come to the Seattle waterfront to see vessels and personnel from the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and Royal Canadian Navy. The celebration starts with the Parade of Ships through Elliot Bay, followed by a week of events where the public is invited to meet the sailors and guardsmen, enjoy free music, and take ship tours. All events are free and open to the public.
Seafair Weekend Festival from Genesee Park in south Seattle featuring US Navy’s Blue Angels headlining the Boeing Seafair Airshow and the world’s fastest racing boats competing for the HomeStreet Bank Cup. Takes place the first weekend in August. More info: Tickets and information for Seafair Weekend – Greater Seattle on the Cheap and Where to see the Blue Angels for free Seafair Weekend – Greater Seattle on the Cheap
More info: Seafair Events
Seafair Community Events
Seafair Community Events are the very soul of Seattle’s summer long festival. These fun-filled events take place all summer long in neighborhoods throughout Seattle and around the Puget Sound region. These grassroots events demonstrate civic pride as they celebrate the traditions of our region and her diverse residents.
Most surprising, these community-led festivals and neighborhood parades are volunteer run from conception and promotion to implementation and cleanup. The Seafair organization offers participating events resources and support that include event management training and event promotion, as well as operational and administrative assistance.
- See below for a list of Seafair events in communities and neighborhoods in the Seattle-Tacoma metro area.
- Below the community event lists, find a calendar of these and other Seafair events taking place all summer.
Seafair community events in the Puget Sound region
(Listed alphabetically by city–Seattle events are listed separately below. The date is the inaugural event as listed on their website.)
- Burien 4th of July Parade
- Covington Days Festival (1986) – cancelled for 2021
- Des Moines Waterland Festival (1959)
- Edmonds ‘Taste Edmonds’
- Getaway: Lake Chelan Pirate Fest
- Issaquah Salmon Days
- Kent Cornucopia Days (1972) – cancelled for 2021
- Kirkland Summerfest (2011)
- Montlake Terrace ‘Tour de Terrace’ (1993)
- Multiple locations: Make Music Day (Federal Way, Issaquah, Kitsap County, Seattle, Port Townsend)
- North Bend Downtown Block Party
- Renton River Days (1986)
- Sammamish Parkadilly Kids’ Concert & Fair
- Shoreline ‘Celebrate Shoreline’ Festival
- Snohomish Kla Ha Ya Days Festival (1913)
Scroll down for a calendar of these and other upcoming Seafair events in the Puget Sound region.
Seafair community events in Seattle
(Listed alphabetically by Seattle neighborhood. The date is the inaugural event as listed on their website.)
- Ballard Nordic Sól (formerly Viking Days)
- Ballard Seafood Fest (1974)
- Central District UmojaFest African American Heritage Festival (1997)
- Chinatown-International District Seafair Parade
- Chinatown-International District Dragon Fest
- Chinatown-International District/East Bon Odori (1933)
- Delridge Day (2006)
- Greenwood Car Show
- Greenwood/Phinney Seafair Parade
- Lake City Summer Festival & Parade (aka Salmon Bake)
- Magnolia Summerfest & Seafair Parade – postponed to 2022
- Magnolia United Indians’ Seafair Indian Days Powwow (1985)
- Othello Park International Festival (replaced Rainier Valley Festival) (2008)
- Seattle Center Movies at the Mural
- Seattle Waterfront Seafair Fleet Week and Boeing Maritime Celebration
- Seward Park Filipino Pista Sa Nayon (1990)
- Skyway Parade & Block Party
- South Seattle Museum of Flight Jet Blast Bash (2015)
- Wallingford Family Parade (1950)
- West Seattle Alki Art Fair (1997)
- West Seattle Grand Parade (1935)
- West Seattle Summer Fest
- West Seattle Harvest Fest
- White Center Jubilee Days (1923)
Scroll down for a calendar of these and other upcoming Seafair events in the Puget Sound region.
Get more information about Seafair history and events.
Calendar of Seafair Events in the Puget Sound region
(If nothing is listed below, there are no upcoming Seafair Events in our calendar. Most Seafair events occur June-August with a few promotional and fundraising events at other times of the year.)
Saturday, June 3, 2023
Saturday, July 8, 2023
Friday, July 14, 2023
Saturday, July 15, 2023
Sunday, July 16, 2023
Friday, August 4, 2023
Saturday, August 5, 2023
Sunday, August 6, 2023
But wait! There’s more…
(Most of these are cancelled for 2021, but we’ve left them here for next year.)
- Seattle Seafair history: 1950 to present day
- Seafair Torchlight Parade in Seattle
- Where to see the Blue Angels for free Seafair Weekend
- Tickets and information for 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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