Festal is a year-long series of FREE cultural festivals that honor the richness and diversity of the Pacific Northwest.
Seattle Center Festál presents these free world festivals on weekends throughout the year. Each event highlights the distinct cultures and common threads of ethnic communities in the Puget Sound region through traditional and contemporary art, music, foods, youth activities, workshops and more.
Festal was founded in 1997, though the origins of the program date back to the 1962 World’s Fair exhibits that showcased international cultures. In 1988, then Seattle Mayor Charles Royer and Seattle Center Director Virginia Anderson encouraged development of a series of cultural festivals, with 11 festivals presented in the inaugural year.
These free cultural festivals are presented by Seattle Center and the generous support by the City of Seattle, Seattle Center Foundation, and many other businesses sponsors.
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2021 Virtual Festal events via Seattle Center
In 2020 Virtual Festál was launched to hold space for community to gather in face of the loss, isolation and uncertainty brought on by the worldwide pandemic. Motivation arose from a love of culture and the need to celebrate the beauty of our humanity during these challenging times. It was a manifestation of the collective resilience, brilliance and commitment of the Festál producers, volunteers and loyal community sponsors. Virtual Festál offered new ways of celebrating traditions and cultural expressions, offering food, music, dance, art, language and history to digitally connect with our greater Seattle community, and now, a global community. For 2021 Seattle Center invites you to join Festál online. To watch the virtual presentations, visit: http://www.seattlecenter.com/events/featured-events/festal
- February 12-14, 2021 Tet In Seattle – Vietnamese Lunar New Year
- March 13-14, 2021 Irish Festival Seattle
- March 21, 2021 French Fest: A Celebration Of French-Speaking Cultures
- April 9-11, 2021 Seattle Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival
- May 2, 2021 Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month Celebration
- May 8, 2021 Seattle Chinese Culture & Arts Festival
- May 15, 2021 Spirit Of Africa
- Memorial Day Weekend Northwest Folklife Festival
- June 5-6, 2021 Pagdiriwang Philippine Festival
- June 12, 2021 Indigenous People Festival
- June 19-20, 2021 Festival Sundiata Presents Black Arts Fest
- June 26, 2021 Seattle Iranian Festival
- July 10, 2021 Polish Festival Seattle
- August 14-15, 2021 Seattle Arab Festival
- August 22, 2021 Brasilfest
- August 28-29, 2021 Tibet Fest
- September 12, 2021 Live Aloha Hawaiian Cultural Festival
- September 18-19, 2021 Sea Mar Fiestas Patrias
- September 25-26, 2021 The Italian Festival
- October 3, 2021 Croatiafest
- October 9-10, 2021 Turkfest
- October 23, 2021 Diwali: Lights Of India
- October 30-31, 2021 Dia De Muertos Festival Seattle
- November 6, 2021 Hmong New Year Celebration
Upcoming festivals, fairs, & parades
Upcoming fairs and festivals on our calendar.
Wednesday, March 3, 2021
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Saturday, May 1, 2021
But wait, there’s more!
- 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.
- And here’s a list of 101+ always free things to do for fun.
- 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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