Free weekend culture festivals at Seattle Center Festal

Festál, presented by Seattle Center in partnership with community organizations, 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.

This collection of over 20 cultural events is produced with the generous support of KUOW 94.9 Public Radio, Coca-Cola, T-Mobile, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wells Fargo and RealNetworks. Additional support is provided by the City of Seattle and Seattle Center Foundation.

2017 Seattle Center Festal events

• January 21-22, 2017: Tết Festival: Vietnamese Lunar New Year
• March 11-12, 2017: Irish Festival
• March 19, 2017: Seattle’s French Fest: A Celebration of French-Speaking Cultures
• April 21-23, 2017: Seattle Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival
• May 7, 2017: Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month Celebration
• May 13, 2017: Spirit of Africa
• May 20, 2017: A Glimpse of China – Chinese Culture and Arts Festival
• May 26 – 29, 2017: 45th Annual Northwest Folklife Festival
• June 3-4, 2017: Pagdiriwang Philippine Festival
• June 10-11, 2017: Festival Sundiata presents Black Arts Fest
• June 24, 2017: Spirit of Indigenous People
• July 8, 2017: Polish Festival Seattle
• July 15-16, 2017: Arab Festival
• August 12, 2017: Iranian Festival
• August 20, 2017: BrasilFest
• August 26-27, 2017: Tibet Fest
• September 10, 2017: Live Aloha Hawaiian Cultural Festival
• September 16-17, 2017: Seattle Fiestas Patrias
• September 23-24, 2017: The Italian Festival
• October 1, 2017: CroatiaFest
• October 14-15, 2017: TurkFest
• October 21, 2017: Diwali: Lights of India
• October 28-29, 2017: Dia de Muertos: A Mexican Celebration to Remember Our Departed
• November 4, 2017: Hmong New Year Celebration

About Seattle Center

Seattle Center is an arts, recreational and civic center at the core of our community. It’s one of the nation’s best gathering place. Its roots reach back more than 100 years, as a site of Native American celebrations.

The 1962 Seattle World’s Fair, otherwise known as Century 21, gave visitors a glimpse of the future and left Seattle with this lasting legacy. Years of planning went into the 1962 fair through the hard work of visionaries, go-getters, civic boosters, and dreamers. Many of the concepts and icons of Century 21 remain ingrained in Seattle culture, even as the “real” 21st Century has begun.

Today the legacy of the fair lives on at Seattle Center, a 74-acre urban park, home to 30 of the region’s top cultural, arts, educational and sports organizations. Seattle Center creates exceptional events, experiences and environments that delight and inspire the human spirit to build stronger communities.

Seattle Center receives over 12 million visits each year. From the local visitor enjoying one of the many festivals and events to the tourist taking in one of our region’s greatest attractions, Seattle Center continues to be a place that delights and inspire.

Seattle Center Festál celebrates global music, dance, art, crafts, history, food and insight presented through a unique partnership among community organizations on weekends throughout the year. This illuminating series of ethnic cultural festivals seeks to connect people in ways that build understanding, dispel stereotypes and generate pride among the generations who participate in these shared experiences.

Now more than 20 years old, Festal celebrates the fact that we are a nation of immigrant, indigenous, and ethnic cultures. These groups contribute in many meaningful ways to the character of the Pacific Northwest. Festál provides a stage and platform for their traditions, accomplishments and artistic expression. The series forms the bedrock of the free public programming at Seattle Center, captivating and enlightening festival-goers as they experience the distinct cultures that shape the course of our broader community