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Upcoming Events, Articles, and News at Seattle
Seattle Annual Events
Northwest Folklife Festival (May) - This is the largest Folk Festival in the Country... drawing thousands of people from all over the world, to come and enjoy the multitude of Ethnic Traditions showcased here, which include: Food... Dance... Art... and Crafts.
SeaFair (July-August) - For over a 1/2 Century in Seattle ... Seafair Seattle has been an annual tradition for both locals & visitors alike. Celebrated for just about a month ... usually until the first Sun in August, Seafair Seattle is the largest Festival in the Northwest and is rated one of the Top 10 Events in the Country.
Seattle Pride Festival (June) - over 200,000 people will gather in Seattle, for the annual Seattle Pride Celebration.
Italian Festival (September) - The Italian Festival Seattle is the second largest Ethnic Festival in Seattle and celebrates Italy & Italian Culture with authentic presentations of Art, great Food and Live Entertainment. Other festival highlights include the Bolla Grape Stomp, Kid's Pizza Toss, and Bocce Tournament.
33rd Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition at Wing-It/Jet City Improv (November) - it's America's biggest touring comedy festival.
The 33rd Annual Seattle International Comedy Competition
Seattle Marathon and Half Marathon (November) - Ran the first Sunday after Thanksgiving, the Seattle Marathon & Half-Marathon has become one of the Top 25 Races in the Country. The Seattle Marathon (26.2 miles) and Half-Marathon (13.1 miles) start at 5th Avenue and Mercer Street near Seattle Center and goes through Downtown Seattle, making it's way to Memorial Stadium for the exciting finish.
Seattle Winterfest (December) - Seattle Winterfest is a wonderful celebration of Holiday Season traditions offering classic Holiday Foods, Family Activities, Free Concerts, holiday - themed Exhibits & beautiful Seasonal Decor throughout a 5-Week period.
Seattle Beyond the Usual Tourist Haunts
July 29, 2012
Written By: Christopher Reynolds, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/29/travel/la-tr-seattle-20120729
SEATTLE — Pike Place Market. The Space Needle. Pioneer Square. Check, check and check.
If you've hit these obvious Seattle destinations, you're not a newbie. But maybe you're not an insider either.
So, this 21-stop Seattle checklist is for you. It skirts those three attractions and several other popular stops to make more room for Ballard, Capitol Hill, Fremont and the University District — four asset-rich Seattle neighborhoods my family and I explored on a visit last summer. Right about now, as Seattleites embrace the (maybe) warmer weather and longer days of summer, these neighborhoods are increasingly busy.
Golden Gardens Park includes a stretch of beach with classic views of Puget Sound and mountains, a little loop trail, a fishing pier and at its northern end, an off-leash dog zone.
Ray's Boathouse & Café, which dates to 1973, offers fresh seafood and a wide window onto the sound and the Olympic Mountains. Its location is advertised by a towering red neon sign.
Ballard Locks OK, this is no secret, but it's worth a visit, and it's free. This concrete channel is how boats get from the sound (saltwater at sea level) to the Lake Washington Ship Canal, Lake Washington and Lake Union (fresh water, 20 to 22 feet above sea level), and it's always interesting to join the old salts and fresh tourists watching big and little vessels as the water levels change.
If Willy Wonka were a Whole Foods supplier, Theo Chocolate would be his factory. Theo, opened in 2006, bills itself as the first organic, fair-trade, kosher, bean-to-bar chocolate factory in the U.S. For $6 a person, you get an hour long factory tour, samples included, personal fragrances forbidden.Reservations are required, except for the daily 2:30 p.m. walk-in tour.
Not far from Fremont, you'll find Green Lake to the north, Lake Union to the south and these possibilities (among others) in between.
Speaking of views after dark, the place to get that classic Space Needle shot is tiny Kerry Park on the southern slope of Queen Anne Hill. It covers barely an acre, but that's enough to give you the panorama of Elliott Bay, downtown and the needle.
OK, admit it, you're going to Pike Place Market, even though you've already been a time or two. Don't feel guilty for being an obvious tourist. But do leave time for another stop about a mile west. Olympic Sculpture Park rises at the edge of Elliott Bay. It's a cunning use of 9 formerly industrial acres, with works by about a dozen artists.
Seattle - Things to Do:
Interactive Music Museum
Experience Music Project (EMP), an interactive music museum featuring American popular music and rock 'n' roll. Located in Seattle Center, EMP is the brainchild of Paul Allen, Microsoft-cofounder and well-known figure in the Pacific Northwest. Today's EMP mission is to inform and inspire visitors of all ages about the roots and future of American music.
Boeing Factory Tour:
Visitors can get an up-close view of real airplane manufacturing by visiting the Boeing Everett Tour Center. The Everett facility builds Boeing's twin-aisle models - 747s, 767s, and 777s. A lot of space is required to assemble these huge planes; the Everett hangar has been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as being the largest building in the world, by volume.
Capitol Hill
Inlaid brass dance steps along Broadway propel you into a rumba or a tango (actually, it's public art), but you'll never see a local learning the steps. And that's about as aesthetic as the streets get. Also the principal gay and lesbian neighbourhood in Seattle, the area exudes an unmatched creative vitality.
Pike Place Market
For a hungry traveller on a budget, Seattle has no greater attraction than the Pike Place Market. Nearly a century old, Pike Place is one of Seattle's most popular landmarks, as famous for the theatrics of its boisterous vendors as it is for its vastly appealing edibles.
Seattle Center
The 1962 World's Fair brought in nearly 10 million visitors from around the world for a glimpse of Tomorrow, Seattle-style. What remains of the futuristic enclave of exhibition halls, arenas and public spaces is today called the Seattle Center. Don't be surprised if it generates more nostalgia for The Jetsons than thoughts of the future.
No other icon epitomises Seattle as well as the Space Needle, a 183m (600ft) rocket-styled observation station and restaurant. After the 43-second zip up its elevators to the top, the brave of stomach are treated to breathtaking 360° views. A 2.5km (1.5mi) experiment in mass transit, the monorail is another signature piece of the 1962 fair. Today, it provides fun and frequent transport between downtown and Seattle Center, covering the distance in only two minutes.