I’m lucky to be spending time in Seattle not only at the best time of the year for weather (summer), but also because this is the season when Seattleites celebrate by partaking in street fests (short for ‘festivals’.)
Friendly
One thing I’ve noticed since being here, people are very friendly in Seattle. I don’t know if that’s because I’ve been lucky with the weather and obviously this makes a difference to people’s demeanour, – also I partly wonder if my British accent helps. But then sitting in coffee shops, observing interactions between each other, the friendliness remains – and not in a fake way.
So you can imagine how friendly people were the weekend of the street festivals.
Ballard Seafood Fest – Summer Festivals
The weekend of 11th and 12th July was the Seafood Festival in the Ballard neighbourhood of Seattle. You may remember from this post that I spent a few nights in Ballard, exploring the district.
It was the 41st Annual Ballard SeafoodFest and involved many street stalls selling clothes, jewellery and handmade soaps, etc, kids play areas, places for your pet to cool down, live music on stage and, of course, lots of seafood stalls to buy fresh food.
There was also a Chiropractor on hand who did a quick assessment and was offering x-rays and one chiropractic session (all priced normally at $300) for just $20! The Dr says he does this every year at the Ballard Fest as a way to integrate the community. So guess who’s paid her $20 and has an appointment coming up??
West Seattle Summer Festival
The same weekend was the West Seattle Fest held at The Junction in West Seattle. Having already explored Ballard’s Seafood Fest on Saturday 11th, I jumped on a bus and headed on down to West Seattle on Sunday 12th July to see what was going on there.
Much the same; live music, lots of food, kids rides and a pet ‘cooling station’ – but this time there was also a Farmer’s Market selling local produce – and rather bizarrely a little pen with sheep and piglets inside! No, they weren’t for sale, I suspect they were there for show because of the Festival.
All in all – it was a really good weekend with beautiful weather (which always helps) and people in high spirits.
Are there any summer festivals where you live or are holidaying? Let us know in the Comments.
