Northwest Folklife Festival 2006
The Northwest Folklife Festival is held each year at the Seattle Center over the Memorial Day weekend. In 1962 the grounds were home to the Seattle Worlds Fair (themed "Century 21") and a few of the structures from those days remain, including perhaps the most famous, the Space Needle. Many new buildings have been constructed since the close of the fair and today it's an excellent home for the Folklife event, providing almost 90 acres of mixed open areas and stage-based venues for performers. Between the dates of May 26th and May 29th well over 100 people performed on various stages, including both talented new musicians and well known masters. Countless more set up for brief periods around the grounds and conducted impromptu concerts for the passing public.
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(No photos are available from Friday) |
My guess is that despite all the photos I've included of people busking around the grounds, I've represented only a very small percentage of those that showed up over the four days the festival was held. On any day I was there I only walked a small portion of the grounds and I didn't take photos of everyone I encountered. I saw perhaps a half-dozen formal stage performances in full and another 15 or 20 in part as I tried to smorgasbord the offerings. In fact, the only difficulty I had at Folklife was selecting from the many offerings to decide who to see next.
I really enjoyed Northwest Folklife Festival and I recommend it to those considering attending in the future. The entertainment was great, the food was good and the people were friendly. It was impossible to see everything simply because a dozen or more simultaneous stage performances were being conducted throughout much of the day. My only real complaint was that parking near the event cost me $18 a day for the first three days. I managed to find free on-street parking the last day, although it was a 20-minute walk away from the event grounds.