Arts in Parks
The park feels good like it used to be when families and children were here enjoying it. This powwow is healing this park and peoples who come here. — Windz of Change Alliance
The Arts in Parks grant is a collaboration between the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture and Seattle Parks and Recreation. It supports neighborhood arts councils, community groups, and individual artists who want to bring new and existing festivals or events to Seattle parks, especially to underserved and economically challenged areas.
We aim to promote arts, celebrate diversity, and build connections in the community. Those who are most affected by systemic oppression, such as low-income individuals, people with disabilities, immigrants, refugees, and communities of color are especially encouraged to apply.
Community Impact
$205,400 awarded in 2023
1,069 artists participated in 2023
80% 2023 events focused on BIPOC
Awardees
See who we funded with an Arts in Parks grant. For 2021 awardees and later, go to our blog.
2020 Arts in Parks Partners
Due to the pandemic limiting public events in 2020, the following funded partners were awarded $1,600 to support the implementation of a public action or project using creativity and innovation to evolve new ways to engage people and provide the social cohesion that is critical to the well-being of Seattle.
206 Zulu
BAYFEST Youth Theatre
Lakema Bell
Center for Linguistic and Cultural Democracy
Etienne Cakpo-Gbokou
Dance with Dora LLC
Entre Hermanos
Eritrean Association in Greater Seattle
Rome Esmaili
Experience Education
Griot Girlz
Grupo Cultural Oaxaqueno
Inspired Child
Jack Straw Foundation
Joe Brazil Legacy
Lao Community Service Center
Licton Springs Community Council
Northwest Tap Connection
Orquesta Northwest
Othello Park Alliance
Tamara Power-Drutis
Pratt Fine Arts Center
RainierAvenueRadio.World
Silver Kite Community Arts
Sisters Rock the Arts
SouthEast Effective Development (SEED)
Three Dollar Bill Cinema
Umoja Peace Center
2019 Arts in Parks Partners
ADEFUA Cultural Education Workshop
$7,800
African Arts Alliance Celebrates, Arts Resource Fair - S.E. Seattle is a one-day event at Othello Park that will feature developing and professional artists of all genres. The public is invited to learn something new, network, and build relationships with fellow artists, businesses, schools, and agencies.
Lakema Bell
$7,800
African Village Experience invites participants to engage in traditional African dancing, singing, drumming, crafts, and making in Pratt Park. Participants exploring traditional African foods, cloth, and artwork design and how the entire experience relates to our current societal culture which links all of us in America to Africa.
Franchesska Berry
$7,800
Sabar In the Park 19 is a free, all-inclusive unique arts festival event featuring traditional Sene-Gambian West African music played by world-renown master artists which include dance, drum classes, indigenous singing, and storytelling at Westcrest Park.
Bike works
$2,600
Bike-In Movie night brings the community together to enjoy cultural entertainment while promoting healthy activity and community connection. The event will include music and art activities before the film at Pratt Park.
Center for Linguistic and Cultural Democracy
$7,800
Caribbean Sea Fest 2019 brings together the culturally and linguistically diverse members of the Caribbean Community in the Pacific Northwest along with those interested in learning and experiencing Caribbean cultural expressions to share in a day of cultural performances, cultural expression, and cultural exchange at Jimi Hendrix Park.
Yoelin Connor
$5,200
Festival Centroamericano is a one-day event at Westcrest Park to unite the Central American community along with those interested in experiencing various cultures of Central America.
Coyote Central
$5,200
Finding Your Bounce will feature twenty-four diverse young people ages 13 to 15 working with professional artists and performers to create an art installation and performance at Dr. Blanche Lavizzo Walkway Park. It will be a reflection on how teens can find resilience in the face of challenges both in their own lives and in society at large.
Thione Diop
$7,800
Percussion in the Park presents four free weekly drumming and dance workshops that offer the community the opportunity to hear, learn about, play, dance, and bring Pratt Park alive with West African percussion rhythms, led by Thione Diop.
Eritrean Association in Greater Seattle
$5,200
Eritrean Independence Day Celebration is a family-friendly event featuring Eritrean singers and musicians, local Eritrean children and youth performing traditional dances, poetry readings, drama, and visual arts at Seward Park.
Eritrean Community in Seattle & Vicinity
$5,200
26th Annual Eritrean Back-to-School Picnic is an opportunity for our parents and elders to give returning students their blessings and encouragement in preparation for the new school year. The event at Judkins Park features sports and cultural activities including Eritrean culture and heritage showcased through youth dance and musical performances and storytelling and songs led by elders.
Faces of Expression
$5,200
Muddy Lotus Arts Festival is a free community event providing empowering workshops, live performances, and visual/healing arts at Pritchard Beach. The festival is a gathering of unity, bringing together the beautifully diverse population of the South End for a celebration of life.
Grupo Cultural Oaxaqueno
$5,200
Guelaguetza 2019 is a one-day family-friendly community celebration of music and dances from Oaxaca, Mexico to take place at Dr. Blanche Lavizzo Walkway Park
Inspired Child
$7,800
Inspired Child presents Love, Power and Purpose explore the power of words and movements through spoken word, dance, art, and activism. This program features Saturday Open Mics at 4 Central Area parks named in honor of African Americans and a 4-week intensive comprised of dance & poetry workshops & art projects.
Joe Brazil Legacy
$7,800
Joe Brazil Legacy_ Black Music History Month Celebration 2019! through the medium of music & the arts, Joe Brazil Legacy intends to entertain and edify the community about Seattle's Black Community Leader, Joe Brazil. Musicians, Community Leaders, and various Artists will converge on Dr. Blanche Lavizzo Park in the Historic Central District to Celebrate, share and Honor the Legacy.
Kubota Garden Foundation
$5,200 Soapstone Carving Workshop will be held at the Kubota Garden Terrace Overlook reaching 200 youth ages 8-18. Instructors from the Northwest Stone Sculptors Association will guide participants through the experience of working with their hands and shaping an object. On top of engaging the visual sense, this activity will engage the tactile sense to its fullest. All materials, tools, and instruction will be provided free of charge.
Chris Leverson
$5,200
Music in the Mini Park is in its 4th year of bringing a music and dance series to the Lake City Mini Park to highlight and share cultural expression through dance and music and positively activate an under-utilized park space located in the central business district while providing opportunities to local musicians and performers.
Northwest Tap Connection
$7,800
Tap into Your Inner Beat: Beer Sheva Park Summer Dance Camp is a free 4-week Summer Arts Camp at Beer Sheva that will include Tap, Drummer, and Story Telling.
Othello Park Alliance
$5,200
Othello International Festival is a free, one-day festival held in Othello Park that features a dynamic entertainment line-up of performing and visual artists that highlight Southeast Seattle's diverse styles and cultures.
PlayThey
$7,800
THiRST! is a queer, femme, people of color-centered dance party featuring five, local, femme mostly POC DJs at Cal Anderson Park.
Rainier Avenue Radio
$7,800
Rainier Avenue Radio Dance Series Rainier is a series of four dance parties at Pritchard Beach. Each week will feature two or more dance styles rooted in traditional ethnic cultures.
Roxhill Champions
$7,800
Roxhill Park World Music Festival is a one-day, live music festival featuring performances from artists representative of the people of the surrounding neighborhood. For 2019 the focus will feature North African, Hispanic, and Vietnamese/Asian cultural communities within the walk-shed of Roxhill Park.
Blanca Santander
$7,800
Park in the Heart provides free art lessons to kids in an art classroom set up under a tent in Ballard Commons Park.
School of Acrobatics & New Circus Arts
$5,200
RODA Block Party in the Park is a free community carnival produced by teen participants and SANCA staff from SANCA's Circus RODA program that brings the joys of circus arts and culture to two public parks including Georgetown Playfield, and Othello Park.
SEEDArts
$2,600
Cinema Under the Stars in Columbia Park: 2019 is a free, family-friendly, and culturally relevant movie night. Now in its 8th year, Cinema Under the Stars collaborates with local social service & community groups to promote their services & engage with families in attendance.
Silver Kite Community Arts, LLC
$7,800
Arts for All: Free Intergenerational Arts Workshops will be held outside at Albert Davis Park and will be open to the public; families receiving meals from the Hunger Intervention Program, and seniors attending the meal program in the Community Center.
Sistas Rock the Arts
$2,600
Sistas Rock the Arts Summer Showcase is an evening full of music, spoken word, dance, and a variety of art at Dr. Blanche Lavizzo Walkway Park.
Young Shakespeare Workshop
$5,200
The Merchant of Venice for South End Parks is a special remount of production by students at Cleveland HS, including music, to be performed in south end parks including Roxhill and Pritchard Island Beach. Shakespeare's play is a hard and moving examination of racial and religious hatred, sexual oppression, love, revenge, and mercy.
Huameng Yu
$7,800
ANiMA: A Pan-Asian Performance that has multimedia performances and storytelling to celebrate ancestry and heritage. Artists perform live music with projected animations & shadow dancing on an interactive altar at Duwamish Waterway Park.
2018 Arts in Parks Partners
The 14/48 Projects
$4,800
14/48: Park Show presents family-friendly theatre in neighborhood parks throughout King County. This is a free, hour-long original play commissioned by a Seattle playwright and performed by local actors, adapting a well-known story.
ADEFUA Cultural Education Workshop
$7,200
African Arts Alliance Celebration & Resource Fair partners with local Performing and Visual Artists, their families, communities, and businesses in which they live and serve. This one-day Arts Fair will feature developing artists in the community of all genres.
Berry, Franchesska
$7,200
CulturesCloserTogether is a free all-inclusive cross-cultural arts event over two Saturdays during the summer featuring traditional Sene-Gambian West African music played by world-renown artists, dance classes, indigenous singing, and storytelling.
Clarinetissimo
$7,200
Parks Concerts presents Chamber-Music performed at Kubota Garden, Dr. Blanche Lavizzo Park, and Magnuson Park on three different nights in August 2018. The quintet Kokopelli will perform works by Mozart, the Beatles, and local composer Gavin Borchert.
Comite Cultural Oaxaqueno
$2,400
Guelaguetza is a community event celebrating the cultural traditions of music and dance of Oaxaca, Mexico at Dr. Blanche Lavizzo Park.
Coyote Central
$4,800
Coyote Central will work with youth from Central and South Seattle to gather the community for an original theater piece and community discussion on the subject "Define American" at Dr. Blanche Lavizzo Park. Youth ages 13 to 15 will tackle in their own words, music, and movement what being an American means to them.
DAIPANbutoh Collective
$7,200
Earth/Body/Home explores connections to our planetary home and each other through two free events featuring a performance by DAIPANbutoh Collective, a large-scale lung art installation, community & student performers, and public participation. In April at Pritchard Beach Park, "Earth is Home: Water Unites Us" will be part of a nationwide National Water Dance project. In September at Green Lake Park, "Body is Home: Air Unites Us" will focus on movement for all bodies, centering on artists with disabilities.
Environmental Coalition of South Seattle
$7,200
Water Festival II is an arts and cultural festival at the Duwamish Waterway Park. The family-friendly celebration will showcase the vibrant diversity of South Park residents and businesses, and build resilient communities to address difficult environmental issues.
Esmaili, Rome
$4,800
The Muddy Lotus Arts Festival is a free community event providing empowering workshops, live performances, and visual and healing arts. The festival is a gathering of unity, bringing together the beautifully diverse population of South Seattle for a celebration of life.
Fernando, Princess
$7,200
Paint and Smoothies is a 4-hour step-by-step painting session hosted at four South Seattle Parks: Othello, Pritchard beach, Benefit, and Jefferson Park. Each session will allow participants to recreate a painting led by a featured local artist. While painting, the participants will be served fresh fruit smoothies to pair good nutrition with creativity in the parks.
First Hill Improvement Association
$2,292
Reading Party in the Park invites neighbors to quietly gather in First Hill Park and read books for 2 hours. We enhance the experience with a live musician playing background music and provide free non-alcoholic beverages and light snacks as well as dressing up the park with small flower arrangements.
Freehold Theatre Studio Lab
$4,800
Engaged Theatre Production and Workshop will present a performance of Shakespeare's THE WINTER'S TALE at Pratt Park followed by a post-show workshop for audience members led by Teaching Artist Daemond Arrindell and members of the cast.
Friedman, Andrea
$7,200
TUFFEST is a music and arts festival produced by femme, trans, and nonbinary individuals aimed to uplift marginalized groups--specifically women, women of color, trans, and genderqueer communities--through workshops, panels, installation art, and live electronic music at Judkins Park.
Inspired Child
$7,200
Love, Power & Purpose: explores the power of our words and movements through spoken word, dance, art, and activism. This program features Saturday Open Mics with Workshops and a 4-week intensive at Judkins Park comprised of dance workshops, poetry workshops & art projects. It will culminate in a finale performance and the self-publishing of a chapbook featuring participant poetry & photographs of their artwork.
Lake City Future First
$4,800
The 3rd Annual Music in the Mini Park concert series will feature ten cultural music and dance performances.
Lao Community Service Center
$4,800
Seattle Lao Band Concert & Festival will introduce modern Lao artists and live bands to the Seattle area.
Latino Theatre Projects
$7,200
Latin Cultural Celebration will feature five free Latino cultural events in South Seattle parks with significant Latino and low-income populations. Events will feature music and dance interspersed with readings of Latin American and Spanish poetry and theatrical excerpts by Latino actors.
Northwest Tap Connection
$7,200
Tap Into Your Inner Beat: Othello Park Summer Dance Camp is a free summer arts camp at Beer Sheva Park. Classes will include Tap, African Drum, and Story Telling. The camp will culminate in performances at Othello Park's International Music and Arts Festival and The Seattle Gullah Geechee Festival.
Silver Kite Community Arts
$7,200
Arts for All Workshops are intergenerational arts workshops in Albert Davis Park. Workshops will be offered in dance, drumming, visual arts, improvisation, music, and storytelling.
Skin I'm In LLC
$7,200
African Village Experience is an African Village setting with participants engaged in traditional African dancing, singing, drumming, masks, and drum making at Pratt Park.
SouthEast Effective Development
$2,400
Cinema Under the Stars in Columbia Park: 2018 provides free family-friendly movies. Social service & community groups will be invited to participate to promote their services & engage with families in attendance. Films will include the Northwest Film Forum's "Best of the Fest of Children's Film Festival."
SV Archive
$2,400
Scarecrow Video's Outdoor Cinema will provide an outlet for cinematic discoveries, cultural explorations, and community connections to youth and families. The project will bring four film screenings and activities, which will take place in the Magnuson Park Amphitheater.
Sweet Pea Cottage Enterprises, INC
$7,200
Theater for Young Children is a tour of a theater performance for young children featuring a culturally relevant story in North-end park locations.
Tekle, Mehret
$4,800
The Eritrean Back-to-School picnic brings Eritrean youth in the community together early in the school year to renew acquaintances and make new friends.
Theater Schmeater
$1,200
2018 Free-for-the-Family Seattle Park Show is a family-friendly performance in Seattle parks for the public to enjoy free of charge. The play is selected with the goals of enhancing community recreation and family activity and cultivating an active interest in the arts and storytelling.
Toddler Hip Hop
$4,800
Toddler Hip-Hop is an interactive drop-in activity is geared toward children 5 years and under, parent/caregiver involvement is welcomed and encouraged.
Bennett, Jennifer
$7,200
Salmon People Teach US is a multi-disciplinary project that originates from the concepts in a Coast Salish myth, "Why the Salmon Come to Squamish Waters" The project will include a temporary installation made from recyclables, and a public event at Pritchard Beach Park. The project will involve students from South Shore PK-8 School and the event will include professional story-telling that draws on Native perspectives.
Umoja Peace Center
$7,200
Umoja Fest is an annual African American Festival honoring and celebrating the African American and African diaspora heritage of the Central Area and Seattle featuring music, dance, fashion, arts vendors, and more.
University Heights Center
$7,200
UHeights Summer Music Series will occur from May through September 2018, with larger, cultural music and dance performances happening the first Saturday of each month. All performances are free to the public.
Young Shakespeare Workshop
$4,800
Hamlet for South End Park is a special remount of an exceptional summer 2017 returning students' production of Shakespeare's play including music, to be performed in south-end parks.
Yu, Huameng
$4,800
ANiMA is a cultural event celebrating ancestry and heritage through interactive, multi-media performances and storytelling. Artists perform original music with live projected animation, shadow dancing, and puppetry.
2017 Put the Arts in Parks Partners
Othello Park International Music & Arts Festival
$7,200
A free, one-day festival held in Othello Park that features a dynamic entertainment line-up of performing and visual artists that highlight Southeast Seattle's diverse styles and cultures.
Zulu Park Jams
$7,200
Zulu Park Jams is a public community space that allows people of all backgrounds to come together under one groove, no matter your ethnicity, age, religion, gender, or ability. These events are for the youth showing positivity and community building.
As You Like It for South End Parks
$7,200
As You Like It, a special remount of an exceptional summer 2016 returning students production of Shakespeare's comedy including music, to be performed in south end parks.
Jyun Jyun Show
$4,800
The Jyun Jyun Show is a cultural event celebrating ancestry and heritage through multi-media, interactive performances, and storytelling. Artists perform original music with live projected animation, shadow dancing, and puppetry. Community is engaged through building a group altar, traditional craft making, and an invocation led by local youth and the Duwamish Tribe.
Un Baul lleno de cuentos y musica
$1,200
A Spanish-English children's show that threads storytelling with puppetry and live music performance, in the tradition of what would be a Sunday Puppet show at the Market (Los Titeres del Mercado del Domingo) in our Latin American countries.
Guelaguetza 2017
$4,800
Is an event dedicated to promoting the rich cultural traditions of Oaxaca, Mexico through a day-long, family-friendly festival of live music, dance, and costumes to be held at Dr. Blanche Lavizzo Walkway Park.
Outdoor Cinema by Three Dollar Bill Cinema
$7,200
Every Friday in the month of August, Three Dollar Bill Cinema hosts family-friendly free movie screenings with pre-show entertainment in Cal Anderson Park which celebrate the quirky identity of one of Seattle's most iconic neighborhoods.
Dancing in Colors
$2,394
A cultural event in a park to enrich the ethnic diversity in Seattle by sharing our Vietnamese music and dance.
Theater for Young Children
$7,200
Free park performances for young children in north Seattle Parks will tell the story of Anansi the Spider.
The Muddy Lotus Art Festival
$7,200
The Muddy Lotus Art Festival is a free one-day event filled with outdoor art exhibits, empowering workshops, and live musical performances. The festival will promote and produce health, harmony, and happiness in South Seattle.
Tap Into Your Inner Beat: Othello Park Summer Dance Camp
$7,200
Northwest Tap Connection and Toddler Hip Hop are offering a Free 5-week Summer Dance Camp at Othello Park. Classes will include Tap, Step Dance, Hip Hop, Contemporary, and Toddler Hip Hop.
Song of Unsung Seattle
$7,200
Six performances at Pratt Park of stories and original music inspired by Seattle's social justice history.
TUF FEST 2017
$7,200
TUFFEST is a music and arts festival founded in 2016 and produced by female-identifying and non-binary individuals aimed at empowering women, women of color, and genderqueer individuals through workshops, installation art, and electronic music.
Call Your Ancestors
$7,200
7th graders at South Shore will work with Jennifer Bennett and Sondra Segundo to create an outdoor installation at Pritchard Beach. Roger Fernandez will tell stories. The concepts are living lightly and getting in touch with your ancestors.
Doorways to Community
$7,200
Teens from underserved populations in Central and South Seattle will work with professional artists in 3 weeks of workshops to put on a youth-led community art event at Powell Barnett Park on August 19th. The event will feature spoken word, movement, and music performances by the youth and an interactive art installation: a series of doors embellished by the youth to spark a rich conversation about inclusion, exclusion, and the social justice that is necessary for forging a stronger community.
Seattle Lao Artist and Live Band Concert
$7,200
Performance from Lao bands featuring a mixture of Lao/Thai & Western music from Lao Lumvong, Rock, Pop, and Lao Morlum. Their performances range from high-energy beats to hear-felt melodies that put the listeners through a journey of musical fusion from different genres of the past to present.
Paint&Smoothies
$7,200
Paint&Smoothies is a 2-3 hour step-by-step painting session hosted at 4 South Seattle parks. Each session will allow participants to recreate a painting led by a featured local artist. While painting, the participants will be served fresh fruit smoothies to pair good nutrition with creativity in parks.
Inspired Child presents Love Power and Purpose
$7,200
This 8-week program will meet MWF 1-4 pm at Judkins Park and be comprised of a tap dance workshop, poetry/spoken word workshop, and a daily art project. The summer will culminate in an end-of-summer performance and the self-publishing of the Judkins Park Chapbook Vol. 2 which will be named by the participants and feature their poetry and photographs of their artwork and tap dance routine.
Concerts in the Mini Park
$5,916
10 performances in Lake City Mini Park to increase activation of the space and allow for greater participation.
African Village Experience
$7,200
A week-long African Village setting with participants engaged in traditional African dancing, singing, drumming, masks, and drum making. Participants exploring traditional African foods, cloth, and artwork design.
Park In the Heart
$7,200
Art lessons for kids for 10 consecutive Fridays from 11 am to 5 pm in the Summer.
Festival Centroamericano
$7,200
A one-day event to unite the Central American community along with those interested in experiencing various cultures of Central America with cultural performances, cultural expression, and cultural exchange.
Bike-In Movies At the Park
$1,197
A Bike-In Movie evening targeted at youth and families will be designed to bring the community together to enjoy cultural entertainment while promoting healthy activity and community connection.
Caribbean Sea Fest
$7,200
The purpose of Caribbean Sea Fest is to bring together the culturally and linguistically diverse members of the Caribbean Community in the Pacific Northwest along with those interested in learning and experiencing Caribbean artistic expressions to share in a day of cultural performances, cultural expression, and cultural exchange.
2016 Put the Arts in Parks Partners
Zulu Park Jams
Zulu Park Jams celebrates the diversity of our many communities. The summer program consists of DJs bands, performances, dance showcases, live art, live production, and interactive arts and games.
African Village Experience
An African Village setting at Pratt Park with participants engaged in traditional African dancing, singing, drumming, masks, and drum making. Participants will explore traditional African foods, cloth, artwork design, and how the entire experience relates to our current societal culture which links all of us in America to Africa.
Park in the Heart
A caravan tent will be set up for several Saturdays during the summer at Ballard Commons Park to give art classes to kids exploring nature themes, recycling art, painting, and lessons in technique.
TUFFEST
A one-day music and arts festival in Judkins Park produced and curated by female-identifying and non-binary individuals. TUFFEST seeks to empower women, women of color, and non-binary individuals through workshops, installation art, and electronic music as outlets for social change and building community.
Central Area Community Festival
An event at Garfield Playfield that shares art, culture, and educational information that raises awareness around issues that affect the Central Area community. The festival is an event under the Seattle summer sun-filled with music to charm the soul, food to please the taste buds, and fun to delight the spirit.
All 4 1 ARTpalooza
All 4 1 ARTpalooza is a summer festival with visual art and music. Local visual artists will display their work and musicians and dancers will perform on the All 4 1 ARTpalooza Stage at Martin Luther King Memorial Park.
South Park Pride 2016
A community celebration that brings a family-friendly LGBTQ Pride festivity to the community of South Park, at the Duwamish Waterway Park. It engages community artists, including musicians, drag performers, and others in an afternoon of entertainment and also information sharing with a variety of community groups.
The Art & Culture of Lucha Libre
A festival at Duwamish Waterway Park to celebrate, educate and participate in the Mexican tradition of Lucha Libre whose fan base is second only to soccer (futbol) fans with a live Lucha Libre exhibition.
Eritrean Independence Day Celebration
A family-friendly event at Volunteer Park celebrating the arts and culture of Eritrea. The event will feature Eritrean singers and musicians, local Eritrean children and youth performing traditional dances, poetry readings, dramatic interpretations, and a showcase of visual arts.
Zapateo: Punto con tacon
This outdoor arts event at Mineral Springs Park provides an afternoon of performance, and interactive workshops focusing on rhythms in movement, instruments, and words to celebrate Hispanic art and performance with particular focus on the percussive footwork characteristic of Spanish, Afroperuvian, and Mexican dance.
First Hill Park Comes Alive with Music
Musicians will play in First Hill Park three days a week From May to September to activate the park during lunch and afternoon hours for the local community who work and and live in the neighborhood.
The Delridge Community Center Park's "Day of Dance 2016"
A cross-cultural arts festival featuring traditional artists, music, dance classes and vendors from West and East Africa at Delridge Playfield. The event will close with performances from featured artists of the day in an immersion of cross-cultural audience participation and experience.
Luminata Lantern Walk
A night-time lantern processional around Green Lake that marks the changing season from summer to fall, with artist-made luminaries and lighted art installations along the pathway. The event culminates six weeks of open lantern-making workshops at the headquarters of the Fremont Arts Council (FAC).
Backyard Bard
Backyard Bard brings free, abbreviated performances to smaller parks in the Seattle area. Two, one-hour long shows, both played by the same four actors, will tour multiple neighborhood parks.
Guelaguetza
A day-long, family-friendly festival of live music, dance, and costumes from Oaxaca, Mexico to take place at Dr. Blanche Lavizzo Walkway Park.
Jyun Jyun Show
A cultural event celebrating ancestry and heritage through multi-media, interactive performances, and storytelling. Artists will perform original music with live projected animation, shadow dancing and puppetry. Community is engaged through building a group altar, traditional craft making, and an invocation led by local youth and the Duwamish Tribe.
Inspired Child presents Love Power and Purpose
An eight-week program at Judkins Park will include a tap dance workshop, poetry/spoken word workshop, and a daily art project. The program will culminate at an end of summer performance and the self-publishing of a book featuring poetry and photographs of participants art work and tap dance routine.
Jim Page and Friends-Everybody Band Sing Along!
Singer and songwriter, Jim Page and selected presenters will lead an all-ages sing and play-along presentations at Ballard Commons Park on Saturday afternoons between June and September 2016. The public will be invited to bring instruments and their voices to participate for free.
Music in the Mini Park
A summer weekly concert series at Lake City Way Mini Park featuring an encouraging dance. The concerts will draw from different ethnic cultures for each event featuring dance and food that will accompany the music/dance origins.
Community-Building Through Fence Art in Beer Shiva
South Shore School's 6th graders will work with lead artist Jennifer Bennett to create hanging tapestries of flowers and leaves to cover fence panels that divide Beer Shiva Park and Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Wetlands. This site-specific piece will be made from recycled materials. The installation, park tours, and native plant identification will be open to the community.
Make Music Seattle Day
Curated concerts in 20 Seattle parks as a part of the Make Music Day on the 2016 summer solstice. The concerts are free and open to all ages and genres of music and will activate Seattle parks with a new festival that promotes music, celebrates diversity, and builds community connections.
Listening to Open Space
Members of the Seattle Phonographers Union will perform free concerts in three different parks, using only sounds previously collected in the parks. In conjunction with these live concerts, group members will engage with local communities by offering a series of free guided Silent Soundwalk workshops before each concert.
Jimi in the Park
An event to celebrate the re-opening of Jimi Hendrix Park with an outdoor concert featuring local musicians that have been inspired by the music of Jimi Hendrix.
Othello Park Summer Dance Camp
A free five-week Summer Dance Camp at Othello Park which will include Tap, African, Hip Hop, Contemporary, and Toddler Hip Hop (provider and children up to age 5) and will culminate in performances at Othello Park's International Music and Arts Festival and the Seattle Police Community Picnic.
Othello Park International Music and Arts Festival
A free, one-day festival held in Othello Park that features a dynamic entertainment line-up of performing and visual artists that highlight southeast Seattle's diverse styles and cultures while providing opportunities for the community to come together.
Summer Screening with Filmmakers Q&A
An outdoor summer screening at Delridge Park. Work created by youth in Reel Grrls media programs along with short films created by several local filmmakers will be screened. Interactive tables with basic media production instruction, including storyboarding workshops and shot composition handouts will allow attendees to learn about film-making.
"BRAZIL IN THE PARKS!!"
Brazil in the Parks!! is a brand new event in Seattle aiming to highlight the beauty of the Brazilian culture with food, workshops, and hands-on activities. This event will precede Seattle Center Festal's BrasilFest.
14/48: Outdoors
An outdoor version of The World's Quickest Theater Festival to take place at Salmon Bay Park. Seven writers, seven directors, 26 actors, seven designers, and seven musicians will create 14 original plays over 48 hours: writing, casting, rehearsing, designing, scoring, then performing each evening of the festival.
Community Kites at Freeway Park*
A temporary public art program that invites park visitors to paint their own weather-proof kites, which are then hung throughout Freeway Park from August through October.
South Seattle Queer and Trans Community Arts Festival
An outdoor community festival, featuring music, visual art, performance, and community outreach in the John C. Little Park. This pop-up show will focus on queer and trans visibility in southeast Seattle.
Blood Wedding
A bilingual multi-disciplinary production of Blood Wedding, by Federico Garcia Lorca to be offered in multiple parks with both Spanish and English speaking communities.
Umoja Fest 2016
An African heritage festival Judkin's Park. The festival and parade celebrate the culture, arts, history, and countless contributions of people of the African Diaspora.
Summer Music Program
University Heights Center will produce a Summer Music Series on Saturdays during the bustling U District Farmers Market focused on world music and the University Heights Open Space Park.