Seattle Citywide Event Calendar Policy and Disclaimer

Definition

The Seattle.gov Event Calendar is a feature of the City of Seattle's website which allows the City and community to post public events in a common location to be viewed by the general public.

General

The Seattle.gov Event Calendar is open to the general Seattle public as a common place to suggest and view civic-oriented events. Submission of events by members of the public constitutes participation in a limited public forum.

The focus of the Event Calendar is to raise awareness for singular events open to the public at minimal or no cost. Most such events are located in a public space that does not regularly require admission to attend and are inclusive for the general public. For instance, a free music performance in an outdoor, public venue is strongly preferred over a cost-associated music performance at a closed venue.

All events submitted to the Seattle.gov Event Calendar are subject to public disclosure under applicable local, state and/or Federal law. The City reserves the right to restrict or remove any content that is deemed in violation of this event calendar policy or any applicable law.

Event Submissions Not Accepted

The Seattle.gov Event Calendar moderator shall consider the suggestions for all events that are within the purpose of the limited public forum, with the exception of the prohibited content listed below.

Events submitted for consideration on the Seattle.gov Event Calendar containing any of the following forms of content shall not be allowed for posting:

  • Profane language or content
  • Content that promotes, fosters, or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability, or sexual orientation
  • Sexually explicit content or links to sexually explicit content
  • Solicitations of commerce, fundraisers, or events with a clear purpose of upselling products or services
  • Classes or coursework not associated with an overarching event, including those that are generally recurring and/or require a fee
  • Routinely occurring screenings, art shows, plant sales, tours, lectures, sporting events, and musical or theater performances that recur on multiple days and/or require more than a nominal attendance cost
  • Perpetual, repeated submissions for ongoing, long-term series of events from a single private venue
  • Primary event locations that exist outside of the Greater Seattle area (30-mile radius)
  • Prohibited conduct or encouragement of illegal activity
  • Information that may compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems
  • Content that violates a legal ownership interest of any other party

Event Location

Events that are posted on the Seattle.Gov Event Calendar must be located within the Greater Seattle metro area (30-mile radius)  and easily accessible to City residents. Exceptions to this policy may be allowed at the discretion of the Event Calendar moderator.

Events located in a subset of neighborhoods but are submitted as to designate every possible neighborhood in the "Neighborhoods" field may be corrected or rejected.

Event Moderation and Timing

All event postings shall be moderated by a City-authorized calendar moderator, who shall review and consider all event submissions for conformance to acceptable event standards. Mechanically-submitted events with no regard to the determination of relevant neighborhoods or other form fields will  be denied.

Events may be posted on the Seattle.gov Event Calendar up to a year out from the current date of event submission. Submissions to the City Calendar shall be reviewed three times a week during regular business hours. Those submitted after business hours on Fridays and during weekends will not be reviewed for posting until the following business week.

Compliant events occurring within a few days of submission may not be approved in time to appear on the calendar prior to the event, but can be approved even if they have already occurred or are in progress. Please submit suggested events well in advance. 

The moderator retains the right to make minor grammatical or spelling changes to accepted submissions, especially if the error occurs in the title of the event. Such changes would apply to all events in an approved series, if necessary. Corrections may be made after approval as well.

Author Identification

All City of Seattle public event submitters shall be clearly identified by their event submissions. Anonymous posting of events is not allowed. All event postings shall be accompanied by valid event submitter contact information, including a name, email address, and phone number.

Disclaimer

The Seattle.gov Event Calendar is provided as a community service to Seattle residents and community organizations. Though the calendar is moderated for posting acceptable events, the City of Seattle does not endorse nor verify the information included. If an entry includes a link to a website that does not contain seattle.gov at its root level, the City does not control nor review the content or operation of that website. The City of Seattle does not guarantee the authenticity, accuracy, appropriateness or security of the link, website or content linked thereto. The City of Seattle urges you to exercise caution when accessing any unfamiliar website.