Seattle Folklife Event Memorial Day Weekend

[Bruce McCaskey]

For over 40 years Seattle has been home to the annual Memorial Day Weekend Folklife Festival. Held at the Seattle Center (site of the Space Needle and the 1962 World's Fair) the four-day event draws hundreds of musicians and many thousands of spectators. Because of the extensive grounds, at any moment there are typically a half-dozen or more stage performances in progress and perhaps 50 or more buskers playing around the walkways.

 

I've attended regularly the last several years, enjoying the music and even playing on stage a few years back.

 

Information regarding the 2016 event is available here:

 

http://www.nwfolklife.org/festival2016/

 

And the 2016 stage schedule is here:

 

http://www.nwfolklife.org/festival2016/festival-schedule/

 

Of the great many YouTube video's of this event, I think this one best captures the diversity of the event, admittedly as a sort of random sampling. Note that two concertinas make brief appearances, one at 5:00 and the other at 8:30.

 

https://youtu.be/1gS812SbjxU

 

If you'd like to listen to past stage performances, try this link:

 

http://www.nwfolklife.org/streaming-audio/

 

I've encountered other concertina.net members there a few times over the years, and hope some of you will attend this year. I believe the event is still free, although they are quite happy to accept a donation at the entrance.

Edited May 24, 2016 by Bruce McCaskey