U District Street Fair, May 21-22

While Wallingford is not without its local celebrations—think Wallingford Kids’ Parade, or maybe the Wurst Festival—we really don’t have anything on the same scale as, say, the Fremont Solstice Festival.  That’s why we are telling you about the return of the iconic U District Street Fair, which is back once again this year on May 21-22, within walking distance of Wallingford directly to the east.  The U District event is the unofficial kickoff to the summer street fair season in Seattle, and of course has been superceded by the events of the last couple of years.  Go enjoy what promises to be (at this writing) a nice weather weekend…FINALLY!

The U District Partnership is thrilled to once again invite hundreds of artists, makers, food trucks, local businesses and performers to fill the streets of the U District as this Street Fair celebrates its 51st year.

The U District Street Fair will return to the Ave this May, featuring:

• A 10 Block Pedestrian Marketplace on University Way –with a new footprint centered on the new U District Station, filling the Ave with hundreds of artists, makers and performers.
• Two Days of Live Music & Performances –on the Main Stage featuring the Garfield Jazz Combo and Chaotic Noise along with groups like Tangletown String, Los Flacos and Lindstrom and the Limit.
• New U District Beer Gardens & Outdoor Dining Areas –on the Ave, highlighting local businesses including Shultzy’s, Bigtime Brewing, Oasis Tea Zone, Boba Up, Chimac Supreme Pizza, Sweet Alchemy and more.

This celebration hopes to look back and honor the Street Fair’s unique history that connects back to Andy Shiga, a Seattle leader, owner of the venerable Shiga’s Imports on the Ave, and peace activist who originally conceived the fair as a way to bridge community divides during the Vietnam War era. More information available on Andy Shiga and the Street Fair’s history can be found on the Street Fair website here.  The late Seattle Globalist also did a nice profile of the Shiga family here.

I didn’t make the first U District Street Fair in 1970, but I do have fond, if fuzzy, memories of attending my first one as a naïve UW undergrad a few years later.  The U District event was the first such neighborhood celebration in Seattle and established a template for others—like the Fremont Fair & Solstice Parade, Capitol Hill Block Party, West Seattle Summer Fest, Ballard SeafoodFest, South Lake Union Block Party, to name a few—that would follow.