Weekender: Top Family Events for Seattle and the Eastside

Here in the Puget Sound area, we pack a lot of living into the summer months — our weather and the bounty of festivals and activities demand it! Here are our top picks for making the most of another gorgeous summer weekend.

• Frog toss, face-painting, build-your-own-instrument, gymnastics obstacle course: these are some of the fun activities on tap at this festival's frogtastic kids' zone (Wednesday–Sunday).
• It's White Center's turn to show its community pride with a street fair, music, scavenger hunt, car show and more (Wednesday–Sunday).
• Catch a movie on the big screen outside... it's time for outdoor summer movies (Thursday–Sunday).
• Watch the barrel-racing action, animals, rides and more old-time county fair fun (Thursday–Sunday).
• Can you dance and eat ice cream at the same time? Give it a try at this ice cream social (Friday).
• How about this for a one-of-a-kind family date night? Search for furry flying friends around Green Lake (Friday).
• Watch a different kind of super-exciting live sports action in the park: it's fast and furious (Friday–Saturday).
• Don't miss the terrific dancing and drumming of Native American, Alaska Native and First Nations tribes at Seafair's annual summer pow wow (Friday–Sunday).
• It's family fun day at the sculpture park: Meet up for art activities, kids' zumba, music and more (Saturday).
• Celebrate an awesome urban farm by picking blueberries, making spring rolls, planting seeds and tons more free farm fun (Saturday).
• Catch sight of salmon cruising through the fish ladder and learn about the salmon journey from naturalists (Saturday).
• Just show up for a nifty nature hike with a ranger; no registration or advance planning required (Saturday).
• Enjoy the antics of the Seafair Pirates and clowns and bounce in the bouncy houses (Saturday–Sunday).
• Amazing creations of sand take shape at this riverside festival: check them out (Saturday–Sunday).
• Hop on for a tour (two options to choose from) of the fascinating place our tap water comes from (Saturday–Sunday).
• Get rockin' in the park with kindie bands, Indian and African dance, kids' scavenger hunt and tons of family fun by the lake (Sunday).
• Bring your pooch (of any age) and stroll the park in support of senior dogs (Sunday).
• Cap off another epic Northwest summer weekend with the terrific Chinatown Seafair Parade featuring lion dances and more (Sunday).

Need more ideas? Check out our grande-sized list of free and cheap summer activities, cool off in this epic local pool or other terrific local outdoor swimming pools, or plan a jaunt to local gem Jetty Island. Plan an escape trying out a fun little trailer, see if this kind of Kamping appeals or check out our list of procrastinator's camping spots. And don't forget, our family fun calendar has dozens of great activities for every day of the week.