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When spring springs, we all want to celebrate. To help your family come out of hibernation, we’ve rounded up some fun, family-friendly festivals. Whether you are looking to celebrate nature, the arts or even Norwegian independence, this list will fill your spring-into-summer bucket list.
Moisture Festival
The 21st annual Moisture Festival’s programs will present comedy, feats of physical skill and quirky talent, and live music in family-friendly matinees. The shows on Fridays (“Frisky Friday”) are for ages 18 and older, while age-appropriateness is subjective at the all-ages 7:30 p.m. shows.
Date: March 20–April 13
Cost: $45 for adults, $22 for children 12 and younger; pay-what-you-can tickets start at $10
Location: Broadway Performance Hall, 1625 Broadway Ave., Seattle
Skagit Valley Tulip Festival
Keep track of the flowers’ progress online to choose the best week to drive up and see the fields. Visit midweek to avoid the traffic. Many fields can be viewed from the road, but tickets to on-farm experiences (from parking and flower shopping to workshops and trolley rides, and even elaborate date nights) are best purchased online in advance. For more tips and tricks, check out our guide to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.
Date: The entire month of April
Cost: Looking is free; admission prices vary by farm.
Location: This year, there are five venues: Skagit Acres, RoozenGaarde, Tulip Town, Garden Rosalyn and Tulip Valley Farms.
Seattle International Children’s Friendship Festival
Organized by the Turkish American Cultural Association of Washington, this festival celebrates International Children’s Day with a weekend of performances (also live streamed) by children that represent various nationalities’ folk music and dance. Besides stage performances, there is a STEM challenge, a visual arts showcase, and display tables featuring cultural crafts and presentations.
Date: April 5–6
Cost: Free
Location: Seattle Center, 305 Harrison St., Seattle
Washington State Spring Fair
If “Doin’ the Puyallup” sounds more overwhelming than entertaining for your family, check out the lesser-known spring fair. Started in 1990, the Washington State Spring Fair features animals, agriculture, booths, free entertainment, food and rides on the 165-acre fairground in the shadow of Mount Rainier with much smaller crowds.
Date: April 10–13 and 17–20
Cost: Single weekday tickets bought at the gate start at $14; $12 for kids ages 6–12. More ticket prices and packages are available online.
Location: Washington State Fairgrounds, 110 Ninth Avenue S.W., Puyallup
Seattle Cherry Blossom and Japanese Culture Festival
The Seattle Cherry Blossom and Japanese Culture Festival was the event that launched Festál — the free cultural heritage festival series hosted at Seattle Center — back in 1976 and it is still one of the biggest. Whether or not the cherry trees cooperate with blossoms, come experience Japanese traditional music, dance, visual and martial arts, as well as games. (Check out the Festál calendar to find a different festival nearly every weekend.)
Date: April 11–13
Cost: Free
Location: Seattle Center, 305 Harrison St., Seattle
Mermaid Festival
Did you know that Washington has a mermaid museum? Located halfway between Aberdeen and Westport on the grounds of the Westport Winery Garden Resort, the museum is “dedicated to teaching ocean ecology from seashore to sea floor immersed in mermaid mythology unifying oceanic cultures.” The festival combines the museum’s educational exhibits with storytelling, crafts, daily mermaid performances, unicorn appearances, music and fire dancing.
Date: Saturdays and Sundays in April
Cost: Museum admission is free during the festival.
Location: International Mermaid Museum, 1 S. Arbor Rd., Aberdeen
Viking Fest
Coinciding with the Norwegian independence celebration Syttende Mai, Poulsbo’s Viking Fest features a parade, carnival, street fair, road race, strongman competition (women compete, too) and a variety of performances. (And if you’re looking for a Syttende Mai celebration closer to home, check out the free community parade in Ballard.)
Date: May 16–18
Cost: Free
Location: Poulsbo Waterfront
UFO Fest
Oregon isn’t too far for a family to travel to celebrate travelers from much farther away. The McMenamins UFO Fest offers live music, a street fair, costume contests for people and pets, and a weekend full of speaker presentations (not to mention yummy craft brews for parents).
Date: May 16–17
Cost: $138 for full speaker schedule, most individual speaker events $28; other festival activities are free.
Location: Hotel Oregon, 310 N.E. Evans St., McMinnville
University District Street Fair
The U District Street Fair kicks off the summer street fair season for the 53rd time this year, filling 15 blocks of University Way (a.k.a. “The Ave”) with an arts and crafts fair, live music and performances, and more than 40 food options. Be prepared for crowds.
Dates: May 17–18
Cost: Free
Location: University Way Northeast, Seattle
Northwest Folklife
Generations of Seattle-area families have made a tradition of attending Northwest Folklife Festival every Memorial Day weekend. The theme this year is ikigai, derived from the Japanese words iki (life) and gai (worth living). Ikigai invites us to embrace an intuitive journey, challenging us to find our true purpose. The many, many bands and musicians on stage are the most visible part of the festival. But “folklife” includes all kinds of creativity, so don’t miss the incredibly diverse panels, workshops, exhibitions, demonstrations and activities on offer.
Date: May 23–26
Cost: Free
Location: Seattle Center, 305 Harrison St., Seattle
Whidbey Ren Faire
The volunteer-run Whidbey Ren Faire is back with jousting tournaments and other live performances, including minstrels and jesters. Artisans will sell their handmade wares in the bustling marketplace, and visitors of all ages can join workshops in traditional crafts, swordplay, archery and historical cooking.
Date: May 24–25
Cost: $28 (youth discount available; children younger than 5 are free)
Location: Beach View Farm, 1570 Wieldraayer Rd., Oak Harbor
Kent International Festival
The Kent International Festival is a celebration of the community’s rich cultural diversity. Explore folk dance traditions from all across the world and musical styles from taiko to sitar. Food trucks offer everything from comfort food to cosmopolitan mash-ups. Kids can fill their passports visiting cultural booths with interactive games, activities and fun challenges rooted in world cultures.
Date: May 31
Cost: Free
Location: ShoWare Center, 625 W. James St., Kent
HONK! Fest West
HONK! Fest West is a community-supported music festival where acoustic street bands from around the country congregate to perform in public spaces around Seattle. Part of a global renaissance of street band culture, expect to hear New Orleans-style brass bands, punk rock marching bands, European klezmer, samba and more.
Date: May 30–June 1
Cost: All performances are free.
Location: Georgetown (May 30); Columbia Park (May 31); Pratt Park (June 1)
Seattle Dragon Boat Festival and Rainier Dragon Boat Festival
Celebrate one of the four top traditional Chinese festivals by cheering on the teams as they race their dragon boats. It’s traditional to eat sticky rice dumplings and Chinese pancakes, but food truck offerings are less work and just as tasty. Races will be held at Seattle’s Lake Union and Foss Waterway at Thea’s Park.
Date: May 17 and June 14
Cost: Free
Location: Thea’s Park, 535 Dock St., Tacoma (May 17); Lake Union Park, 860 Terry Ave. N., Seattle (June 14)
Fremont Fair
The Fremont Fair celebrates the summer solstice, officially marking the transition from spring festivals to summer celebrations. And do they celebrate! There’s a big parade, a smaller dog parade, a craft market that fills most of the neighborhood, a whole weekend of live performances and an art car show.
Date: June 21–22
Cost: Free
Location: Fremont neighborhood, Seattle
More spring fun for Seattle-area families: |
Editor’s note: This article was originally published in 2024 and was updated on April 9, 2025, by ParentMap’s associate editor, Kari Hanson. All information was fact-checked and new details were added. Event dates, times and locations were verified by our editor.
