Weekender: Top Family Events for Seattle and the Eastside

Saturday is the first day of fall, and it looks like there's a little rain in the forecast to make it feel official. Not to worry, stay dry at the Cat Video Fest or embrace the drizzle at a harvest fair. Read on for all our best picks for weekend family fun.

• Play in some tiny, super-cool pop-up parks set up in Seattle parking spaces: it's PARK(ing) Day — get it? (Friday).
• Hop over to the Great Wallingford Wurst Festival for bouncy houses and kids' games along with brats, kraut and beer for grown-ups (Friday–Saturday).
• Don your cape and fly over to a variety of superhero activities at different spots around town (Friday–Saturday).
• Stop by participating farms for a sip of cider and other fall season fun during the Sammamish Valley Harvest Festival (Friday–Sunday).
• Escape to Paradise on the penultimate free entrance to national parks day for this year (Saturday).
• It's multicultural extravaganza at Seattle Center; don't miss Our Big Neighborhood, Folklife's annual children's fest featuring performances, workshops and hands-on fun (Saturday).
• Choose a local participating museum — including SAM, MoPop, MOHAI, Museum of Glass, NAAM, the Wing and more — print your ticket from the Smithsonian Museum Day site, and go for free (Saturday).
• The annual Sustainable Ballard fest at the park features kids' activities, farm animals and green living ideas for families (Saturday).
• All are welcome to join the beautiful Luminata Lantern Parade marking the start of fall (Saturday).
• Help the kitties and laugh til you cry at a specially curated collection of cat videos: it's Cat Video Fest (Saturday–Sunday).
• Form a family team and get ready to dash around, visiting a troll and other sites, competing in the Fremont Street Scramble (Sunday).
• Celebrate fall sipping cider from Washington's signature fruit at the Fall City Apple Festival (Sunday).
• Last chance this season to do the Puyallup; ride the Zipper, admire the draft horses and try not to pet the bunnies (through Sunday).

What, fall? Time to pick apples at an orchard or try cider-pressing at an apple event. Test your mettle against the sky-high glass deck of the revamped Space Needle. Go play at this terrific and multi-faceted new playground, or escape the rain at a dazzling show under the big top or escape to this sweet spot on the gorgeous Oregon Coast. And don't forget, our family fun calendar has dozens of great activities for every day of the week.