Seattle Summer Festivals: Experience Art This Summer

As the weather heats up and the days are longer, summer festivals abound. It’s a great time to take advantage of arts and cultural events happening all over the city, and ArtsFund grantees have been putting out a wealth of fun summer programming.

Summer at SAM is ongoing through August 27 at Olympic Sculpture Park, offering a mix of interdisciplinary arts experiences. This Thursday evening, August 11, head to Sculptured Dance and catch four ArtsFund grantee organizations in one place! Seattle Art Museum and the Pacific Northwest Ballet have collaborated on a program featuring original site-specific dance works with five local choreographers and dance companies including Spectrum Dance Theater and Whim W’Him. Intiman Theatre Festival,  which began on May 24 and runs through October 2, pays special attention to great American plays by Black women. Their upcoming major production, Wedding Band: A Love Hate Story In Black and White by Alice Childress, will run September 6 through October 2. Nordic Heritage Museum’s Viking Days Festival is a family friendly celebration of Scandinavian food, beer, and entertainment the weekend of August 21-22. The 2016 Earshot Jazz Festival features a plethora of acclaimed jazz musicians, and many opportunities to attend October 7 through November 11.

Hopefully you’ve been able to catch some of the great offerings that have already passed. Seattle Chamber Music Society’s Summer Festival presented several stunning chamber music performances, both indoors and out, throughout the month of July. Seattle Shakespeare Company’s Wooden O series offered free, outdoor productions of Hamlet and Love’s Labour’s Lost performed in parks throughout the Puget Sound region. Bellevue Art Mueseum’s ARTSFair July 29-31 celebrated art, craft, and design with over 300 inspiring artists showcasing handmade work. The event also featured a Sound and Movement stage and access to museum programming.

All in all it’s been a busy summer for our grantees, and there’s even more happening around the city!

More events from ArtsFund Partner organizations:
-Downtown Seattle Association’s Out to Lunch Concert Series, through September 2
-KEXP and Seattle Center present Concerts at the Mural, Fridays through August 26
-Festal Cultural Festivals, ongoing
–Seattle Art Fair occurred August 4-7

Photo courtesy of  Seattle Art Museum, Olympic Sculpture Park, photo by Robert Wade.