2008 Pike Place Market Street Festival

If your weekend isn’t already packed with activities, maybe you should consider attending the Pike Place Market Street Festival this weekend. It begins on Saturday, May 31st at and ends on Sunday, June 1st. Other than trying to jump over slow walking tourists with baby carriages, here are some of the activities you can partake in:

• Campfire Classic cook-off, 10-11 a.m. May 31
• Wine Tasting Lodge, 10a.m.-7 p.m. both days
• Kids Zone music, activities, bounce house, 11a.m.-3 p.m. both days
• Food vendors, chef demos, arts and crafts, live music, beer garden, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. both days
• Strut Your Mutt dog contest and parade, 10 a.m. June 1, Steinbrueck Park

2008 Northwest Folklife Festival

Weather was great for the Folklife Festival. Large crowds along with fabulous solo artists and musicians made for three great days. One thousand acts were estimated to entertain up to 250,000 spectators in this Seattle tradition.

Music at the Folklife Festival

Where else will you find a poodle sporting a pink hairdo?

Northwest Folklife Festival

From their website:

The Northwest Folklife Festival is the annual free climactic celebration of year-round ethnic, folk, and traditional arts activities produced by Northwest Folklife. The Folklife Festival is Seattle’s unofficial leap into summer, with four days of jam-packed excitement. Artists from the Pacific Northwest along with special guests from throughout the world create an ethnic extravaganza embracing music and dance performances, visual arts and folklore exhibits, hands-on ethnic children’s activities, symposia, dance and music workshops, crafts, food, imported goods, demonstrations of traditional arts, and more! The exuberant tradition of sharing and participation at the Festival encourages exploration and learning between participants and public alike.

Founded in 1972 and sponsored by Northwest Folklife and Seattle Center, Folklife brings together an estimated 250,000 visitors, 1,000 volunteers and more than 7,000 musicians, dancers, tradition bearers and visual artists who contribute their time, talent, and energy.

2008 Seattle Cheese Festival

Chef Joseba Jiménez de Jiménez, co-owner of the Harvest Vine, gives at cooking seminar and talks about his special asparagus sauce.

Friends, (from right) Erin Dillon, Dost Bardouille and Katie Paul, enjoy the cheese during the festival.

The fourth annual Seattle Cheese Festival was well underway on May 17, 2008. The festival featured cooking demonstrations from local chefs including Joseba Jiménez de Jiménez, the owner of the Harvest Vine; tastings from a variety of Washington vineyards, and others.

The lack of melted cheese in the record-setting, 90-degree temperature was testament to the number of people that attended the festival. I had never seen that many people in the market, prior to this event.

This event was a definite treat as it made me aware of the variety and taste of the local fare, and represented a nice introduction to the taste of Seattle for this food-loving, new Midwestern “transplant.”

It was also a nice way to enjoy the culture of this great city. The people that I met were really warm, friendly and fun loving

Seattle Cheese Festival

As I did the “tourist” stroll through Pike Place Market yesterday, I noticed a workman hanging the banner for the upcoming fourth annual Seattle Cheese Festival scheduled for May 17-18. With no set plans for the upcoming weekend, I  thought this would be a perfect opportunity for taking people photos and to have some cheese.

I did a little bit of research and found that this was the fourth year that the Cheese Festival was returning to Seattle. There are over 250 cheeses that will be available for tasting along with educational seminars, chef demos, and wine tasting.

I have heard that the weather is supposed to be great, but I’ve learned that the only sure thing about Seattle weather is that it’s unpredictable.