Seafair
Seafair | |
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Location(s) | Seattle, Washington, USA |
Years active | 1950–2019, 2021– |
Website | www |
Seafair is a summer
History
The 2020 schedule for Seafair was cancelled on May 20, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on public gatherings.[2] The next edition of Seafair was also cancelled in April 2021, stating that "while encouraged by Governor Inslee's Phase 3 guidelines that support small and medium size events to return with limitations, Seafair leadership recognizes the guidelines will not support events the scale of a city-wide festival."[3]
Events
Seafair begins in mid-June; since 1949, its arrival has been heralded by the Seafair Pirates Landing on Alki Beach, and the Milk Carton Derby on Green Lake, a whimsical boat race in which all the boats have been constructed out of empty milk cartons.[4] Entries always range from those carefully shaped for speed and stability to those designed for maximum amusement. The Derby is usually associated with a variety of activities for children and families on the shores of Green Lake.
The Seafair
In 2013, an Independence Day fireworks show at Lake Union known as the Seafair Summer Fourth was added. The event serves as a de facto successor to the Family Fourth fireworks event formerly held at the same site, which had been discontinued by its organizers due to a lack of funding. The event was revived under the auspices of Seafair with the financial support of local sponsors.[6][7]
The Seafair Triathlon is held on the shores of Lake Washington from Seward Park. It features both Sprint - half-mile swim, 12-mile (19 km) bike ride, and 5 km run - and Olympic distances. Participants can compete individually or as a team. Typically, the Seafair Triathlon is held the third weekend of July. In 2007, the Seafair Triathlon saw a record turnout of 2,200.[8]
The Torchlight festivities
The last weekend in July belongs to the
The Seafair Weekend
One of the most popular events of the festival is the Seafair Weekend, held traditionally the first weekend of August on Genesee Park. Seafair Weekend main events include hydroplane racing on the water and aerobatics show in the sky.[9]
The
A tradition started in 1972, the Seafair Air Show is an aerobatics show coincidently with the days of the Seafair Cup. World-class aerobatics teams perform their aerial stunts over Lake Washington, most prominently the US Navy Blue Angels and US Army Golden Knights. Notoriously, the Blue Angels have been attending the Air Show annually since its first edition, excepting in three occasions. The aerobatics show is a slightly controversial part of Seafair, as some local residents fear an accident involving the low-flying aircraft, and some find the noise of the jet engines irritating.[10] There was no show at Seafair in 1994 and 1995 as a result of a dispute with the FAA about whether they could safely fly over Lake Washington. In 1996 the Blue Angels flew over Elliott Bay, west of downtown Seattle, in a separate event from the hydroplane race, but this was a financial flop, and they returned to being part of the race-weekend festivities over Lake Washington in 1997.[11] Due to government budget cuts, the Blue Angels did not perform at Seafair 2013; they were replaced by the Patriots Jet Team.[6] From 2019, the aerobatics show fly-over area was moved south to avoid the closing of the floating bridges carrying Interstate 90 between Mercer Island and Seattle during the three days of Seafair Weekend.[12]
Groups
The Seafair Pirates
Another aspect of Seafair is the involvement of the
References
- ^ History of Seafair - 1950's
- ^ Wafai, Yasmeen (May 20, 2020). "Seafair cancels major summer 2020 events". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
- ^ "Pandemic sidelines Seafair unlimited hydroplane racing again as event moves virtual". The Seattle Times. 2021-04-21. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
- ^ History of Seafair - 1970's
- ^ The Seattle Times: Rock 'n' roll run set to replace Seafair Marathon, by Jayda Evans, August 6, 2008
- ^ a b "McGinn got heads-up, has plan to salvage Fourth of July fireworks". Seattle Times. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
- Seattle Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
- ^ participants Seafair Triathlon
- ^ "Seafair Weekend Festival". www.seafair.com. Archived from the original on 2019-07-27.
- ^ Capitol Hill Seattle blog - No More Blue Angels Over Homes Please
- ^ History of Seafair - 1990's
- ^ "Seafair Weekend 2019: What You Need to Know". August 2019.
- ^ The Seattle Times: Seafair hooked on its pirates, By Victor Gonzales, July 9th, 2005