Bumbershoot
After a three-year pandemic break, Seattle’s Bumbershoot festival returns to Seattle Labor Day weekend for its 50th anniversary.
“The long-awaited return of Bumbershoot Arts & Music Festival will bring new energy and inspiration to Seattle, showcasing the creativity that helped put our city on the map,” said Mayor Bruce Harrell.
“Bumbershoot, originally produced by local nonprofit One Reel, was faltering in 2015 when worldwide concert promoter AEG Presents came on in an attempt to reverse the event’s long-standing financial issues,” reports Axios Seattle. “But AEG declined to renew its contract in 2019, putting the festival’s future in doubt.”
After a few years of reducing visual arts from the event, this year’s organizers have reversed course. Art, tangible and participatory elements will be front and center.
The Bumbershoot website reinforces this focus IN ALL CAPS, as follows:
ROLLER SKATING
NAIL ART
WRESTLING
WITCHES
DRAG
POLE DANCING
SIGN SPINNERS
FREE-RANGE ARTISTS
OUT OF SIGHT
PERFORMANCE ART
AUGMENTED REALITY
CONTEMPORARY ART
FILM
VINTAGE CLOTHING
ROBOTS
BURLESKAROAKE
LARGE-SCALE SCULPTURE
MODERN DANCE
REMOTE-CONTROLLED SCULPTURE
PHOTOGRAPHY
DIGITAL ARTS
CULINARY ARTS
TATTOO RUNWAY
EXTREME POGO STICK
DOUBLE DUTCH
MAKE-UP ARTISTS
CAT CIRCUS
…AND MUSIC
Did you catch that “…and music” part at the end?
We must admit we are grooving on the idea of one planned Bumbershoot element. The Seattle Times reports that an art-cart contest “will give creative fans free tickets and a stipend to turn wheelbarrows, baby carriages and shopping carts into mobile sculptures roaming the grounds.”
So many possibilities…
Bumbershoot is back Sep. 2 & 3, 2023, and they’re celebrating what it means to be an artist.
BUMBERSHOOT LINKS