NW Folklife Festival will be in person and virtual for Memorial Day Weekend at Seattle Center

SEATTLE, WA (May 4, 2022): Northwest Folklife, in partnership with Seattle Center, is excited to reveal its full schedule, with in-person and virtual performances and events for its 51st Annual Festival on Memorial Day weekend, May 27th-30th, at Seattle Center.

The 51st Annual Northwest Folklife Festival (May 27-30, 2022) will include programming that includes music, dance, spoken word, visual arts, films, participatory dances, and workshops spanning 16 stages for an anticipated audience of over 200,000. New features of the festival include:

• Robust virtual selection of programming streaming at https://nwfolklife.org/festival/home.html
• Makers’ Space to feature the tactile elements of folk traditions
• Short Film Showcase highlighting a wide expanse of voices
• Welcome Stage located by Mercer Street will meet attendees with music of all kinds to jump start the celebration as they enter festival grounds

Per the cultural focus, Metamorphosis: In with Old, In with the New, some long-time favorite spaces will be back, including:

• Participatory dancing at Warren’s Roadhouse
• Circle of Indigenous Peoples with stories, dancing, and music at the Broad Street Lawn
• A return to the Mural Amphitheater, Cornish Courtyard, and Bagley Wright Theater

Newly revised Covid-19 policies for the in-person programming will ensure that the festival will be able to serve all of the community. 

Masks are highly encouraged at the festival, with most indoor spaces requiring masks and proof of vaccination at the doors. For more information about how we are working to protect against the threats of COVID-19, visit the website here

A Seattle institution for more than 50 years, Northwest Folklife has been building to this re-emergence with intentionality and community safety in mind. You can view the full schedules at Northwest Folklife’s sites.

• Festival website: https://nwfolklife.org/festival/home.html
• In person schedule: https://nwfolklife.org/festival/schedule/in-person-schedule.html
• Virtual schedule: https://nwfolklife.org/festival/schedule/virtual-schedule.html
• VISIT NORTHWEST FOLKLIFE FOR MORE INFORMATION

Northwest Folklife is an independent 501(c)(3) arts organization that celebrates a global Pacific Northwest's multigenerational arts, cultures, and traditions. For over 50 years, Northwest Folklife has been deeply committed to celebrating the diversity of our Northwest communities and de-mystifying our differences together under one roof. 

Connect to the extraordinary at Seattle Center – an active civic, arts, and family gathering place in the core of our region. More than 30 cultural, educational, sports and entertainment organizations that reside on the grounds, together with a broad range of public and community programs, create thousands of events on the 74-acre campus and attract over 12 million visitors each year.