Bumbershoot: moving forward by looking to the past
When Bumbershoot started in 1971 as the Mayor’s Arts Festival, organizers envisioned a grass roots civic celebration of Seattle culture and the city’s resilience.
It was the middle of the Boeing bust, local residents were fleeing the city in search of new jobs and then-Mayor Wes Uhlman wanted to create some reason for optimism. 125,000 people showed up to sample theater and dance, visual and literary artists, and, of course, music of all kinds.
When the One Reel organization took over festival production in 1980, they continued to feature local artists, but decided to expand Bumbershoot’s scope, reaching out to book national musicians and writers. As the festival grew and evolved, the national acts figured prominently in the annual Labor Day weekend lineups. Seattle area artists were part of the mix, but increasingly overshadowed by big marquee names. For many years after, the local arts community celebrated itself on the Friday before the official festival opening, with an awards ceremony and free admission to exhibitions and other visual arts installations.
The free day---and much of the non-musical art—went by the wayside in the mid-2010’s, as festival attendance declined, and two years of bad weekend weather further exacerbated Bumbershoot’s financial struggles. One Reel’s producing partner, concert promoter AEG, assumed greater responsibility for the Bumbershoot lineup. Longtime local festival patrons noticed an emphasis on music that would draw in a younger audience.
One Reel’s executive director Marty Griswold is one of those longtime patrons. When he took his job in 2018, Griswold decided to revive Bumbershoot’s commitment to a range of art forms. “Trying to make sure the arts are still an essential part of the festival is really, really important,” Griswold says.
To that end, he’s tapped a number of local artists to participate this year: Tariqa Waters brings some of her artists from the Pioneer Square Gallery Martyr Sauce to Bumbershoot; dance artists Randy Ford and David Rue will perform, as will Arson Nicki. Griswold is also excited about the installations: a ‘kaleidoscope tunnel,’ and a series of large-format prints that will be installed on the wooden fencing that surrounds the former Key Arena work site.
All of the art and performance will be available throughout the festival weekend, but Griswold has also reinstated the free preview days; art-lovers are invited to visit all the installations and galleries on Thursday, August 29th from 3:30-7:30.
Also happening this weekend:
Thursday - Sunday: The National Nordic Museum in Ballard kicks off its first annual Nordic Sol celebration of Nordic cultures. This year the museum shines the spotlight on the Arctic region, specifically the indigenous peoples of the area. The weekend features an arctic sports competition, a Pecha Kucha, plus music, crafts and clothing.
Friday: experience the Circumpolar Hip Hop Collab, originally commissioned in 2018 for the Riddu Riddu Festival in Norway. Indigenous artists from Finland, Canada, and Greenland will be in Seattle to showcase contemporary “urban” music created in their native languages.
Saturday and Sunday: The annual Seattle Center Festal series continues this weekend with Tibet Fest. Organizers hope to showcase music, food, art and dance, but they also want to make more people aware of what they call Tibet’s ‘endangered’ culture. The festival is free to the public.
Sunday: Also free this weekend, National Park Day and Washington State Park Day. The National Park Service celebrates its 103rd birthday this weekend by flinging open gates at all parks locations for free on Sunday, August 25th. Washington State Parks will commemorate the national parks that same day with free admission at all sites.
