PHOTOS: Unforgettable scenes in Seattle (and beyond) this year

As a round-up to 2017, we had our KUOW photographer Megan Farmer pick out some of the most memorable moments she captured. 

They paint a picture of a region that grew, grieved, fought and celebrated together. 

Make sure to follow @KUOW on Instagram to see more in the coming year.

On August 21, Seattle was treated to a solar eclipse.

The temperature dropped precipitously here in Seattle, and the light turned the colors rich and dark — like an Instagram filter in real life.

Ninety-two percent of the sun here was eclipsed by the moon and it was, to quote the dozens of people gathered on the KUOW garage roof, "SO COOL." 

See more photos from this moment

Tattoo parlors tend to cluster near the Navy base in Bremerton. And indeed, a good chunk of the work done there is nautical in nature.

But it’s not all octopuses and anchors.

Tattoo artist Paul Weaver says he sees variety in his clients’ requests, as well as some patterns.

“Women in the Navy tend to get larger pieces,” he said. “Women that aren’t in the Navy tend to get the more smaller, delicate pieces.”

“Guys, whether they are in the Navy, I think it’s a macho thing. They tend to go balls out.”

Which is a reference to running an engine at full speed, as in:  more tattoos, faster, and even bigger.

See more people showing off their body art

Seattle celebrated Indigenous Peoples' Day on October 9 with a march from Westlake Park to Seattle City Hall.

"It means we're still here and I'm proud," said Frieda Eide, an Alaskan native and member of the Tlingit Tribe. "I'd like to see more involvement with other communities joining together and acknowledging whose land we're on." 

See more photos from the celebration

Elijah Brown was 9 when he saw a man get shot dead.

It happened in 2004 in what he considers the safest, most dangerous place in Seattle — near the Rainier Community Center and Playfield in Genesee.

“I didn’t know what to think of it. You’re in the third grade – it doesn’t register,” he said. “It’s like you’re living a movie. I was more in shock at that specific time. As the years went on, and the shootings continued, it was like, that’s what’s happening.”

Read the story

On June 18, Charleena Lyles, a pregnant mother of four, was shot in her home by Seattle Police after calling about a suspected burglary.

“She said that she was gonna be famous and that she would touch this world,” said Lyles’ neighbor Alaina Williams in the aftermath. “I never thought that it would be like this. I really never thought that it would be like this.”

See more photos of the march

Lyles was buried July 10. Her friends and family filled the New Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Seattle’s Central District for her funeral, many wearing purple, her favorite color.

Some said they won’t have closure unless Seattle police are punished for shooting the pregnant black woman in her apartment. Police say they shot Lyles in self-defense because she was holding a knife.

See more photos from Lyles’ memorial

Follow KUOW’s coverage of this story

Tiffany Hicks, her partner and children are a family among many in Seattle who have experienced homelessness.

KUOW followed her journey from Mary’s Place, a homeless shelter, to a new home in Auburn.

See the story

They walked along a dusty, country road, fields of ripe blueberries stretching for miles. 

This was a protest march to Sarbanand Farms, in this tiny town near the Canadian border, where a Mexican farmworker took ill in August. The man, Honesto Silva Ibarra, a 28-year-old father, died days later at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

At the front of the march were some of the 70 farmworkers that were fired due to insubordination after protesting work conditions. 

Two miles down the road, a neighbor opened his property to the fired workers. Volunteers turned out to help. They donated food, tents, a generator and supplies. They sent pizzas.

Read the story

President Trump’s vow to crack down on illegal immigration has focused renewed attention on the detention centers built to hold immigrants awaiting deportation.

The Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma is the fourth largest such Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, detention facility in the country. 

KUOW’s Immigration Team got a rare look inside the federal facility.

See more photos from inside the jail

Lanterns of all colors, shapes and sizes illuminated Green Lake on September 21 for the Luminata lantern parade. The parade, hosted by the Fremont Arts Council, signifies the autumn equinox and the beginning of fall. 

See more from the luminous event

Smith Tower, Seattle's oldest skyscraper, is getting some renovations this coming spring. 

The tower’s old-fashioned manual elevators will be upgraded, and that means elevator operators will no longer take you to your floor. Instead, you'll just push a button.

One operator will still remain to take visitors to the tower's observatory.

See the photos

On August 19, a breakdown at a fish farm released thousands of non-native Atlantic salmon into Puget Sound waters.

It sparked an ongoing debate into aquaculture in the Northwest.

See more pictures of fishermen attempting to round up rogue fish

Follow KUOW’s continuing coverage of this story

Naked cyclists and parade goers descended on Fremont for the Fremont Solstice Parade and Celebration to kick off the start of summer on Saturday, June 17. Crowds gathered to watch the parade, which included dancers, artists, musicians and puppets, and ended at Gas Works Park.

See all the pictures

Activists packed Seattle City Hall November 1 to testify in front of lawmakers and demand an end to the removal of unauthorized homeless camps.  

Many of those who spoke also support a proposed business tax that would raise funds to help combat homelessness.

See the story