Seattle Center–Northwest Folklife Festival Partnership Continues Virtually

Presented by Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, From Home to Home: Northwest Folklife Festival takes this annual Memorial Day weekend extravaganza and turns it into a dynamic, multi-channel, online celebration, May 23-25 at nwfolklifestreaming.org. Created in partnership with Seattle Center, Home to Home brings together local culture bearers, artists, creatives, sponsors and merchants, all on one virtual platform.

Since 1972, Northwest Folklife Festival has served as the official start of summer at Seattle Center. The partnership between the City of Seattle and Northwest Folklife, authorized by City ordinance, calls on the partners to co-sponsor and co-promote the annual festival to preserve the integrity of traditional arts in the Northwest and encourage their growth by providing a forum for performance and the exchange of ideas and skills with the public. The agreement contains guidelines for producing the annual event. However, the 2020 festival launches into new production territory given the reality of the times.

The schedule for live streaming channels is posted at nwfolklifestreaming.org/schedule. Other channels feature additional interactive activities, videos, photographs, pre-recorded music and more. Program channels include:

Folklife Premieres, sponsored by Bike Works, NASH, KEXP, KNKX, and KBCS: a livestream of music and dance performances by Pacific Northwest artists.

The Roadhouse: Participatory Workshops & Dances: a livestream featuring interactive dances such as contra, salsa, tango and more.

On-Demand: Music & Dance: a hub for artist-submitted videos spanning music, dance and storytelling.

Family Fun: Dance and Sing, sponsored by BECU, ParentMap and Seattle's Child: prerecorded music and dance performances to get your kids moving and learning

Family Fun: Create and Explore, sponsored by BECU, ParentMap and Seattle's Child: videos, photos, and downloadable content to promote interactive learning for the whole family.

Living Legacies: honoring the festival's Cultural Focus through a collection of video interviews with culture bearers, teaching artists, and leaders and an array of community-submitted testimonies.

Festival Artist Directory: highlighting the 600+ artists initially slated to perform at the Northwest Folklife Festival.

Virtual Marketplace: featuring over 30 local jewelry, decor, apparel, food, and craft merchants with direct links to their online shops.

It is a quiet time on the grounds of Seattle Center, and Memorial Day weekend will just not feel the same. We hope the community joins in the Folklife celebration virtually this year. To learn more about Home to Home: Northwest Folklife Festival and other virtual activities at Seattle Center, visit www.seattlecenter.com/artsathome or call 206 684-7200.