I have exciting news! You might have seen me mention The Nudge before, it’s a text-based event planner that sends cool things to do in Seattle straight to your phone. I’ve been a long-time “Nudger,” but I recently became part of The Nudge Planner Program! You can check out my first video here.
Words are my comfort zone so it was fun to stretch myself creatively and give video a try (this 39-second clip took me hours lol). If you want to get updated whenever I create a new video, you can “follow” me in the app and you’ll get a text when it goes live.
But things will continue as normal here in the newsletter. Since I participate in social media very sparingly, being part of the Planner program is a fun way to share some of the work I love doing here.
This week I’ve been feeling the need to get a handle on everything that’s happening this spring. It felt nice to look ahead to summer and get some rough plans sketched out, but now I’m ready to turn my attention to the season at hand (especially since it sounds like we’ll actually get a spring this year thanks to El Niño).
Let’s take a look at spring in Seattle! This will be another living doc I’ll keep updated throughout the season so feel free to bookmark it and share with others 💌
*This post is a little long, so don’t forget to expand if it gets cut off in your email!
🌸 Spring Flowers
Cherry Blossom Festival | 3/16 - 4/1 | U District | Free
The festival is of course famous for the blooms in the quad on the UW campus, but over 80+ local businesses are also participating by providing various cherry blossom-flavored beverages, sweets, and themed products.
Skagit Valley Tulip Festival | 4/1 - 4/30 | Skagit Valley | $13.50-20
Tulip time is arriving early this year according to the tulip farms, so they recommend planning your trip within the first three weeks of April (although it could stretch into May if April ends up being colder).
There are 4 farms — Roozengaarde, Tulip Town, Garden Rosalyn, and Tulip Valley (the only u-pick tulip option) — but from my research, it seems like Roozengaarde is the best option (it’s also the most popular).
🔥 Hot tips: check which fields are blooming on this map, buy your tickets online ahead of time (it’s cheaper), go mid-week and early in the day if you can, wear boots since it’s often muddy, and if you want to avoid the crowds but still see tulips, drive up to LaConner for the day as you’ll be able to see tulip fields from the road.
Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden | Federal Way | $10
Check out over 700 species of rare and colorful Rhododendrons in this 22-acre woodland garden. The blooming period is from mid-March to mid-May and they post what’s blooming each week on their Instagram. In addition to the Rhodys, there’s also a tropical conservatory, blue poppy meadow, and a stumpery (they claim it’s the world’s largest public collection of stumps and logs??).
West Seattle Flower Houses | Alki | Free
I’ve always wondered about these funky little houses nestled between modern apartment buildings on Alki! Covered in a variety of plants and flowers with a public water fountain and swing, they’re officially registered as a wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. The blooms peak in mid-June, but they’re cute to see during the spring too.
🧑🌾 Farmers Markets
We’re lucky to have excellent farmers markets year-round, but you can tell we’re almost to summer when all the neighborhoods start to join in. If you never know what to make with your market finds, I’m a big fan of
and this recipe archive organized by veggie. SFMA also publishes a seasonal produce calendar that you can use as a guide for what’s in season.Seasonal markets:
Columbia City | Starts on May 1st | Wednesdays, 3-7 pm
Madrona | Starts on May 17th | Fridays, 3-7 pm
Wallingford | May 29th | Wednesdays, 3-7 pm
Magnolia | Starts on June 1st | Saturdays , 10 am - 2 pm
Mercer Island | Starts on June 2nd | Sundays, 10 am - 2 pm
Capitol Hill | Starts on June 4th | Tuesdays, 3-7 pm
Phinney | Starts on June 7th | Fridays, 3-7 pm
Lake City | Starts on June 13th | Thursdays, 3-7 pm
Year-round markets:
University District | Saturdays, 9 am - 2 pm
West Seattle | Sundays, 10 am - 2 pm
Capitol Hill | Sundays, 11 am - 3 pm
Ballard | Sundays, 9 am - 2 pm
📆 Events
🍀 March
Moisture Festival | 3/28 - 3/31 | Capitol Hill | $45-60
Mariner’s Opening Day | 3/28 | SODO | $45+
Beer Garden Egg Hunt | 3/30 | West Seattle | Free
Beacon Hill Food Forest Flagging and Planting | 3/30 - 3/31 | Beacon Hill | Free
☔️ April
Moisture Festival | 4/3 - 4/14 | Capitol Hill | $45-60 | If you go to anything this month, make it this quirky varieté show 🙏
Seattle Sounders vs. Montreal | 4/6 | SODO | $23+
Taco Libre Truck Showdown | 4/6 | Magnuson | $15-25
Seattle Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival | 4/12 - 4/14 | Uptown | Free
Best of the Northwest Spring Show | 4/13 - 4/14 | Magnuson | $3-5
Seattle Restaurant Week | 4/14 - 4/27 | Various locations
Seattle Sounders vs. Vancouver Whitecaps | 4/20 | SODO | $31.50+
Spring Foodie Fest | 4/20 | Rainier Beach | Free
Discover Pass Free Day - Earth Day | 4/22 | Various locations | Free
Seattle Black Film Festival | 4/25 - 4/28 | Central District | $60-120
Seattle Boba Festival | 4/27 | U District | Free
Free Boating Day / Sunday Public Sail | 4/28 | SLU | Free
💐 May
Party on The Cut | 5/3 | Montlake Cut | $35
Opening Day of Seattle Boating Season | 5/4 | Montlake Cut | Free | According to the Seattle Yacht Club: “You’ll not find anything like it in the U.S. or, to our knowledge, in the world. The only thing comparable is an annual parade of commercial vessels in Venice, Italy.”
Belltown Bloom | 5/4 - 5/5 | Belltown | $65-165
Seattle Sounders vs. LA Galaxy | 5/5 | SODO | $41+
Edmonds Spring Fest | 5/11 | Edmonds | Free
Street Trees of Seattle: Documenting our Changing City | 5/14 | SLU | Free
Seattle Sounders vs. Vancouver Whitecaps | 5/18 | SODO | $37+
U District Street Fair | 5/18 - 5/19 | U District | Free
Northwest Folklife | 5/24 - 5/27 | Uptown | Free
Sunday Public Sail | 5/26 | SLU | Free
Seattle Sounders vs. Real Salt Lake | 5/29 | SODO | $20+
📆 This weekend’s events
Coworking Accountability Session & Beer Social | Friday, 3/29 | Fremont | Free
SAM Remix | Friday, 3/29 | Downtown | $50
King County Regional Spelling Bee | Saturday, 3/30 | Downtown | Free
Seattle Cherry Blossom Run | Saturday, 3/30 | U District | $55
Seattle Color Festival | Saturday, 3/30 | Uptown | Free
Seattle International Dance Festival Mini Fest | Saturday, 3/30 | Capitol Hill | $18-25
Harold and the Purple Crayon @ PNB | Saturday, 3/30 | Uptown | $27-67
Dr. Jane Goodall | Saturday, 3/30 | Downtown | $49.50
Multi-day:
Spring Shot: Homegrown | 3/28 - 3/31 | Capitol Hill | $10-50 sliding scale
Moisture Festival | 3/28 - 3/31 | Capitol Hill | $45-60
Sakura-Con | 3/29 - 3/31 | Downtown | $110-120
U District Cherry Blossom Festival | 3/29 - 4/1 | U District | Free
What’s next:
4/6 | Gage Academy of Art is hosting a yard sale featuring “art supplies, books, easels, costumes, home decor, kitchen items, electronics, and more” as it prepares to move locations.
9/14 | I’m not a huge fan of Diplo but I like the concept of Diplo’s Run Club: you run a 5k and the afterparty is a music festival at Gas Works Park. Tickets are $69 right now but go up to $119 after 4/3.
🚨 ICYMI
broke the news that Aaron’s Bagels has renamed itself Backyard Bagel and is opening a shop in Fremont. Mezcaleria Oaxaca’s Patio Cielo is now open for the season. There’s a new secret pizza party called Pop Pop Pizza.🧰️ Seattle Toolkit
A few of my favorite resources to stay tuned in to what’s happening around the city:
Everout - Events & things to do
SEAToday - Daily Seattle newsletter
The Nudge Seattle - Text-based event planner
The Intentionalist - Discover + support local small businesses
Your turn!
What are you seeking this week? What do you already have planned? Share it with us in the comments ⬇️