Hilton Bellevue / Our Location / Local Events

Year-Round Bellevue-Seattle Events & Activities

Whether you feel like dancing, singing, eating, or just having lots of fun, the Bellevue-Seattle area is your destination for festivals and events. Seattle hosts premier arts and cultural festivals year round, with the biggest of all being the grand celebration that is Bumbershoot, the Labor Day weekend spectacular that features more than 2,500 visual and performing artists. Other area festival favorites include NW Folklife, SEAFAIR, and the University District Street Fair.

Browse the Bellevue-Seattle events calendar below for many of the great events near the Bellevue Hilton.

January
February
March
April
May
June

July
August
September
October
November
December

January

Seattle Boat Show
www.seattleboatshow.com
This is the West Coast’s largest boat show! The 10-day event features more than 1,000 recreational watercraft, seminars and the latest innovations in accessories at CenturyLink Field, plus 200 world-class boats in their natural habitat on South Lake Union.

February

Seattle Improvised Music Festival
www.seattleimprovisedmusic.us/
Founded in 2005, Seattle Improvised Music (SIM) is dedicated to developing and strengthening Seattle's Improvised Music Community. The festival presents performances and workshops by musicians from Seattle and around the world, and facilitates other Improvised Music events and activities. Improvised Music is a unique art form that focuses performers and audience members alike on the creative process. Rather than producing a static commodity product, Improvised Music draws on the processes of listening and cooperation, in turn deepening participants' understanding and capacity for these practices.

March

Irish Festival Seattle
www.irishclub.org/center.htm
Irish tunes, step dancing and the Irish jig keep the energy flowing at the Irish Week Festival. Festival-goers can participate in Gaelic games, trace their own Irish history with the help of genealogists or take Irish language lessons. Meet Irish celebrities, view Irish movies, cultural exhibits and demonstrations and have a "great craic" (Gaelic for "a great time"). Presented by the Irish Heritage Club.

April

Seattle Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival
www.seattlecenter.com/festal/detail.aspx?id=4
Explore Seattle’s deep connections with Japan and celebrate the beauty of spring at the Seattle Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival. From the booms of taiko drums to the silence of ikebana flowers, the event is a feast for the senses. Delicious Japanese food, tea ceremony demonstrations and artwork present both a modern and ancient view of this complex culture. The event commemorates Japan’s gift of 1,000 blossoming cherry trees to Seattle in 1976. The trees were planted along Lake Washington Boulevard, in Seward Park and other places around the city.

May

Seattle Maritime Festival
www.seattlepropellerclub.org/maritimefestival.html

Save the date for this fun, family day on the Seattle waterfront. Music, kids activities, food and the World's Largest Tugboat race. The Seattle Maritime Festival is the Propeller Club’s annual showcase of the maritime industry and the important role it plays in the Puget Sound economy. Located on the Seattle waterfront the weeklong celebration is anchored by the Saturday Family Fun Day.

June

Seattle Seafair Festival
www.seafair.com
The Seattle Seafair Festival has entertained local residents and visitors as the region's largest summertime celebration for over half a century. Events take place in various Puget Sound venues each weekend from late June to early August.

July

Bellevue Arts Museum ArtsFair
www.bellevuearts.org/fair
Bellevue Arts Museum ARTSfair is the original, longest-running fair in downtown Bellevue and is held in conjunction with the Bellevue Festival of the Arts and the 6th Street Fair. Shop from over 300 artists from across the continent and engage in a multitude of free, fun community programs designed to celebrate art and creative expression.

August

Seattle Center Movies at the Mural
www.seattlecenter.com/moviesatthemural
Experience FREE movies by moonlight at Seattle Center this summer. Picnic on the gently sloping Mural Amphitheatre lawn, in front of a state-of-the-art giant screen, with the Space Needle standing sentry in the starry skies above you. Movies at the Mural is an outdoor cinema experience like no other!

September

Bumbershoot: Seattle’s Music & Arts Festival
http://bumbershoot.org/
Bumbershoot is an annual international music and arts festival held in Seattle. One of North America's largest such festivals, it takes place every Labor Day weekend at Seattle Center, which was built for the 1962 World's Fair.

Fremont Oktoberfest
www.fremontoktoberfest.com
Some 30,000 visitors each year visit the Fremont Oktoberfest, a fun-filled and charming event with events and attractions for all the family. Among the ingredients of this Oktoberfest is an urban carnival, a beer garden, live music, a street fair, a kids' area and the incredible spectacle of the Texas Chainsaw Pumpkin Carving. This is a fun event that's not to be missed.

October

Issaquah Salmon Days Festival
www.salmondays.org
Issaquah Salmon Days Festival is the Pacific Northwest's most-beloved, family-friendly, award-winning and fishiest festival around! We've got lots of activities, arts and crafts, music, food, friends and excitement!

November

Best of the Northwest
www.nwartalliance.com/event.php?event=12BNWFall
This seasonal exposition will showcase over 250 Northwestern artists presenting the best in American Crafts and Fine Art. Along with handcrafted artwork, the Best of the Northwest festival showcases live music and will host a wine tasting featuring local Washington wine.

December

Gingerbread Lane presented by KidsQuest Children’s Museum and the Hilton Bellevue
www.magicseason.com/events/gingerbreadlane.html
Enjoy the magic of the season with a display of unique gingerbread creations and KidsQuest Children’s Museum’s family gingerbread workshops - as part of Bellevue Magic Season. Local architecture firms, bakeries and businesses partner with KidsQuest Children’s Museum to custom design, bake and create awe-inspiring gingerbread structures displayed at the Hilton Hotel Bellevue throughout December.

Argosy Christmas Ship™ Festival
www.argosycruises.com/themecruises/xmasSchedule.cfm
The Argosy Christmas Ship festival is a holiday celebration that has been a Northwest tradition since 1949. Its main purpose is to bring communities together to celebrate the holiday season. From our flotilla of ships to the crowds of people who gather on shore, this celebration is one of the gems of the holiday season. Each night of the festival, the Argosy Christmas Ship™ sails to different Puget Sound waterfront communities, over 45 in total. Choirs onboard sing to these communities, all broadcast via state-of-the-art speaker system. On shore, thousands of people gather around roaring bonfires anticipating the arrival of the Christmas Ship.