Festivals
Read More ›
Seattle Sauna Festival Returns to Ballard for Another Round
Mobile saunas from around the Northwest will gather at the National Nordic Museum November 7-8.
By Sarah Stackhouse September 17, 2026
In Seattle, November is usually something to face in a raincoat. At the National Nordic Museum, you can meet it in a bathing suit.
The Seattle Sauna Festival returns to Ballard November 7-8 for its second year, bringing mobile saunas from around the Northwest onto the museum grounds. Visitors can try several, cool off in a cold plunge and gather around a campfire between rounds.
In Finland, sauna is part of everyday life, at home and in public. UNESCO recognized Finnish sauna culture as intangible cultural heritage in 2020. At the heart of the tradition is löyly, the steam released when water is poured onto hot stones. The museum has a piece of the region’s sauna history, too. The Wierlo sauna, built more than a century ago on Finn Hill in what is now Kirkland, stands in its East Garden.
Seattle event planner Ryan M. Davis got the idea for the festival after visiting a sauna village at Minneapolis’s Great Northern festival. He teamed up with Ana Hernandez, owner of PNW Mobile Spa, to bring the concept here. “Seattle already has the perfect ingredients for a meaningful sauna culture: a deep connection to water and nature, an appreciation for Nordic heritage and a community that knows how to embrace the outdoors in every season,” Davis says. “This festival brings those qualities together in a way that is joyful, welcoming and distinctly Northwest.”
Between sauna rounds, there will be live music. The museum’s Freya Café and a beer garden will be open both days, and the preliminary music lineup includes Rachel Nesvig on the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle and Seattle guitarist PatRiff. Festival tickets also include admission to the museum’s galleries on the day of your visit.
General admission covers 90 minutes in the saunas, with cold plunges and festival programming included. An all-day option is available for visitors who want more time. Guests should arrive freshly showered and bring swimwear, a towel, a robe and a water bottle.
Follow Us
K9s For Warriors Helps a Whidbey Island Veteran Get Back Out Into the World
With his service dog Atlas beside him, Navy veteran Justin Hughes is finding his workdays—and everyday outings—easier to navigate.
When Justin Hughes gets frustrated while on his computer at work, a nose sometimes appears between the armrest and the back of his chair. It belongs to Atlas, his service dog, who has been resting on a bed behind him. Hughes runs simulators for the military, and irritation can build before he recognizes what’s happening….
Seattle Is Changing the Conversation Around Death
Death is one of life’s few certainties, yet it remains remarkably difficult to talk about. Across Seattle, a growing network of practitioners, advocates, and entrepreneurs is trying to change that. From grief walks to death doulas, Seattle is building a new language around loss, and one woman wants to bring more of that conversation into…
Do These 10 Popular Health and Wellness Trends Actually Work?
Local experts break down the results, risks, time, and cost behind everything from contrast therapy and red light masks to protein, Pilates, and rucking.
If you’re online at all, you’ve likely been exposed to any number of must-try workouts, don’t-miss beauty tips, and change-your-life diet suggestions purporting to help you lose weight, look younger, feel more energized, and sleep better. Scrolling social media often feels like a never-ending advertisement for new ways to spend money, presented through the shiny,…