Arts Festival Picks
Three festivals provide ample arts in August—but each requires a lot of walking
By Seattle Mag July 16, 2013
This article originally appeared in the August 2013 issue of Seattle magazine.
Arts in Nature Festival
Organized by the Nature Consortium, this fest takes place at Camp Long in West Seattle and emphasizes “interaction rather than transaction” (translation: no vendor booths!). Wandering around the woods, participants will encounter live music (including headlining “eco-rockers” Cloud Cult), dance performances, art installations and a fun “museum of sound” staged in the cabins, plus forest hikes, a ropes course, knitting and writing workshops, and naturalist activities. Shoes: Keens and Tevas will be popular in this enviro-minded crowd, but you can take it one step further by hand-making your own footwear using only the shrubs in your yard. 8/10–8/11. Sat. 11 a.m.–9 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.–6 p.m. $10. Camp Long in West Seattle; fest.naturec.org
Lo-Fi Arts Festival
Held at the bucolic 360-acre former dairy farm outside of Arlington now known as Smoke Farm, Lo-Fi is an ode to both local arts and ambling, where installations, theatrical performances and music are embedded in the trees, along trails and sometimes in the river. This year’s theme is “Must Be Present to Win,” and the immense list of artists includes Vis-A-Vis Society (poetry scientists), The Satori Group (avant-garde theater), and visual art by Allison Manch and Evan Blackwell. Shoes: Sort of Burning Man but on a forested farm, this fest demands footwear that pairs rugged walkability with indie artistic flair. Consider adorning your hiking boots with an original oil painting. 8/24. Gates open at 10 a.m. $20–$30. Smoke Farm in Arlington; lofiarts.org
Bumbershoot
The annual arts extravaganza is back, with a music lineup that includes big names such as Heart, Crystal Castles and Death Cab for Cutie, and loads of local goodness, including Allen Stone, The Maldives (pictured below), The Redwood Plan, Kithkin and BellaMaine. The non-music marvels around the grounds include talks with Seattle cartoonists Ellen Forney and Jim Woodring; Matt Smith’s funny monologue “My Last Year with the Nuns,” and something called A Puppet Sex Musical. Shoes: Footwear must hold up to being soaked in the International Fountain, stomped on by enthusiastic moshers and mustn’t lose traction in spilled strawberry shortcake. Combat boots are the only way to go. 8/31–9/2. Times vary. $50/one day, $120/three-day pass. Seattle Center; bumbershoot.org
Follow Us
Studio Sessions: Jo Cosme
The Seattle-based multimedia artist and 2026 Neddy Award winner challenges the postcard version of Puerto Rico and centers the persistence of its people.
Jo Cosme knows how seductive a postcard can be. The Seattle-based Boricua (Puerto Rican) multimedia artist works across photography, installation, video, sound, and interactive elements to examine and pull apart how Puerto Rico is seen, sold, and misunderstood from the outside. Trained in photojournalism, with a BFA in photography from Puerto Rico School of Fine…
Seattle’s Drag Brunch Has History
The city’s Sunday shows started long before the mimosas got bottomless.
There was a time not too long ago, when drag performances—now a mainstay of Seattle’s queer scene—were kept under wraps. And when brunches, complete with singing and dancing queens dressed in dazzling drag as you sipped mimosas, weren’t a Sunday staple. During the 1940s and ‘50s, an era largely shaped by restrictive laws and bias…
Studio Sessions: Sangram Majumdar
Working at the confluence of history, culture, and various painting traditions, UW associate professor Sangram Majumdar is one of this year’s Neddy Artist Award winners.
Discover the art of UW professor Sangram Majumdar, a 2026 Neddy Artist Award winner. Learn about his inspiration and upcoming Seattle exhibition at Cornish.
Rearview Mirror: A Georgian Dinner, Sidewalk Sips, and One-of-a-Kind Clothing
Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).
A new life for old clothes To celebrate one year in its current studio, the FXRY—a clothing repair service available via in-person appointments, home pickup, or mail-in drop off—is dropping its first collection. A small batch of reworked pieces, Second Mark will feature 13 vintage barn jackets, cropped, chain-stitched, and renewed into a completely unique, one-of-one…