Masking and proof of vaccination are required at all City of Seattle Welcome Back events
Mayor Jenny A. Durkan announced a schedule of arts and cultural events that will take place as part of Welcome Back Weeks occurring from September 4-19. This is the second set of Welcome Back Weeks convened by the City and partners, with the goal of helping downtown small businesses, arts and cultural organizations, and creative workers recover.
The City is hosting three events that center our historic arts and cultural scene, small businesses, and the creative workers who define our city:
- Friday, September 10, 4-10 p.m.: Borealis, A Festival of Light will present free immersive light and sound experiences designed specifically for the historic Paramount Theatre. Proof of full vaccination and masks are both required for entry to this event. Tickets are completely free, and can be accessed through the Paramount’s website on a first come, first-served basis.
- Saturday, September 18, 4-7 p.m.: City and partners will host a Celebrate Black Lives Matter festival at City Hall Plaza. There will be performances curated by queer artist collective Legendary Children. In addition, the festival will feature local Black-owned culinary artists and retailers. This is an entirely outdoors event, and masks and vaccinations are required.
- Sunday, September 19, 2 p.m. to sunset: Welcome Back Seattle Welcome Back Seattle finale concert at the Mural Amphitheatre at Seattle Center. The Vera Project will host art activities including screen printing and button making from 2-4 p.m. Live performances start at 4 p.m., with local hip-hop, soul, and R’n’B artists Sango, Fly Moon Royalty and Essam are performing. This is an entirely outdoors event, and masks and vaccinations are required.
Details on all events can be found at seattle.gov/covidrecovery.
New this month, Downtown Seattle Association will welcome people to take a spin on the Westlake Park Roller Rink, supported by Community Sponsors Amazon and Alaska Airlines. Skaters can roll in the park free-of-charge starting Saturday, September 4. The City also partnered with the Intentionalist to sponsor promotions for BIPOC, women, and LGBTQ+-owned downtown small businesses throughout September.
As COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations increase, caused largely by the Delta variant spreading primarily among unvaccinated people, the City is committed to centering health and safety at our events. As such, all events will include a vaccination and masking requirement, and will incorporate social distancing to the extent possible.
We hope to see you downtown this September as we help our creative workers, small businesses, and arts and culture industries reopen and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
