After the first round of Welcome Back Weeks in July — which invited people to various downtown parks to enjoy live music, food and more in the name of getting people to spend time downtown again — Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and the Downtown Seattle Association announced a second slate of events to take place Sept. 4-19. These events are part of the city’s downtown recovery effort, which aims to help small businesses, arts and cultural organizations and creative workers recover after the pandemic left many downtown buildings empty.
“In July, we helped thousands of Seattleites and visitors take it outside, support small businesses and celebrate our incredible downtown core through Welcome Back Weeks. We’re looking to keep up the momentum this September with Welcome Back events that feature our resilient creative workers and arts and cultural organizations,” Durkan said in a news release. “Our goal is to boost this vital industry, bring folks back downtown and offer a safe way to experience arts and culture amidst the pandemic.”
The first round of Welcome Back Weeks drew an audience of more than 10,000 people in multiple downtown neighborhoods. The second slate will include many of the same features, such as live music with local artists, food and drinks, and information booths across the city. Three large-scale events will take place at the Paramount Theatre, City Hall Plaza and the Mural Amphitheatre at Seattle Center.
From 4-10 p.m. Sept. 10 at the Paramount Theatre, visitors can enjoy a free presentation of an immersive light and sound experience that blends art, technology and music, from Borealis, A Festival of Light. The show will include four 35-minute presentations with breaks in between to allow for cleaning and movement in and out of the theater. Tickets can be accessed online at universe.com/events/borealis-at-the-paramount-tickets-2DP6Y5.
The second large-scale event will take place Sept. 18 at City Hall Plaza as part of a Celebrate Black Lives Matter festival. The outdoor festival will include local, Black-owned retailers and food and performances curated by Legendary Children, a queer artist collective.
The third event, from 2 p.m. to sunset Sept. 19 at Seattle Center’s Mural Amphitheatre, is an outdoor concert featuring Seattle artists Sango, Fly Moon Royalty and Essam. The Vera Project hosts DIY art activities including screen printing and button-making from 2-4 p.m. Live performances start at 4 p.m.
Proof of vaccination and masks are required at all three events.
More information about Welcome Back Weeks and the downtown recovery effort is available at seattle.gov/mayor/covid-19/downtown-recovery.
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