If you’ve strolled past Waterfront Park, heard music pumping and seen people dancing like nobody’s watching, that’s energy from our community partner, We Move to Give. For seven years, founder Meli Bliss (she/her) and her incredible community (or as she warmly calls them, familia) have shown up to the waterfront with free Zumba master classes, big energy, and even bigger hearts. It all started on the original Pier 58—long before the …
July 14, 2026
Blog summary: Spotlight at Waterfront Park turns six this summer — a free performance series built with and for Seattle’s BIPOC artists, cultural communities and community partners since 2021. Senior Programs Manager Kelli Faryar reflects on what six years of community building sounds like — and invites you to experience it live, free, every Thursday from July …
Guest writers: Jason Merges, Joey Smith What an incredible few weeks it has been for our city, for Waterfront Park, and for the people that come together in this space. Seattle is setting the standard for this World Cup—hosting nail-biting matches, watch parties and community celebrations that showed exactly why Seattle built this new gathering place on our shoreline. If you’ve joined us and our partners for a watch party …
Picture this: it’s backstage at Indigiqueer Festival and two drag artists, Koko Swallowz and Cherry Bepsi, are deep in a conversation about their Twitch stream. Not nerves. Not logistics. Just two people who’ve become friends, laughing before a show, talking about video games like they’ve known each other for years. That moment is one Friends public …
Blog Summary: Tips from Waterfront Park’s insiders on how to prepare for your visit, travel to and from the Park and enjoy a full day by the Salish Sea. Summer at Waterfront Park is almost here and we want to make sure you’re ready to make the most of it. From what to pack to where to take a rest, here’s everything …
May is Small Business Month and at Waterfront Park, our programming season is a chance to celebrate the small business owners and entrepreneurs who bring their craft to this public space. The 2026 season is packed with flavors, artistry and community brought to this public space through our vending program. The vending program is about more than great food and beautiful …
After a transformative period of leadership for Friends and Waterfront Park, President and CEO Joy Shigaki announced today that she will be stepping down from her role later this summer. Her last day will be on July 17, marked by our signature Pier Party at Pier 62. Shigaki has led the organization since 2022, guiding …
May 4, 2026
Last year, Waterfront Park introduced itself to Seattle. This summer, we at Friends are inviting everyone to settle in and make it a season to remember. After welcoming more than 3.4 million people during its landmark 2025 Grand Opening Season, Friends of Waterfront Park announces its 2026 Programming Season—a bold, community-centered calendar of free events, …
April 20, 2026
When the Nisqually earthquake rattled Seattle and the broader region in 2001, it set in motion a comprehensive effort to reimagine our waterfront and remove a massive 1950’s highway that divided our downtown. After decades of advocacy by the community, Friends, and civic leaders, boring machine breakdowns that delayed the new HW 99 tunnel, and a massive fundraising effort, Waterfront Park has been fully come to life. All 20 acres of new public …
Blog Summary: Former Friends board chair Maggie Walker was named a 2026 Hero of the Deep by the Seattle Kraken and One Roof Foundation, recognized for her decades of civic leadership, philanthropic investment and steadfast commitment to inclusion and equity in public spaces. Friends public programs manager and Indigenous programs curator Jordan Remington received the same honor …