Photo courtesy of the City of Seattle and Tim Rice Aerials
HomeStretch Parties
With Waterfront Park opening in early 2025, the Campaign for Waterfront Park is now in the homestretch, and we want to invite you to be part of it!
Join us for a HomeStretch Party to learn more about the campaign and the impact of Waterfront Park from the perspective of the special guest speakers at each event. We’ll also share the latest on the project and how you can be part of this incredible new public space.
Please select the host, speaker, and date that work for you and RSVP.
Elliott Way's Honorary Name, Dzidzilalich. Photo by Jo Cosme.
Homestretch Party #1: Dzidzilalich
Alaskan Way and Elliott Way re-opened in 2024 as part of the new waterfront with an honorary name: Dzidzilalich. This name honors the Puget Sound Coast Salish people who have resided in current-day Seattle since time immemorial. The waterfront was a fishing village, a center for trade, and a place through which many different tribal communities travelled, long before the arrival of white settlers. Learn about the Indigenous history and places that formed Seattle through the lens of Suquamish and Muckleshoot Tribal leaders and the Waterlines Project.
- Guest Speakers: Leonard Forsman, Warren KingGeorge & Peter Lape
- Hosts: Brady Piñero Walkinshaw & Donna Moodie
- When: Wednesday, April 24, 2024 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
- Where: Downtown Seattle
Demolition of the Alaskan Way Viaduct in 2019.
HomeStretch Party #2: Transforming Seattle’s Waterfront
Opening in 2025, Waterfront Park represents an audacious community vision to transform our city, at last re-connecting downtown Seattle to the Salish Sea. Angela Brady and Jessica Murphy from the Office of the Waterfront & Civic Projects will share the latest on the project – from the innovative design by NYC-based Field Operations, to the engineering complexities of Overlook Walk, to the robust landscaping plan that is emerging with the arrival of spring.
- Guest Speakers: Angela Brady, Director, Office of the Waterfront & Civic Projects & Jessica Murphy, Construction Program Manager, Office of the Waterfront & Civic Projects
- Host: Maryanne Tagney
- When: Thursday, May 9, 2024 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.
- Where: West Seattle
HomeStretch Party #3: Let it Not Happen Again ‑ Lessons from the Japanese American Exclusion
Clarence Moriwaki and Joy Shigaki will connect Japanese American incarceration histories on both Bainbridge Island and Seattle’s waterfront, providing a human, historical account of this national tragedy. Waterfront Park will be a place where these and other stories of marginalization and community harm will be acknowledged and shared with the intention of creating a new public space for healing, solidarity, and resilience.
- Guest Speakers: Clarence Moriwaki, Councilmember, City of Bainbridge Island and Joy Shigaki, CEO, Friends of Waterfront Seattle
- Hosts: Deirdre and Fraser Black
- When: Thursday, June 13, 2024 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
- Where: Bainbridge Island
HomeStretch Party #4: Arts, Culture & Community at Waterfront Park
Opening to the community in 2025, Waterfront Park will provide an expansive new canvas for arts, culture, and community in the heart of Seattle’s downtown. Join Yoon Kang O’Higgins and Randy Engstrom for a discussion about the role of arts and culture in fostering inclusive public space, the placemaking work of Friends, and the potential of Waterfront Park to shape Seattle’s next chapter.
- Guest Speakers: Yoon Kang O’Higgins, Director of Community Impact & Programming and Randy Engstrom, Founder, Third Way Creative
- Hosts: Beth McCaw and Yahn Bernier
- When: Thursday, September 12, 2024 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
- Where: Medina
Photo by Adam Lu, Waterfront Block Party 2023
Homestretch Party #5: Waterfront Park as Sports Connector
Seattle is a place that elevates sports and fandom – from the “march to the match” to introduction of the Kraken, to the electric energy at a Storm or Seahawks game. Waterfront Park will create 20 acres of new space for fans to celebrate and connect. Beth Knox, CEO of the Seattle Sports Commission, will discuss the power of sports and their contribution to an economically and culturally vibrant region, as Seattle looks ahead to hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2026.
- Guest Speakers: Beth Knox, President & CEO, Seattle Sports Commission
- Hosts: Liz and Mike Hilton
- When: Tuesday, October 1, 2024 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
- Where: Downtown Seattle
Photo by Sandra Harris
HomeStretch Party #6: Seattle’s Seawall Secrets
Completed in 2017, Seattle’s Elliott Bay Seawall was specifically designed to withstand seismic events, navigate sea-level rise, and restore critical salmon habitat. Join UW scientists from the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences to learn about this incredible infrastructure that serves as the foundation for Seattle’s new Waterfront Park and actively supports marine life and the migration of juvenile salmon.
- Guest Speakers: UW Research Scientists, School of Aquatic & Fishery Sciences
- Hosts: Maren Monsen and Jeff Grainger
- When: Thursday, October 17, 2024 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
- Where: Capitol Hill