Seafair CEO, a Las Vegas shooting survivor, details security for weekend festival after deadly Bite of Seattle
Jul 28, 2026, 6:46 PM
The Blue Angels during a performance. They will be part of Seafair Weekend this year. (Photo: Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images)
(Photo: Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images)
The deadly shooting at the Bite of Seattle that claimed three lives came less than one week before one of the city’s largest events — the Seafair Weekend Festival.
“It was sad, it’s devastating,” she said. “It’s an event organizer’s worst nightmare.”
Seafair President and CEO Emily Cantrell is a survivor of the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas. That experience informs the work she does organizing events for Seafair.
Cantrell told KIRO Newsradio she would understand if someone does not feel safe going to the Seafair Weekend Festival this weekend.
“I don’t blame them because I’ve been in their shoes,” she said. “I know first-hand how they are likely feeling. They have to deal with those feelings. For a lot of people [after] what happened on Sunday night, their sense of safety is absolutely shattered.”
Cantrell assured the public that Seafair events remain safe, saying she would not put her own friends and family in an environment she didn’t believe was secure.
“I would never invite friends, family or the general public to a Seafair event if I wasn’t confident in the measures that we have in place,” she said.
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In terms of security, Cantrell said the Seafair Weekend Festival at Genesee Park will be much different than the Bite of Seattle.
It will be a fully gated event, meaning there is no way in without going through security. OPENGATE Weapons Detection systems will be in place at all three entrances, the same technology used at NFL stadiums.
Seattle Police and Seattle Fire personnel will be on site, along with private security staff.
Frank Lenzi is the News Director for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here.
