Issaquah’s Aire Craft Festival Brings Art to the Streets and Skies

What’s up there? The inaugural Aire Craft Festival, Paragliding & Street Arts event takes off Aug. 13-16. See aerial performances, street art, live music, circus acts, film screenings, and more in downtown Issaquah and the skies above.

Inspired by France’s famed Coupe Icare and Festival Les Rias, Aire Craft’s organizers are touting the event as the first of its kind in the U.S., with the central attraction being more than 30 costumed pilots paragliding over the city during large-scale “sky parades” scheduled over the weekend. But festivities won’t just take place among the clouds. Throughout downtown and along the Rainier Trail, those on land can expect live painting, roaming performers, family activities, acrobatics, music, and interactive installations designed to transform the city into an immersive arts experience.

Thursday’s opening day includes costume-making workshops for pilots, additional mixed-media workshops, and a film screening featuring the internationally renowned Flying Frenchies. Friday daytime programming will host artist discussions centered around street art, while the evening will feature a flying trapeze performance by the Emerald City Flyers. Saturday and Sunday will center around the festival’s signature Sky Parades and large-scale public performances. The final two days will also bring a wide collection of family activities and street art to Rainier Trail before ultimately wrapping things up with a closing ceremony.