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Seattle News Archives & Features

Seafair is summer in Seattle

What started as a 10-day event in 1950 now spans nearly the entire summer.

Seafair kicks off each season in mid-June. The Seafair organization now also brings you the Fourth of July fireworks on Lake Union.

From the milk carton derby to the Rock and Roll Marathon, a lot of the fun Seattle residents have in the summer is sponsored by Seafair.

The grand finale of all the summer's fun is the Seafair Weekend celebration out on Lake Washington, which runs this year Aug. 1-3 at Genessee Park. Seafair is celebrating 65 years in Seattle. Don't miss the biggest party in town!

Fans enjoy Seafair from the logboom on Lake Washington.

The crowning of Miss Seafair

Seafair has been recognizing young women in the community since its beginnings. In its early days, King Neptune's royal court included 20 Seafair princesses who would vie for the position of Seafair Queen.

Barbra Curtis was named the first Seafair Queen in 1950. All the royal court was expected to appear at Seafair events.

Today, Miss Seafair will typically have 100 appearances during her year wearing the crown. Jasmine Goodwin is the reigning Miss Seafair. She is an undergraduate at Washington State University.

The Seafair Scholarship Program for Women dates back 65 years. The eight-week program seeks to rewards academic ambition, celebrate diversity and showcase future leaders. Each young woman is paired up with a professional female mentor and recognized with a scholarship award. One of those women is also named Miss Seafair.

Miss Seafair Jasmine Goodwin is flanked by Maria Solano (1st Princess) and Megan Gimmestad (2nd Princess).

Origin of the Seafair pirates

Seafair kicks off with the landing of the Pirates at Alki, and the swashbucklers are prominent figures at many Seafair events throughout the summer.

The pirates resulted from an early legend created for Seafair where King Neptune and his royal court would battle pirates for control of the city and the festival.

The original pirates banded together in 1949 and were members of the Washington State Press Club's Ale & Quail Society.

Current pirates number around 40 and are selected based on their ability to mix well with the public and for special musical or theatrical talents. Each pirate is tested for a year to make sure they can deal safely and entertainingly with the public.

Here the Seafair pirates make their way around Seattle on their ship Moby Duck.

Seafair and the military

The U.S. Military are a huge part of the annual Seafair festivities.

Each year, Seattle residents are greeted by magnificent military ships on Elliott Bay that offer public tours, as the military members join in the celebration. This year's parade of ships will include ships from the U.S. Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy, the Coast Guard, and the Seattle Fire Department. There are ship tours through Sunday at Pier 66, Pier 69, and Pier 90.

Military air performances are also a fan favorite. The Navy Blue Angels return this year to perform Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There will also be demonstrations from Coast Guard Rescue teams and Marine Fleet aircraft.

Four U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornets, members of the Blue Angels, are seen over Boeing Field.

Hydroplanes at Seafair

The Unlimited hydroplanes made their first appearance at Seafair in its second year with inclusion of boat racing on Lake Washington as part of the big event.

The year prior, Stanley Sayres set a record off of Lake Washington's Sand Point at a speed of 160.32 mph in his Slo-mo-shun IV, and the boat went on to win the Gold Cup, thus beginning Seattle's love of boat racing.

Thunderboats on Lake Washington are now a must see for hundreds of thousands of race fans each year.

The fun at the beach on Lake Washington these days include not just the Unlimited races, but also F1-PROP Tour Racing, the Hyperlite Seafair Wakeboard Experience, entertainment stages, food vendors, fireworks, and of course the Boeing Air Show.

Here the first Unlimited female driver Brenda Jones is shown getting Miss KYYX up to speed in 1981.

Birth of a big parade

The first Seafair Grande Parade was held Saturday August 12, 1950. Around 250,000 spectators attended the first parade.
This year, the parade, now known as the Torchlight Parade, is marking its 65th year. Around 300,000 people are expected to turn out for the parade with another 700,000 watching on television. It's the biggest nighttime parade in the Northwest.

This year, Sounders players Clint Dempsey and Deandre Yedlin will be the parade's grand marshals. Grand Marshals are typically big names in the community. Past grand marshals include Olympian Apolo Ohno, former Seahawks Coach Mike Holmgren, Captain Sig Hansen, and late Mariners announcer Dave Neihaus.

A Seafair float makes its way through downtown Seattle during the parade in 1954.

Seafair and communities

From the beginning, Seafair was about bringing together members of local communities.

The first Seafair in 1950 featured many events people in Seattle can still attend today. Seafair of 1950 included West Seattle Hi-Yu Days, Rainier District Pow-wow, Wallingford Pirate Days, the University District Kid's Parade, and the Ballard Festival.

Seafair today has welcomed dozens of community events under its banner, keeping Puget Sound residents entertained all summer long.

This photo from 1964 shows the University District Seafair parade.

The first Seafair - 1950

The event was originally being planned for the city's centennial in 1951-1952, but the man they hired to help, Walter Van Camp, who had been a big success planning the St. Paul Minnesota's water carnival, wouldn't wait and rolled it out in 1950.

Starting in March, he planned a 10-day event for August. In that time, he built the 5,000 seat Green Lake Aqua Theater in 75 days, and organized an event that featured boat races, amateur athletic events and lots of community activities.

Here spectators enjoy a show at the Green Lake Aqua Theater.

A look back: History of Seafair in Seattle

Seattle, Washington, USA

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