Seattle-area Memorial Day weekend guide: Folk festival, Wild Waves, break dancing, and more!

We have hit the unofficial start of summer as Memorial Day weekend is here, and there is plenty to do in the Seattle area!

It is going to be the perfect weekend for the Northwest Folklife Festival, which is three days of music and live performances, dancing, film, fashion, food, and crafts, plus daily activities for you and the family. If you are someone who can play an instrument, there will be scheduled jam sessions at the jam tents throughout the weekend, as well as plenty of opportunities to join in and play with folks just enjoying the festival. The Northwest Folklife Festival starts Friday and runs through Monday at the Seattle Center.

If you have been wanting to grab some books on your summer reading list, Ballard will be the place to be this weekend for the inaugural Ballard Book Crawl. Five stores in the neighborhood are teaming up for a weekend full of activities like book bedazzling and readings, promotions and discounts, and an opportunity to win hundreds of dollars in prizes. Ballard Books, The Ink Drinker, Secret Garden, Swoon City, and Twice Sold Tales are the shops taking part in the fun, which starts Friday.

It’s Opening Weekend at Wild Waves, and the sun will be shining for (most) of the weekend, so why not enjoy the long weekend by celebrating riding the rides, hanging out with friends in the wave pool, and checking out the thrill rides? The 50th and final season of Wild Waves begins on Saturday, and in honor of Memorial Day, they are offering their lowest price ever for active and retired military and their guests, just $29.99 for gate admission. Get more details on their website.

Memorial Day ceremonies in Seattle area

There are a variety of Memorial Day ceremonies that will be happening through the weekend, but especially on Memorial Day itself.

Bonney Watson is hosting a Memorial Day flag placement ceremony at Washington Memorial Park on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. Flags will be placed on the final resting place of veterans in the park. If you are interested in volunteering to lay the flags, they ask that you email ahead of time.

On Memorial Day itself, there will be ceremonies in Kent, Lakewood, Lynwood, Mill Creek, Olympia, Seattle, and Tacoma. You can click on the city names for more information about events in your area.

The Neptune Theater will be home to some of the best dancers in the world this Sunday during the 27th annual Massive Monkees Day. This dance party highlights a variety of dance styles, but especially the art of breaking. There will also be workshops to improve your footwork, plus watch parties to see all the action and lots more. Massive Monkees Day celebrations start on Saturday.

This weekend is for the birds in Tacoma … literally. There are two events all about birding that happen towards the end of each month.

The Port Defiance Bird Walk happens on the fourth Sunday of every month and is a guided walk through Point Defiance Park from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The event is free, but registration is required.

Every fourth Monday of the month, there is a guided birding walk at the Adriana Hess Audubon Center that starts at 9:30 AM. This walk is geared towards beginners and is hosted by the Tahoma Bird Alliance. Both events do ask that you bring your own binoculars, but there will be some available to borrow as well.

How are you getting into the swing of summer fun? Let me know at paulh@kiroradio.com.