Mayor Jenny A. Durkan has announced a schedule of arts and cultural events that will take place as part of Welcome Back Weeks occurring from Sept. 4-19. This is the second set of Welcome Back Weeks convened by the city and partners, with the goal of helping downtown small businesses, arts and cultural organizations, and creative workers recover. This set of Welcome Back Weeks will feature small business promotions across downtown neighborhoods in addition to the arts and cultural events. Details on all events can be found at www.seattle.gov/covidrecovery.
During the first Welcome Back Weeks in July, the Downtown Seattle Association reported it greeted more than 10,000 people at Welcome Back Booths located in multiple downtown neighborhoods. In addition, DSA produced free live concerts in parks and public plazas and hosted three straight days of happy hour gatherings in Occidental Square. All of those events and attractions return for September’s Welcome Back Weeks, with the Welcome Back Booths, sponsored by Alaska Airlines, stationed throughout downtown the week of Sept. 13. Free live music performances will run through the end of the month and Beers & Bites happy hours return to Occidental from Sept. 16-18. New this month, DSA will welcome people to take a spin on the Westlake Park Roller Rink, supported by Community Sponsors Amazon and Alaska Airlines. Skaters can roll in the park free-of-charge starting Sept. 4.
The first September Welcome Back event will take place Sept. 10, at the Paramount. From 4 to 10 p.m., Borealis, A Festival of Light will present free immersive light and sound experiences designed specifically for the historic Paramount Theatre. Borealis will put on four 35-minute presentations throughout the evening, with extended intervals between each show to allow for cleaning and movement in and out of the theatre. Recent Borealis productions including a virtual show on the Space Needle on New Year’s Eve and a Borealis, A Festival of Light Video Mapping Competition at MOHAI.
Proof of full vaccination and masks are both required for entry to this event. Event staff will all be fully vaccinated, masked, and will be checking for proof of vaccination upon entry. In addition, the Paramount will operate at 50% capacity, with social distancing built into the floor plan. Tickets are completely free, and can be accessed through the Paramount’s website on a first come, first-served basis. In addition, tickets will be available at the box office day-of.
The first 4 p.m. show is focused on a youth audience, though there is no restriction on time slots. Seattle Theatre Group’s Health & Safety Policy can be found here and is applicable to all those in attendance: https://www.stgpresents.org/about/reopening.
On Sept. 18, the city and partners will host a Celebrate Black Lives Matter festival at City Hall Plaza. The festival will include performances curated by queer artist collective Legendary Children. In addition, the festival will feature local Black-owned culinary artists and retailers. This is an entirely outdoors event, and masks and vaccinations are required.
On Sept. 19, the city and partners will host a Welcome Back Seattle finale concert featuring local Seattle artists at the Mural Amphitheatre at Seattle Center from 2 p.m. to sunset. The Vera Project will host DIY art activities including screen printing and button making from 2 – 4 p.m. Live performances start at 4 p.m., with local hip-hop, soul, and R’n’B artists Sango, Fly Moon Royalty, and Essam are performing. This is an entirely outdoors event, and masks and vaccinations are required.
Residents can find more information – including COVID-19 protocols and full lineups – on this website. Welcome Back Weeks are a key element of the City’s Road to Downtown Recovery plan, which seeks to bring workers, small businesses, and visitors back downtown.