The Urban Craft Uprising, a group formed to showcase independent crafters and artists, takes part in Seattle's Folklife Festival over Memorial Day weekend as well as hosting its own show in July at the Seattle Center exhibition hall. Members craft and sell clothing, jewelry, soaps and other bath products, fragrances and art pieces. Coffee, sweets and other foods are available. The emphasis is on local, sustainable and recycled products.
Bellevue, just across Lake Washington from Seattle, is the site of the Bellevue Festival of the Arts on the last weekend of July. The festival is held in conjunction with two other events, the Bellevue Art Museum's ArtsFair and Bellevue's 6th Street Fair. Find all three fairs between 4th and 10th streets in Bellevue. A juried arts festival, the Bellevue Festival of the Arts showcases art, sculpture, jewelry, textiles, pottery, glass, woodwork and photography.
Weekends from mid-November to mid-December, the Snohomish Holiday Market gives you the chance for some holiday shopping. You can find pet supplies, pottery, glass art, jewelry, organic foods, candles and crystals here. The market is on Second Street in downtown Snohomish. The website urges you to "Come celebrate an old-fashioned Christmas with us."
Coupeville, in northwest Washington, is the site of the Coupeville Arts and Crafts Festival in mid-August. Among the many categories of crafts at this festival are jewelry, clothing, fibers, pottery and ceramics, garden art, glass, metal, leather, painting, photography, toys and wood. Everything must be hand-crafted; this policy extends to the musical entertainment, as the festival only feaures bands who write and play their own music.. Children can enjoy activities such as face painting with parental supervision.
The Liberty Bay Waterfront Park in Poulsbo, Washington, hosts the annual Viking Fest each May. The festival celebrates the area's Scandinavian settlers by featuring traditional music, dance, food and crafts. You can enjoy a road race, a carnival, a parade, a pancake breakfast and booths full of crafts. An annual lutefisk eating contest highlights a traditional Scandinavian dish, dried cod soaked in lye for several weeks before cooks rinse and boil it.