April Brings Play To Seattle Center From Many Parts Of The World

April is play month at Seattle Center with a fun and lively line-up of child-friendly activities to take families through the traditional spring break period and beyond.

The campus is abuzz with youthful goings-on at destinations like Artists at Play, Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP), Pacific Science Center (Spring Fling, through April 15), Seattle Children's Museum and Seattle Children's Theatre (Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience, through May 13 and The Lamp is the Moon, through May 20). Here are some public program highlights during the month:

Our Big Neighborhood - Movin' Around the World, 11 a.m. -3 p.m., April 7-13, Seattle Center Armory, invites youth, caregivers and families to learn by singing, dancing, playing and connecting with cultural communities who share Our Big Neighborhood. Each day of Movin' Around the World features music and dance from a specific part of the world, with master tradition bearers and community leaders set to teach and demonstrate these cultural art traditions. This highly interactive programming allows participants to learn more about the world around them, while getting active on the dancefloor! Our Big Neighborhood is produced by Northwest Folklife in partnership with Seattle Center. Learn more at: https://www.nwfolklife.org/our-big-neighborhood.

International Children's Friendship Festival 2018, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., April 14-15, at Fisher Pavilion and South Fountain Lawn, presents various nationalities through music, folk dancing and art. The free festival, organized by youth, features children in solo and ensemble music and dance as well as an arts showcase featuring the works of children from five to 12 years of age. Represented countries include Bulgaria, China, Germany, India, Mexico, Poland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and more. The Turkish American Cultural Association of Washington produces the International Children's Friendship Festival as part of the Seattle Center's Community Created Events program. For additional information on the festival, visit childrensfest.tacawa.org.

World Rhythm Festival, A World of Musical Performances and Drum & Dance Workshops, the largest-and perhaps liveliest-of the perennial Community Created Events takes place 7 p.m.-10 p.m., Friday, April 27; 10 a.m. -10 p.m., Saturday, April 28 and 10 a.m.-7 p.m., April 29, in Seattle Center Armory, Seattle Center Pavilion, Fisher Pavilion and Mural Amphitheatre. The Festival presents an immersion into world music, drumming and dance and features regional, national and international world music artists. Offerings include all-ages workshops, performances, a drum and dance jam, international marketplace and drum rental. All events are free. Seattle World Percussion Society produces World Rhythm Festival with support from Seattle Center. For more information, visit www.swps.org.

About Seattle Center

Connect to the extraordinary at Seattle Center, an active civic, arts and family gathering place in the core of our region. More than 30 cultural, educational, sports and entertainment organizations that reside on the grounds, together with a broad range of public and community programs, create thousands of events on the 74-acre campus and attract over 12 million visitors each year. At Seattle Center, our purpose is to create exceptional events, experiences and environments that delight and inspire the human spirit to build stronger communities. Activities at the Center generate $1.864 billion in area business activity, 18,621 jobs and $631 million in labor income in King County.