SC Festal 2013 Offers 22 Ways to Explore Ethnic Cultures in Seattle

Seattle Center Festál, a series of 22 cultural festivals presented during 2013, explores the rich traditions and contemporary influences of our region's ethnic communities. Through music and dance, visual arts and crafts, film, food, alluring marketplaces, workshops, demonstrations and active play, the free events reveal the ways of life, values and driving forces behind development and evolution of these cultures.

The series is created through a partnership with Seattle Center. Each month, a diverse group of dedicated event producers meet to share best practices, mentor one another and glean inspiration on how to bring together their own communities, while presenting their cultures to the greater community.

Festál derives from the Latin word festalis, meaning feast or festival. It is used to describe an important time or gala occasion. Each Festál event considers themes of importance to the ethnic culture it represents. The various weekend festivals portray celebrations of the sun and moon, independence from colonial rule, remembrances of departed loved ones and the myriad of factors shaping civilizations.

The festivals make use of a range of Seattle Center stages and facilities. Those held in cooler months fill Seattle Center Armory and Fisher Pavilion with the sounds, sights, and aromatics of their cultures. In warmer times of year, the events spill out onto the South Fountain Lawn and Mural Amphitheatre. All of the Festál events offer highly entertaining and informative ways to learn more about the cultures that shape our region.