SEA's Back, Baby! - The Return of Seattle Seafair

Christian: [0:00] Hello, hello, and welcome to another edition of the Awesome in Seattle podcast. This is Christian Awesome, of the Awesome and Awesome group at Wilson Realty Exchange, Inc, and we're back. Well, it's back. Seafair is finally back in person after a few years of some quite odd virtual events due to the pandemic. Today, we are gonna be talking all about Seafair, from the hydroplane races, to the Blue Angels, to the Torchlight Parade, and even the Milk Carton Derby, uh, and everything in between. So if you don't know what Seafair is, we wanna teach you a little bit of the history of Seafair so you can kinda understand some of the weird things that go along with it maybe, um, if you're from out of town, and how it came about. But before we get in, let me introduce my co-hosts, the awesome agents at the Awesome and Awesome group. Today, joining me, we have the one, the only, Mr. Les Cutting.

Les: [0:50] What up? What up? What up?

Christian: [0:54] We have Melanie Ghadamy, Mel G.

Melanie: [0:57] Hey,

Christian: [0:58] hey. And the fellow Seattleite, Mr. Nick Toll.

Melanie: [1:02] Hey.

Christian: [1:04] All right, so first up, what is Seafair? For those of you that are new to Seattle, Seafair is one of the most iconic summer-long festivals, uh, in Seattle, and we're pretty famous for it. There are tons of different Seafair events throughout the summer, but there's only one weekend that has two of the most well-known events, and that's the hydroplane races and the airshow that you really need to know about. And not only do you need to know about these because they're fun to attend, but because they can really, really, really snarl traffic, so plan accordingly. This year, and we're talking 2022, that weekend is August 5th through the 7th. That's when you got the hydroplane races and the Blue Angels and the rest of the airshow. I-90 is basically shut down almost the entire time. Not really, but very often, and that just snarls traffic all throughout the city on both the east side and on the Seattle side. But before we dive too deep into specific events, let's go over some of the history, because it's a pretty cool backstory. Let's start at the beginning of how it all started.

Melanie: [2:07] Yes, so Seafair history. Seattle was about to celebrate its centennial back in 1951, and they wanted to get attention. Some of the Seattle businessmen came together. They planned the first Seafair for August back in 1950. That first year they had boat races, not hydroplanes, parades c- including Torchlight Parade, Seafair royalty, and community festivals.

Les: [2:31] Man, Mel, you are bringing me back some years, um, with the Torchlight Parades. I, when I used to work at the, at iHeartRadio, we'd have, go to every single parade in all the little cities that would lead up to the Torchlight Parade. So you're bringing me back. Mm-hmm. But let's talk about the Aqua Follies. Did you know

Christian: [2:50] these- Aqua Follies.

Les: [2:51] Oh, Aqua Follies. Okay.

Christian: [2:53] Like, like they're falling. Follies.

Les: [2:55] Oh, okay. Did you know there used to be an Aqua Follies Theater at Green Lake that housed the Aqua Follies? The Aqua Follies performed a musical with high dives, skits, and comedy, all kinds of fun stuff. Fun fact is they built the Aqua Theater at Green Lake in just 75 days. That's crazy.

Christian: [3:13] Mm-hmm.

Les: [3:13] It had grandstands, a high dive, and an orchestra pit that could seat 5,500 people. That's-

Christian: [3:21] Yeah … quite a bit. And those, those grandstands are still there. They're on kinda the, the south end of the lake. Um, you'll see the big cement, like- They look like steps and people use them to work out and stuff, but that's like part of where the Aquafollies Theater used to be.

Les: [3:36] Nice, nice, nice. So you guys gotta go check that out. But here's some little, some history. Some big bands even played there. So they had Led Zeppelin, the Grateful Dead. Probably saw Bill Walton, like, for those of you guys who don't know who Bill Walton is, he's a basketball player who loved the Grateful Dead and Led Zeppelin, so I can imagine he was probably like strolling through there listening to them. But, um, fortunately high dives were taken down in the 1970s. Most of the theater was dismantled, but you can still see the remnants at Green Lake today, including some of the grandstand, like Christian said.

Christian: [4:14] Yep. Mm-hmm. Yeah, now that we've gone over a bit of the history, let's get back to today. So during the COVID-19 pandemic, uh, they canceled SeaFair as we know it in both 2020 and 2021, and replaced it with virtual events. I'm sure all of you tuned in, right?

Nicholas: [4:31] Nope.

Melanie: [4:33] Oh. Uh, yeah. No.

Nicholas: [4:35] Lots of, lots of local things had- Wha, wha, wha … you know, Pride did virtual events, the New Year's fireworks at the Space Needle did virtual events. Mm-hmm. I didn't do any of them.

Christian: [4:45] I didn't either. Yeah. Yeah, it was kinda lame. Um, they tried their best, but it was really unfortunate that all of that was canceled. But it's finally back this year with in-person events, just like in the past. There are obviously some big local companies helping partner to sponsor SeaFair to make it all happen, like Alaska Airlines, HomeStreet Bank, Boeing, and some more. Uh, but let's go over some of the most popular SeaFair events. If you guys really wanna look at the full list of events, just go to seafair.org. Note that one thing you won't be seeing this year is one of my favorites, and that's the Milk Carton Derby. They say that it's gonna be back next year in 2023, but they don't say why they're not doing it this year, which is a little weird for me. But one other thing that I always look forward to and one that I really wanna show my kids is the SeaFair Pirates.

Nicholas: [5:34] Yeah, so the SeaFair Pirates, uh, they're not officially affiliated with SeaFair or financially backed by them or anything, but they, they're all volunteers. And they, they land on Alki Beach. So that, that happened on June 25th. That kinda starts off the whole thing Um, and, uh, they, they started in 1949, um, as a way to promote SeaFair by the Ale and Quail Society. Um, they, yeah, their, their boat that they ride on, they call it the Moby Duck.

Christian: [6:09] Oh.

Nicholas: [6:10] So yeah, they've got a good sense of humor. Yeah, so they're, they show up at a huge variety of SeaFair events throughout the summer. I think Les mentioned earlier there are, uh, other parades in other cities around Seattle. There's also a lot of, like, local neighborhood parades throughout the city, and the S- SeaFair Pirates, they march in, I think, most of those parades. And so Greenwood-

Les: [6:33] Yeah, they're, they're at all those parades. They- Mm-hmm … they go pretty hard.

Nicholas: [6:36] Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So the Greenwood, uh, neighborhood parade in Northwest Seattle is the oldest local neighborhood parade, or so I hear.

Christian: [6:45] I like the Pirates, but my personal favorite SeaFair event is actually one that most people find annoying. I love 'em. I love the Blue Angels when they buzz the city. Uh, let's kinda go into that.

Melanie: [6:56] Yeah. So the Blue Angels, they do a cool flight demonstration, and they're part of the US Navy. They're a group of six planes, intricate aerial show. One of the most polarizing parts of SeaFair, some people love them and some hate them for a few reasons. One, the cost. People think that the practice of the Blue Angels is money that the government shouldn't be spending. They cost the Navy 34 million and approximately 1.8 million for SeaFair alone. And also, people don't like that they promote the military.

Christian: [7:35] Mm-hmm.

Melanie: [7:37] It's pretty loud, which can also be upsetting for us humans, but also for babies. And lastly, it really disrupts traffic. So one cool thing that I just learned about the Blue Angels is that they have a fundraiser called Brunch and Blues. You can pay to eat brunch with one of the Blue Angel pilots and watch them walk out to the planes and take off. A table is roughly 5,000, so it's definitely not cheap.

Christian: [8:03] Yeah, or if you can get your, like, your company to pay for it and you just get to go enjoy it or something like that.

Melanie: [8:07] Yeah, so the Blue Angels will do three shows this year, August 5th, 6th and 7th, starting at 3:00 PM. Some of the best places to watch the Blue Angels perform are on the lake, um, so on your boat, um, on the I-90 bridge, and anywhere along the waterfront. This year, the Blue Angels have larger, faster aircrafts called the Super Hornet.

Les: [8:31] Okay, so let's talk about another event that's super, super popular at Seafair, the hydroplane, the hydroplane races actually.

Christian: [8:39] Mm.

Les: [8:39] The hydroplane races are a staple of Seafair, and they have been a part of the festival for 70 years. Like, they're really, really fun to watch. If you have never seen it, I recommend you go out. It's actually really, really cool. Yep. I'm not into hydroplaning or not, but at Seafair, like, the atmosphere, it's amazing. I just recommend you go out and go check it out yourself. These boats, they go around 200 miles per hour. Um, just a little history, the APBA Gold Cup, which stands for American Power Boat Association, left Detroit in 1950 in favor of Seattle, so they decided to make the race a part of Seafair, obviously. They held the APBA until 1955 until it went back to Detroit So at that point, Seattle's organizers decided to create their own race, and that's how the Seafair Cup was born. So they changed the name to the HomeStreet Bank Cup, formerly known as the Seafair Cup. This will also take place the same time the Blue Angels fly over the course of the weekend in August. You can see the full schedule on seafair.org. You can buy a variety of tickets to the hydroplane races from the shores of Lake Washington, either general admission tickets or VIP seating. There's a pit pass to get up close and personal with the hydroplanes if you're really into it. Like I said, it's super, super cool experience. So if you haven't checked it out, I recommend you do it, as well as other VIP tickets, including the VIP parking or a shuttle to the event. As Christian and we touched on a little bit, traffic does get crazy, so getting that VIP parking pass will save you a lot of time. But there's also food, um, non-alcoholic beverages and alcoholic beverages. Great way to enjoy your time on the water. Mm-hmm. You know, some booze, boats, food.

Christian: [10:18] Planes.

Les: [10:20] Planes. All, all, all there. One of the cool- Speed.

Christian: [10:23] Speed. Speed.

Les: [10:25] Mm-hmm. One of the coolest and most unique Seattle things to do is watch the hydroplane races and the Blue Angels from a boat attached to the log boom. These log boom tickets are available at seafair.org, as is everything else Seafair related.

Christian: [10:38] Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah, it's, it's super cool. I've never personally done it, but it just looks like a gigantic party on the water when people are … You know, they got their boat moored against a, a log that's just chilling there along the racetrack. It looks super fun. I don't know if any of you guys have ever done that, but I, I hope to do that at some point in my life.

Nicholas: [10:56] Some of the other Seafair events include the 4th of July fireworks on Lake Union, which I only recently learned was part of Seafair. I just always knew it as 4th of July Lake Union fireworks. But yeah. Mm-hmm. That's, it's a Seafair event.

Christian: [11:10] Yeah.

Nicholas: [11:10] The Torchlight Parade, uh, and Torchlight Triathlon and Torchlight Run, which all take place on July 30th. I know the Torchlight Parade is downtown. I think the other two probably are- I think they're

Christian: [11:22] also through downtown too, yeah.

Nicholas: [11:24] Yeah, it's on, like, 4th Avenue. Very common parade route.

Christian: [11:27] Mm-hmm.

Nicholas: [11:28] Uh, there's also the Seafair Classic Car Show, which I don't know if there's multiple of those. I know there's the Greenwood Car Show, um- That's the one I'm thinking of. That's, that happens right around the same, right around the time of the Greenwood Parade, I think.

Christian: [11:44] Mm-hmm.

Nicholas: [11:44] Um, yeah, and then also, like Christian was saying, there's usually the SeaFair Milk Carton Derby. Not this year, but it's pretty fun to watch. It's held at Green Lake, and features a lot of people who build boats out of empty milk cartons. Um, they complete, uh, they compete for different titles, like the fastest boat and best design. It's kinda like a pinewood derby, I think.

Christian: [12:06] Yeah, exactly. And there are, like, a lot of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and stuff that, like, have, will have team boats. I already talked about some of my favorite things to do at SeaFair, which is Milk Carton Derby, to watch that, and, you know, SeaFair, um, or, and the Blue Angels. Uh, what are some of your favorite things to do, guys?

Nicholas: [12:25] I'm really looking forward to something that unfortunately will take place after the recording of this podcast, but before the airing of it. The Ballard Seafood Fest- Mm … on the weekend of the July 15th through 17. Yes. I've only been once, but I love seafood, and I wanna go this year.

Christian: [12:43] Yeah.

Nicholas: [12:43] So I'm really looking forward to it.

Les: [12:44] That is a must-do, for sure.

Christian: [12:47] All right. Well, I am super excited that SeaFair's finally back this year. For me personally, it's the first year that I feel like all my kids are finally old enough to actually enjoy some of the events and activities. I can't wait to actually partake in them. If you want to know more about SeaFair, feel free to reach out to us. You can always also go to seafair.org. But if you want any tips or tricks on where to go, where to park, shuttle type stuff, I mean, don't hesitate to reach out. We'd love to help you. Uh, we're definitely not, like, experts, but we've all been there at some point in our lives. It's a lot of fun, so… Before we go, I also gotta bring up that our next Beers and Home Buying class is coming up on August 10th in Bellevue at The Forum. Uh, we have another one coming up in mid-September in Northgate, and, you know, pretty much every other month after that. The only month we don't do them is December. Uh, so if you are interested in potentially buying a house, or you just wanna learn, like, how does this work, is this even possible for me, could I ever buy a house, uh, the class is only an hour. They're totally free. There is literally zero pressure to do anything. It is just, you know, a good time for you to sit there and kinda learn, and either eat some food or drink some beer, depending on the venue, and, and learn about buying a house. So you can always check those out at beersandhomebuying.com (opens in a new tab). Uh, if you ever have questions or you're ready to kinda take that next step, feel free to reach us, or reach out to us at AwesomeNossumGroup.com. You can schedule times to chat with us right online. A no obligation Zoom call with us, uh, you can schedule that right on our website, AwesomeNossumGroup.com/schedule. That's it for this episode. Thanks so much Nick, Les, and Mel for joining me, and I hope everyone enjoys SeaFair this year. See ya.

Melanie: [14:32] Bye. Bye.