Northwest Folklife Festival celebrates ‘Ikigai’ theme over Memorial Day weekend

SEATTLE — The Northwest Folklife Festival, a vibrant celebration of the diverse cultures and traditions of the Pacific Northwest, is set to take place from May 23 to May 26, 2025, at Seattle Center.

This free, community-powered event will feature over 4,000 performers across more than 20 stages, showcasing music, dance, storytelling, and crafts from over 150 cultural communities.

This year, the festival’s Cultural Focus is “Ikigai,” a Japanese concept that combines “Iki” (life) and “Gai” (worth living).

Organizers said, “Ikigai invites us to embrace an intuitive journey, one that encourages us to navigate life’s complexities and, eventually, challenging us to find and embrace our true purpose, considering both intimate and social dimensions of life.”

The festival hours are:

Friday, May 23, from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, May 24, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.Sunday, May 25, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.and Monday, May 26, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

For more information, including the festival schedule and digital program guide can be found HERE.