A summer's worth of fun to be had in downtown Seattle parks

The other day I picked up my mail and what should I see but a brochure from Seattle Parks & Recreation. Normally I recycle immediately anything addressed to “Postal Customer” but something about this one made me look twice. It must have been the fact this brochure promised all sorts of information about great summer (mostly) free events downtown in our center city parks. Count me in! There are a whole slew of activities scheduled, but here are a select few that I plan to check out:

Of course you can always do the Fremont Outdoor Cinema thing, but for a change of pace try out the downtown version: Center City Cinema. The two where you might see me are Bride and Prejudice on Saturday, August 15 and Shall We Dance on Friday, September 3. All movies begin at dusk, naturally.

There are a bunch of different musical opportunities including First Thursdays Evening Concert Series in Occidental Square, in conjunction with the art walk that happens in Pioneer Square once a month. Or check out the Thursday noon concerts at City Hall, where I might be on July 16 for world fusion with Children of the Revolution or on September 3 for improv musical theater with An Unexpected Musical.

Dancing ‘Til Dusk gives you the chance to get a lesson in before you are let loose on the portable dance floors at Occidental and Freeway Parks. There will be all sorts of styles of music throughout the summer, everything from salsa, to rhythm and blues, to swing. If you’re not so much interested in participating and would rather watch the professionals, check out the Inside Out Dance Company in the same parks performing ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, and modern dance Thursdays on July 9, July 23, and August 20.

I just love the concept of drop-in anything, because you never quite know who is going to be there and how it will go. Two such opportunities for you to experience the adventure of it all are drop-in bocce daily at Occidental Square and drop in tai chi classes Thursdays at noon in Denny Park.

Last but not least, for the times that you still need to be productive but want to take advantage of our few months of incredible weather, check out the wi-fi hot spots in Freeway, Occidental, Westlake, and Victor Steinbrueck Parks. Get a little sun, do a little work, and try not to be distracted by the incredible people-watching to be had in each of these locations.

[Photo of Freeway Park courtesy of ken mccown]