Rumi poetry, puppet shows and face painting will provide a glimpse into this culturally opulent culture. The festival’s featured guest, Ali Rouhfar, a Persian Calligraphy artist, will exhibit some of his pieces and introduce this unique Persian writing to the general public by demonstrating the techniques he applies to create such masterpieces.

The 2013 Iranian Festival also features:

• Traditional Persian tea house
• Bazaar featuring ethnic goods, art and more
• Renowned Vancouver, BC musician Amir Haghighi
• Louisa Shafia, chef and author of “The New Persian Kitchen”
• Meghan Sayers, author of “Love and Pomegranates”
• Los Angeles based comedian Tehran “SoParvaz” Von Ghasri
• Iranian Americans Got Talent – Top five contestants will perform at the festival and the professional judges will pick the top three.

Seattle Center Festál, a series of 22 celebrations presented by community organizations with support from Seattle Center, considers themes of importance to ethnic cultures in our region, revealing their common forms of tradition and expression, while highlighting their unique contributions to the Pacific Northwest and the world.

Iranian Festival is produced in partnership with Iranian American Community Alliance. For more information on Iranian Festival, visit www.iaca-seattle.org.  Click on www.seattlecenter.com or call 206 684-7200 to learn more about Seattle Center Festál and other outstanding public programming offered at Seattle Center.

Who has inspired you to make a difference? As you may have heard, StoryCorps is coming to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Visitor Center June 27-29 to record stories of making a difference. Please find the details below. The deadline to apply for this unique opportunity is this Wednesday, June 12.

We encourage you to apply and share this unique opportunity via email and via social media. Below, you can also find sample social content plus all the details.

Facebook: Post to share https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=658007364215393&set=a.364823263533806.105472.362645517084914&type=1&theater

Facebook: Attend and share the event: https://www.facebook.com/events/421928407905419/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GatesVC

Festival Sundiata explores the cultural roots and contemporary influences of African-Americans through live performances, hands-on activities, fashion and worldly gifts. Festival-goers are invited to join in African dance workshops, learn traditional drumming rhythms and take in the richness of black culture during a weekend filled with continuous entertainment.

One of the leading Black Arts showcases on the West Coast, the Festival is named for legendary 13th century King Sundiata of West Africa’s Mali Empire. In 2013, it features:

• Music:  Kalimba the World’s #1 Earth, Wind and Fire tribute band;
• Food:  four of the top food trucks in the Seattle area, along with the Roasted Corn stand  – Jemil’s Creole Cuisine, Ezell’s, Best Chicken in the City, Papa Bois, Caribbean Menu and HP’s Smoke House BBQ, where the meat is falling off the bone;
• Ongoing entertainment on four stages:  Armory, Mural Amphitheatre, Fisher rooftop and Armory West, which will concentrate on younger festival visitors;
• Art:  Black Arts Exhibit 2013. Marita Dingus returns with her popular Doll making;
• Education:  The Amazing American History exhibit, Education Expo, and the Northwest Black Quilters, which teaches quilt making on Saturday;
• Information:  Various causes and a host of non-profit organizations;
• Shopping:  a great  line-up of vendors with one-of-a-kind gifts, clothes and confectionery goods;
• Special Events:  The Show and Shine Car Show and 1,000 Black Fathers photo shoot  (Sunday at 2 p.m.).

Seattle Center Festál, a series of 22 celebrations presented by community organizations with support from Seattle Center, considers themes of importance to ethnic cultures in our region, revealing their common forms of tradition and expression, while highlighting their unique contributions to the Pacific Northwest and the world.

Festival Sundiata – Black Arts Fest is produced in partnership with Sundiata African-American Cultural Association. For more information on Festival Sundiata – Black Arts Fest, visit www.festivalsundiata.org. Click on www.seattlecenter.com or call 206 684-7200 to learn more about Seattle Center Festál and other outstanding public programming offered at Seattle Center.

The Mercer West Corridor Project is underway, and drivers will find road changes in the Seattle Center vicinity. While these do not affect access to Seattle Center from I-5, lane and exit closures do impact on routes that lead away from the Center – and to the Center from SR-99.  Eastbound Mercer St. from 4^th Ave N. to Dexter Ave. is reduced to the two south lanes, and the north sidewalk is closed. The SR-99 northbound exit at Mercer St. and the southbound exit at Broad St. are closed permanently. Eastbound Broad St. has re-opened to provide visitors leaving the Center a quick connection to I-5.

Seattle Center and Northwest Folklife have worked together to make sure festival-goers have many transportation options:

Driving to the Festival:   Please check the SDOT and WSDOT websites for more information and updates on road construction. Seattle Center also provides transportation updates at www.seattlecenter.com.

Parking at Seattle Center:  Seattle Center provides three parking garages, at 5^th Ave. N., between Harrison and Republican, at 1^st Ave. N. between John and Thomas streets, and in the Mercer Garage, between 3^rd and 4^th avenues. In addition, there are several paid lots within a three block radius of Seattle Center.

Disabled parking:  All lots around Seattle Center have designated disabled parking spots. Visitors should check with a parking attendant if all the available spaces are full. There are also designated spots on 2^nd Ave. N. just south of Thomas St. and on Warren Ave. just south of Mercer St.

New! Ride Sharing Options:  This year Northwest Folklife is partnering with RideAmigos to bring festival-goers an easy tool for posting and finding carpooling options. Save money, save gas, and make friends, all while reducing congestion on the road to Folklife. The festival also has a special deal with car2go. Read all about it here!

King Country Metro Folklife Shuttle:  Festival-goers may save time, save money, and have a more enjoyable ride to and from this year’s Northwest Folklife Festival when they ride the King County Metro Folklife Shuttle from Northgate! Click here to read more.

Seattle Center Monorail:  The Seattle Monorail goes directly to Seattle Center from Downtown. The Monorail departs every ten minutes, running between Seattle Center station, adjacent to the Space Needle, and Westlake Center Mall station, at Fifth Avenue and Pine Street. In 2012, the Monorail trains carried 50,000 passengers to and from the festival.

Arrival by bike:  There is a large bike corral located at the Harrison St. entrance hosted by Bike Works! Riders may also stop by their booth to learn more about community bike programs, get a quick tune-up or donate your old bicycles, miscellaneous parts, and accessories/gear! The Seattle Department of Transportation’s Bicycling Guide Map includes bike routes to Seattle Center. Visitors may also use a Google Interactive Directions Map to plan a custom route by bike.

Festival Hours:  Festival programming begins at 11 a.m. and concludes at 10 p.m. from Friday until Sunday. The Festival runs from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. on Monday. Food vendor hours may vary.

Learn Chinese folk dances, create delicate artworks, and share in cultural traditions covering 5,000 years of Chinese history.  This year’s festival presents:

• Sunshine Modeling & Arts Studio;
• Nortwest Wushu and Seattle Wushu Center;
• Seattle Chinese Chorus and Seattle Kids Chorus;
• Seattle Chinese Orchestra;
• CHIME band;
• Entertainment by the following academies and schools:  Zhenlum Cello Studio;
• Hengda Dance Academy, Chinese Dance Academy, Chinese Wushu and Tai Chi Academy, Wudang International Martial Arts Academy, Northwest Chinese School, Melody Institute Chinese Children’s Dance.

Seattle Center Festál, a series of 22 celebrations presented by community organizations with support from Seattle Center, considers themes of importance to ethnic cultures in our region, revealing their common forms of tradition and expression, while highlighting their unique contributions to the Pacific Northwest and the world.

A Glimpse of China – Chinese Culture and Arts Festival is produced in partnership with Washington Chinese Art Culture Committee. For more information on the festival, click on www.seattlecenter.com or call 206 684-7200 to learn more about Seattle Center Festál and other outstanding public programming offered at Seattle Center.

The annual festival expands this year to include artists and performers whose expression clearly reflects the influence of West African culture, but who live and work in Seattle and call this city their home, regardless of where they were born. They come from places like Trinidad, Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Peru, Columbia, Brazil, Guyana and the list could go on.

Under the direction of Senegalese born Thione Diop, Festál: Spirit of West Africa, has always focused on music and dance as performed by West African artists, many of them brought to Seattle just for this festival as guest performers. The more expansive view this year considers the fact that Seattle is now home to many artists from the these nations as well as the great African Diaspora, that vast region of the Americas created by the trans-Atlantic slave trade, who continue to practice their traditional arts. In addition, many American-born artists consciously work in mediums, especially music, that emphasize and celebrate West African cultural ideas and values.

Thus, the exciting and accomplished performers at this year’s festival will feature music and dance from the following cultures:

• Afro-Peruvian traditions De Cajoná
• Caribbean steel drums – Cover Your Ears Steel Band
• Afro-Brazilian dance – Dora Olivieraá
• Afro-Cuban Ceremonial music – Omo Alagba Bata’
• Traditional and contemporary music and dance from the following Senegal – Sabar with Mapate Diop, Thione, Gora Diop with Yeke Yeke and dance with Sumaya
• Guinea – Mamady Mansari
• Ghana – Obo Addy’s Ghanain Legacy.

An art workshop and an Africa-Seattle fashion show, Best of Both Worlds, will add to the fun and enjoyment. Admission is free as part of the Seattle Center Festál series.

Seattle Center Festál, a series of 22 celebrations presented by community organizations with support from Seattle Center, considers themes of importance to ethnic cultures in our region, revealing their common forms of tradition and expression, while highlighting their unique contributions to the Pacific Northwest and the world.

Spirit of West Africa is produced in partnership with Spirit of West Africa Committee. For more information on the festival, visit www.thionediop.com. Click on www.seattlecenter.com or call 206 684-7200 to learn more about Seattle Center Festál and other outstanding public programming offered at Seattle Center.á

The 38^th annual Festival focuses on the theme of Numbers. Did you know that the name Google was adopted from the word Googol, which signifies the number digit one followed by 100 zeros? Do you know how many zeros a Nivenonagintillion contains? The Festival delves into these and other numeric fascinations. It also will attempt to create a new Guinness World Record involving a challenge between a Japanese Abacus device called Soroban and the Super Computer.

Additional Festival highlights:

• TOHOKU Through the  Eyes of Japanese photography exhibit, sponsored by Japan Foundation;
• U.S. premiere – Aquaphoto Concert by underwater photographer-singer, Hiroshi Takano of Osaka, Japan, sponsored by Japan Foundation;
• Dance and music by the Nago Minori troupe of Okinawa, Japan;
• Over 60 traditional arts and crafts;
• Over 30 traditional performing arts / martial arts including Taiko Drummers;
• Many child oriented hands-on activities including The Kid’s Passport;
• Japanese foods including:  curry-rice (Japanese style curry), Takoyaki (octopus dumplings), Gyudon (beef bowl), Japanese hot dog, Bento-Box, Manju sweets and gourmet cookies;
• Updates on the 2011 Erthquake/Tsunami recovery.

The Festival was founded in appreciation of 1,000 cherry trees gifted to Seattle by Prime Minister Takeo Miki on behalf of the Japanese government in commemoration of the nation’s bicentennial. It is the first ethnic festival to be held at Seattle Center annually and the oldest in the Seattle Center Festál series.

Seattle Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival is produced in partnership with Seattle Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival Committee. For more information on the Festival, the Festal series and other public events at Seattle Center, visit www.seattlecenter.com or call 206 684-7200.

Live music, theater and dance as well as international food and wine add to the celebration of French culture and regional presence. This inaugural celebration of la Francophonie in Seattle highlights many of the over 70 member states included in Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie.

Performance highlights include:

Tahitian dance by Te Fare O Tamatoa, Louisiana Cajun music from Folichon, French-Canadian tunes and percussive dance by Podorythmie, gypsy jazz from Pearl Django and traditional French language songs from around the world by the Alliance Française Choir and the Théâtre Français Choir.

Festival-goers are also invited to informational seminars on French fashion in Seattle with Seattle’s Fashion Incubator, the Canadian Métis in the Pacific Northwest, the Francophone world, French politics and readings of French language poetry from around the world with Misa Bourdoiseau of Éducation Française Greater Seattle.

Creative activities for children of all ages organized by the Alliance Française de Seattle and booths hosted by Bseveral additional French culture and language organizations in the region compliment these interactive performances and seminars.

Au menu in the international bistro includes foods from around la Francophonie:  Louisiana fried oyster po’boy sandwich, sandwich Parisian (ham baguette sandwich), bisque de tomate (creamy tomato soup), salade de crudités (trio of fresh salads) and Belgian moules frites (steamed mussels with fries).

Seattle French Fest is produced in partnership with France Education Northwest under the auspices of the Consular Agency of France. For more information on Seattle French Fest, visit www.fenpnw.org. Click on www.seattlecenter.com or call 206 684-7200 to learn more about Seattle Center Festál and other outstanding public events offered at Seattle Center.

The revisions also replace the Campus Exclusion rule with a Trespass on Campus rule pertaining to violators of Seattle Center Campus rules and Seattle Center Armory rules and other applicable laws under the Seattle Municipal Code or Revised Code of Washington.

The amended Campus Rules would be issued under Seattle Municipal Code Section 17.04.040 – Adoption of Rules and Regulations.

The proposed revised Campus Rules are posted at:  www.seattlecenter.com. Written copies are available at the Director’s Office, Seattle Center, 305 Harrison Street (Seattle Center Armory), Suite 215, Seattle, WA  98109 or by email request to denise.wells@seatlte.gov.

Written comments regarding the amendments may be submitted by [date] to Denise Wells, Seattle Center, 305 Harrison Street, Suite 215, Seattle, WA  98109 or to denise.wells@seattle.gov.

Seattle Center will conduct a public meeting regarding the proposed revised Campus Rules on Monday, April 22, 5:30 pm to 7 pm, in Conference Room H, located on the 3^rd floor of Seattle Center Armory.

Concurrent with the revised Campus Rules are revisions to Seattle Center Armory Rules. The Armory Rules revisions are posted for review and comment at:  www.seattlecenter.com.

After a highly successful launch to SBDHH in February, Seattle Center production staff took note of the high points and long lines to fine-tune the weeknight gathering. Here are some of the new happy hour offerings featured in March:

 More seating, bars and games including additional giant Scrabble and Jenga

• Longtime noted Seattle DJ, WD40
• Specialty Cocktails:  Blueberry Ginger Extra Punch, Pink Greyhound, and Blueberry Ginger Punch (non-alcoholic)
• Prizes from campus organizations like Chihuly Garden and Glass, EMP Museum, Seattle Repertory Theatre, the Space Needle and Teatro ZinZanni
• Grand Prize: a Suite in KeyArena for the April 13 Rat City Rollergirls Bout and Two Premium Tickets to Rihanna:  Diamonds World Tour on April 3 at KeyArena
• Creative and delicious happy hour menu specials from Armory eateries
• Games galore including:  Apples to Apples^®, Backgammon, Balderdash^®, Bananagrams^®, Boggle, Farkle, mini-golf, giant Jenga, Monopoly^®, Pictionary^®, Scattegories^®, GIANT Scrabble^®, The Settlers of Catan, Sorry!^®, UNO^®, Yahtzee^®, and more! 

Seattle’s Best Damn Happy Hour provides an opportunity for patrons to gather before an event, for a social meet-up or to join friends for a fun evening out. The third Thursday events invite guests to take in the newly restored atrium space and join in games of all types and sizes. The monthly events also highlight the more than 30 organizations residing on the Seattle Center grounds. More information, including March drink and food specials, at:  www.seattlecenter.com.