Celebrating Seattle’s Maritime at the Seafair Parade

“Connecting and Celebrating the Community Spirit of Puget Sound” was the title of the 57th annual Southwest Airlines Seafair Parade. Seafair is Seattle’s traditional summer festival series of special events that brings out nearly 2 million Puget Sound residents each summer. On July 30, over 300,000 spectators lined the streets of downtown Seattle, among them were dedicated KAPS members Janette Kwon, Naomi Kim, Daniel Suh and Nicole Lee, who volunteered to march as banner carriers for the Seattle-Washington Korean Association.

Proudly, these four presented “Nong-Hwak,” the Korean traditional Farmer’s Dance performed by the students of Morning Star Cultural Center and the taekwondo team who put spectators in awe with their fabulous demonstration. The team paraded approximately 2.5 miles from the Seattle Center (located next to the Space Needle) to downtown Seattle. The definite crowd-pleasers were the Morning Star boys, who spun their lengths of cord attached to sangmo hats throughout the whole march, and the beautifully adorned Morning Star girl dancers who skillfully played the Korean traditional drums. These talented young performers were cheered on by the crowd.

Seafair is a month-long event that brings an entire community together in celebration. If you live in the Northwest, you look forward to Seafair and all the simple joys that it brings. Held annually since 1949, Seafair festivities include a torchlight run and parade, hydroplane races, the Blue Angels’ air show and different community celebrations throughout the Seattle metropolitan area. Widely known for bringing together the ethnic and economic diversity of the Northwest, Seafair contributes not only to the uniqueness of Puget Sound, but is quintessential for people living in the Northwest.