Fremont Oktoberfest

Featuring the biggest beer garden in the Northwest and over 100 microbrews and craft beers, the Fremont Oktoberfest is a fun-filled and charming event with events and attractions for all the family. Among the ingredients of this Oktoberfest are a 5K beer run, live Seattle bands, Dogtoberfest Sunday, a kids' area with zucchini (courgette) racing, and the incredible spectacle of the Texas Chainsaw Pumpkin Carving.

Venue: Fremont, with the entrance located at the junction of Phinney Avenue North and North 35th Street.
Website: http://www.fremontoktoberfest.com

Dine Around Seattle

Started in 2001, Seattle's successful, bi-annual dining promotion (March and November) offers diners a chance to enjoy prix-fixe dinners and lunches at some of Seattle's top fine-dining establishments. Prices do not include drinks, tax or tip and each restaurant decides whether they want to offer lunch, dinner or both, but all meals feature three courses with choice selection among starters, mains and desserts.

Venue: Various restaurants in Seattle.
Website: http://dinearoundseattle.org

Northwest Flower & Garden Show

The Northwest Flower & Garden Show is five days of gardening fun, live music and food and wine that will entertain the whole family. Expect a wide range of spectacular show gardens on display put together by expert florists, gardeners and designers. There is also a great flower market, and several gardening professionals are available to share tips, tricks and ideas at over 100 seminars. And there is a section for the kids as well. A very popular feature is the floral contest, attracting plenty of local talent each year.

Venue: Washington State Convention Center.
Website: http://www.gardenshow.com

Seattle Cherry Blossom and Japanese Cultural Festival

A celebration of Japanese culture with dance, music, colourful costumes, martial arts and tea ceremonies. There are Taiko drumming displays, artisan demonstrations and food stalls dishing up Japanese delicacies from curry-rice to octopus dumplings to Manju sweets. The festival was founded after Japanese Prime Minister Takeo Miki gave Seattle 1,000 cherry trees on the occasion of the USA's bicentenary.

Venue: Seattle Center.

Northwest Folklife Festival

A celebration of folk music, art, dance and stories, the Northwest Folklife Festival has been entertaining fans since 1972. As well as a packed programme of performances encompassing the region's ethnic and cultural diversity, there's a family zone with hands-on activities, crafts, singing, dancing and games. Each year also has a special cultural focus centred on a particular group or community.

Venue: Seattle Center.
Website: http://www.nwfolklife.org/festival

Seattle International Film Festival

Screening a great programme of over 400 features, shorts, documentaries and animation films, the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) is one of the biggest events of its kind in the USA and one of the most influential film festivals in the world. Over more than three weeks, it attracts thousands of visitors ranging from film professionals to students of the art form. Celebrating the art of the moving image, the event aims to inform, educate and entertain its audiences.

Venue: Various cinemas.
Website: http://www.siff.net

Fremont Fair

Each year the community of Fremont celebrates the Summer Solstice with a weekend programme of free events and entertainment spanning art, music, dance and performance. Music is performed on three different stages and the festival site is bursting with activities and entertainment ranging from yoga and art workshops to the lavish Fremont Solstice Parade. Although entry is free, the event aims to raise money to help support non-profit Fremont organisations.

Venue: Most activities take place west of Fremont Avenue North on North 35th Street and North 34th Street/Canal Street.
Website: http://www.fremontfair.org

Bite of Seattle

Bite of Seattle is a three-day food festival at the Seattle Center that ranks among the most popular of the city's summer events. An estimated 75,000 people attended the first Bite in 1982, with only 25 restaurants taking part. It now attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors and hosts over 50 restaurants and more than 30 food producers. Food is no longer the only attraction and there is now live music, cooking demonstrations and family entertainment too.

Venue: Seattle Center.
Website: http://www.biteofseattle.com

Bumbershoot

Held annually over the Labor Day Weekend, the Bumbershoot Festival first took place in the 1970s and has become one of the biggest and best-loved festivals in Seattle's summer calendar. Primarily a music festival, Bumbershoot also features a great line-up of alternative acts and entertainment including comedy, dance, film, visual arts, theatre and literary performances. A great event for visitors of all ages, there are also plenty of children's events, arts and crafts markets and food stalls. This hugely popular event attracts well over 150,000 visitors each year.

Venue: Seattle Center.
Website: http://www.bumbershoot.org