Bumbershoot: It’s coming back for the rain

Written by: Kayla Mochikuzi
The anticipated 38th Annual Bumbershoot festival is a little less than three months away. Bumbershoot is a three-day art festival with several different venues including the following: music, film, literary arts, comedy, dance, theatre/performance, visual arts and kids programs. The name “Bumbershoot” comes from an old 19th century term meaning “umbrella”. This name “umbrella” was chosen because it usually rains on the days of the festival. Currently, 25 performers are included in this year’s line up: Ludacris, Beck, Stone Temple Pilots, Neko, Case, Lucinda Williams, Dan Clowes, Mike Doughty, !!!, Ingrid Michaelson, Blitzen Trapper, Man Man, John Vanderslice, Arthur and Yu, Joe Good, Dan Deacon, Bedouin Soundclash, Dale Watson, Brother Ali, Orgone, Joshua Ferris, Vicci Martinez, Midival Punditz, Joe Bonamassa, Asylum St. Spankers and Strange Fruit. Strange Fruit is one of the returning performers from last year. They are a performing arts company from Melbourne, Australia. Strange Fruit combines a variety of performing arts such as dance, circus and theatre all into one act. However, they do all of this while perched on 12-foot poles. Also, back by popular demand, American Poster Institute’s Flatstock will also be returning to Bumbershoot for its sixth year. Flatstock features underground poster artists’ rock inspired work. Flatstock is described on the Bumbershoot website as “[uniting] powerful visual design with the creativity and passion of rock n’ roll.” This year the festivities begin Labor Day weekend (August 30-September 1) beneath the shadow of the Space Needle in the 74-acre Seattle Center. Three-day passes are on sale right now for $80. There are also upgraded “Gold” and “Platinum” passes available. These passes allow you to enjoy an air conditioned lounge with “light catering” and restrooms. One also gets access to special seating and coupons for food and drinks. Gold passes are $195 and Platinum passes are $395. Single day tickets are not available for purchase until July 15th and will be $35. You can order tickets online at Bumbershoot.org. This is just a preview of the performers and events. There will be more artists announced and added to the line up as summer approaches. To continue to stay updated on Bumbershoot events via e-mail, you can go to Bumbershoot.org and sign up to become a “Bumberfan.” Strange Fruit