Can you imagine a summer in Seattle without Seafair?

The colorful costumes, the neigborhood parades, the drill teams and marching bands, those wacky, fun-loving pirates and clowns, the beautiful Seafair princesses in their ball gowns and tiaras … Seafair has been an inextricable part of this city’s soul for 56 years. This summertime festival is one of the best things about Seattle.

The beauty of Seafair is that it brings people together — out of their homes and into each other’s lives. Strangers meet along parade routes, people venture into neighborhoods they’ve never visited before and communities get the chance to show off their cultural treasures.

One thing that makes Seafair so special is its commitment to diversity and inclusiveness. It’s not just about parades and hydroplanes. Every year Seafair invites dignitaries, entertainers and cultural artists from Japan, Mexico and other countries to participate in the summertime festival and to strengthen ties with the people of the Pacific Northwest. Seafair arranges programs for local youths to visit Japan and function as ambassadors of Seattle. It encourages the region’s ethnic communities to put on festivals of their own and to educate others about their food, history, music, dance and traditions. For years, the Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Native American, African American and Hispanic communities have put on festivals that have become important components of Seafair.

This is truly an international goodwill event that brings not only neighborhoods, but countries, closer together.

We urge people to take part in Seafair events. This nonprofit festival has demonstrated its commitment to making this summertime celebration as inclusive as possible. The community should be just as committed to making Seafair a success.

This year, in addition to attending the Chinatown parade on July 24 and this weekend’s street fair, visit the Seafair Indian Days Pow Wow July 22-24 at Discovery Park. Take your family to the Central District festival at Garfield Community Center July 23-24. Learn about Hispanic culture July 24 at Seward Park Amphitheater.

That is the point of Seafair — to get together people who wouldn’t otherwise have a chance to connect.

That’s the Seafair spirit! (end)