Greenwood Avenue to be closed to traffic for Saturday’s Summer Streets festival

The annual Summer Streets festival, which closes Greenwood Avenue from North 70th to 87th streets to cars from 12-5 p.m. Saturday, will feature more than 50 family-friendly activities, including an obstacle course, dance performances, karate demonstrations, street soccer, face painting, a concert by The Not-Its!, sidewalk sales and more.

People strolled and rode bicycles and skateboards in the street last year.
The 4th Annual Greenwood Street Soccer Tournament happens from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Greenwood Avenue between 85th and 87th streets. It’s a fundraiser for Fred Hutch’s Innovators Network. The soccer tournament has raised more than $11,000 in the last two years.
The tournament will bring 150 street soccer players and an expected 4,000 spectators throughout the day. Games will be refereed by UW Women’s Soccer players. There’s also an all-day concert featuring bluegrass headliner Polecat and youth musicians from nearby School of Rock. Tournament registration fees and $1 from every pint of Betsy’s Mountain Brown Ale sold at Naked City Brewery that day will go Fred Hutch in honor of Naked City co-owner Bryan Miller’s mom, Betsy. There’s also a $2 raffle; prizes include a piano, a Day of Beauty spa package, and hundreds of dollars in gift cards.
Emerald City Karate will have students doing demonstrations in front of the dojo at 84th & Greenwood; A-1 Pianos will have several pianos at 71st and Greenwood for folks to play; Whittier Elementary School students will demonstrate their unicycling prowess; HomeStreet Bank will pass out free popsicles; Seattle ReCreative will help kids make their own bubble wands; Taproot Theatre will provide games of Cornhole; Illumination Learning Studio will have face painting, balloons, chalk art, a kids dance party, arts and crafts and a bouncy house; and Mud Bay will showcase a dog agility course.
That’s just a small sample of the more than 50 activities. Click here for a map of all registered activities. And click here for a list of all activities by business.

Last year, firefighters from Station 21 let a long line of eager kids hold the fire hose.
Note: Metro Route 5 will be rerouted during the event. Check Metro’s Service Advisories page for reroute information.