Downtown Seattle will get a boost of creativity on Saturday, when more than 100 artists will take over 20 blocks of sidewalk in what organizers describe as an “art walk marathon.”
It's the first time WALK DONT RUN will take place. The event will include artists, dancers and musicians performing, painting murals, showcasing work at galleries and even doing choreographed routines on bikes.
“The goal is to contribute to downtown revitalization and to have a really good time doing it,” said event organizer Kira Burge.
WALK DONT RUN draws inspiration from NEPO 5K DON'T RUN, a separate Seattle event that ran from 2011 to 2015. NEPO 5k was in response to a lack of space to exhibit artwork after the 2008 recession. (NEPO spelled backwards is "open.") Artists showed work on sidewalks, lawns and inside homes in neighborhoods from Chinatown International District to Beacon Hill.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Burge said she looked at how people moved forward after the recession.
"What can we do that's in that guise of, like, we're just artists and creative people and we're going to go get it done and create the community we want to see," Burge said.
Events are planned at parks, plazas and storefronts along the route, which is designed like a wave. It's free to attend.
The lineup includes well-known names in the art and music communities. Hezza Fezza will kick things off with a performance at Occidental Square. Margie Livingston will drag painted canvasses along the route. 8-BIT Brass Band will lead a procession from the Belltown party to an afterparty at Jupiter Lounge.
Burge hopes those bigger names attract people who will take the opportunity to discover early career artists.
It will start in the Pioneer Square neighborhood from noon to 2 p.m. Then the downtown core will come alive from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., followed by Pike and Pine from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. In Belltown, Bell Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenue will be closed from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. for live music.
Burge said she’s expecting more than 1,000 people to come to the event. Storefronts along the route have been invited to participate as a sort of "open house for our cultural community."
"We are manufacturing discovery, in a way, right?" Burge said. "So with the 100 artists that aren't already downtown, but we are also inviting all of those artists and creatives that are downtown already to add their dot to the map and join in the festivities."
