Bumbershoot
Encyclopedia
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
held in Seattle, Washington. One of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
's largest such festivals, it takes place every Labor Day weekend at the 74-acre (299,000 m²) Seattle Center
Seattle Center
Seattle Center is a park and arts and entertainment center in Seattle, Washington. The campus is the site used in 1962 by the Century 21 Exposition. It is located just north of Belltown in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood.-Attractions:...
, which was built for the 1962 World's Fair
Century 21 Exposition
The Century 21 Exposition was a World's Fair held April 21, 1962, to October 21, 1962 in Seattle, Washington.Nearly 10 million people attended the fair...
. Seattle Center includes indoor theaters, outdoor stages, McCaw Hall
McCaw Hall
The Marion Oliver McCaw Hall is a performance hall and opera house, located in Seattle, Washington. Inaugurated in June 2003, it was constructed within the basic steel support structure of the earlier Seattle Opera House, originally created for the World's Fair in 1962 and gutted for this...
, and Memorial Stadium
Memorial Stadium (Seattle)
The Memorial Stadium in Seattle, Washington, is located in the northeast corner of the Seattle Center grounds. The stadium currently seats approximately 12,000 people. This was expanded to 17,000, during 1974-75, while the Seattle Sounders, of the North American Soccer League, played at Memorial...
. The name of the festival was taken from bumbershoot, a colloquial term for umbrella
Umbrella
An umbrella or parasol is a canopy designed to protect against rain or sunlight. The term parasol usually refers to an item designed to protect from the sun; umbrella refers to a device more suited to protect from rain...
, probably coined in the 19th century a portmanteau of the words umbrella and parachute
Parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...
.
The early years
Bumbershoot began as a city-funded ($25,000 budget) arts and music festival called "Mayor's Arts Festival", also known as "Festival '71", held at Seattle Center on August 13–15, 1971. This event had a total attendance of 125,000 visitors. Amidst the local economic depression triggered by the near collapse of BoeingBoeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
, the festival attempted to revive local spirits, and was the largest event held in Seattle Center
Seattle Center
Seattle Center is a park and arts and entertainment center in Seattle, Washington. The campus is the site used in 1962 by the Century 21 Exposition. It is located just north of Belltown in the Lower Queen Anne neighborhood.-Attractions:...
since the 1962 World's Fair. Talk radio host Irving Clark Jr. chaired the fair committee, and avant-garde impresario Anne Focke used one-fifth of that for light show
Light show
Light show may refer to:*Aaron Landes* Laser lighting display * Liquid light shows* Christmas lights* Meteor shower* Wizards in Winter Christmas light show...
s (which incorporated laser
Laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
s, still something of a novelty at that time), computer graphics
Computer graphics
Computer graphics are graphics created using computers and, more generally, the representation and manipulation of image data by a computer with help from specialized software and hardware....
, enormous inflatable soft sculptures by the Land Truth Company, and an electronic jam session. Other events included dance, theater, folk music, arts and crafts, art car
Art car
An art car is a vehicle that has had its appearance modified as an act of personal artistic expression. Art cars are often driven and owned by their creators, who are sometimes referred to as "Cartists"....
s, body painting
Body painting
Body painting, or sometimes bodypainting, is a form of body art. Unlike tattoo and other forms of body art, body painting is temporary, painted onto the human skin, and lasts for only several hours, or at most a couple of weeks. Body painting that is limited to the face is known as face painting...
, a Miss Hot Pants Contest, amateur motorcycle races, and one out-of-town performer: country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer Sheb Wooley
Sheb Wooley
Shelby F. "Sheb" Wooley was a character actor and singer, best known for his 1958 novelty song "Purple People Eater"...
.
In 1972, "Festival '72", held on July 21–23, took in 175,000 guests. In 1973 the festival adopted the present name "Bumbershoot", grew to five days, and pulled in 200,000 visitors. National acts included Cal Tjader
Cal Tjader
Callen Radcliffe Tjader, Jr. a.k.a. Cal Tjader was a Latin jazz musician, though he also explored various other jazz idioms. Unlike other American jazz musicians who experimented with the music from Cuba, the Caribbean, and Latin America, he never abandoned it, performing it until his...
, Joe Venuti, and John Handy
John Handy
John Richard Handy III is an American jazz alto saxophonist.-Biography:In the 1960s, Handy led several groups...
. In 1974 it grew again, to 10 days and 325,000 visitors. The festival opened with a "Renaissance Processional" for the kilometer or so from downtown to the center; Mayor Wes Uhlman and most of the city council participated that year, in roles ranging from clown
Clown
Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...
ing to reading children's stories aloud to, in the mayor's case, running the Lost Child Center. Another prominent Bumbershoot event from this era was the Bumbernationals Artists' Soapbox Derby, which continued into the early 1980s. 1975's 11-day festival was produced by Parks Department employee John Chambless, a former University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
professor of history and philosophy who had produced the 1968 Sky River Festival, a Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
-era festival.
The late-1970s retreat
With declining government grant support, Bumbershoot tried to keep afloat on donations and sales of posters, buttons, and T-shirts, but poor weather hurt attendance some years and left the free Festival scrambling for more financially stable options.First, the festival retrenched on the number of days and on bringing in national talent. According to John Chambless, about 25 percent of the 1975 budget went to out-of-town talent; the 1976 festival was nearly 100 percent local and was cut to two weekends; in 1977, it was further cut to just Labor Day weekend; as it happened, in both 1977 and 1978, Labor Day weekend was rainy.
One Reel and AEG Take Over
In 1980 the city brought in Northwest non-profit organization One Reel to produce the event; they have been running it ever since. A mid-1980s attempt by Seattle Center itself to wrest back control was overruled by the City Council.According to its website, One Reel originated as a traveling show, "The One Reel Vaudeville Show" in 1972 and was founded by current One Reel president and CEO Norman Langill. One Reel also operates Teatro Zinzanni, and the "Summer Nights concert series" and "Family 4th at Lake Union" events.
As the One Reel Vaudeville Show, they had been involved in the event since its second year, 1972, but with their new role as festival producer came big change. Once again, the festival featured headlining national and international talent (acts that year included Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
, Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
, the Art Ensemble of Chicago
Art Ensemble of Chicago
The Art Ensemble of Chicago is an avant-garde jazz ensemble that grew out of Chicago's AACM in the late 1960s. The group continues to tour and record through 2006, despite the deaths of two of the founding members....
, Etta James
Etta James
Etta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...
, Clifton Chenier
Clifton Chenier
Clifton Chenier , a Creole French-speaking native of Opelousas, Louisiana, was an eminent performer and recording artist of Zydeco, which arose from Cajun and Creole music, with R&B, jazz, and blues influences. He played the accordion and won a Grammy Award in 1983...
, Eugene Fodor
Eugene Fodor
Eugene Nicholas Fodor, Jr. was the first American violinist to win the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.Fodor was born in Denver, Colorado. His first ten years of study were with Harold Wippler...
and Martin Mull
Martin Mull
Martin Mull is an American actor who has starred in his own television sitcom and acted in prominent films. He is also a comedian, painter, and recording artist...
), but added an admission charge. Initially that admission charge was US$2.50 a day (although there a "Free Friday", tradition lasted for over a decade); as of 2007, it has grown to US$40 a day. Substantial new premium ticket offerings have also been introduced, including the "Platinum pass", a $395 (in 2008) full-event ticket providing guaranteed inclusive admission to limited-seating events and reserved VIP seating at certain live music venues.
The new formula featured world-class acts while continuing to ground the festival on a bedrock of Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
talent. Record numbers of art and music lovers flocked to the 15 stages, galleries, outdoor venues and food, art and craft vendors. Artists such as The Eurythmics, James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
, Spinal Tap
Spinal Tap (band)
Spinal Tap is a parody heavy metal band that first appeared on a failed 1979 ABC TV sketch comedy pilot called "The T.V. Show", starring Rob Reiner...
and Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
shared the turf with art oddities like the gigantic flying pencil, the Bumbernationals soapbox derby and robotic art. Although initially resistant to hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
, in the mid-'90s Bumbershoot introduced some of the first large-scale hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
shows ever held in Seattle, a tradition that's still very much alive in 2007. From the ashes of the grunge rock scene came a new brand of Seattle sound; influential alternative rock bands such as Sleater Kinney, Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse is an American indie rock band formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington, by singer/lyricist/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. They are based in Portland, Oregon. Since their 1996 debut album, This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think...
, Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie is an American alternative rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. The band consists of Ben Gibbard , Chris Walla , Nick Harmer and Jason McGerr ....
and Grand Archives
Grand Archives
Grand Archives is an American indie rock band that formed in Seattle. They were originally called Archives and are led by principal songwriter Mat Brooke, formerly of Carissa's Wierd and Band of Horses.-The Grand Archives:...
have played Bumbershoot.
In the new millennium, international artists have included groups such as Baba Maal, The Grand Kabuki
Kabuki
is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...
Theatre of Japan, and an Ethiopian youth circus. The One Reel Film Festival, held within Bumbershoot, celebrates American independent film shorts. Bumbershoot incorporated new arts forms such as poetry slams and break dancing as well as older arts such as circus, contortion, aerial, and street theater.
One Reel signed a five-year co-producing agreement in 2007 with AEG Live
AEG Live
Anschutz Entertainment Group Live is a live entertainment promotion subsidiary of Anschutz Entertainment Group. It is the world's second largest live show promoter....
, one of the largest for-profit international promoters of rock concerts and large events, controlled by Christian entrepreneur Philip Anschutz. The deal allowed AEG to assist One Reel to book musical acts.
Bumbershoot has signed numerous key national sponsors, including Rockstar Energy Drink and Starbucks
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
, whose name was attached to key presentation venues (the "Rockstar Vert Ramp"). The apparent attempt at co-opting media outlets to advertise for the sponsors prompted local newsweekly The Stranger
The Stranger (newspaper)
The Stranger is an alternative weekly newspaper in Seattle, Washington, USA. It runs a blog known as Slog.-History:The Stranger was founded by Tim Keck, who had previously co-founded the satirical newspaper The Onion, and cartoonist James Sturm. Its first issue came out on September 23, 1991...
to refer to selected events with their sponsor-attached names redacted (the "[Redacted] Vert Ramp"). This is despite the fact that The Stranger is also a Bumbershoot sponsor.
As the region's largest single showcase for regional talent, Bumbershoot became a cultural tastemaker. The festival—which has become Seattle's longest-lived music and arts festival—paved the way for other Seattle-area outdoor events, festivals, and happenings. Many of these, such as the Northwest Folklife Festival that premiered at Seattle Center on Memorial Day
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
weekend nine months after the first Bumbershoot, have become established traditions in their own right.
External links
- Official website
- Bumbershoot History has a dropdown leading to year-by-year promotional artwork and lists of performers.
- Official MySpace page
- Images from the 2007 festival