Along with the Seafair Kiddies Parade, the Great Wallingford Wurst Festival is one of those events that make our neighborhood feel like a small town.
Friday evening and all day Saturday, local kids and neighbors will migrate down to the corner of Wallingford Ave. and N. 48th for the 28th annual benefit for St. Benedict’s School, where they’ll enjoy the eponymous bratwurst (and lots of other food), games, music, a beer garden and little bouncy house action. We’ll be looking for our neighbors, and in particular one who’s in eighth grade this year and participating in her final Wurst Fest as a student.
Few people enjoy Wurst Fest more than the St. Ben’s kids. It’s a big weekend for them — they get the day off Friday for preparations, then throngs come to their school for a huge party (10 thousand are expected). We’ve watched our neighbor as she’s grown from a 6-year-old who went to the Wurst Fest holding her parents’ hands to a teenager who we’ll see gossiping with her friends and reveling in her final Fest (and towering over yours truly).
From the St. Ben’s site, where you’ll also find information about the bands playing this weekend:
The Great Wallingford Wurst Festival is an “Octoberfest” style end-of-summer celebration that takes place in September at St. Benedict School. Now in its 28th year, the festival started as a small fund-raiser for the school. Today the festival brings more than 10,000 visitors to the Wallingford neighborhood in one weekend. The Wurst Festival features rides, an array of delicious foods, games for kids of all ages, craft booths, homemade sweets, a book sale, a Biergarten and a raffle, plus live entertainment on an outdoor stage.
All these activities and there’s no charge for admission. So come celebrate community in a family-friendly neighborhood environment, and meet your neighbors, alumni and friends you may not have seen in a while.
Food
Did we mention food? Of course there’s bratwurst and sauerkraut, but also grilled salmon, sweet corn, baked potatoes with all the trimmings, pasta, Caesar salad, Filipino food, burgers and a kid’s lunch at booths and in our covered outdoor restaurant. At the indoor cafe, folks can enjoy beverages with a homemade desserts. Or swing upstairs to have a snack with your beer in the Biergarten.Fun
Spend all day experiencing the thrills of our rides. Stroll around the grounds and see the finery of more than 60 craft vendors. Take a chance with a raffle ticket. Reminisce with the old photographs in the Alumni Room. Search the Book Shop for interesting titles. Check out the games in our Fun Zone, and maybe even take away a prize or two. Sit back and watch the musicians and dancers on the outdoor stage or stick around after 9 p.m. and dance to the band in the Biergarten.
I understand that this is a big fundraiser for the school, but it really is the Worst festival around. It has as much or less to do with wurst as any other festival in Seattle and is filled with a bunch of cheap China-made trinkets that are more repulsive than interesting. Being just a few blocks from our house I wish this festival had something to offer other than inflatable toys, but it is just terrible.
You're just mad because someone else will park in front of your house. Thank God the bands are usually old school rock , instead of rap and funk, and there is a nice bake sale, book sale, crafts that support crafts people, and a variety of “shopping Booths” for just looking or buying. No It's not nordstroms…SO? It has games and rides for kids, full dinners and food booths, beer stage, and dang, FREE is great, Want it to be better? You get involved and work your butt off to plan the event. Or better yet I'd love to see your Free Festival next year and keep us posted on your progress. In the meantime , enjoy.