2014
1/12: Japanese New Year, Crossroads Mall, Bellevue
Drumming, dance, crafts, and Japanese desserts
1/5: BIJAC Mochi Tsuki, Islandwood School, Bainbridge
Celebrate Japanese New Year by working up an appetite: take a turn pounding hot steamed rice into a pulp, then enjoy the fresh mochi with red bean paste or sweetened soy sauce and hot tea.
2013
12/21: Cakes of Paradise Bakery celebrates the second anniversary of its Georgetown location with Hawaiian music, dessert tastings, and prizes.
10/12: ArabFest, Seattle Center
Enjoy the combination of strong coffee and small, intensely sweet pastries.
10/6: Croatia Fest, Seattle Center
Cooking demonstrations to include crisp hrustule and rafioli pockets filled with spiced nuts.
7/20-21: O-bon, Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Church, Seattle
Honor your ancestors with traditional dances and snacks like kori shaved ice.
7/6: Aso Aganu'u o Samoa / Samoa Cultural Day, Mt. Tahoma High School, Tacoma
Samoan food and beverages
6/16: Midsummer Festival, Vasa Park, Lake Sammamish
Celebrate the summer season with a Swedish pancake breakfast at the historic Skogsblomman Lodge.
5/6: Aha Mele Hawaiian Festival, Chief Leschi Schools, Puyallup
Hawaiian and Polynesian Music and Dance, Ono Hawaiian style food, Hawaiiana vendors
3/23: Heritage Day and Taste of Norway, Leif Erickson Lodge
Participate in a 5K Fun Run, watch a Bunad Parade of traditional clothing, shop the craft stalls, vote in the pickled herring contest, and enjoy light lunches and traditional snacks such as World's Best Cake, lefse, krumkake, or rommegrot--a nap-inducing sour cream porridge.
2/16-17: Tet in Seattle, Seattle Center
For the past 16 years, The Tết in Seattle Festival has celebrated the cultural roots of Vietnamese and Vietnamese-Americans by presenting and promoting arts, music, performances, and foods that are unique to Vietnam.
2/2: Lunar New Year Celebration, Westminster Chapel
Join us for live entertainment, crafts & games, art exhibits, ping-pong, food, demonstrations, traditional music and dance. The set meal includes a fortune cookie and Chinese New Year Cake (a sweet sticky rice cake).
1/27: Mochitsuki Portland (OR), Scottish Rite Center
The event features a roster of staged performances, plus a community market with informational booths, free mochi samples, and stalls selling various sweet and savory Japanese snacks--including "butter mochi", a popular Hawaiian treat.
1/26: Oshogatsu in Olympia, The Olympia Center
Watch professionals elevate mochi-making to an art, then sample a taste of this Japanese New Year’s treat. The heart of this year’s event is the Sakura Friendship Ceremony commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the “Gift of Trees” from Japan to the U.S. Japanese music and dance will add to the significance of the ceremony.
1/6: Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community Mochitsuki, Islandwood
Learn more about Bainbridge Island's Japanese heritage at this popular event: visit historical displays, hear taiko drums, and take a turn pounding steamed rice into mochi. You can enjoy the mochi on the spot with sweet red bean jam, or take some home to toast and eat with sweetened soy sauce. The event is free but donations for the mochi are appreciated.
2012
12/29: Seattle Mochitsuki, Blaine Memorial United Methodist Church
Mochi is a dough made from pounded sticky rice that's an integral part of Japanese New Year celebrations. Preorder to purchase fresh mochi; attend the fun, free event to take a turn swinging the mallet while learning more about this community-building tradition.
