SEATTLE — The Seattle Boat Show is back in town and celebrating its 75th anniversary.
The event grew from a modest tent on the shores of Lake Union to become the biggest boat show on the West Coast.
The Seattle Boat Show moved to various locations like the National Guard Armory (now Seattle Center Armory), Seattle Center Coliseum and even the Kingdome. Until the mid-1970’s the show would celebrate its chosen royalty and named a Boat Show Queen each year.
Since the year 2000 the Seattle Boat show has taken over the stadium exhibition center, now Lumen Field.
The 2021 boat show was virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but this year the event is back in person.
The show, produced by The Northwest Marine Trade Association, will highlight the many different venues and evolutions of the event over its history, according to CEO George Harris.
“We’ve got vintage boats, electric boats and even new brands that haven’t been available before,” Harris said. "We’ve got boats from France that were transported here on bigger boats!”
Many of the boats on display are from Northwest manufacturers built in Bremerton, the Skagit Valley, Camano Island and even across the mountains in Colville.
Harris says Northwest boats are highly sought after.
“That’s a big part of the appeal for the Seattle Boat Show. People fly across the country to come here and end up taking boats home with them,” he said.
The Seattle Boat Show is following the example set by the Seattle Seahawks who used the same facilities all season. Masks must be worn and proof of vaccination or a negative antigen test are required to enter. The Seattle Boat Show has on-site testing and opens to guests Friday, Feb. 4 at 11 a.m. and runs for 9 days, ending the Saturday, Feb 12.
Fun Fact: 2021 wasn’t the only year the Seattle Boat Show wasn’t an in-person event. In 1951 the show pivoted to an open house format at various marine dealers due to the Korean War.