SEATTLE — Seattle’s Bumbershoot Arts & Music Festival is returning with a new production partner and a reimagined focus to support the city's arts scene year-round.
The festival announced its new production partner on Wednesday along with its return to Seattle Center after a two-year delay to its relaunch due to the pandemic.
Bumbershoot began in the early 1970s and has since grown into a cornerstone of western Washington's arts, culture and entertainment scene. In 2019, the festival's producer, One Reel, stepped down.
The Seattle Center Advisory Commission made up of mayoral- and Seattle City Council-appointed members unanimously selected New Rising Sun as its production partner after a presentation-based vetting process last year.
“Making Bumbershoot a celebration of Seattle arts was central to this decision," said Seattle Center Advisory Commissioner Brian Robinson. "After nearly two years of COVID-19 related shutdowns, our artistic communities need and deserve the level of community engagement which New Rising Sun has proposed."
New Rising Sun, founded by concert promoters, visual artists and venue operators, proposed a more affordable festival featuring the region's best art, food, film, comedy, music and performing arts.
“Bumbershoot presents a rare opportunity to support, celebrate and amplify the great diversity of our visual and performing arts communities," said Greg Lundgren, co-founder and creative director. "Our vision and our goal are to transform this historic festival into a year-round brand which fosters youth arts education, provides opportunities to our region’s artists, elevates historically marginalized voices and reimagines what a festival can be."
Lundgren said the festival will return in full in 2023. The community can still expect some programs at Seattle Center in late 2022 and early 2023.