SEATTLE — Seafair Weekend is something many locals always have marked on their calendar.
“People look forward to this all year,” said Cathy Mossano, a Seattle resident who was at Seafair on Saturday.
Mossano was watching the events with her young grandson, who was dressed in a full Blue Angel costume.
“We came out here so he could see the Blue Angels,” said Mossano. “He is obsessed with the Blue Angels, so this was the perfect opportunity to see them in person.”
Other people watching jets fly above Genesee Park on the shore of Lake Washington came from other places to visit family and attend Seafair.
“I love watching the airplanes maneuvering and I love to see the boats speeding, going around,” said Royce McKinney, who traveled from Denton, Texas and is staying with his brother.
In addition to going to Seafair, he has enjoyed trying new local food in other parts of the city.
“Clam chowder, corn chowder, calamari,” said McKinney.
Some visitors form Indiana said they also came to see family, but got an Airbnb to stay in.
“We flew here, it took a long time,” said Janice Pattengale. “We have an Airbnb on the other side of the lake, Lake Washington, which is really nice.”
Visit Seattle said this summer has been a good one for Seattle tourism and said the city is making significant progress towards pre-pandemic levels of tourism.
In June of this year, they said 87% of Downtown Seattle hotel rooms were occupied by visitors. That's nearly 4 percent more than last year and only 0.9% less than the June 2019 occupancy rate.
Visit Seattle said due to the supply of hotel rooms increasing downtown, there were actually more downtown hotel rooms sold this past June than in 2019.
Visitors at Seafair said they love Seattle and hope to come back soon.
“Oh yeah, I’m ready to come back next week,” laughed McKinney. “I can’t stay here, but I like it.”