Bonsai’s Guide to the Perfect 4th of July Weekend in Seattle

Looking to spend your Independence Day weekend in the emerald city? Well you’re in luck, my patriotic pal, ‘cause we’ve got the ultimate guide to the perfect 4th of July Weekend.

First of all, let me just say that 4th of July is freakin’ awesome! Sunshine, fireworks, beer, friends n fam, BBQ’s, the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; what’s not to love? That’s right, its literally the perfect holiday. However, the one caveat to 4th of July, regardless of where you spend it, is the all the ridiculous hype and expectation surrounding it. There’s no doubt that the dark cloud of #FOMO hovers closer to 4th of July than perhaps any other Holiday. “What am I gonna do?” you might ask yourself. “How am I gonna have the guaranteed most fun possible?”

Well, toss those worries aside, friend. Bonsai’s got the ultimate local guide to having a fantastic 4th of July weekend in Seattle, right here.

1. First things first, get a little culture...

Nothing will help offset the amount of craziness and debauchery you’re sure to engage in on the 4th like a little pre-weekend arts sesh. Luckily, this year the 4th falls on the first Saturday of the month, which coincides nicely the plethora of first thursday and friday art walks and festivities. That’s right, you can scope a bunch of great art all throughout town on every first thursday and friday of the month. The Burke Museum,NW African American Museum, Pioneer square art walk, The Museum of Flight, Uw’s Henry Art Gallery, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Fremont Art Walk, and MOHAI all do the first of the month thing. It’s a great thing that Seattle does, but its even better for kicking off independence day weekend.

2. Get a little exercise, before all that beer…

You gotta get a burn on before you slug down all those empty calories, right? Sure! Or, at least some of you do. Anyway, there’s a number of awesome 5k runs going on in and around the puget sound area over the weekend of the 4th, like the FireCracker 5000 5k, that starts just before midnight on the 3rd, or the Edmonds 4th of July 5k on the morning of, or the self-transcendence 2 miler in Magnusen if you’re trying to keep it chill.

3. Catch some fireworks, DUH

Now the magic you’ve been waiting for...FIREWORKS, BABY! There’s seriously a butt-ton of places for you to catch fireworks on the 4th in Seattle, but none outweigh the sheer radness of the SeaFair at GasWorks Park. From here, you can catch the best freakin’ fireworks display in all of the city. The fireworks launch of a barge in Lake Union, so if you’re at gasworks you’ve got a front row center view. There’s also a bunch of awesome activities, stuff for the whole family to enjoy, awesome concessions, a beer garden, live music, performance, you name it! Although, if you’re looking to engage in step 4 of our guide to the perfect 4th, then this might not be the spot for you; Marijuana is prohibited.

4. Smoke some Pot, for Uncle Sam’s sake…

Hey man, it’s legal here. Get off my cloud, man. Seriously though, there are now around a dozen recreational cannabis shops active in Seattle. This 4th, celebrate your state-sanctioned right to recreationally enjoy some of that pot stuff! It’s what the founding fathers envisioned for this great nation, you know. Well, maybe not. Nonetheless, what a country! Of course, you don’t have to smoke pot if that doesn't fit into your plan, but still you’ve got the freedom to, and what’s 4th of July about if not freedom?

5. Catch some music

After you’ve completed step 4, or recreated step 4 with an item of your choice, you’ll be primed and ready to take in some JAMS. There’s a bunch of great spots to catch live music around seattle on the 4th. Nectar Lounge is going totally bonkers that night with their Total Request Live, Red, White, Britney edition night. It’s a tribute featuring TRL-era (late 90s-early 2000’s) pop music, real dance routines, and more!  Its supposed to be a genuine smasher. But, if you’re feeling something a little more mellow (like way more mellow) there’s also the live outdoor concerts at the Ballard Locks with the Seattle civic band playing on the

6. Clean Up/Recover on July 5th

Now that you’ve made it to end of your weekend, its time to give back to this wonderful city that hosted you. Seattle organizes an awesome cleanup effort that goes over most of the areas where the festivities were really crackin’ off. It’s your standard clean-up, you can take a short shift that focuses on a small area. A lot of people end up signing up, cause there’s really a lot of trash left over. But hey, there’s no better way to cleanse both body and spirit (beleive me, you’ll need it) than breaking a sweat and picking up some scraps. Seriously though, its great for you to have fun in this wonderful town on the 4th, but please be conscious of yourself and your surroundings. Seattle’s a beautiful place and we wanna keep it that way!

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