A busy week is in store for Seattle: the city will mark Indigenous Peoples’ Day and host festivals celebrating Latin American, South Asian, and jazz arts, as well as the large-scale Refract festival and candlelight concerts. Theater fans can look forward to the opera Salome, musicals, and experimental productions, while those seeking an autumn atmosphere will find haunted houses, Halloween trains, lantern festivals, pumpkin events, and family celebrations. The calendar also includes food tours, Restaurant Week, sporting events, fairs, exhibitions, and trips beyond the city—from Oktoberfest in Leavenworth to mushroom festivals and Snowvana. A complete list of events and the latest details can be found on the Events12 website: https://www.events12.com/seattle/.
Seattle and Area Events: October 12–19, 2026
| Date | Location | Description | Resources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 12 | Magnolia, Seattle | Indigenous Peoples’ Day: reception, art exhibition, buffet, songs, and dancing at the Daybreak Star Cultural Center. | Event website, map |
| Oct. 12–17 | Bellevue, Renton, Seattle, Shoreline | Seattle Latino Film Festival: films about everyday life, music, literature, dance, and painting at venues throughout the area. | Program, tickets, map |
| Oct. 12–25 | Seattle | Earshot Jazz Festival: dozens of concerts by local and international jazz performers. No events are held on Mondays. | Festival website, schedule |
| Oct. 12–31 | Seattle Waterfront | A two-hour sailing trip aboard the schooner Bay Lady, with views of Elliott Bay; daytime and sunset cruises are available. | Map, video |
| Oct. 12–Nov. 15 | Renton, Seattle Center, Greenwood, Issaquah, Kenmore, Seattle | Theater program: comedies, dramas, musicals, and plays, including Noises Off, Conscience, Eureka Day, Ragtime, Smoke on the Mountain, Escaped Alone, and Leonardo. | — |
| Oct. 12–Dec. 26 | Seattle | Walking food tours with tastings: Pike Place Market cuisine, chocolate downtown, coffee on Capitol Hill, and wine paired with cheese and chocolate. | — |
| Oct. 13–14 | Ballard, Seattle | Nordic Innovation Summit: a gathering of innovation and technology leaders focused on cooperation and Arctic development. | Event website, map, video |
| Oct. 13–18 | Seattle, various venues | Tasveer South Asian Film Festival: screenings, red carpets, discussions, panels, and professional networking events. | Festival website, schedule, map |
| Oct. 14–28 | Seattle Center | Classic horror films screened as part of Scarecrowber: a slasher, a ghost story, and a film about an alien invasion. | Event website, map |
| Oct. 14–31 | Various cities in the region | Haunted houses and woods: Fright Factory, Haunted Woods, Frightfest, Georgetown Morgue, Stalker Farms, Frighthouse Station, and other attractions. | Seattle video, Tacoma video |
| Oct. 14, 2026–Dec. 31, 2027 | Bellevue, Seattle, Tacoma, Eastside | Free activities: the Bellevue Botanical Garden, classical music concerts, museums, gardens, a sculpture park, and walking trails. | — |
| Oct. 15 | Downtown, Seattle | Happy Hour & Hellos: an evening gathering for young professionals with drinks, snacks, and networking. | Event website, tickets, map |
| Oct. 15 | Seattle Center | Gather party at the glass museum: cocktails, snacks, live music, glassblowing demonstrations, and a tour of the Refract exhibition. | Event website, map |
| Oct. 15 | Edmonds and other cities | Seattle Art Walks: a self-guided route through venues featuring art exhibitions. | Event website |
| Oct. 15 | Bellevue and Seattle | Latin American Classical Music Festival: chamber works and concerts by composers from Latin America and Spain. | Event website, map |
| Oct. 15 | Tacoma | Free evening at Tacoma museums: Foss Waterway Seaport, Museum of Glass, Tacoma Art Museum, and Washington State History Museum. | — |
| Oct. 15–18 | Seattle, Tacoma, Everett, Eastside | Refract: a glass festival featuring exhibitions, films, parties, demonstrations, studio tours, and artist talks. | Festival website, schedule, video |
| Oct. 15–18 | Tacoma | Tacoma Holiday Festival: a gift fair with hundreds of booths, handmade goods, food, workshops, and visits with Santa Claus. | Festival website, floor plan, map |
| Oct. 15–30 | Seattle and Woodinville | Candlelight Concerts: a string quartet performs popular music by the glow of electric candles. | Tickets and program, video |
| Oct. 15–31 | Downtown, Seattle | This is Halloween: a Can Can show with orchestral music, cabaret, burlesque, and video projections inspired by The Nightmare Before Christmas. | Show website, map |
| Oct. 15–31 | Downtown, Seattle | Haunted Pub Tour: a guide shares ghost stories and other mysteries at four bars. | Tickets, map |
| Oct. 15–31 | Capitol Hill, Seattle | Haunted Soiree: an immersive show in a Bavarian beer hall with drinks, a brass band, theatrical scenes, and fantastical characters. | Tickets, map, video |
| Oct. 16 | Downtown, Seattle | Fashion at the Fairmont: a champagne reception and fashion show in the ballroom of the Fairmont Olympic Hotel. | Event website, map, video |
| Oct. 16 | South Lake Union, Seattle | Rhapsodic Musings: an evening of string music performed by renowned musicians from Seattle and Olympia. | Event website, map |
| Oct. 16–17 | Leavenworth | Oktoberfest in Leavenworth: live music, dancing, contests, German food, beer, a parade, and a ceremonial keg tapping. | Festival website, shuttle, map |
| Oct. 16–18 | Downtown, Seattle | Seattle Latin Dance Festival: daytime dance workshops, evening shows, and social dancing. | Festival website, schedule, tickets |
| Oct. 16–18 | Sand Point, Seattle | Snowvana: a winter sports expo with equipment, lift tickets, a ski swap, films, food, and music. | Event website, tickets, map |
| Oct. 16–25 | Georgetown, Seattle | A Circus of Steam and Shadows: an all-ages performance with shadow puppetry, live animation, and acrobatics in a former steam plant. | Show website, tickets, map |
| Oct. 16–30 | Eatonville | Hoot ’N’ Owl: a family celebration with candy, games, nocturnal animals, keeper talks, and Halloween-themed decorations. | Event website, map |
| Oct. 16–31 | Downtown, Seattle | Poe Unexpected: an improvised comedy show inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe. | Tickets, map |
| Oct. 16–Nov. 1 | Federal Way | Wild Waves Fright Fest: daytime activities for children, rides, scary characters, and haunted houses. | Park website, map |
| Oct. 17 | Capitol Hill, Seattle | Family Diwali Festival: storytelling, music, fashion, cultural performances, and creative activities. | Festival website, map |
| Oct. 17 | Columbia City, Seattle | Columbia City Night Market: food trucks, handmade-goods vendors, live music, and a beer garden. | Market website, map |
| Oct. 17 | Puyallup | Puyallup Flat Track motorcycle races on an indoor track. | Event page, schedule, map |
| Oct. 17–18 | Seward Park, Seattle | Floating Lantern Festival: music, games, lantern decorating, and a lantern launch on the lake. | Festival website, map, video |
| Oct. 17–18 | Tacoma | Zoo Boo: costumes, treats, games, animals playing with pumpkins, a costume parade, and a dance party. | Event website, map |
| Oct. 17–31 | Seattle Center | Richard Strauss’s opera Salome, based on Oscar Wilde’s play; performed in German with English subtitles. | Opera website, map, video |
| Oct. 17–31 | Fremont, Seattle | Pumpkin Carving with Cats: a 90-minute activity including a pumpkin, tools, and time with cats. | Event website, map |
| Oct. 17–31 | Snoqualmie | Halloween Train: apple cider, seasonal activities, historical games, and a ride aboard a decorated train. | Event website, map |
| Oct. 17–31 | Skykomish | Free miniature-train rides on Saturdays; seasonal rides are also available at other locations. | Railway website, Kitsap Live Steamers schedule, map |
| Oct. 17, 2026–Apr. 16, 2027 | Pioneer Square, Seattle | Seattle Sounders soccer season at Lumen Field; the nearest home match is October 17 against CF Montréal. | Schedule, tickets, map |
| Oct. 18 | West Seattle | Fauntleroy Fall Festival: food, live music, a carnival, pumpkin painting, workshops, and children’s activities. | Festival website, map |
| Oct. 18 | Downtown, Seattle | Free open house at Benaroya Hall with music, stories, interactive programs, family activities, and performances. | Event website, map |
| Oct. 18 | Seattle Center | Northwest Record Show: collectible records, CDs, and music rarities displayed on dozens of tables. | Event page, map |
| Oct. 18 | Ballard, Seattle | Mead Festival: a tasting of nine varieties of mead from Washington State, with snacks. | Tickets, map |
| Oct. 18–25 | Everett and Shoreline | Mushroom Exhibition: species identification, displays of wild mushrooms, and vendor booths. | Everett map, Shoreline map, video |
| Oct. 18–31 | Seattle and Eastside | Seattle Restaurant Week: special offers at 220 restaurants from Seattle to Issaquah and Edmonds. | Promotion website |
| Oct. 20 | Downtown, Seattle | An Evening with Bill Nye: a conversation about curiosity, science, innovation, and solving modern problems. | Event website, tickets, video |
| Oct. 20, 2026–July 5, 2027 | Seattle Center | Seattle Kraken hockey season at Climate Pledge Arena; the nearest home game is October 20 against the Detroit Red Wings. | Schedule, tickets, map |