2026 Arts Activations
FAMILY-FRIENDLY PROGRAMMING

Celebrate Japanese artistic traditions in the Northwest through calligraphy, Star Festival wish-writing, and haiku with Living Traditions artists and curators. Sunday, July 12 | 2 - 3:30pm at the Bellevue Library (KCLS). Join guest curator Dr. Anna-Marie Moblard Meier and co-curator and master calligrapher Shizu Usami for the launch of Living Traditions — a new multicultural exhibition series celebrating the many communities that have shaped the creative life of the Pacific Northwest, one culture at a time. This first iteration is dedicated to the arts of Japan. Poet and haiku scholar Michael Dylan Welch—co-founder of the American Haiku Archives, director of the Seabeck Haiku Getaway, and officer of Haiku Northwest—presents haiku, moving between classical and contemporary voices. The program is in English and Japanese and includes a short tanzaku wish-writing workshop. Free and open to the public. Presented by Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue Arts Fair and KCLS Bellevue. Supported by King County 4Culture. Online exhibition coming soon: www.bellevuearts.org/living-traditions-pnw

After Hours performances run from 4 - 7 PM on Friday and Saturday - including a Live Album debut! Click the info link to see our Live Entertainment Schedule.

Watch faces come alive with whimsical designs – from playful animals, to the artfully abstract! Face paint by Kathleen Taylor brings expert hands and glitter! Artist fee for services at this activation.

A few words. One moment. A whole world. Haiku Northwest, founded in Seattle in 1988, brings the haiku tradition to visitors of all ages and backgrounds - sharing poems, inviting writing, and connecting the art of haiku to the Star Festival tradition throughout the fair weekend. Members come from across Washington State and beyond. The Rainier Haiku Ginsha Club, founded in Seattle in 1934 by Japanese immigrant journalist Kyou Kawajiri, is one of the oldest Japanese-language haiku groups in the United States. Kawajiri's philosophy was clear: "We follow the principle of sketches in a new environment that is America, and our work must naturally be reflective of the local color." Drawn from nature, seasonal events, and daily life wherever one happens to live, haiku belongs everywhere and to everyone. The group's commitment did not waver during the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans. Members formed the Minidoka Ginsha inside the camp - 158 poets who continued writing through confinement, publishing Kusazutsumi in 1945, a collection of 1,139 haiku written behind barbed wire. The club was revived in Seattle in August 1945 and has met without interruption ever since. At the Star Festival (Tanabata) tables on NE 6th Street and at Avenue Bellevue, poets from Haiku Northwest join members of the Rainier Haiku Ginsha Club all three days of the fair weekend. Listen, write, and add your own voice. Click the info link to learn more about Haiku Northwest and the Rainier Haiku Ginsha Club.

Take a stem home. Arrange it. Share it. A living moment of ikebana from Washington Floral. While supplies last. Ikebana International was founded in 1956 with a simple and enduring motto: Friendship through Flowers. Ikebana International Seattle brings this practice to Living Traditions as a meditative and philosophical art grounded in line, harmony, balance, and the relationship between the creative human hand and the natural world. Collaborative and single-artist arrangements will be on display throughout the weekend at Avenue Bellevue, the Bellevue Arts Museum, and the Westin Hotel. These compositions of line, space, and intention are open invitations to encounter ikebana as a living practice. At the Ikebana International displays at The Westin Hotel and Avenue Bellevue, visitors will receive a single stem in a water tube to take home. Scan the QR code to explore the basic principles in our online exhibition. Arrange your stem in a vessel of your choosing, photograph your creation, and share it with the Bellevue Arts Fair—bringing ikebana from the community celebration into your own space. Click the info link to learn more about Ikebana International.

BAM is teaming up with BrickCon Foundation to present fun hands-on interactive STEAM activities that explore the power of community and artistic possibilities of LEGO® bricks! Designed for the enjoyment of kids and adults alike. DUPLO® bricks are available for our smallest patrons. Design a section of Community LEGO® “Quilt,” solve a LEGO® puzzle, take a selfie on giant LEGO® bricks, view kinetic Great Ball Contraptions and an impressive LEGO® train installation. For information about the longest running LEGO® Fan Exhibition in the World, on September 12th & 13th, 2026 in Bellevue, Washington click the info link.

Celebrate Fashion Friday with artist Galinda Adzhigirey, offering a live fashion illustration experience that blends creativity, emotional well-being, and personal connection. Her work isn't just about capturing a look, it's about making people feel seen, celebrated, and uplifted.

Where tradition and contemporary culture meet. BOOGIEREZ Japan Town at Avenue Bellevue Risa Tochigi (Riiisa Boogie) and TC Weaver (Rezones) are a dynamic artist duo whose work blends the technical mastery of traditional Japanese printmaking with urban imagery, graphic storytelling, and contemporary creative culture. Their practice is rooted in participation and communal experience – the belief that art is not something you observe but something you enter, contribute to, and carry forward. Their Avenue Bellevue activation, Japan Town, is a living cultural ecosystem where festival energy, visual storytelling, hands-on making, and community come together alongside the Living Traditions demonstrations, workshops, and community tables. "We are greater together and are bound by culture." Click on the info link to learn more about Living Traditions.

An Intimate live album debut that merges music, storytelling, and visual documentation into a refined, immersive performance moment. Rather than a traditional concert set, the evening unfolds as a curated listening salon where audience members are invited into the creative world behind the music. The album, created by a highly respected music producer with millions of streams and industry-wide collaborations, features a collective of exceptionally talented artists from Washington and Portland. ​ ​ The album will be released publicly one week prior to the event. Check out our After Hours page to view other fun after hours programming. ​​ Click the info link to view our Live Entertainment Schedule.

Finding beauty in imperfection. Japanese ceramic traditions span thousands of years, rooted in the philosophy of wabi-sabi: the beauty found in imperfection, incompleteness, and the passage of time. A bowl is not merely a bowl. It is a morning ritual, a moment of stillness, a connection to the hands that made it. Takako Mollicone and Cameron Yuki bring this tradition to life in a demonstration at Avenue Bellevue on Saturday, July 25, 1-5pm. Their work is grounded in daily use rather than display, transforming the ordinary acts of eating, drinking, and flower arranging into moments of presence and care. Watch as clay becomes functional form, and speak with both artists about their practice. Click the info link to learn more about Takako Mollicone and Cameron Yuki.

Join artist Rachel Yo at a community art experience that invites guests of all ages to contribute to a collaborative mosaic. This interactive project celebrates creativity, connection, and collective expression, offering participants the opportunity to leave a meaningful mark on the weekend’s festivities. No artistic experience is required—just a willingness to create, participate, and be part of something larger together. Click the info link to learn more about Rachel Yo

Fair weekend begins on Friday, July 24, welcoming guests into both the Bellevue Arts Fair and this year's Living Traditions programming. Inochi Taiko opens the arts weekend with a performance that is as much visual as it is sonic — choreography, rhythm, energy, and dynamic arrangement coming together in a stunning and empowering experience. "Inochi" means Vitality, and that is exactly what the ensemble brings to NE 6th Street. Their drums signal the ceremonial start, as calligrapher Shizu Usami takes the stage — her brushwork passing the tradition forward to a new generation. Taiko resumes, the beat passing from player to player, and the weekend begins — two traditions, one moment. Click the info link to learn more about Inochi Taiko.

Join a lively community art activity where everyone can participate! Chalk-It-Up with vibrant colors and bold designs.

Write a wish. Hang it on bamboo. Join hundreds of students across Bellevue in a Star Festival tradition practiced in the Pacific Northwest for generations. Hundreds of paper wishes written by students from Bennett Elementary and Japanese Dual Language preschools across Bellevue line the Bellevue Arts Museum and NE 6th Street, creating a corridor of color and community that grows throughout the weekend. Come to the Tanabata activity tables, where calligraphers and haiku poets will help you shape your own wish on a colored paper strip. Choose your color, write your wish, and add your voice to the installation. This Tanabata activity can also be found at Avenue Bellevue's Japan Town. Click the info link to learn more about Living Traditions

Ikebana means "make flowers come alive." Founded in 1956 with the motto Friendship through Flowers, Ikebana International has carried this meditative and philosophical art to living rooms, galleries, and public spaces across the world. The motto is not incidental: ikebana has always been a practice of connection, between people, between cultures, between the human hand and the natural world. Unlike Western floral design, ikebana is an art of restraint, emphasizing line, stillness, and negative space. Each arrangement is a composition in which natural materials, the human hand, and empty space are equally present. What is left out is as intentional as what is placed. A live group arrangement led by Akemi Sagawa opens the ikebana programming on Friday, July 24 at 1pm at Avenue Bellevue. Collaborative and single-artist arrangements are on display throughout the weekend at Avenue Bellevue, the Bellevue Arts Museum, and the Westin Hotel, including arrangements in the BAM main entrance window and along the NE 6th Street corridor. Brought to Bellevue Arts Fair Weekend and Living Traditions in partnership with Ikebana International Seattle and Washington Floral, with support from King County 4Culture. Click the info link to learn more about Ikebana International.

Presented in partnership with ParentMap. Okiagari-koboshi: a small tumbling doll with a 400-year history. The name means "to rise after falling." No matter how many times you tip it over, it bounces right back, a playful symbol of resilience and new beginnings that has been made, gifted, and treasured in Japan for generations. Craft your own okiagari-koboshi at this free family activity inside the Bellevue Arts Museum store, all three days of the fair weekend. All ages welcome. Click the info link to learn more about ParentMap.

With Our Little Hands is a two-part immersive interactive installation by Bellevue artist Rong Choy that invites children and families to explore how small actions can shape the world around them. Visitors are encouraged to draw, create, and leave their marks within a responsive digital environment, while a hand-painted botanical landscape rewards curiosity with light, movement, sound, and small surprises waiting to be discovered. Inspired by the ways children learn through play and exploration, With Our Little Hands transforms the gallery into a space for wonder, imagination, and connection. Recommended for ages 1–6. All ages welcome. Click on the info link to learn more about Rong Choy Recommended for ages 1–6. All ages welcome.

Head into The Bellevue Collection for a fun, hands-on crafting activity designed for kids ages 4-10. Get creative making colorful paper bead jewelry or intricately braided cords. Perfect for curious minds and busy hands! Take your project with you to finish later if you are eager to make your way to the Arts Fair at the west garage! Kumihimo ("gathered threads") is an ancient Japanese form of multi-strand braiding (for kimonos or samurai armor). This activity will guide visitors in crafting a 7-stranded round cord. Start your design and take it with you to finish later if you are eager to make your way to the Arts Fair at the west garage!

Let go of perfection. Get lost in the process. Mokuhanga has been practiced in Japan for over 1,000 years. The tradition encompasses a range of approaches: Kathleen Hargrave works with water-based pigments on washi paper, producing a soft and luminous result shaped by humidity, pressure, and the particular conversation between hand and block on that day. Yoshi Nakagawa works with oil-based inks, a distinct technique within the mokuhanga tradition that produces its own depth and character. Art is Kathleen's real point of hope: she lets go of striving for perfection and accepts the slow incremental improvement, getting lost in art and letting it lead. Yoshi finds great beauty and simplicity in everyday lives: the respect for working by hand, the enlightenment found in something deeply repetitive. Watch both artists at Avenue Bellevue: Kathleen on Friday, Yoshi on Saturday. Two days, two approaches, one living tradition. On Sunday, both artists join efforts in a hands-on workshop where participants learn the key principles and make their own prints. Sunday workshop registration is required, and space is limited. Click the info link to learn more about Kathleen Hargrave

Join us for an energetic evening, Friday, July 24, celebrating local fashion, music, and creative culture during Fashion Friday at the Bellevue Arts Fair. Featuring six local designers, live musical performances, immersive runway moments, and a vibrant after-hours atmosphere, this event blends elevated streetwear, custom couture, and community creativity into one unforgettable summer night. Ages 21+ Click on the info link to learn more and GET TICKETS!

Let go of perfection. Get lost in the process. Mokuhanga has been practiced in Japan for over 1,000 years. The tradition encompasses a range of approaches: Kathleen Hargrave works with water-based pigments on washi paper, producing a soft and luminous result shaped by humidity, pressure, and the particular conversation between hand and block on that day. Yoshi Nakagawa works with oil-based inks, a distinct technique within the mokuhanga tradition that produces its own depth and character. Art is Kathleen's real point of hope: she lets go of striving for perfection and accepts the slow incremental improvement, getting lost in art and letting it lead. Yoshi finds great beauty and simplicity in everyday lives: the respect for working by hand, the enlightenment found in something deeply repetitive. Watch both artists at Avenue Bellevue: Kathleen on Friday, Yoshi on Saturday. Two days, two approaches, one living tradition. On Sunday, both artists join efforts in a hands-on workshop where participants learn the key principles and make their own prints. Sunday workshop registration is required, and space is limited. Click the info link to learn more about Yoshi Nakagawa.

Make your own print. Take it home. On Sunday, Kathleen Hargrave and Yoshi Nakagawa lead a hands-on mokuhanga workshop together at Avenue Bellevue. Working across both water-based and oil-based approaches, registered participants learn the basic principles of the tradition, work with precut blocks, and pull their own prints with both artists guiding them through each step. No experience necessary. Participants leave with a genuine understanding of the process and a handmade work of art. Space is limited. Registration required. Click the info link to reserve your spot.

Get ready to be dazzled! Our community stage will burst to life with an electrifying blend of performance genres, sparking an exhilarating fusion of art and culture that invites everyone to join the celebration. Click the info link to see our Live Entertainment Schedule.

Our Community Partners are also dedicated to enriching our Eastside community. Explore the activities and information on display—and look for Visit Bellevue’s very own Belle the Bobcat, ready to welcome fairgoers! 2026 Community Partners include: 4Culture (Saturday only) Bel-Red Arts District Community Alliance Furniture Repair Bank Kirkland Arts Center Verdere Arts Studio Visit Bellevue Washington Mobile Welcome Center ParentMap (Inside BAM)

To write is to breathe. Shizu Usami demonstrates calligraphy and helps visitors write their own Star Festival wishes all weekend. For co-curator Shizu Usami, to write is to breathe. Calligraphy is not performance. It is a practice of letting go of the illusion of control, of allowing the sumi ink, the moisture in the air, the stone, and the brush to come together in a singular encounter. Shizu's practice is built on twenty years of study, certification by the Moji Bunka Kenkyu-jyo Institute for Kanji Script and Cultural Studies in Kyoto and performances at the United Nations and at cultural institutions internationally — a body of work rooted in classical lineage and carried forward with deep commitment to the Pacific Northwest. She demonstrates this art at the weekend's opening performance and at the Star Festival table (Tanabata), where visitors can watch the brush at work and write their own wishes on colored paper strips (tanzaku). Click the info link to learn more about artist Shizu Usami.

Arrangements by Ikebana International Seattle are on view throughout the fair weekend at Avenue Bellevue, the Bellevue Arts Museum, and the Westin Hotel, including a large-scale composition in the BAM main entrance window and arrangements along the NE 6th Street corridor. Each placement has been designed to draw visitors through the Living Traditions landscape and to bring the practice of ikebana into the spaces where the community gathers. Brought to Bellevue Arts Fair Weekend and Living Traditions in partnership with Ikebana International Seattle and Washington Floral, with support from King County 4Culture. Click the info link to learn more about Ikebana International.

Meet the community behind the traditions. The Living Traditions Community Hub is inside the BAM store all three days - free and open to all. It is a place to learn about Japanese and Japanese American cultural organizations in the Pacific Northwest, discover upcoming events, and find ways to stay connected beyond the arts weekend. Details about participating organizations coming soon. Click the info link to learn more about Living Traditions

Join Seattle Wood Turners club members as they demonstrate wood technology, tools and expertise on the lathe! Take a turn on a kid-friendly, motorized lathe to decorate a piece you can take home. This childrens' top turning activity is recommended for ages 4-10. All ages are welcome! Seattle Woodturners is a local chapter of the American Association of Woodturners (AAW), an organization that promotes woodturning through sharing, education, information, outreach, community, and inspiration. Interested in becoming a member? Click the info link.

Oversize letters offer fairgoers large and small a blank canvas - come make your mark! This creative activity invites everyone to collaborate and create a unique piece of art together. Two locations: Bellevue Square Macy's Fountain Court (across Bellevue Way from BAM) Bellevue Square west garage (ground level near concessions)

AIKO's gallery at Avenue Bellevue is open to Living Traditions visitors throughout the Bellevue Arts Fair Weekend, July 24-26. Tokyo-born artist AIKO has built a practice that moves between street art, fine art, and the deep traditions of Japanese visual culture. After apprenticing with Takashi Murakami and co-founding the international art collective FAILE, she established herself as AIKO in 2006 and has since created large-scale works for venues including the Wynwood Walls in Miami, The Bowery Wall in New York, and 7 World Trade Center. Her connection to this place runs deeper than Avenue Bellevue. In 2016, AIKO created three permanent murals at the W Hotel Bellevue inspired by the Japanese immigrant farming community of Bellevue -- works that are on public view in the hotel, two blocks from the fair weekend, and on the Living Traditions cultural map. In 2018, she created a suite of limited edition woodblock prints with Adachi Hanga in Tokyo, one of Japan's oldest woodblock print publishers, connecting her practice to the same mokuhanga tradition celebrated in Living Traditions' demonstrations and workshop. Her 2024 retrospective Girls was presented at Art On Avenue in Bellevue. Click the info link to learn more about AIKO.

Seattle-based glass artist Malcolm Ford presents a live glassblowing demonstration that offers guests an engaging, up-close view of the artistry, precision, and movement behind the hot glass process. During the demonstration, attendees witness the creative journey unfold in real time as Malcolm transforms molten glass into sculptural and functional works of art shaped by years of experimentation, dedication, and technical mastery. Rooted in the Pacific Northwest’s rich tradition of glass art, his work reflects both a deep respect for the craft and a distinctive contemporary artistic perspective.

Join us for an unforgettable rooftop concert at Bellevue Arts Museum during the 2026 Bellevue Arts Fair Weekend. Rooftop Rhythms is where summer meets soul, live salsa, jazz, open-air dancing, and the kind of joy that only happens when music, movement, and community collide above the city. Ages 21+ Click on the info link to learn more and GET TICKETS!

More details coming soon...