Family Saturday + Free First Thursday Programs

If you have visited the Seattle Japanese Garden this year, you may have noticed some big changes –a new website, volunteer gardeners helping to maintain the beds, and most importantly for many of our visitors, a completely revised event schedule! 

In spring of 2017, the Seattle Japanese Garden launched Family Saturday and Free First Thursday programs. We are so excited about how these programs will provide more regular opportunities for our community to engage with the garden and learn about horticulture, Japanese traditions, and the various arts inspired by our beautiful landscape. 

Season Yoshida

Free First Thursday events will feature arts and cultural demonstrations and performances on the first Thursday of each month during the garden’s open season (March-November.) Admission to the garden is free from 3pm until the garden closes.

Photo courtesy of Sophie S., Roosevelt HS

Upcoming Free First Thursday programs include an art reception for Roosevelt High School Photography students on June 1st. This will be a celebration of their photography work in the garden which will be displayed from June through August On The Walls in the Tateuchi Community Room. In August, we will welcome the return of Wandering and Wondering –a theatrical butoh performance directed by Joan Laage of Kogut Butoh.  

Our Family Saturday programs will focus on artistic, cultural, and horticultural enrichment activities that are fun for the whole family. In May, the garden hosted “Koi Day” for the First Saturday event. Many families gathered in the garden to celebrate and feed the koi fish that make our pond so special.  

Photo courtesy of Jean Enticknap

Other events in 2017 include Bunraku puppetry by Thistle Theatre on Saturday, June 3rd from 11am-1pm. In July, we will celebrate Tanabata, a Japanese star festival, featuring many family-friendly activities. Learn more about these activities on our events page: https://www.seattlejapanesegarden.org/events/ 

Program fee for Family Saturday is included in the general admission (Adults 18-64: $6; Youths 6–17, Senior Adults 65+, College students with ID, & Disabled: $4; Children 0-5: FREE).