Lots of History Behind U-District Street Fair

5/18/25 U-District Street Fair

In its 54^th year, the U-District Street Fair is the longest-running festival of its kind in the country. Although I’ve sketched at it only a few times, I’ve been attending regularly since the late ‘70s when I was a University of Washington student. The fair has a long history, and I learned a bit more of it on Sunday with USk Seattle.

Shiga's Garden at 55th and University Way NE

As I walked slowly up and down the 10 blocks of the fair, I stopped occasionally to capture snippets in my sketchbook. Most fun was the Bellingham juggler who said he has been performing at this street fair for 15 consecutive years. With a continual comedic patter, he juggled a variety of props for his captive audience circled around him. Related trivia: Jane’s son went to school with the juggler!

During the throwdown, I learned from Noel (a Seattle native and current member of USk DC) that a nearby P-Patch was named for Andy Shiga (1919 – 1993). The longtime U-District merchant and owner of Shiga’s Imports was also the founder of the U-District Street Fair in 1970. On my walk back to my car after the outing, I happened to pass the P-Patch, which was an appropriate final sketch for the day. (The shop’s website includes interesting history on the Shiga family in Seattle.)