Bite of Seattle

The Bite of Seattle is an annual food festival in Seattle, Washington, United States. It takes place at the Seattle Center, and goes by the official name of the Albert Lee Appliance Bite of Seattle. Locally, however, the festival is known as "The Bite". It is held on one weekend during the month of July, and is considered to be one of Seattle's largest food and beverage events with over 200 participating vendors.[1] Admittance is free.

Bite of Seattle
Crowds at the 2008 Bite of Seattle event
StatusActive
GenreFood festival
FrequencyAnnual
Location(s)Seattle Center, Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Years active1982–2019, 2021–

History
View over Seattle Center during the 2010 event, with the Space Needle in the background

Back in July 1982, Alan Silverman, the president of Festivals, Inc., founded this festival which was originally held at Green Lake Park.[2] Initially, it was expected that roughly 25,000 people would attend, but there was a total of 25 restaurants participating and 75,000 in attendance. In 2006, these number increased and exponentially grew as there were 60 restaurants and food vendors participating and over 425,000 visitors.[3]

Throughout the rest of the years, the number of visitors averaged out to about 400,000 people over the course of the three day long festival with over 60 restaurants participating.

The 2020 Bite of Seattle and Taste of Tacoma were both cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]

Accomplishments

For two consecutive years, 2016 and 2017, the Bite of Seattle was voted the "Best Food Festival" in the United States.[5]

On April 4, 2019, Alan Silverman was inducted into the Hall of Fame for the Washington Festival and Events Association.[2] This was mainly due to his success of coordinating and creating many popular festivals, including the Bite of Seattle.

Attractions

The Bite offers many attractions for food lovers and foodies, including food sampling from local restaurants, food cook-off competitions, eating competitions, new foods and vendors, commercial vendors, traveling tours, child-friendly activities and local chefs showcasing their cooking. There are also many activities and entertainment options unrelated to food, which include live entertainment, stage performances, a free movie night, craft beer & cider tasting, and beer gardens.

Bite of Seattle hosts over 80 live bands that play on stage, primarily local and regional artists. These performances are usually held at one of the three main stages: either the Fountain Lawn Stage (sponsored by 95.7 The Jet),[6] the Mural Stage (presented by Emerald Queen Casino and sponsored by 102.5 KZOK),[7] or the Fisher Green Stage (presented by BECU and sponsored by 96.5 JACK FM).[8]

Cook-off at the 2010 event, one of the Bite's attractions

References
  1. "Feast your eyes on what the Bite of Seattle has to offer this weekend". The Seattle Times. 2019-07-18. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
  2. "What to Expect?". Albert Lee Appliance Bite of Seattle. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
  3. Broom, Jack (July 19, 2006). "Even after 25 years, Bite of Seattle still delicious". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  4. Sherred, Kristine (July 1, 2020). "Another blow to summer as COVID-19 forces cancellation of Tacoma's favorite food festival". The News Tribune. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  5. "Albert Lee Appliance Bite of Seattle". OutdoorsNW Magazine. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
  6. "Fountain Lawn Stage". Albert Lee Appliance Bite of Seattle. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
  7. "Mural Stage". Albert Lee Appliance Bite of Seattle. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
  8. "Fisher Green Stage". Albert Lee Appliance Bite of Seattle. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
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