Views of 12th Ave Fests past (Images: CHS)

It’s official—after three years of street-based revelry, the 12th Ave Festival will not be returning this year. Originally created as a way to brand and market the emerging 12th Ave business district, the festival brought together nascent upstarts in the area to celebrate the forming community.

Three years later, that goal has been accomplished.

“In meetings with the businesses after last year’s festival, people said they really liked it,” said Alex Brennan at Capitol Hill Housing, who helped organize the annual event. “But we all agreed it felt like we achieved our goals that we set out in the beginning—great relationships between businesses had been formed, and a strong 12th Avenue identity had emerged.”

While the festival won’t be returning, Brennan says there are many more exciting 12th Ave happenings in store.

On June 11th, Capitol Hill Housing will be holding its annual Community Forum to discuss “neighborhood change, affordability, and the neighborhood character,” according to Brennan. “That’s the things that’s exciting about these new relationships on 12th—these new small business communities have informed much of that character we will be discussing at the forum, which is something we want to preserve as we continue to develop.”

On July 27-28, 206 Zulu will be hosting “Boogie Up the Block” on 14th Ave between Spruce Street and E Yesler Way, and E Fir Street between 12th and 15th Ave. The urban arts festival will include soul, funk, hip hop and reggae music stretching across three stages, as well as a variety of food vendors and arts and crafts activities.

Also in the works for the fall is the grand opening celebration for the 12th Ave Square Park. The park, slated to open up next to Cherry Street Coffee and Ba Bar on E James Court, was funded by a Seattle Parks Levy. The intention is to turn James Ct. into a “woonerf” defined by the Parks Department as “a street where pedestrians and cyclists have legal priority over motorists.”