By Kali Herbst Minino

Anyone who tried to drive anywhere last weekend knows it was a busy, hot weekend for Seattle. Capitol Hill Block Party and celebrated its 25th edition, attracting groups of people from other states and various parts of Washington.

Taking place in a historically LGBTQ+ neighborhood, Block Party organizers have said they hope to continue balancing the impact of a three-day, ticketed music festival with community involvement. CHS reported here on their efforts in 2023.

Capitol Hill’s cultural value shined through for some. Brittany Sides traveled from Tacoma, and thinks Capitol Hill is one of the most fulfilling and creative neighborhoods in Seattle.

“I had a professor who lived here back in the 90s and she remembers when these bars were lesbian bars, she doesn’t really love Capitol Hill now, it was just a little bit grimier,” Sides said. “It’s definitely more gentrified now than it historically was, but, the heart is still there.”

Delaney Trujillo, who was working at a booth during Block Party, grew up on Capitol Hill and says that while they see gentrification happening, they feel that the spread of the LGBTQ+ community reaches further than it did five to seven years ago.

“I’ve seen real good queer shit on the pier, you wouldn’t see that 10 years ago,” Trujillo said.

Trujillo felt that the festival leaned on the club-side, and would have liked to see more representation.

“I’m not seeing as much as the drag community as I want to see. It’s a little undermined,” Trujillo said.

The three-day festival included some businesses nearby closing their doors or reducing hours like Elliott Bay Book Company and Retrofit. Other businesses had booths at the event, like Wunderground Cafe and Throwbacks Northwest.

CHS spoke to attendees before early Sunday’s shooting outside the fences at Broadway and Pike happened so safety issues weren’t high on most attendee’s minds.

The majority of the groups CHS spoke with had traveled from outside Seattle, and a lot of the people who were from Seattle were working at the event.

Samuel, a worker at Wunderground Cafe’s booth, says he recognized a lot of people from the neighborhood. Block Party gave out passes to folks living in the immediate vicinity, he says.

“If you live inside you need a pass because how are you gonna get home?,” Samuel said.

Caylor’s group, from Tacoma, said they’d been driving back and forth between Tacoma every day of the event.

Ian Miller, part of the photo committee at Vera Project, says local presence depended on what stage you were dancing in front of.

“I’ve seen a mix, it depends on what stage you’re going to. The vera stage brings a lot more of a younger, local crowd. The main stage, I feel like, is where a lot of the out-of-towners are coming for, which I guess makes sense.”

Another undeniable takeaway: Festivals are for the young.

“A lot of it is 20 somethings and a lot of college kids. Whether that means that they’re from here or not, it’s quite a melting pot,” Trujillo said.

One group said they were seeing “Lots of young people in minimal clothing.”

Oddly enough, for the younger attendees, the crowd felt older. A pair in matching outfits, both who were under 21, traveled thirty minutes to get to Seattle.

“I feel like it’s hella millennials,” Alden Vrhen and Alexander Labbe said. “We both go to U-Dub, it’s a younger crowd there.”

They were frustrated by the lack of venues for folks under 21.

“There’s like seven stages and only two that we can have access to,” they said.

For some groups, specific artists were what pulled them to the event. Attendee Jamie Schultz only went to one day of the event, specifically to see I///U, whose lead saxophonist went to the same high school.

Capitol Hill Block Party, Taylor Swift, Mariners vs Blue Jays, and Bite of Seattle were all happening in Seattle this weekend. The influx of massive events caused the Washington State Department of Transportation to put out an explanation for closures, which felt like an apology.

Reed Wetzel, from Tacoma, felt that Block Party had grown, but still felt generally relaxed—aside from getting to Seattle.

“It’s good that we’re not the priority.” Wetzel said. “There’s the Swifties—that’s made everything a little insane to get here.”

Jameson Brejar’s group came to Seattle from Bainbridge island to see Taylor Swift, but weren’t able to secure tickets. Block Party was a second choice.

“I was gonna go to Taylor Swift and then I couldn’t get tickets, so I was like ‘what can I do that would be fun tonight.’”

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