April is a time in Seattle when lilacs, bluebells and other flowers and herbs bloom all over the city. April activities in Seattle include arts and culture, outdoor recreation and community events. Seattle's Cherry Blossom and Japanese Cultural Festival, Whirligig Children's Event and the World Rhythm Festival all occur annually in April at the Seattle Center.
Seattle Center is located just north of Seattle's downtown area and offers a variety of activities. This public park offers a Children's Museum, the Experience Music Project, the Pacific Science Center, an IMAX theater and rides and carnival games. Seattle Center is also the home of the Pacific Northwest Ballet and the Seattle Opera. Check Seattle Center's schedule of events for festival dates, as well as the ballet and opera companies' websites to obtain performance schedules for the month of April. Some festivals are annual events at Seattle Center, such as the Cherry Blossom Festival, while productions by the opera and ballet companies change yearly.
Seattle neighborhoods hold open air farmers' markets throughout the year. Farmers Markets in Columbia City, the University District and West Seattle are in session during the month of April. These locations offer live music and local produce, flowers, arts and crafts and unique local food items. One of the oldest open air markets in the country can be found downtown at Seattle's Pike Place Market. "The Market," as locals refer to it, is a bustling downtown center, with live street performers, fish vendors, arts and crafts and produce sold directly to the public from farmers in stalls. The Market hosts an annual BBQ Competition in April, and you will find everything from tulips to fiddlehead ferns on the farmers market tables around town during this time of year.
Seattle's location on the Puget Sound, with surrounding Lake Washington and smaller Green Lake, provide a playground of water recreation opportunities. Seattle's Center for Wooden Boats on South Lake Union offers free sailboat rides every Sunday. They also have a floating museum of historic wooden boats on display.
Seattle is famous for its ferry boats that zig-zag throughout the San Juan Islands from the Seattle waterfront. You can board a ferry boat in downtown Seattle and take a scenic 30 minute ride to Bainbridge Island across the Puget Sound. Bainbridge Island offers a host of restaurants, stores, hiking trails and shoreline for visitors. The ferries leave hourly in both directions. Green Lake is a small lake located near the University of Washington. You can rent pedal and row boats, kayaks, canoes, stand up paddle boards and sailboats to use around the lake. Greenlake also has a children's playground, an indoor pool, fishing, and a three mile jogging/bike path around its perimeter.
Ivar's Salmon House in located at North Lake Union. The restaurant is a replica of a Northwest Indian longhouse, filled with authentic Native American art and artifacts and the smell of their salmon which is smoked over an open alder fire. The Salmon House sits on Lake Washington and has a pier for customers in boats. There is outside seating available on sunny days.
Seattle's Space Needle also offers an unusual dining experience. The Space Needle circles the Seattle area every hour as it turns, giving visitors a chance to admire both the Olympic and Cascade Mountain ranges on a clear day, as well as Mount Rainier. Also visible from the Space Needle are Seattle's waterways and landmarks, such as Safeco Field. Atop the Space Needle is an observation deck, which offers a 360 degree unobstructed view of the city.
