Seafair Dates: Blue Angels Air Show and Torchlight Parade

Seafair 2027 has its two anchor dates. The U.S. Navy Blue Angels will fly the Boeing Seafair Air Show over Lake Washington from Friday, Aug. 6 to Sunday, Aug. 8, 2027, and the Alaska Airlines Seafair Torchlight Parade rolls along the Seattle waterfront on Saturday, July 31, 2027. If you are planning a summer trip to Seattle, or just blocking out your own calendar, that one stretch from July 31 to Aug. 8 holds both.

What Seafair has confirmed for the air show

The Blue Angels announced their return at the International Council of Air Shows convention in Las Vegas, and Seafair published the news on Dec. 9, 2025. The 2027 visit follows the team's 2026 appearance (July 31 to Aug. 2, 2026), so Seattle gets the team two summers in a row.

The air show is part of Seafair Weekend Festival at Genesee Park and Lake Washington, alongside the hydroplane races. Seafair lists the 2027 festival hours as 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day.

One detail matters a lot if you live on the east side of the city: Seafair says it expects to keep the same flight box it used in 2025, which lets the I-90 bridge and Seward Park stay fully open during the show.

What the Torchlight Parade page says

Seafair's 2027 parade page lists Saturday, July 31, 2027, on the Seattle waterfront. The parade page currently shows 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Its route notes, still labeled for 2026, describe a start at Alaskan Way and Broad Street, heading south to Alaskan Way and Yesler Way. Check the 2027 map when Seafair posts it.

Want to march, ride or bring a float? Applications open Feb. 1, 2027 and close June 30, 2027. Entry fees start at $100 for small nonprofits with budgets under $1 million and run to $7,000 for large companies. Seafair's selection committee reviews every entry, and applying does not guarantee a spot. Questions go to parade@seafair.org.

What is not announced yet

Seafair says tickets for its 2027 summer events go on sale in the spring. Until then, a few things are still open:

Ticket prices for the air show and the premium areas (grandstands, the Captain's Club, The Deck, the hydroplane pits and the log boom).
The daily flight schedule. Seafair has not posted 2027 show times yet.
Free Friday. In 2026, Friday general admission was free, sponsored by Windermere. Seafair has not said whether that returns in 2027.
The other summer dates. The Seafair calendar lists the Summer Kickoff in June and the Fourth of July, the triathlon and the Torchlight Run in July, but without 2027 days yet.

We will update this story when Seafair publishes them.

How to get there without a car

The festival is a Link light rail trip. Based on the 2026 plan, which is what Seafair has posted so far:

Ride Link light rail to Columbia City Station, where Seafair ran a free shuttle to the park from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. each festival day.
King County Metro Route 50 serves the park from Columbia City and Othello stations. Route 7 on Rainier Avenue South stops about half a mile from the south end of the park.
The main entrance is at 43rd Avenue South and South Genesee Street.
If you drive in from outside the city, Seafair pointed visitors to free parking at light rail park and rides such as Lynnwood City Center, Angle Lake and Star Lake.

For the parade, the waterfront has buses, light rail, ferries and the water taxi nearby. Seafair's parade page lists public elevators down to the waterfront at the Overlook Walk, the Pike Place Market garage and Union, Lenora and Bell streets.

Our planning tip

The parade and the air show's Saturday fall exactly one week apart, and the air show starts six days after the parade. A visitor who arrives on Friday, July 30, 2027, and leaves on Monday, Aug. 9, can catch both, with the week in between for the rest of the city. Book rooms early: both weekends draw big crowds, and Seafair says its summer draws nearly two million participants.

Kids under 12 got free general admission to the 2026 festival, and anyone 18 and under rides public transit free in Washington, which keeps a family day on the lake affordable.