Multi-cultural community
Issaquah is a multi-cultural community deeply dedicated to supporting arts and culture. We celebrate diversity, equity, inclusion, and a deep connection to the natural environment through the visual arts. On most evenings you will find live music and Broadway-quality theatrical productions happening here year-round. We welcome you to join our cultural celebrations organized by community organizations each season. Visit the EVENTS CALENDAR at VisitIssaquahWA.com for a quick view of what is happening daily.
State-designated Creative District
Issaquah has a Washington state-designated Creative District that stretches from historic downtown over to Gilman Village and the Gilman Lofts. The district boasts locally owned restaurants, multiple music schools, art maker spaces, and historic landmarks. Creative sector businesses are broad and include design, photography, videography, creative software, brewing, jewelry making, architecture and drafting, advertising, and other activities.
The creative district’s cultural anchor is the award-winning Village Theatre — one of the Pacific Northwest’s most treasured professional performing arts venues and an originator of works bound for Broadway. Village Theatre also operates KIDStage, a student-focused professional theatre education and production organization.
Hands-on art experiences
There are many hands-on art experiences for locals and visitors. Gilman Village offers many workshops including terrarium creations at Arium, knitting classes at Nifty Knitter, and pottery painting at Mud House. Art By Fire in downtown offers glass-blowing classes for individuals and groups. Don’t have time to take a class? Check out their viewing window and watch the professionals in action daily! Next door to Art By Fire is Experience Tea, offering loose tea for purchase as well as educational classes on the global history of tea and tea tasting. Capri Cellars offers both tastings and wine education curriculum through their Spirited Grape program. Boehm’s Candies offers candy-making experiences in a beloved Swiss chalet right here in the Issaquah Alps.
Exhibits and walking tours
The Issaquah History Museums in downtown Issaquah offer compelling exhibits regarding Issaquah’s past. They also lead cemetery, coal-mining and logging walks. Find a self-guided walking tour on their website for a leisurely stroll covering twenty sites that starts from the Greater Issaquah Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center on Gilman Boulevard and ends at the Issaquah Depot Museum downtown.
You should also visit Gilman Village, next door to the Visitor Center. It is a collection of historic homes and businesses from Issaquah’s earliest days, converted into unique boutiques, cafes, and eateries.
Cultural events
Issaquah celebrates its diverse culture with celebrations throughout the year in both the historic downtown and in the Issaquah Highlands urban village. Events have included Juneteenth, India’s New Year, Mid-Autumn Festival, Dia De Los Muertos, Diwali, Menorah Lightings, and traditional Christmas season events. Summer is filled with weekly Saturday Farmer’s Markets, outdoor concerts, art and wine walks.
In the fall, Issaquah celebrates the return of the Salmon with the largest outdoor festival in Washington state – the nationally award-winning Salmon Days Festival, the first full weekend of October. Salmon Days brings over 150,000 visitors to the downtown and salmon hatchery grounds for two days of perusing artist booths, tasting a variety of ethnic cuisines, live entertainment, and of course, watching the salmon action at the hatchery’s fish ladder! The Salmon Days Festival is produced by the Greater Issaquah Chamber of Commerce.
Public art
Issaquah has a growing outdoor public art inventory including murals, mosaics, and sculptures, including Jakob Two-Trees, our 14-foot-tall troll, part of2023 The Way of the Bird King, Northwest Trolls project.
Download free self-guided tours of public art both in historic downtown and in the modern Issaquah Highlands urban village at VisitIssaquahWA.com.
Of course, Issaquah has many more visual, musical, and performing arts studios that offer classes and workshops for both kids and adults. Find more at VisitIssaquahWA.com.
