Columbia City Beatwalk Wraps Up Summer With 'Anything Goes' Festival

A spelling bee, fire dancers, a little karaoke, and some funk music.

At this month's Columbia City Beatwalk, "Anything Goes" will be the theme of the night, says neighborhood organizer Tish Gallow. 

On Sept. 13, the monthly Beatwalk will be back on Ferdinand Festival Street — a free, all-ages music festival featuring artists, dancers, games, and local businesses around the block. Following a summer of large events, like Bumbershoot and Capitol Hill Block Party, the Beatwalk brings back a "small-town feel" to the community, operations manager Kate Bond says. 

Part of a group of just six volunteers, organizers, and longtime Columbia City residents, Gallow and Bond work as a dream team, with Gallow booking acts and Bond gathering fundraising and sponsors. Over time — with funding from multiple donors, like 4Culture and the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture — the two have seen Beatwalk grow, with a reported 400 to 500 attendees at a given event this summer. 

"We're still not Capitol Hill Block Party big or money like that, but we got what we got for this neighborhood," Gallow said.

The Beatwalk crew had a busy summer: In June, organizers held two Beatwalks, one themed "American Roots" and another to celebrate LGBTQIA+ Pride. In July, with Brothers United in Leadership 206 (BUILD 206),  the theme was "R&B, Hip Hop and Funk," featuring Seattle bands, like Funky 2 Death, and hip-hop legends, like Teia's Higher Consciousness. August was "World Beats and Rhythms," mixing in elements of Carribean, Latin, and African culture. 

"It [is] really important to me to book bands and artists who used to live in the neighborhood or come here often, because of the gentrification in this neighborhood," said Gallow, who has lived in the South End for about 15 years. "This neighborhood looks wonderful. But I also wanted to bring back my community."

So, what does "Anything Goes" exactly mean?

"That's literally how anything goes: I was like, 'Well, shoot, I'll just do whatever I want,'" Gallow said with a chuckle.

From 4 to 9 p.m. on Ferdinand Festival Street, Seattle's DJ Lovesick Larry will be spinning hip-hop and R&B beats, and at 6 p.m., attendees can brush up on their letter-sequencing skills at Fremont Brewing's 21+ Spelling Bee. Around 7 p.m., people can head to Island Soul for some karaoke, with Seattle vocalists Amazing Achini and Taryn Kacey,  and then head back to Ferdinand Festival Street to see fire dancers with the Lion Gypzi Fire Experience. For the night owls, there will be Seattle hip-hop pioneer DJ Funk Daddy at Rumba Notes at 10 p.m.

For participating businesses, the hustle and bustle of the Beatwalk brings more foot traffic into their doors.

For many years, Theo Martin's Caribbean restaurant and bar Island Soul was closed on Sundays, despite community members pleading with him to stay open. He didn't change his mind until he attended a Beatwalk.

"I sat there, and I was like, 'Oh, shit! This is some energy,'" Martin recalled while sitting in a booth in his restaurant. "It is happening — people are walking by with plates and eating and having fun, and I'm closed. And I knew that was not a good choice."

Currently, Sundays — Beatwalk or not — are some of his busiest days of the week.

"I was missing out, and I wanted to be a part of it," Martin said. "The community is why we're here. It's nice to get someone driving from Kent to Renton, but the real people who come to this restaurant live in the ZIP code."

For attendees like resident Erika Johnson, the Beatwalk is a time to dance, listen to music, and catch up with her neighbors.

"I get to see friends, parents, and kids that I have known but who have moved or don't have much free time to come to Columbia City on a weekly basis, but always keep that Sunday as a priority," Johnson wrote to organizers. "It keeps me tethered to the people/businesses I knew 20 years ago and how they have evolved."

The Columbia City Beatwalk will be held from 4 p.m. to midnight on Sunday, Sept. 13, on Ferdinand Festival Street between Rainier Avenue South and 39th Avenue South. See a map of venues here.