On May 24-27 at Seattle Center, Northwest Folklife will be holding its annual festival. Be a part of it and enjoy and enrich yourself in culture and traditions! You can experience all of this by enjoying the music, learning new dances, and interacting with other people. Best of all, this is all FREE.

This year’s special focus is about the workplace. Come out and hear the compelling folklore of the labor movements and how jobs have changed over the years. If this isn’t to your interest, don’t worry! There are other events to look forward to!

A few of them consist of:

• A showcase that focuses on the traditional music and dances of Asia
• The return of the hugely popular Bollywood Showcase
• Monday night Reggae Show
• Square Dancing for beginners and experts
• Indie Roots music across all the stages.

If you would like to see the full schedule, click here! http://2013northwestfolklifefestival.sched.org/

Last but definitely not least, don’t forget to take the Monorail for a fun, easy way to get to the festival! We will be open until 11 PM throughout the festival!

If you plan on using the Monorail to get to the start line, please remember that the Monorail is cash only – we do not accept credit, debit, or ORCA cards.  A one-way ticket is $2.25.  A roundtrip ticket is $4.50.  The Monorail will depart approximately every 10 minutes.  The Monorail travels directly from the third floor of Westlake Center Mall (400 Pine Street, Seattle) and Seattle Center (next to the Space Needle).

To access the Westlake Center Monorail Platform, please use the stairwell/elevator entrance on 5th Avenue between Pine Street and Olive Way (across the street from Nordstrom) as the Westlake Mall entrances will be closed during the early morning.  Go to the third floor of the building where the Monorail platform is located and purchase a ticket from the cashier inside the ticket booth.

Seattle Center Monorail will extend hours of operation to accommodate guests attending the Opera’s Ring cycle. Here is the Monorail’s extended hours schedule:

Dress Rehearsals:

• Saturday, July 27: Das Rheingold Dress Rehearsal with audience,  7pm – 9:30pm. Monorail open until 11:00pm.
• Sunday, July 28: Die Walkure Dress Rehearsal with audience, 6pm – 10:40pm. Monorail open until 11:15pm.
• Tuesday, July 30: Siegfried Dress Rehearsal with audience, 6pm – 10:45pm. Monorail open until 11:15pm.
• Thursday, August 1: Gotterdammerung Dress Rehearsal with audience, 5:30pm – 10:40pm. Monorail open until 11:15pm.

Cycle 1:

• Sunday, August 4: Das Rheingold, 7pm – 9:30pm, followed by a dinner until 11:30pm. Monorail open until 12:00am.
• Monday, August 5: Die Walkure, 6pm – 10:40pm, followed by a lecture until 11:35pm. Monorail open until 12:00am.
• Wednesday, August 7: Siegfried, 6pm – 10:45pm, followed by a lecture until 11:40pm. Monorail open until 12:15am.
• Friday, August 9: Gotterdammerung, 6pm – 11:15pm, followed by a lecture until 12:10am. Monorail open until 12:40am.

Cycle 2:

• Monday, August 12: Das Rheingold, 7pm – 9:30pm, followed by a dinner until 11:30pm. Monorail open until 12:00am.
• Tuesday, August 13: Die Walkure, 6pm – 10:40pm, followed by a lecture until 11:35pm. Monorail open until 12:00am.
• Thursday, August 15: Siegfried, 6pm – 10:45pm, followed by a lecture until 11:40pm. Monorail open until 12:15am.
• Saturday, August 17: Gotterdammerung, 6pm – 11:15pm, followed by a lecture until 12:10am. Monorail open until 12:40am.

Cycle 3:

• Tuesday, August 20: Das Rheingold, 7pm – 9:30pm, followed by a dinner until 11:30pm. Monorail open until 12:00am.
• Wednesday, August 21: Die Walkure, 6pm – 10:40pm, followed by a lecture until 11:35pm. Monorail open until 12:00am.
• Friday, August 23: Siegfried, 6pm – 10:45pm, followed by a lecture until 11:40pm. Monorail open until 12:15am.
• Sunday, August 25: Gotterdammerung, 6pm – 11:15pm, followed by a lecture until 12:10am. Monorail open until 12:40am.

Sunday, June 2, 2013: The Monorail will open early at 7:00am for the 2013 Komen Race for the Cure at Seattle Center.

If you’re coming from the south, ride Sound Transit’s Link Light Rail to Westlake Center in downtown Seattle. At Westlake Center, buy a Seattle Center Monorail ticket on the third floor of Westlake Center to ride directly to Seattle Center for the race.  Please keep in mind that the Monorail is cash only (no credit cards/ORCA cards).  Adult one-way is $2.25, roundtrip is $4.50.

If you need to park downtown, we recommend the parking garage at Pacific Place Mall (entrances on 6th and 7th Avenue between Olive Way and Pine Street) – it opens at 5am.  Then, walk to the street entrance for the Monorail located on 5th Avenue between Olive Way and Pine Street (across the street from Nordstrom).

Use the elevator or stairwell to access the Monorail on the 3rd floor.  This is the only entrance that will be open early in the morning.  Purchase a Monorail ticket from the cashier on the third floor (cash only, no credit cards/ORCA cards).

In February 2012, Seattle’s Convention and Visitors Bureau (SCVB) named Jayme Gustilo the 2012 Tourism Ambassador of the Year. Jayme was selected from dozens of nominations by a judging committee that represented a cross section of the tourism and travel industry.

In more than 20 years on the job, Jayme Gustilo, Lead Monorail Cashier, has served over eight million Seattle Center Monorail passengers, selling tickets, answering questions and narrating the 90-second city tour on each ride. During his career at the Monorail, Jayme has been on the train for approximately 165,000 monorail miles.

During his time as the 2012 Tourism Ambassador of the Year, Jayme met with many of his fellow nominated Seattle Tourism Ambassadors.  Some of the highlights from Jayme’s time as Ambassador include speaking at Pacific Place Mall’s Tourism Tenant Meeting about the importance of exceeding customer expectations, being interviewed about the Monorail’s 50th Anniversary by Meeghan Black on Evening Magazine, and being a guest speaker at the Seattle Hotel Association’s Annual Meeting to share his experiences and talk about the importance of tourism.

In February 2013, Jayme will pass on the torch to a new Seattle Tourism Ambassador.

Seattle Monorail Services commends Jayme for his above-and-beyond commitment to tourism and customer service.  Jayme has been an incredible Ambassador for Seattle as the Seattle Center Monorail celebrates its 50th year of service.

The Monorail is a great way to travel to Seattle Center from downtown and avoid street traffic congestion.  There are over 10,000 participants expected for the Hot Chocolate 15/5K – traffic will be heavy and access to the parking garages at Seattle Center can be challenging.

We recommend parking in downtown’s Pacific Place Parking Garage (open from 5am-2am, entrances on Sixth and Seventh Avenues between Olive Way and Pine Street) and walking one block to the Westlake Center Monorail Platform.

To access the Monorail platform, please use the stairwell/elevator on the exterior of Westlake Center Mall on 5th Avenue between Olive Way and Pine Street (across the street from Nordstrom).  The Monorail Platform is on the third floor.  The Mall does not open until 11am on Sundays, so the 5th Avenue elevator/stairwell is the only way to access the Monorail platform. Image of the street level entrance to the Monorail platform on 5th Avenue is provided below.

The Monorail is cash only, we do NOT accept credit cards or ORCA cards.  An adult roundtrip is $4.50, a one-way is $2.25.  The train departs from Westlake Center approximately every 10 minutes.  The trip to Seattle Center takes approximately 2 minutes.  Please make sure to give yourself enough time to purchase a ticket and ride the train to the race.

Race Information:

The 5K begins at 6:45am.  The 15K begins at 7:40am.

Here is the course map from the Hot Chocolate Race Website.

Monorail Bunny visited KeyArena and met Dizzy of the Harlem Globetrotters.  Dizzy taught Bunny all sorts of fun basketball tricks as they explored KeyArena together.

The Harlem Globetrotters play at KeyArena on February 18, 2013 at 2pm.  For more information and tickets, click here.

In the summer of 2012, Monorail Bunny was accidentally left behind on the Monorail by a passenger.  The Monorail conductor found the Bunny on the train and brought him back to the administrative office.  We have tried to located Bunny’s owner by using social media to share Bunny’s adventures around Seattle.  The Monorail has adopted Monorail Bunny and Bunny continues to visit local Seattle attractions as he patiently waits to be reunited with his original owner.

If you enjoy Monorail Bunny’s adventures, you can purchase a 2012 Monorail Bunny calendar on our website.  Click here for information.

Monorail Bunny had a wonderful opportunity to visit the Seattle Aquarium and meet all sorts of marine animals.  Bunny met sea otters, giant pacific octopus, cowfish, seahorses, jellyfish and more!

Seattle Aquarium is currently featuring ‘Hawaii Weekend‘ on January 26-27, 2013 – it’s a colorful celebration of their Pacific Coral Reef exhibit with lots of hands-on activities and colorful tropical fish!  In honor of Hawaii Weekend, Bunny wore a traditional Kukui nut necklace from Hawaii.  Below are some of the photos from Bunny’s adventures.  You can see the full photo album on our Facebook page by clicking here.

Monorail Bunny was accidentally left behind by a passenger on the Monorail during summer 2012.  The Bunny was found by the Monorail conductor and brought to the Seattle Monorail Services office.  We have been using social media to try to locate Bunny’s owner.  We have adopted Bunny and he now travels all over Seattle going on adventures of our beautiful city while he patiently waits to be reunited with his owner.

Come down to Seattle Center on January 12th at 12PM to witness or participate in a world record shattering snow ball fight! There will be 162,000 pounds of Snow that will be transported to Seattle Center in an attempt to break the Guinness World Record of largest recorded snow ball fight.

There will be over 6,000 people attending and lots of pubs and restaurants. Many local pubs and restaurants in lower Queen Anne will be offering discounted Snow Day drink and food specials.

If you are one of the lucky people who managed to purchase a ticket before they sold out, come on down to Westlake Mall and take the Monorail to the Snow Day event! We’ve also rented out one of the trains so there will be an opportunity for you to watch the massive snow ball fight from one of the Monorail trains! It will be parked just above the snow arena so you’ll have the best vantage point to watch the snow ball fight. The Monorail is open from 8:30 AM to 11:00 PM on January 12th.

On Monday, December 31, 2012, the Seattle Center Monorail will open at 7:30 AM.  The Monorail will remain open until 11:15 PM and then will go out of service from 11:15 PM until we receive the ‘All Clear’ from the Fire Marshal, which is estimated to take place around 12:20 AM.  The Monorail will then resume service until 1:00 AM and carry passengers from Seattle Center to Westlake Center after the Space Needle firework show.

If you plan on catching the Monorail to Seattle Center to watch the fireworks show at the Space Needle or to attend an event at Space Needle, Chihuly Garden and Glass or EMP Museum, please be sure to plan ahead and give yourself enough time to purchase a ticket and catch the train before 11:00 PM.  The Monorail will be out of service from 11:15 PM until we hear from the Fire Marshal (estimated to be 12:20 AM).

On Tuesday, January 1, 2013, the Monorail will be open from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM.  Children 12 and under can ride for fee between 10:00 AM and 12:00 PM on New Year’s Day.