June is a month of transitions as we wrap up another school year and officially start summer. Can we also officially transition out of this flippin’ pandemic? We can try! (While being smart, of course.) Shows, fun parks, dinos and parades are back! Celebrate all the papas; learn more about the bittersweet history of Juneteenth, our newest federal holiday; and fill your days with carefree family fun. Happy, happy June!
- The magic cane has broken? How will the wizard and Professor Dumbledog care for the animals without using magic? To find out, book a visit to Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium to catch the new Wild Wonders Outdoor Theater show (included with admission or membership). Spoiler: The performance features lots of animal stars! Show plays daily; then twice a day beginning June 18.
- Marvelous Kitsap Forest Theater invites families to a unique and kid-friendly outdoor theater experience. This season’s show is “Beauty and the Beast,” which you’ll enjoy surrounded by towering trees. Weekend performances take place May 29–June 19 in Bremerton. Tickets are $10–$18; ages 5 and younger free.
- It’s a Northwest summer tradition to visit our local country farm amusement park. Remlinger Farms’ fun park is open weekends through June 19, then Wednesday–Sunday beginning June 22. Book your tickets online; $21.95 per person; ages 1 and younger free. Optional pony rides are $7.
- Sound the alarm for Fire Day on Saturday, June 4! Bring your crew to the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) to meet Seattle Fire Department firefighters, try on firefighter gear and learn about fire safety, 10 a.m.–1 p.m. The event is free (regular museum admission not included or required).
- Quick! Stop reading and book your DinoFest tix right away, lest you disappoint your crew of dino fans! DinoFest is back at Dino HQ — aka Seattle’s Burke Museum — on Sunday, June 5. Attendees can check out the Burke’s T. rex skull, go on a Jurassic quest and dig for fossils! Timed-entry tickets are $14–$22. Tots ages 3 and younger, museum members, and University of Washington staff and students enter for free.
- Seattle Center’s Festál series of cultural festivals kicks into high gear in June. The Pagdiriwang Philippine Festival celebrates Filipino culture and history, June 4–5; the Indigenous People Festival, on Saturday, June 11, honors area tribes’ current and past traditions; Festival Sundiata showcases wide-ranging Black arts, June 17–19; and the Iranian Festival highlights modern Persian culture and traditions on Saturday, June 25. All festivals are free.
- Join ParentMap on Tuesday, June 7, 7–8 p.m., for an important talk by Seattle Children’s physician Dr. Dimitri Christakis. Learn new strategies for rebalancing screen time and your kids’ “media diet” in a post-pandemic educational and developmental landscape. Free; preregister here.
- Bicycle Sundays are now bicycle weekends! Dust off your family’s bikes and roll ’em out to Lake Washington Boulevard for a carefree and (mostly) car-free lakeside ride. June bicycle weekends are June 10–12 and 24–26, starting on Friday evenings at 7 p.m. and all day on Saturday and Sunday. Free.
- Go fish! Free Fishing Weekend is the perfect introduction to fishing for the next generation of anglers. During the weekend of June 11–12, adults can fish without a fishing license (youths ages 14 and younger can always fish without a license), though some rules still apply. Gear up and reel one in at a lake near you!
- Early summer or rainy June-uary? Either way, our fabulous Washington State Parks welcomes families for a frolic on three fee-free days. On June 11, 12 and 19, visitors to our state parks can park their cars without a Discover Pass. Get out and explore!
- Head to a local beach during low tide to inspect all kinds of marine critters that normally live under the sea. Touch them gently and learn more about what you see from Seattle Aquarium beach naturalists, on-site June 14–18 at multiple Puget Sound beaches. Free.
The Sunday Dog Parade June 19 - Go wild celebrating the end of the school year and the beginning of summer at the Fremont Fair and Solstice Parade, taking place June 18–19. The Saturday Solstice Parade (1 p.m. start time) features, um, naked bicyclists, so maybe warn the kids? The Sunday Dog Parade (2:30 p.m.) supports local pooches.
- After a two-year hiatus, a popular Father’s Day outing is back. It’s Fenders on Front Street, a car show welcoming dads, families and everyone else to Issaquah to admire vintage and classic cars. Sunday, June 19, 8 a.m.–3 p.m. Free.
- Head to Othello Park to join It Takes a Village’s 6th annual Juneteenth celebration, promoting the health and empowerment of the Black community. Bring the fam for free fun, youth-led activities, music and COVID-19 vaccinations. Sunday, June 19, 11 a.m.–6 p.m. Free.
- The Greenwood Car Show is back! Enjoy music, food and the coolest gathering of classic, modern, antique, and just plain awesome cars, trucks, hot rods and everything in between. Along Greenwood Avenue North between 65th and 90th Streets. Saturday, June 25. Free.
- Celebrate all types of families and love at Seattle-area Pride celebrations, back in person June 25–26. On Saturday, join Capitol Hill PrideFest; on Sunday, watch the Pride Parade and party at PrideFest at Seattle Center. The parade winds from Fourth Avenue and Pike Street toward Seattle Center. Free.
