The Seattle Center’s festival season is unfolding under heightened security, with the popular Panda Fest returning this weekend.
The Seattle Center’s festival season is unfolding under heightened security, with the popular Panda Fest returning this weekend.
The Asian food and cultural festival at Fisher Pavilion is expected to draw between 10,000 and 15,000 visitors during its three-day run. More than half its vendors are local businesses.
Co-founder Ang Zuo, a University of Washington graduate who started the event with his wife and co-founder, BiuBiu Xu, described the festival as a place for families to gather around food, performances and culture. The event features dozens of food and merchandise vendors, along with cultural performances. This year’s collectible panda headbands feature a Mount Rainier theme.
But organizers also emphasized the security built into the festival footprint.
Panda Fest is enclosed and ticketed, with visitors entering through designated screening areas. Organizers said attendees will go through "OPENGATE" metal detection systems, bag checks and, when needed, handheld wand screening.
Zuo said the event uses three layers of security: Seattle police, third-party security personnel and Panda Fest’s own security team.
The increased focus comes after the July 26 shooting at Bite of Seattle, which had a profound impact on victims, families, vendors and the broader Seattle community, according to Seattle Center Acting Director Randy Engstrom. He said Seattle Center has since conducted safety and emergency-protocol reviews with every event producer hosting gatherings on campus, working alongside Seattle police, Seattle Fire, the mayor’s office, the Office of Emergency Management and event partners.
“Operational security planning is tailored to the size and needs of each gathering,” Engstrom said in a statement. “Producers lead their own security plans in coordination with Seattle Center and public-safety agencies.”
That coordination will be especially visible at Bumbershoot over Labor Day weekend.
Seattle Center says Bumbershoot’s security plan includes a secured, fenced-off perimeter; metal detection units at entry points; increased third-party security; additional police presence; training for key staff; internal emergency-response resources for artists and staff who opt in; and a dedicated social-communications team to handle emergency messaging. Seattle Police said they would have a visible, uniformed presence.
Despite the concerns raised by the shooting, Seattle Center says visitors continue to return in large numbers. Raw Placer.ai data showed more than 661,000 visits between July 27 and Aug. 27, including roughly 520,600 unique visitors. The data also showed about 5 million visits to the campus so far this year. Seattle Center said its after-action review of the Bite of Seattle shooting remains ongoing, including an examination of communication, coordination and potential future operational changes.
For now, Zuo said Panda Fest’s goal remains the same: giving families a welcoming place to gather.
“It’s a very nice place to share a wonderful moment with a friend, with a family,” he said.
