Wing Luke’s 12th annual JamFest brings art, performance and culture to the CID tonight

Discover cabaret, rickshaw racing, panda bowling and much more at Wing Luke’s street festival.

by Timothy Dong

This morning, 7th Avenue in Chinatown looks deserted, with its worn brick buildings and boarded-up storefronts. A whiff of the cool air smells faintly of hand soap and boiling soup, and the distant hum of I-5 echoes through the narrow alleys. In the early morning light, the International District seems to be still waking up. Tonight, an event intended to revitalize this historic neighborhood and spread the joy of music will fill the street with noise and laughter.

JamFest is back for its 12th anniversary and bigger than ever. This annual music and arts festival, hosted by the Wing Luke Museum, features live art demonstrations, dancing, and DJs — a three-hour, free, family-friendly event that draws crowds of Seattleites to the Chinatown-International District.

The JamFest jam is enhanced by invigorating performances at the festival’s three main venues on 7th Avenue Southeast and the historic Canton and Maynard alleys. Longtime festival performer Shanghai Pearl will coordinate a cabaret show, and kung fu artists will demonstrate one of the ancient martial arts. Other performers include DJ Halal Cool J and the Seattle Chinese Community Girls Drill Team.

For younger family members, JamFest is bringing back the beloved tradition of rickshaw racing, where guests select small wooden rickshaw carts and race them. There’s also Boba Toss — the act of tossing “tapioca” balls into bubble tea baskets — and Panda Bowling, which is exactly what the name suggests: bowling balls with panda designs into bamboo pegs. For young and old, there’s a chance to learn to play mahjong.

AshaAung Helmstetter will lead workshops on art mentoring. Louie Gong, an indigenous and Asian artist, will educate community members on Bruce Lee’s personal development lessons and host a written reflection activity. “The idea of ​​working with Wing Luke and the Bruce Lee Foundation to create content around Bruce Lee is a dream come true for me,” Gong explains. He has been commissioned to paint two 10-by-10-foot murals in Lee’s honor and is looking to JamFest for community input on his “not-yet-fully-formulated” vision. “I want to create art that reaches people, and in order for my art to reach people, I have to understand where they are and what they’re interested in.”

Gong also encourages guests to interact with other JamFest artists and ask them questions. “I hope that when people come to JamFest, they go home with a new artist or resource that they’re excited about, and they tell a friend about it,” he said. “The more we can get people talking about the vibrant and exciting things happening in the International District, the better it will be for all the businesses there and the people who frequent the neighborhood.”

Since opening in 2012, the Wing Luke Museum has been the sole organizer of JamFest. “The museum itself has been bringing art (and) culture to the community since its inception. There’s a sense of well-being that comes from seeing your stories told, knowing that there’s a place that understands and cherishes your history,” said Steve McLean, the museum’s director of communications. This year, the museum is partnering with One Nation/One Project’s “Arts for Everybody” campaign to promote well-being through accessible art. This coming weekend, 17 other cities across the United States are hosting similar arts festivals.

For the first time ever, JamFest will combine open houses with street performances. The open houses, McLean says, will encourage newcomers to “enjoy a restaurant, go to a grocery store, or bring their money and family to the neighborhood.”

Among the businesses opening their doors are a yoga studio and a sound bath spa. A lecture will be held at Mam’s Books. Visitors will also have the rare opportunity to explore the interior of a historic Cantonese opera house, which is rarely open throughout the year.

If you’re planning to attend JamFest, McLean’s best advice is to get there early and leave late, because there’s a lot to do. He recommends taking public transportation or carpooling with other families to lessen the crowds, given last year’s turnout of about 1,000. The streets can be “dangerously” crowded, McLean says.

Jintana Lityouvong, manager of community programs at the Wing Luke Museum, hopes JamFest will show people that “the Chinatown-International District is not just a neighborhood where you park your car during a Mariners game, or a place to get a quick, cheap bite to eat.”

JamFest takes place from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Friday, July 26. For more information, the Wing Luke Museum has a dedicated webpage with activities, performance schedules and tickets, as well as Facebook and Instagram pages.

Timothy Dong is a rising sophomore who joined the newsroom in seventh grade and has been writing for his school newspaper ever since. He enjoys spending time outdoors, hiking in the Cascades, or researching new recipes to cook (while trying not to burn down the kitchen). If Timothy could be anywhere in the world, it would probably be in a coffee shop sipping an iced vanilla latte, rushing to finish a story or podcast before a deadline. An advocate for environmental justice and animal protection, and a staunch believer in local reporting, he hopes to one day see a wolverine in the wild and give a TED talk.

📸 Main image: A crowd gathers to watch a performance during a previous JamFest. (Photo: MXT Visuals)