Bumbershoot Vs. Washington State Fair: Which Is Better?

SEATTLE OR PUYALLUP, WA — Do you prefer to do the Puyallup, or see the Seattle Center?

The state's two biggest Labor Day weekend events, Bumbershoot and the Washington State Fair, kick off Friday. It's totally possible — if a little pricey — to attend both, but this year we wanted to compare the two to see if one is demonstrably more attractive than the other.

Of course, each event has its die-hard fans. If that's you, let us know in the survey below which one is your favorite.

Cost

The Washington State Fair is definitely cheaper just to get in. General admission is $14 for teens and adults up to age 61 ($12 for kids under 13 and adults over 62, and free for kids under 5). Bumbershoot is a hot $109 per day, $165 for two days, and $220 for all three days.

But the fair has lots of other costs on top of general admission. It's $45 to access the rides, concert tickets start at $30, and attractions like the world's biggest bounce house start at $7 per person.

General admission to the fair is free on Labor Day weekend for kids up to age 18, courtesy of BECU. The fair is also free on Mondays for members of the military, and free on Sept. 6 with a donation of school supplies. We're not aware of any Bumbershoot ticket discounts.

Transportation

Driving to either Bumbershoot or the Washington State Fair is probably a bad idea. Mercer Street to the Seattle Center is pretty much always, you know, a mess. And driving into downtown Puyallup from any direction can be quite messy during the fair.

Plus parking costs: it's $10 on Friday, $15 on Saturday and Sunday for the fair; meanwhile parking at the Seattle Center-area garages can range from $15 to $25 during special events.

And unless you take the Monorail, neither event has train access. Sounder trains will not service for the fair on Labor Day weekend. There are plenty of buses serving each event, however.

• Pierce Transit Southeast bus map
• King County Metro Seattle Center service
• Sound Transit bus service to Puyallup

Music

Since the fair lasts through September, we're just focusing on Labor Day weekend here. Even still, the fair might have Bumbershoot beat depending on your taste and age.

Sure, Bumbershoot has big names like Lizzo and "Ho Hey" hit-makers The Lumineers. But most of the bands are niche. Acts like emo rockers Taking Back Sunday and electro-pop producer Jai Wolf might not be immediately familiar.

The fair has heavily mainstream acts: The Beach Boys, Billy Idol, Weezer, and Keith Urban all play over Labor Day weekend.

Animals

The fair has (live) goats, piglets, zebras, and much more. Bumbershoot does have Bok-a-Bok fried chicken, though.

Food

If you want elevated festival food, head to Bumbershoot. You'll find food from Bar Harbor, the hip South Lake Union lobster roll spot, and the Central District's Wood Shop BBQ, among several others.

At the fair, you'll find all that crazy fair food you've heard about: elephant ears, roasted corn, taffy, candy apples, enormous burgers from Earthquakes Biggest Burgers (celebrating its 27th year at the fair in 2019), and lots of fried things.

Culture

Both events have interesting and very different events scheduled contrasting rural and urban culture.

The fair has its dairy cattle show and rodeo, plus a demolition derby AND a monster truck show.

At Bumbershoot, you can see the Bumberdrag Drag Queens perform, music videos from Pacific Northwest musicians, and a showcase of local comedians.

So, which one are you going to visit this Labor Day weekend: Washington State Fair or Bumbershoot?