Bumbershoot RFP
The City of Seattle invites proposals to enter a contract with the Seattle Center to help “envision and produce the future” of Bumbershoot 2022 and beyond. They aim to create a sustainable structure for the festival, which may include a single producing partner or multiple sub-licenses, to create a year-long series of Bumbershoot-branded events.
For some background, Bumbershoot is both Seattle’s longest-running music and arts festival and the largest urban arts celebration in North America. It has served as the “Seattle regional brand” for close to 50 years. Visitors can find the Bumbershoot Festival in the heart of the Seattle Center. Located between Elliott Bay and Lake Union, with easy access from the Monorail and Light Rail, it’s set to be a destination for locals and visitors from the entire region.
Proposers should expect to embody Bumbershoot’s essential characteristics, including but not limited to:
- The Festival is a “celebration of outstanding popular entertainment, regional acts of artistic quality,
and the opportunity to introduce to the broad Seattle public the wide diversity of current, traditional
and new artistic endeavors.” - The Festival promotes diversity and artistic expression in all programming, striving to find new
artists and art forms that are on the horizon, and to experiment with new works. - The Festival is an affordable, moderately priced event, with the goal of making it the Festival
accessible to the largest possible community.
Historically, a range of 35,000 to over 75,000 patrons attend during festival weekends. Furthermore, Bumbershoot has primarily only hosted at the Seattle Center during Labor Day weekend. The City would like to expand the festival into other locations within the Seattle City limits and further create a “Bumbershoot Presents Year-Round” series.
To check out Seattle Center events or view visitor information, visit SeattleCenter.com.
Bumbershoot has hosted an array of artists including Jane’s Addiction, Tony Bennett, Big Sean, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kins — to name just a very few. Originally launched in 1971 as the “Mayor’s Festival ’71”, it initially presented 150 free attractions on the Seattle Center campus. The budding site of where the local underground music scene was born is now the City’s center stage to showcase some of the region’s best music to attendees.
Important Bumbershoot RFP Information
The City requests that proposers craft “creative proposals that address their needs while considering the City’s goals”, as outlined in the RFP.
To view and download the complete RFP, please visit: Seattle’s 2022 Bumbershoot RFP
RFP Schedule
Pre-proposal meeting and tour — September 17, 2021
Last day for questions — October 11, 2021
Proposals are due Monday, October 25, 2021 at 5:00 PM PT.
Do You Need Help Writing an Awesome Response?
Finally, The Bid Lab helps clients, like you, showcase your expertise through beautifully written proposals. Not only that, we gladly will help you prepare questions to make sure your bid covers all the bases. Our experts will then guide you through the steps to take to make your bid stand out against the competition. So, what are you waiting for? Schedule a free consultation with us today, or give us a call at 1-844-4BIDLAB! Let us help you in making your experience a positive one!
