Overview
Bumbershoot '78
"A Bumbershoot Collection," by Seattle-based artist Carl T. Chew (b. 1948), was commissioned through the City of Seattle's 1% for Art Program.By the late 1970s, Bumbershoot had embraced its identity as a maximalist, cross-genre cultural experience.
The programming was dense, abundant, and intentionally exploratory, including music, theater, literary arts, community showcases, and spectacle unfolding simultaneously across Seattle Center. What began earlier in the decade as an experiment in civic celebration was now a confidently scaled, multi-disciplinary festival.
Seattle historian Paul Dorpat writes:
“Among the featured local artists is a young fiddler named Mark O’Connor, who wows the crowd with his prowess… The Amazing Rhythm Aces is the big name in the music lineup. The One Reel Vaudeville Show presents one of its most popular spoofs, ‘The Bride of Bigfoot.’”
— Paul Dorpat, Bumbershoot’s Formative Years (1971–1979), HistoryLink.org
That “young fiddler” was Mark O'Connor, who would soon move to Nashville and become one of the most acclaimed instrumentalists in country and classical crossover music.
Headlining the music lineup were The Amazing Rhythm Aces, bringing a polished national presence to the bill. Meanwhile, the ever-theatrical One Reel Vaudeville Show delivered one of its most beloved spoofs, The Bride of Bigfoot, a perfect example of the festival’s signature blend of satire, absurdity, and community spectacle.
By 1978, Bumbershoot’s formula was clear:
celebrate emerging talent, platform national acts, elevate local creativity, and leave room for something weird.
The umbrella didn’t narrow as it grew; it expanded. And the festival’s reputation as a joyful, difficult-to-define cultural happening only deepened.
Source & Credit
Portions of this history are quoted and adapted from: Paul Dorpat, “Bumbershoot’s Formative Years (1971–1979),” HistoryLink.org Essay 10027, posted September 1, 1999.
Available at: https://www.historylink.org/File/10027
