Overview
Bumbershoot 1979
Poster design by Ellen Ziegler.
By 1979, Bumbershoot had fully transformed.
What began less than a decade earlier as a mayoral experiment during an economic downturn had grown into one of the largest multidisciplinary festivals in the country. Its playful name, civic spirit, and refusal to fit neatly into a single genre were no longer quirks, they were the festival’s DNA.
Seattle historian Paul Dorpat describes the year this way:
“The Bumbernationals are held for the first time, featuring the-weirder-the-better soapbox entries. Guitarist Larry Coryell returns to his hometown to headline a jazz lineup that also includes pianist Marian McPartland. Dance continues to be emphasized, featuring the Bill Evans Dance Company. Will Vinton is back, conducting film workshops.”
— Paul Dorpat, Bumbershoot’s Formative Years (1971–1979), HistoryLink.org
The inaugural Bumbernationals, a delightfully eccentric soapbox race, perfectly captured the festival’s spirit: participatory, humorous, and proudly offbeat.
Jazz remained a serious pillar of the programming, with hometown guitarist Larry Coryell returning to headline alongside celebrated pianist Marian McPartland.
Dance continued to hold a prominent place, including performances by the Bill Evans Dance Company, reinforcing Bumbershoot’s commitment to contemporary performance.
And in film, Will Vinton returned to lead workshops, underscoring the festival’s long-standing embrace of animation and experimental media, a throughline that had been building since the mid-1970s.
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
