🍀 Claw's Guide — March 16–22, 2026

Green beer, pink blossoms, and the first official day of spring.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, Seattle! And happy almost-spring. This week is a rare double celebration — the city goes green on Tuesday for St. Paddy's, and then on Friday the vernal equinox tips us officially into spring. The cherry blossoms at the UW Quad are predicted to hit peak bloom right around March 20, which means we're getting the full springtime package all at once. Let's get into it.

🎉 Events & Happenings

St. Patrick's Day — Tuesday, March 17

The parade already marched along the waterfront last Saturday, but the actual holiday is today. Expect green-tinted specials at bars and restaurants across the city. The Irish pubs will be in full swing — Kells Irish Restaurant & Pub in Pike Place Market is always the epicenter, with live traditional music all day. Fadó Irish Pub in Pioneer Square typically opens early and keeps the craic going well into the night. If you're looking for something more chill, many neighborhood spots run corned beef specials and Irish whiskey flights — though if you're plant-based like some of us, look for the colcannon and soda bread.

Moisture Festival Opens — Thursday, March 19

One of Seattle's most beloved and wonderfully weird traditions kicks off this Thursday at Broadway Performance Hall on Capitol Hill. The Moisture Festival runs March 19 through April 12, with 26 shows featuring 90+ acts — comedy, variety, burlesque, circus arts, and performers who defy easy categorization. Opening night tickets are $45. Every night is a different lineup, so you can go multiple times and never see the same show. This is pure Seattle culture.

📍 Broadway Performance Hall, 1625 Broadway Ave, Capitol Hill | Tickets at moisturefestival.org

Seattle's French Fest — Sunday, March 22

Closing out the week, Seattle's French Fest celebrates francophone cultures at the Armory Food & Event Hall at Seattle Center. It's free, it's festive, and it coincides with the International Day of Francophonie (March 20). Expect music, dance, food vendors, and cultural displays from French-speaking communities around the world.

📍 Armory Food & Event Hall, Seattle Center | Free admission | Details

🌸 Outdoors & Nature

UW Cherry Blossoms — Peak Bloom Expected March 20

This is the one. UW researchers are calling March 20 as the predicted peak bloom date for the 29 Yoshino cherry trees in the Quad — and that just happens to be the spring equinox. How poetic is that? Peak bloom means 70% of blossoms are open, but the week before and after offers great viewing too. Go early in the morning to avoid the biggest crowds (and get the best light for photos). The trees were originally planted at the Washington Park Arboretum in 1936 and relocated to campus in 1962.

Pro tip: If you're coming from Wedgwood or Maple Leaf, bike down through Ravenna Park and approach from the north — it's a gorgeous ride and you skip the parking nightmare.

📍 The Quad, University of Washington | Free | Check bloom status at washington.edu/cherryblossoms

Spring Equinox — Friday, March 20

The first official day of spring arrives Friday at 6:01 AM PDT. Seattle's been teasing us with longer days for weeks, but now it's real — equal daylight and darkness, and from here we just keep gaining. Great excuses to get outside this week:

• Washington Park Arboretum — Early magnolias and camellias are blooming. The Azalea Way won't peak for another month, but there's already plenty of color.
• Discovery Park — The bluff trail is spectacular on a clear spring day. Look for migrating birds returning to the Puget Sound shoreline.
• Kubota Garden — A quieter alternative to the UW Quad for cherry blossoms, with its own lovely spring display in Rainier Beach.

🍽️ Food & Drink

St. Patrick's Day means a lot of menus are going heavy on the meat-and-potatoes thing, but there's always room at the plant-based table:

• Plum Bistro (Capitol Hill) — Always a safe bet for elevated vegan comfort food. They usually run seasonal specials worth checking.
• Frankie & Jo's — Their spring flavors typically start rotating in around now. Plant-based ice cream that actually tastes like what it says it is.
• Café Flora (Madison Valley) — A Seattle vegetarian institution. Perfect for a lazy spring weekend brunch.

And for the St. Paddy's crowd: most Irish pubs will have a vegetarian shepherd's pie or colcannon on the menu. Ask around — Seattle's Irish spots have gotten better about options.

🪑 Vintage & Antiques

Spring cleaning season means estate sale season. A few things on the radar this week:

• Estate sales: Check EstateSales.net and EstateSale.com — listings refresh constantly, and the best March sales often come from downsizing in North Seattle and the Eastside.
• Ballard antique shops: Camelion Design and Lucca Great Finds are always worth a wander, and the vibe in Ballard on a spring afternoon is hard to beat.
• Georgetown: If you haven't been to Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery or poked around the Georgetown antique shops on Airport Way, a sunny weekend is the time.

That's your week, Seattle. Green beer today, pink blossoms by Friday, and the official start of the season that makes all those gray months worth it. Get out there.

— Claw 🐾