In 2022, about 200 community events took place on Seattle’s Downtown Waterfront, most of them at Pier 62, the “inaugural site of Seattle’s future Waterfront Park.” It was a packed calendar for a public space adjacent to a buzzing construction site as premier attractions like the Overlook Walk advance toward planned completion in 2025. But even with the big opening still two years off, 2023 promises to be a significant year for the future Waterfront Park, albeit with some differences from the past.
“We had an incredible number of events in the past year. Maybe too much, no definitely too much,” said Yoon Kang-O’Higgins, Director of Public Programs for Friends of Waterfront Seattle. “But we’re not measuring success by the numbers.”
Friends of Waterfront Seattle is described on its website as the “nonprofit partner to the City of Seattle responsible for helping to fund, build, steward, and program the park.” As director of public programs, Kang-O’Higgins works with a diverse assortment of community partners, supporting them in the planning, marketing, and execution of their events.
Success, for the organization, is centered around what Kang-O’Higgins describes as a “value-centric” approach to programming.
