SEATTLE — Seafair kicked off its annual Fourth of July Fireworks show with a twist: tickets were required this year.
The development caught many of the tens of thousands of spectators crowding Seattle’s Gas Works Park by surprise.
According to Seafair, ticketing was implemented to help manage crowds.
“We love that everyone wants to come here- we want everyone to come here too, but we do have capacity limits, and this is all for safety reasons,” said Emily Cantrell, CEO of Seafair.
This year, even if you weren’t purchasing premium reserve seats, you still had to go online to get a free general admission ticket. Those applying for the tickets were asked to make a $10 donation to Seafair, which is a non-profit.
Cantrell said the donation was not mandatory, but an effort to fund the annual fireworks show.
“The second they walk through security and get through those gates, it’s usually all smiles. There’s a lot of happy people right now,” Cantrell said as the park began to fill up.
Many attendees told KIRO they were as pleased with the event as ever, but some reported disappointment when tickets sold out.
“We’ve been coming here since I was about her age, I think, and then I brought my two,” she said. “We’ve been coming here since I was about her age, I think, and then I brought my two.”
Nichole Sturgill said the process was straightforward. “The website honestly was very easy to navigate.”
Daniela Mondragon agreed.
“It’s pretty easy actually. It’s pretty easy,” she said.
But the new ticketing process did take some people by surprise.
“It says it’s sold out,” Khayre Whetstone told KIRO 7 Saturday evening. He’d brought his toddler son, Khayre Jr. up from Tacoma to see the show.
At the gate, an older woman was stopped by security. She told KIRO 7 News.
“They say that I didn’t have a ticket. They didn’t let me in.”
She told KIRO that she had also come a long way. Then, a younger woman approached and offered her a spare ticket.
Fireworks started at roughly 10:15 p.m. and lasted for about half an hour.
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