Renton River Days!

We've been going to Renton River Days since our son was 2.5 years old (he's now 4.5) and it has made such an impression on him that he talks about it all year long! Our whole family has a really great time there. Most of it takes place at Liberty Park, which is in the downtown area. The event technically starts on a Fri. but there are smaller events leading up to it. On Wed. 7/23, it's "Kids' Day", where there are free craft projects, entertainment events, bouncy houses for the kids to play on, and face painting!

The main event runs from Fri. 7/25-Sun. 7/26. We love walking around the merchant area (this year it's been changed from merchants selling pretty much anything to only merchants who sell handcrafted items) and the watching the entertainment. I appreciate that my kids can dance and move around all they want without bothering anybody and that they get to experience a variety of musical genres (including country, blues, disco, dixie jazz, and celtic). It's also just so nice to hang out on a picnic blanket on a warm summer day/evening. The event organizers are always pretty good about setting up tents, too, so you shouldn't have trouble finding shade.

Of special note are the Parade on Sat. 7/26 and the "Rubber Ducky Derby" on Sun. 7/27. For the derby, they release thousands of yellow rubber duckies into part of the Cedar River. Ok, that sounded dumb when I wrote it out, but really, it looks pretty cool. And it's actually a raffle of sorts 'cause you can "buy" a ducky beforehand for a chance to win a prize. The money goes to local charities. See a full schedule here.

During the main event (Fri.-Sun.), there's also a small selection of food booths there. It's no "Bite of Seattle" but what's there always meets our needs. Note that the food booths are not up yet for the Wed. (Kids' Day) event, so be sure to pack a lunch! (There have been hotdogs for sale in the past but as I recall, they run out pretty quickly).

The main bathrooms are over near the Skate Park and they also usually have portable bathrooms in a few strategic places. (I had to mention bathrooms because we now have a potty-trained kid!) I also appreciate that they have a sink and (if I remember right) hand sanitizer right outside the children's petting zoo- gotta' do our best to keep those germies away!

kidspot rating: 1.5