Goodbye, 25!: The Anniversary Recap
By Yordanos Tesfazion
When our founders convened and created Seattle Parks Foundation 25 years ago, they wanted to make a tangible difference that would enhance Seattle residents’ quality of life for years on end.
Following the failure of the Seattle Commons levies in 1995 and 1996, the need for parks and public green spaces was still overwhelmingly present. So many people invested not just their money, but also their time to get the levies on the ballot, further indication that the idea of a massive, central city park was still a popular one.
Amid disappointment, community and civic leaders—including our founders—didn’t let defeat define their vision for Seattle’s future and rallied on. Thanks to their perseverance and love for green public spaces, Seattle Parks Foundation has been able to support over 300 grassroots projects throughout the city.
Over the past year, we commemorated our 25th Anniversary with the people who’ve helped us arrive at this milestone. From our Love Parks Gala in September 2024 to our last Pop-Up Concert in the Park in August 2025, this year has also been about celebrating the community, philanthropic, and corporate partners behind Seattle Parks Foundation’s impact.
Thank you to everyone who joined us in celebrating 25 years of parks and public spaces this year!
Here’s how our anniversary year went:
We ushered in Seattle Parks Foundation’s 25th Anniversary at the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) with our Love Parks Gala on September 20, 2024. Hundreds of guests filled the museum’s Grand Atrium for the organization’s first gala in close to 15 years to commemorate our anniversary and honor outstanding community and civic leaders and their stories. The gala started with a VIP Cocktail Reception and live performance by Whitney Mongé. Following the VIP Reception, guests enjoyed another live performance over dinner from Tomo Nakayama.
Afterwards, we celebrated our community award winners and their contributions to our shared spaces: Debbie McNeil, Robert Stephens Jr., and Paige Reischl. Performances by NËSTRÄ, Tah-Jae Shanté, and Tazz Enrico from The Residency concluded our phenomenal evening at MOHAI.
This event was made possible with lead sponsorship contributions from Amazon, Delta Airlines, Seattle Parks & Recreation, T-Mobile, and many others. Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors and gala guests, we surpassed our fundraising goal for the night, increased awareness about the work of our community partners, and celebrated the milestone of 300 projects supported in 25 years.
The next major 25th Anniversary event was our panel on Seattle’s Innovation and Leadership in Climate Equity on April 22, 2025. Another first for the organization, guests traveled from all over the region to spend Earth Day connecting with community and strategic partners and learn from a brilliant panel of solution-oriented leaders. The event took place at Town Hall Seattle and featured Joycelyn Chui from Restaurant 2 Garden, Howard Frumkin, M.D., Mickey Fearn, and Ashley R. Townes, Be’er Sheva Park Project Technical Advisor. The Stranger’s Editor-in-Chief, Hannah Murphy Winter, moderated an invigorating conversation amongst our panelists as well as an audience Q&A session.
Prior to the panel discussion, our grassroots community partners shared their work and networked with guests in the Action Atrium, with robust conversations continuing after the event. We are grateful to The Stranger, Trust for Public Land, Alaska Airlines and Umpqua/Columbia Bank for their sponsorship of our Earth Day event.
Read more about the Earth Day panel and sign up for eNews to stay informed about community conversations and opportunities for connection.
April 2025 also marked the beginning of this year’s Corporate Engagement Restoration Events. From April to June, we collaborated with partners like Amazon, REI, BNY, Nordstrom and many others to host volunteer restoration events throughout the city. In April, Friends of Lake Union Park hosted Nordstrom flagship employees, who spent the day pulling weeds, picking up garbage, and wrangling invasive blackberry bushes. Amazon joined us at Denny Park, Bell Street Park, Urban Triangle Park, Lake Union Park, Cascade Park & Playfields, and Cheasty Trails & Bike Park during their Global Month of Volunteering in May. We also hosted a restoration session at Myrtle Edwards Park with Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR), where BNY employees worked alongside SPR’s Senior Gardener, Lisa P. In June, we spent a day clearing up Crystal Springs Park with volunteers from REI, Green Tukwila Partnership, and Forterra.
Our Corporate Engagement Restoration Events give employees the opportunity to get outside and bond with each other while also giving back to the communities they live and work in. By bringing our corporate and community partners together, we can provide extra help to partners who have projects with urgent needs. We are grateful to everyone who volunteers their time and energy to help make our parks and public spaces better places. The impact of your generosity is felt throughout the Seattle area!
Our Annual Partner Celebration, one of the most anticipated gatherings of the year, took place on June 5, 2025. Staff, board, and fiscally sponsored partners gathered at the Washington 1000 building in downtown Seattle for a memorable evening filled with meaningful connections, beautiful city views, and delicious food. Guests enjoyed hands-on creativity at our haiku and watercolor stations and shared their passion for open spaces and partnership with one another. They drew inspiration from our engaging keynote speaker, Paige Reischl, who discussed her experience with finding and growing a community around the Pathways Park project.
Events like this remind us how powerful our collective efforts can be. We are grateful for our partners’ continued support and commitment to service—and we look forward to all that we’ll continue to accomplish together.
This July and August 2025, we spent the last few moments of our 25th Anniversary at seven different Seattle parks for Pop-Up Concerts in the Park! Each week, communities across the city came together to enjoy and cheer on local artists. The series lineup and concert openers from The Residency program brought thousands of people to our parks throughout the summer.
Once again, this was a first for the organization and we are astounded by the community’s response to our Pop-Up Concerts in the Park series! Even in the midst of high temperatures and gloomy weather, guests showed up at every concert excited and ready for an evening of live music.
Our Pop-Up Concerts in the Park series was generously sponsored by Amazon, Seattle Parks and Recreation, and the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe.
Read the July and August recaps of our Pop-Up Concerts in the Park to learn more and stay tuned to our Events page for future community events coming to a park near you!
Last but not least, we’re pleased to have ended this special year with an advocacy win! In August 2025 voters had the opportunity to renew funding for over 250 parks, playfields, swimming pools, and hands-on learning destinations—in every city and across rural King County. We are grateful that the King County Parks Levy has been renewed with over 70% support from parks lovers. Thank you for voting with parks and public spaces in mind! Your advocacy for parks and public spaces is critical; you can stay up to date with advocacy opportunities and alerts here.
What a year! Thank you to our staff, board, partners, volunteers, guests, and sponsors for making our 25th Anniversary a memorable one.