On Saturday, September 13, I set off to Seattle's International District to checkout the Night Market and Autumn Moon Festival. I arrived via the light rail at the International District Station around 5:45 p.m. I left relatively early hoping to catch the 6 p.m. break dancing competition that was scheduled. Fortunately, or unfortunately the competition didn't actually start until closer to 7 p.m., so I had a little wait. The competition itself was pretty interesting. It was an invitational between Seattle and Vancouver B.C. b-boys. If I recall right Vancouver ended up winning the overall competition. I don't know if you can tell from my video below, just cool the backdrop of the city was that night, or how just athletic these dancers really are, but it was definitely worth checking out.
After the competition, I went off to walk the streets the of the International District, to checkout of the street vendors. There were food trucks, people selling clothing, jewelry, and whatever you can think of. Between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., after the sun had set, the market had completely filled up with people. I felt much like a spawning salmon trying to go up stream. Every direction I went, I constantly felt like I was going against traffic.
Poke to the Max
After fighting the crowds, I finally found a food truck that I couldn't wait to try. I queued up in the long line for Sam Choy's Poke to the Max food truck. The line moved surprisingly quickly. I ordered the Ahi Poke Rice Bowl. I had poke for the first this last February, while in Kauai, and fell in love with it. I was very excited try their food. The wait for the food, after ordering, was probably 3 times as long as the line to order. Everyone waiting seemed in genuinely good spirits, joking while they waited. Once my order was up, I got away from the crowds as quickly as possible. When I did crack open my to-go box of good, I was very happy to discover the smell of fresh fish, and what ended up being a delicious little bowl of food.
Overall, I feel like this was a worthwhile experience. I will definitely attend next year, but I will try to do a few things different. The number one thing though is I will try to go a little later to avoid the family crowds. I think that walking through the market between 8 - 9 p.m. was probably the most family-friendly time to hit the market, and it was huge hassle for trying to see everything. Other that it was good fun.