They came, they danced, they donated — and their rain ponchos never made it out of their backpacks.
The Northwest Folklife Festival expected to wrap up its strongest year ever yesterday, said Michael Herschensohn, the festival's executive director, with as many as 220,000 people enjoying music, logging sports, people-watching and food from around the world.
The weather cooperated this year, and though the clouds looked threatening at times, it remained springtime-warm and rain-free for most of the four-day festival.
"I felt one drop of rain during the flamenco concert Saturday, but I disregarded it," Herschensohn said.
Some had worried that major construction at Seattle Center and lingering security concerns since Sept. 11 might whittle down the crowds, but Herschensohn estimated slightly more people had attended this year than last.
By yesterday morning, festival organizers already had gone through 35,000 of the 45,000 Folklife buttons for people who made donations of $5 or more.
Herschensohn was hopeful the festival would meet its fund-raising goal of $200,000 this year, up from $170,000 last year.
This year's theme, "East Meets West: Forest and Woodlands Culture of the Atlantic Northeast and the Pacific Northwest," was highlighted by chain-saw sculptures, logging photos, logrolling and other events.
