Street fest summer continues at downtown Tacoma event with music, food, vintage
Street fest Summer heads to Broadway this Sunday with the 2025 edition of the Downtown Tacoma Block Party.
Downtown Tacoma Partnership launched the free-to-attend event in 2023. Attendance grew last year and is expected to get another boost on Aug. 3. It runs 1-7 p.m. on Broadway from 9th to 11th, on the same stretch the Tacoma Farmers Market uses every Thursday during summer.
The plaza around Theatre on the Square will be set up with tables and chairs to enjoy food from 15 local vendors, including La Cocino de Jalisco, El Guero, Lumpia Love and Jan Parker Cookery. Look for hot dogs from Starvin Marvin and Dawg Eat Dogs, wood-fired pizza from Galileo’s, Argentinian empanadas from Pampeana and barbecue from Big Daddy Yum Yum.
A few Seattle-area vendors will add to the variety, among them: MoMo’s Kebab, Big Island Poke and Cute Dumplings.
7 Seas Brewing will host a 21-and-up beer garden, with brews on tap and in cans. Greentrike will have a kids area full of activities for the little ones. Alchemy Skateboarding and Axe Academy will offer skate lessons and axe throwing, respectively, while Spaceworks will present a “mural fest.”
It’s also an arts and vintage fest, with Tacoma Sunday Market stalls selling clothes, sneakers and household wares alongside local makers with jewelry, art and other gift-worthy items.
A main stage will anchor the south side of Broadway Plaza. Kwabi Amoah-Forson of The Peace Bus will emcee a performance lineup that includes local funk-fusion band Race to the Light (3-4 p.m.), singer-songwriter Avery Cochrane (4-5 p.m.) and Seattle hip-hop star LAZA (5-6 p.m.). The headliner is Antwane Tyler, a Black country singer on the rise from Snohomish County (6-7 p.m.).
Steel Creek Tacoma will present an interactive line-dancing lesson, 2-3 p.m.
The event’s lead sponsors include MJR and J Squared, as well as Tacoma Creates. (The News Tribune rents office space from a J Squared-owned property.)
Downtown Tacoma Block Party 2025
- Where: Broadway from 9th to 11th
- When: Aug. 3, 1-7 p.m.
- What to know: free and family-friendly street fest with music, vintage and arts vendors, diverse food options, a beer garden and activities for all ages