K-Pop concert, food trucks highlight Pierce County summer festival this week
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- Lakewood SummerFEST runs July 19 with concerts, entertainment and food trucks.
- K-Pop group Wild Crew headlines event with choreographer Kim Yeo Ju.
- City-funded $9,000 for performance; balloon and trapeze rides added attractions.
Lakewood’s free annual SummerFEST festival on July 19 has a full slate of activities and concerts, including a K-Pop dance crew, more than 30 food trucks, aerial stunts, a trapeze show, circus performances, pony rides and hot-air balloon rides. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Fort Steilacoom Park.
One of the highlights of this year’s festival is the Wild Crew K-Pop dance group, whose choreographer Kim Yeo Ju is famous for her signature choreography for Korean pop groups like BTS, 2NE1 and EXO. It will be Wild Crew’s only U.S. appearance this summer, according to the city. The group will perform from 12:15-12:45 p.m. at the main stage and from 1:30-2 p.m. on the International Stage at The Pavilion.
Earlier this month the Lakewood City Council approved an allocation of $9,000 for the concert, which came from state lodging tax funds. A Korean delegation from Lakewood’s sister city Gimhae also will attend, according to city records.
Other activities at SummerFEST include a beer garden, roaming entertainment, skimboarding, a pop-up skate park, car show and kids zone. New this year are tethered balloon rides from Seattle Ballooning from 2-7 p.m. (tickets are $10/adult and $5 for kids ages 4-12), according to the city. SANCA Flying Trapeze will offer harnessed trapeze rides for $5 a swing, ages 6 and up. Polynesian fire dancers will perform on the International Stage at 8:45 p.m.
For the grand finale, Lakewood won’t be offering a drone show but a “hot air balloon glow,” where tethered balloons will light up the sky as a Rolling Stones tribute band plays the final show of the night on the Main Stage.
Find the full event schedule and lineup online.
Parking information
Free parking is available on site and visitors are asked to use all park entrances up and down Elwood Drive and Angle Lane, according to the city. Handicap parking is offered inside the park near the dog park.
Attendees also are encouraged to park at Pierce College in Lot D and take the free shuttle. Two shuttles will run every 20 minutes all day and are wheelchair accessible, according to Lakewood.
