Bellevue

Bellevue Arts Museum

510 Bellevue Way NE
Bellevue, WA 98004
(425) 519-0770
www.bellevuearts.org
map

Bellevue Arts Museum, established in 1975, has consistently presented high quality exhibitions with a broad regional—and in some cases national—impact . Over the years, the Museum has developed a strong reputation as an important showcase for contemporary art.

 In 2004, Bellevue Arts Museum decided to also focus on reestablishing its role in a community art fair. Their vision: "Illuminating and enriching the human spirit through art, craft and design." Since then the Museum has presented 35 world-class exhibitions celebrating high -caliber international and local artists, as well as over 250 free or low-cost educational programs.

The Bellevue Arts Museum ArtsFair

Bellevue Arts Museum and
The Bellevue Collection
(425) 519-0770
The Last full weekend in July
Fri, Sat: 9:30 am - 9:30 pm // Sun: 9:30 am - 6:00 pm
Admission: Free
www.bellevuearts.org/fair
map

The ArtsFair is the largest and most distinguished arts event in the Northwest. In 2007, 350,000 people attended the Fair. Over 300 juried artists from the Northwest and throughout the nation exhibited creations in an extensive range of media including ceramics, drawing/pastels, fiber, furniture, glass, jewelry, metal work, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, wearables and wood.

The Celebrations Art Stage, hosts entertainment throughout the day including juggling acts, clowns and around the world music. And you don’t want to miss out on the live jazz performances Friday and Saturday evenings.

Kidsfair provides hands-on activities including painting, drawing and art projects galore! One activity, Chalk It Up! gives kids and parents get a chance to create their very own chalk masterpieces.

The Arts in Action Demonstration Stage is where talented artists demonstrate woodturning, glass blowing, painting, ceramics and much, much more!

High School Art Expo, added to the fair program in 2008, is an exhibit of the fantastic works of highly talented and award-winning student artists.

Bellevue Botanical Garden

12001 Main Street
Bellevue, WA 98005
(425) 452-2750
Open daily from dawn to dusk.
Visitor Center 9am to 4pm
Admission to the Garden is free
www.bellevuebotanical.org
Map

The Bellevue Botanical Garden is a 53-acre display of gardens, woodlands, meadows and wetlands. Highlights include the Northwest Perennial Alliance Border, Waterwise Garden, Yao Garden, Alpine Rock Garden and summer displays of dahlias and fuchsias. Natural and manmade vistas of color and greenery change, delighting the eye regardless of the season or weather throughout the year.

This is one of those places that you didn't know existed and when you find out about it, you wonder why, or maybe it is just me... maybe I don't read the right sections of the newspaper.

Tours are available at the Visitors Center April-October on Saturday and Sunday at 2pm. It’s a great way to get away form the rat race.

Bellevue Garden d'Lights

Bellevue Botanical Garden
Nov 29 through January 3
Every evening 5:-10:pm
Free but donations are greatly appreciated.
GARDEN d'LIGHTS Website
map

Thousands of tiny twinkling lights transform Bellevue Botanical Garden into a fantasyland of flowers every evening during the annual Garden d'Lights festival. Hundreds of volunteers bundle strings of commercial- grade outdoor lights into three-dimensional flowers, shrubs, vines, and critters, to the delight of the visitors to this holiday tradition. The kids will be asking, “Where’s Willie?” as search among the lights for Willie the Slug’s slime trail.

This is a great event for the whole family to enjoy. Many families and guests attend annually to enjoy new additional illumination added for the current year. Not to be missed!

Enatai Beach Park

3519 - 108th Ave. S.E
Bellevue, WA
Enatai Beach Park Website
Map

This great waterfront park features a spacious patio, swimming beach, and a picnic area with scenic views overlooking Lake Washington. And it is in easy paddling distance of Mercer Slough Nature Park. So, bring your canoe or kayak or you can rent one from Cascade Canoe & Kayak at 425-430-0111 www.canoe-kayak.com/

Mercer Slough Nature Park

Winter House: 2102 Bellevue Way SE
Blueberry Farm: 2380 Bellevue Way SE
Sweyolocken Boat Launch: 3000 Bellevue Way SE (non-motorized boats)
Bellefields Trailhead: 1905-118th Avenue SE
Parking & Entry Points: Winters House; Blueberry Farm; Sweyolocken Boat Launch; Bellefields Trailhead
park map
Map

Put on your hiking boots, rent a kayak or a canoe, pack a lunch, load up the kids or farm them out and just bring that special someone along, because this is the place to go to get back to nature.

Mercer Slough Nature Park, at 350 acres is Lake Washington’s largest remaining wetland. It provides habitat for otters, beavers, muskrat, turtles, and frogs—you might even see a coyote.

The slough is also home to over 100 species of birds, including both great blue and green herons, hawks, ospreys, mallards, wood ducks, woodpeckers, and. song birds. Enjoy walking, canoeing or kayaking over and around seven miles of beautiful trails. And it’s just short drive from downtown Bellevue.

Bellevue Civic Theater

BCT performances are held at:
Bellevue's Meydenbauer Center
11100 NE 6th St., Bellevue, WA 98004
Bellevue Civic Theater Website
map

Bellevue Civic Theatre’s mission is to provide professional theatre with an emphasis on contemporary, classical and musical comedy. The BCT opened in 1999 with “Angry Housewives,” and ever since, the hits just keep rolling in. Dedicated to providing entertaining and compelling theatre, BCT has brought well-known favorites such as “The Gin Game,” “Steel Magnolias,” “On Golden Pond” and Andrew Lloyd Weber’s blockbuster “Jesus Christ Superstar” to the stage.

Check online for tickets and performance times.

Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art

1116 108th Ave NE
Bellevue, WA 98004
(425) 455-1116
www.dollart.com
map

This place is incredible! Rosalie Whyel Museum of Doll Art houses one of the world's foremost doll collections – over 3000 dolls on display (as well as for sale)—over 1200 dolls on permanent display. Since opening in 1992, this unique Museum has received many awards, including the prestigious Jumeau Trophy for Best Private Doll Museum in the World, won in Paris in 1994.

The whole family will enjoy a stroll through this elegantly designed modern structure surrounded by dolls, teddy bears, toys, dollhouses, miniatures and other childhood memorabilia. Childhood memories will be awakened, while new memories are being stored away.

Bellevue Philharmonic

The Bellevue Philharmonic performs at:
Meydenbauer Center
11100 NE 6th Street,
Bellevue, WA
www.bellevuephil.org
map

The Bellevue Philharmonic’s mission is "To excite, enrich, and entertain, through live orchestral music, all generations and communities on the Greater Eastside." In pursuit of this mission, the Philharmonic offers approximately twenty diverse concerts each year including the July 4th performance as part of the Bellevue Downtown Family 4th Celebration. Past concerts include performances with the Cascadian Chorale, Bellevue Chamber Chorus, Seattle Early Dance, Bailadores de Bronce and the Columbia Children’s Choir.

Music is good for the soul. Check the website for performance times and tickets.

The Bellevue Collection

Bellevue Square/Lincoln Square/Bellevue Place
575 Bellevue Sq
Bellevue, WA
The Bellevue Collection Website
map

The Bellevue Collection is the sometimes-baffling label for a wonderful aggregation of shopping, lodging and leisure amenities in downtown Bellevue.

The core is located on Bellevue Way NE, between NE 8th and NE 4th. The Collection, including the acclaimed Bellevue Square with its upscale satellites Lincoln Square and Bellevue Place, offers a choice of more than 250 stores, 19 fine-dining restaurants and lounges, and 2 luxury hotels. This inviting destination also boasts a 16-screen, state-of-the- art cinema, a restaurant/nightclub/bowling alley and a billiards parlor/restaurant/nightclub. All I can say is, “Only in Bellevue!”

Bellevue Downtown Park

10201 4th St NE
Bellevue, WA 98004
(425) 452-6914
map

Downtown Park is a 20-acre peaceful, green oasis located in the heart of the city. The park offers a half-mile promenade and a stepped canal carrying water to a 240-foot wide waterfall cascading into a reflecting pond. A ten-acre lawn is a great place to pause for a picnic lunch with a view of Bellevue’s skyline and imposing Mount Rainier to the south.

There are formal gardens to stroll as well as a delightful place for the kids to work off some energy. A great setting to decompress and forget the cares of the day.

Bellevue: How It All Started

William Meydenbauer and Aaron Mercer arrived in 1869 as the first homesteaders in the place we now know as Bellevue. Soon the word was out about this great area they had found on the eastside of Lake Washington and other homesteaders began to arrive. Still more settlers followed giving the area a saw mill and multiple shingle mills. Many homesteaders soon took advantage of the natural adaptability of the land toward growing berries of all sorts. Bellevue soon became the berry-growing center of King County. All of this growth provided the commerce which led to the establishment of an inland port.

Mathew Sharp, Bellevue’s first postmaster, was from Bellevue, Indiana. Since Bellevue means “beautiful view” in French, Sharp, being partial to the name, along with the sweeping views of his new home, decided another Bellevue was just fine with him.

Starting in the 1890s, wealthy families from Seattle began buying up farmland and converting it into sprawling estates. The Lake Washington shoreline along what is now called Medina, became known as the Gold Coast. Many would say that even today that name still holds true. New money has purchased the original estates and in some cases, even combined several; thus creating new estates that would cause the original owners to be absolutely dropped jawed. Tour boats now ply the eastern shore of Lake Washington, the guides pointing out, to tourists and the curious, the estates of Bellevue’s rich and famous.

Prior to 1940, passenger and auto ferries were the only direct means of travel between Bellevue and Seattle. The opening in 1940 of the first floating bridge to span Lake Washington, almost instantly sounded the death knell of the ferry business. After the bridge opened, the face of Bellevue began to change from a farming community to a bustling, commuting, bedroom suburb of Seattle.

From this beginning as a farm/bedroom community, Bellevue has grown into its own as a place to live and work. Bellevue’s thriving business sector now draws people from Seattle and the surrounding region.

Come to Bellevue and enjoy the museums, performing arts, concerts and festivals. Come to shop and browse, come to enjoy the day in one of Bellevue’s wonderful parks. Come one, come all and just enjoy the “beautiful view”.