Benaroya Hall Open House

Benaroya Hall is throwing its doors open for a free, all-day festival on Sunday, October 18, to celebrate its reopening. The hall has been closed for the Amplify campaign, which reimagined the public spaces and updated the hospitality program in partnership with Sodexo Live! and chef Ethan Stowell. It's the home of the Seattle Symphony, and it's the most-visited performing arts venue in the city, having opened in 1998 and picked up an AIA National Honor Award for its architecture back in 2001.

The day is packed with things to do across the hall, and you don't need a ticket for any of them. There's music from The Head and The Heart, Chinese American Bear, and a Tiny Tots quartet. KEXP's Sounds of Survivance brings DJ Kevin Sur with Fawn Wood, and there's a Romantasy author panel with a book signing. You'll also find an Arte Noir exhibition, a National Geographic Live presentation, a video game music panel, a fashion show, and a culinary tasting and Q&A with chef Ethan Stowell. Guided tours of the hall run throughout the day, too.

Everything builds toward a free concert at 4 PM, where the Seattle Symphony shares the stage with The Head and The Heart, with arrangements for orchestra and band by Andrew Joslyn. The symphony is currently under Music Director Xian Zhang and is recognized as one of the most vital American orchestras, with more than 150 recordings and five GRAMMY Awards to its name.

While the rest of the day is open, the 4 PM concert is the one part that requires a ticket. They're available in person only at the hall starting at 9 AM on the day, limited to two per person. Everything else is free and doesn't need a ticket, so you can just show up and spend as much of the day there as you like.