A claim to fame like no other – the Pacific Northwest is home to the U.S. city with the most emphasis on the beauty of glass. In Seattle, pockets of neighborhoods and studios fuel flames of passion among a tight knit community of artists who specialize in a captivating and illuminating artistic specialty.

Soon to be in its seventh year for 2025, Refract is Seattle’s premiere glass art festival and an excellent way to explore the city in a more intentional way. The exclusive event offers the rare opportunity to attend live glass blowing demos, art galas, tours, and a peek at studios that open their doors during the festival weekend. Held each October, the fall setting allows for a refreshing crisp and cool weather experience, with temperatures averaging in the 50s and colorful fall foliage abundant within Seattle’s hilly and scenic landscape.

Glass art rose in popularity in Seattle in the 1970s via the work of Dale Chihuly. Now known around the world, Chihuly is considered a trailblazer in the glass medium. His work – which is displayed everywhere from lighting fixtures in public venues, museum displays, and pieces purchased for private homes – is focused on asymmetry and irregularity as a way of glass finding its own shape through gravity and centrifugal forces.

GATHER Gala

An invitation to a casual evening of elegance, the GATHER Gala offers the chance to mingle among artists and art enthusiasts while getting a glimpse at what it’s like to be a local in Seattle. For a ticket typically under $100, you’ll support the arts and be able to enjoy the party within the 40-foot-tall glass domed walls of the Glasshouse at Chihuly Garden and Glass. A 1,340 piece, 100-foot-long sculpture is the main focal point of the room with reds, oranges, yellows, and amber suspended toward the top of the ceiling creating an ambience of fall.

Spectacular views of the Space Needle and the city can be seen from both inside and outside. Step into the Garden area and you’ll find yourself surrounded by colorful trees, plants, and flowers designed to complement outdoor art exhibits. Unlike any other exhibit, you’ll notice striking colors from the ground up. It’s recommended to tour the garden both during the daytime and at night – to see a completely different illumination in each different setting.

The GATHER gala includes signature drinks, dinner with an array of options for any palate, and a self-serve s’mores bar complete with firepits and roasting sticks. Several glassblowing demos, both indoors and outdoors are also held throughout the night.

Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum

In addition to exploring the garden at the Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum, the GATHER Gala offers attendees the chance for a private tour of the museum area. The tour is a quiet escape with a knowledgeable tour guide, as you can easily view Chihuly’s drawings, glass, and exhibitions without the daytime crowd.

Exclusive Boathouse Tour

Extremely limited tickets only available the week of each Refract festival offer a glimpse inside of Chihuly’s Boathouse. The artist’s studio is located on the shores of Lake Union. The semi-industrial structure is a place where for decades he and his team – with some having a tenure of 25+ years – collaborate to create new aesthetics that are seen in interior design and artistic exhibits around the world.

Teamwork is centered around Chihuly’s team and their craft and essential to create a safe environment among hot fixtures. A synergy can be seen directly as team members seamlessly hand work off from person to person. They showcase how complex and difficult glassblowing is – with pieces of molten glass gathered at the end of a hollow pipe, inflated to a bubble, and formed into a vessel by blowing, swinging, or rolling on a smooth stone or iron surface.

Along with the workspace, the tour also includes several rooms within the Boathouse, each inspired by Chihuly’s style, life, and art.

Glass Blowing Demos

For an authentic Seattle travel experience, consider a glass blowing demonstration at Pratt Fine Arts Center. Packed into the building’s workshop room, on Friday night of the festival, is truly an authentic moment, where crowds, primarily composed of locals, cheer as two glass blowing demos happen at once, with the goal of bringing both team’s artwork together in a piece that slowly takes the shape of a bird. The demonstration is being completed by artists from Netflix’s Blown Away. Despite their grit and focus, they also make time to interact with the audience and an announcer keeps things interesting by giving updates about each team’s progress via a microphone.

This unique experience is part of what makes the Refract festival so original. It’s a rare glimpse into the art community and a chance to be part of something so captivating and to feel the inclusive energy of a community that’s not usually available for the public eye.

Artist Home Studio Tours

The artists in Seattle are hyper-local, working directly from the historic neighborhoods they live in – which can be seen directly via open studio tours that are offered only once a year, during the Refract festival. Our tour guides were local volunteers who are extremely passionate about the arts and added warmth to the tour with their unique personalities and enthusiasm.

More than six artist studios are included in the tour, all in different neighborhoods and parts of Seattle – and all focused on different forms of glass art. One of particular interest, Carol Milne, is focused more on knitted glass, a form of glass sculpture with a focus on knitting needles and glass that takes the form of a knitted, quilt-like look. Another, Joan Bazaz, focuses on vitreography, the process of using engraving tools, sandblasting and etching to make images on glass.

Seattle Glassblowing Studio

After watching the professionals, you can try your hand at creating your own glass art. At Seattle Glassblowing Studio, a professional instructor will guide you and your group through the process, with each person in the group taking a turn to create his or her own piece of choice.

In the fall, a glass pumpkin is a must! You can choose from ten different colors, including different variations and patterns based on those colors. You’ll take an active approach in your creation, learning how to place the glass in the fire and repeatedly cool the material, shaping your piece into perfect form.

Local Exhibits at Traver Gallery

Traver Gallery in Seattle is one of the nation’s premiere venues for contemporary studio glass, painting, sculpture, and installation art. The gallery hosts artwork from artists at all stages of a career with exhibits rotating every couple of months.

Seattle Art Museum

A Saturday morning at Seattle Art Museum is relaxing, where it’s easy to get lost in dozens of exhibits while strolling through quiet areas of the museum’s white walls decorated with a variety of art pieces, including everything from exhibits based on American storytelling to Art and Commerce and a one-of-a-kind tribute to artist Joyce J. Scott.

The exhibit from the Institute of Empathy is a personal favorite that is set to run through October 2025. The exhibit is based on an African art collection and a virtual space, including some videos, that are designed to attempt to help improve empathetic abilities. 

Where to Stay

The historic State Hotel overlooks both downtown Seattle and Pike Place Market. Built in 1904, you’ll get to stay at a landmark building with attention to detail in modern renovations that give a nod to both Seattle’s past and present.

Choose from either a water or a city view – and enjoy legitimately comfortable beds and spacious glass walk-in showers with the convenience of a built-in desk. The hotel also features an 8th floor patio and a gym offering the convenience of treadmills and basic gym equipment for your vacation or business trip.

Pike Place Market

Only a four-minute walk from State Hotel, Pike Place Market is the nation’s oldest and largest continuously operating public market. With 465+ vendors and shops, hundreds of farmers, crafters, and small businesses make up the market which originally opened in 1907.

An array of offerings with 10 levels of shops across nine acres, you never know what you’ll stumble upon. During my visit, I became particularly impressed with Rachel’s Raindrop Jewelry, a handmade gold and silver jewelry company, specializing in designs centered around the idea of a Seattle raindrop. I opted to purchase my own raindrop ring, a perfect and timeless stackable addition to any jewelry collection.

Overlook Walk

Just a few minutes from Pike Place Market, the city’s Overlook Walk opened in 2024 after 12 years of planning and construction. The walk offers expansive views of the waterway and Pier 62, along with easy access to Seattle’s aquarium, including a ceiling view of a large fish tank from outside the building.

Ben Paris

Attached to the State Hotel, Ben Paris is the perfect spot to grab a morning coffee or have a relaxing dinner of American fare and adventurous cocktails. Known for their breakfast sandwich, this is a must-try with a house-made chive biscuit, fennel sausage and Beecher’s cheddar, spicy mayo, pickled fresno chili’s, a fried egg, and Yukon potatoes.

Dine Like a Local

Upscale and trendy, Muse Lounge offers the perfect Instagram-worthy setting for dining with artistic elements in a bright venue in the historic Pioneer Square neighborhood, Seattle’s very first area for residences, which formed in 1852. For lunch, a variety of options are available, including Poke Nachos, steak sandwiches, and a truffle mac + cheese.  

For dinner, we recommend trying Ramie, located in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. Newer to the restaurant scene, Ramie is the creation of sibling chefs, Trinh and Thai Nuguyen – who already owned a famous restaurant, Ba Sa, on Bainbridge Island. Family style dishes are a must at Ramie, where you can share an array of reimagined traditional Vietnamese cuisine highlighted with local in-season ingredients sourced from nearby farms.

Another newer restaurant, Haerfest, is located in the Fremont neighborhood. The restaurant’s name is derived from Old English and represents the “Autumn harvest” — embodying “abundance culmination of farming efforts.” Haerfest also does not disappoint with a menu of dishes including five different selections of fresh pastas, a delicious wild salmon, fresh salads, charred carrots, and a house made bread service.

A Quintessential Fall Getaway

A visit to Seattle in the fall for the Refract festival allows you to take part in an artistic community that you wouldn’t find anywhere else in the country. A colorful chance to witness the origins of glassblowing in the U.S., while also enjoying all that Seattle has to offer via historical experiences, shopping, and local dining at new and upcoming restaurants.

The energy and vibe in Seattle is relaxing, yet robust. You’ll also experience a wide range of weather – drearier ‘so-called typical’ Seattle days, coupled by days where you can experience an abundance of sunshine. October weather is also typically very crisp, yet not too cold, and offers the perfect environment to get out and explore a variety of venues and activities.

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Cover photo courtesy Britni Rachal

 Britni Rachal lives in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. She is a fifth generation Texan who enjoys all things fashion, shoes, tennis, and traveling. In addition to writing, she is a full-time marketer.