Snowflake Lane

I’ve seen this a bunch of times as an adult walking by while shopping but this year got to experience it through the eyes of a child and it is simply magical! I love that they close the streets and if you go on a weeknight it’s not too busy so your child can be right up front. It can be fairly loud but my kiddo wasn’t too disturbed by it. It’s a good program (long enough to be worth watching but not too long where you’re freezing at the end) filled with drummers, songs, and walking characters (snowmen, princesses, fairies, etc). My toddler loved dancing with the princesses and they were very nice to stop and take pictures and hand out treats!

My family and I have been to this event now five times; although we missed attending the past few years, we were able to go last week, and it’s as good as ever — if not better!
This has become a very popular event over the past years, and with its popularity there have come a few minor pitfalls; specifically, the crowds and hoards of people, and increased security and police presence (of which we were grateful), and an increased difficulty in parking, too. So be forwarned. Come early. We arrived 90 minutes early and there was ample parking in the garage behind Nordstrom (on the west side of the mall). We usually park in the east garage (entrance on Bellevue Way), but the line-​up to get in was so long, we went to the west garage (entrance on NE 8^th St) and we walked through the mall to the skybridge connecting Bell Square to Lincoln Square. This is the best vantage point to see the festivities, and we staked our spot out early, an hour before the event begins at 7pm. We didn’t think ahead, how difficult it’d be to access our car afterwards (we had dinner plans at Maggiano’s and wouldn’t be back to our car until 10pm. The mall would be locked at that time and we had to walk around the big block in the cold, pouring rain, at 10pm, to get to our car. I mention this to warn others to think ahead and plan accordingly, unlike us! lol!).
Back to the event itself… It has changed over the years but still is pretty awesome and totally free of charge. It is fun for toddlers, teens and old folks alike. There is great Christmas music, a light show, dancers, drummer-​boys, tons of characters in costume (sentries on stilts, fairy princesses, polar bears, Nutracker mice, Star Wars-​esque storm troopers, elves, penguins and more). These characters will get the toddlers engaged by dancing with them and being silly with them on the street level (the police close off Bellevue Way to make way for this parade and production, on this block south of NE 8^th. It’s quite the production). There is also a «blizzard» which is always a big hit with everyone.
If your uncomfortable around crowds, this might not be the best event for you, but we were quite comfortable by the railing on the skybridge (again, we were there an hour early, as were other families, staking out thier spots), despite tons of people amassing behind us. Everyone was in a jolly mood and we all had fun (it helped that the weather was accommodating during the parade and mild!).
Great job, Bellevue! We’ll be back next year.

Cute little winter show. Little kids will love the «snow», drummers and dancer. Not to mention the characters handing out candy. It’s a short little show so don’t be late or you might miss it.
The place gets super packed by people who came to see the parade/​show and people just at the mall.
Finding park is hard, best bet don’t park at the mall unless you come early. We parked by the ice skating rink and walked over but that was also packed.
Also all the restaurants get packed after the show ends so make reservations or eat before, if planning to eat at the mall.
Overall fun little entertainment to get you into the Christmas season!

It’s things like this that make me proud to call Bellevue my hometown. This is a Christmas tradition that goes up through Christmas Eve. The whole show only lasts twenty minutes so don’t be late! Expect candy, drummers, lots of great costumes, and of course the fake snow. This is an absolute win win for the mall and for shoppers.

You’ve got family from out of town visiting and you want to get them in the Christmas spirit… What do you do? Take them to Snowflake Lane! So now that you’ve made up your mind to go, here are some tips to help you make the event more enjoyable.
DESCRIPTION:
It is a 20 minute performance of costumed characters such as the Sugar Plum Fairy, a polar bear, a snowman, etc… There are also drummers, dancers and elves. There are lots of lights creating an effect of dancing snowflakes to accompany the music and artificial snow made of soap that floats downward on the crowd.
The nightly event is free to the public and runs for 20 minutes from the Friday after Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve. From December 26^th to the 31^st the theme of the celebration changes to ringing in the New Year.
WHERE
Snowflake Lane is along the sidewalks of Bellevue Way & NE 8^th at The Bellevue Collection, in the heart of Downtown Bellevue.
There are four stages including the Snowstorm dance crew, Main Stage at Fountain Court, Princess Court meet and Greet and Snowstorm. Ask in the mall for information about the specific locations.
PARKING
There is free parking at Bellevue Square, Bellevue Place and Lincoln Square. There are seven entrances to the Parking garage at Bellevue Square (the largest garage), three at Bellevue Place and one at Lincoln Square. I suggest you arrive more than an hour before the performance or it will be difficult finding a space. We arrived several hours to do some shopping, eat dinner and see the performance and there weren’t many spaces. Do not even think about parking to the west of the last parking garage in the residential neighborhood. You would need a specific zone pass to park on the streets there.
STREET LEVEL
Do not stand or sit on the drummer displays along the street. Drummers will be standing on them during the presentation so you will need to move. They will close the streets off to traffic and once that is done you can move into the actual street. You will need to stay within a given space in the street during the performance. If you have children it’s best to wait at the street level until you can enter the street and get close to the action! They hand out candy to the kids so they’ll get a sugar rush.
THE PEDESTRIAN WALKWAY
If you stand on the pedestrian walkway you must make sure you can fit within the black line on the floor of the walkway. If you cannot fit you will have to go somewhere else. Security will not allow people to block the center of the walkway.
ETIQUETTE
There are a lot of people in a small area. Remember to try and be polite. People will be pressing up against you and kids may be standing on your feet. The lamest thing I experienced was a guy who had his arms stretched out who kept shifting his body to block people from getting a spot yelling that the spots were all saved. Fortunately Security took care of him!
This is a fun holiday experience, especially for the kids!

The reason I avoid Downtown Bellevue for a month. The traffic from this nightly event is redic for those of us who live nearby. Once you have seen it a few times I feel like it’s kind of blown out. Kind of like that song on the radio they play and you like it at first and then they play it until it’s worn out. That’s this event for me.

You got to love snowflake lane! These guys are here every year! In the cold and rain and snow! Albeit foam fake snow but that is just semantics. The peeps on stilts hand out candy and get the crowd going. The dancers are all in perfect sync and everyone else is just in good spirits. I was shopping at the mall around 5:40 and decided to stick around till 7 to finally get a chance to see it this year. I’m glad I did! It wasn’t too cold and thankfully dry. The music was loud and everyone was in good spirits! Next time I’ll be on the sky bridge so I can see everything. Make sure to get some candy! And for people complaining that snowflake lane is too loud, I don’t see the point considering you cannot hear it inside the mall. And it’s not too loud if you’re a few blocks down so obviously you’re choosing to be at snowflake lane at that particular time just to complain.

Eh… it was kind of a crazy thing, I mean, it was raining, it was Saturday night and the kids acting in the thing– especially those drummers, the toy soldiers on stilts and my favorite, the sugar plum fairy, were all great but overall, it seemed like there were multiple ‘shows’ happening at once and we couldn’t see where to even direct our attention mostly.
They handed out approximately ONE MILLION peppermint suckers to my daughter and again, the drummers not only kicked ass but they were so adorable letting the kids play their drums.
Overall, for me, I’d skip it unless your kid makes you go. It was alright but… not for me.

Get there early or find a spot high up so you can see everything. There are drummers and people in costume all over the street, but the main festivities are hard to see if you get there late. It gets really crowded! We spent almost an hour looking for parking in Bellevue Square, so come early and shop while you wait, or just take public transportation.
The fake snow was fun for photos, and I loved the furry animals running around taking photos with people. The music was fun and festive, and so was the entertainment. Bring the whole family or out of towners!

I’m a self proclaimed Slave to Xmas, so there’s no way I would find this less than satisfactory. That said, I love the opportunity it provides for both the high school performing arts students and the audience! It looks so beautiful on Bellevue Way and will make even the most cynical of people fee the Christmas spirit!
Well maybe not, but there’s hope yet!
Note to drivers, AVOID this area. For your safety and for spectators.

This place is awesome. I believe this year is their 11^th year. Its basically a short parade that they have on Black Friday. Came here for the first time and it was crowded. So many people. I managed to get a good seat on the floor with a good view.
Love it!!!

This is a fun little festival to attend to help welcome the holiday season. Since Santa was making his grand arrival on Black Friday, I decided that would be a great time to take the whole family. The parade starts at 7pm but we wanted to get there early. We probably got there around 3pm and of course there was already a lot of traffic. This was expected though since it was Black Friday. We spent a few hours at Bellevue Square and even took photos with Santa.
Finally around 630pm we decided to go out and find a spot to watch the parade. We were right in front of the drummer. My six year old son loved the fake snow falling from the sky. All in all it was a nice parade.

Snowflake Lane is a fun festival in Bellevue at the end of the year. The fake snow, toy soldiers, dancing, music and dancers are all festive and add to the holiday spirit.
There isn’t anything religious about it or preached about so everyone can enjoy.
The street is closed off for about 20 minutes at a time for the parade.
Kids love this!

This is a really fun and totally free show which is held through the month of December on the streets between Bellevue Square and Lincoln Square. After Christmas, it transitions to more of a new year celebration which helps to keep the fun going after all the post holiday shoppers have been burnt out on too much Christmas in their collectively drained faces.
The show itself is a really fun time and definitely geared towards kids although I believe anyone would enjoy it. Even the Grinch or Scrooge himself would have a hard time not tapping their toes or singing along to the festive mix of dancing, drumming, and marry making this show provides.
I highly recommend getting to the mall early and snagging a good spot ahead of time just like you would for any parade so you’re not having to jockey for position behind the many other shoppers and tourists who will no doubt also be on hand to watch the show. Snowflake Lane is fast paced and fun and, if you’re running late, there’s a good chance you’ll miss it. You have been warned.

Been attending Snowflake Lane for the past 5 years and it keeps getting better with age. True, no matter which day of the week, plan to arrive an hour early to find parking and scout out your spot on the sidewalk; it will be crowded.
Situate yourself near one of the large drums, but do not allow your child to climb upon the drums, they’re not play structures.
At a quarter to 7, a high school crew will start preparing the scene, passing out suckers and then the magic begins. At 7 o’clock snow falls gently from the surrounding skyscrapers and drummers dressed up as toy soldiers begin marching down the street. The soldiers will take their place upon one of the drum pedestals, so that is your best bet for viewing.
Snow princesses and other characters add to the spectacle. The show in its entirety lasts about 20 minutes.
It’s free, and compared to other light shows (Garden D’lights, Zoo Lights, Lights of Christmas), this one provides affordable fun for the whole family.

If you like giant penguins and Nordic ice princesses parading by while toy soldiers form a drumline and the sky rains bubble-​snow, this is the show for you. If you don’t like that sort of thing, you should take yourself less seriously.
The show was a great weeknight trip — 20 minutes and near plenty of coffee and shopping.

Snowflake Lane is a great part of the holiday festivities. There’s nothing religious about it. No Santa Clauses. It’s always busy this time of year regardless of where you go so it should be expected to go early. They close the streets off and drummers and dancers fill the street for approximately 20 minutes. Kids love it. It’s fun. It’s FREE!

This was our second year experiencing Snowflake Lane fun. The music, drummers, dancing candy cane girls, snowflake princesses/​princes, stuffed polar bears/​mouse/​snowman, nutcrackers, and snowflake machine brought out the Christmas spirit in us all.
– I loved how the dancers invited some of the kids to come dance with them! Although we were freezing cold, the 20 minute show kept us entertained. The kids thought last years show had more characters and seemed a bit longer, but it was also Christmas eve.
We fought i-​90 traffic, parked at Macy’s at around 6 PM and had time to grab dinner at Red Robins before the show began at 7 PM. We had such a good time that I considered dancing with the candy cane girls next year. Too bad I’m way too old to blend in with the high school girls.

We finally had a chance to watch the holidays parade at Snowflake Lane (downtown Bellevue, in front of Bellevue Collection) this year. The parade started around 7pm (we got there around 6:30pm and were still able to find some front row spots for the parade– however, there were people starting to show up around 6:45pm, so if you showed up around that time, chances are you’d probably be standing somewhere in the back, with the views of other people’s heads/​hair in front of you!).
The parade was pretty cool and had a festive feel to it. Before the parade/​show started, there were other characters, penguins, polar bears, reindeer walking by to help entertain the people/​families, so you can play/​take picture with them, too.
The show itself lasted just 20 minutes but it was pretty cool once it got started. There were some colorful laser lights of snowflakes projected onto the buildings, some fake snowflakes falling from the sky and lots of festive music to enjoy the show. Not much really for the show except the music band and just one umbrella dance, but hey… for a free daily show throughout this festive season, it’s pretty good! :) Go see it if you live nearby. Maybe you don’t have to do it every year, but it’s sort of something you should do it at least once, especially if you live nearby the area!

It’s a 20 minute show featuring many high school drummers who are dressed as toy soldiers, some fairy princesses and comic book characters and snowmen who interact with children Disney style. There are 2 performance stages set up on the side. It’s fun if you’re already there for shopping or eating out. Not sure if it’s worth an extra trip just to see the parade as it’s short but the fake snow was fun. Kids seemed to enjoy it.
Crowds are allowed to gather on the cordoned off street and sidewalks and the skybridge above the parade.
Plenty of free parking at Bellevue Square and Lincoln Center (evenings) but it fills up so go early. Allow 20 – 25 minutes just to park and get situated as traffic is heavy. Bundle up as it can get chilly waiting for the parade to begin.