September Find of the Month: Naming Bumbershoot

The Bumbershoot arts event was first organized in 1971 and for its first two years was named simply “Festival ‘71” and “Festival ‘72.” By 1973, the event had grown much bigger and organizers felt that it needed a more distinctive name. Lists of handwritten words and phrases that seem to have been brainstormed at a meeting were distilled into a typewritten list that represented aspirations for the event – words like exuberance, intermix, stupendous, gaiety, and mosaic. The name “Bumbershoot” somehow evolved from this list.

The 1973 festival was a success, but not everyone loved the branding. City councilmember Bruce Chapman wrote to the festival’s executive committee:

I feel very strongly against the name “Bumbershoot.” It is not an American word, it has no lasting appeal, it doesn’t tell what is going on and if we keep using it we are going to be stuck with it forever. In fact, the only thing wrong with the Bumbershoot Festival was the name.

I would like to request that the Committee seriously consider changing the name now to either “Seattle Festival” or some other more meaningful thing that gives some possibility for growth.

Kay Bullitt wrote back on behalf of the committee, noting that the Seattle Arts Commission had also recommended that the name be dropped. The committee had discussed the issue and noted that they had existing graphics and signage with the name, that there was a national trend of conceptual names for city festivals (e.g., Cleveland’s Blossom), and that “the original intention of the choice of name [was] to let the event define the name through several years’ usage.” Given these considerations, the committee decided to continue using the name for the 1974 festival while diplomatically leaving the door open to explore other options.

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