Kirkland’s City Hall for All set for Sept. 13 with trucks, market, sustainability showcase and community partners

City Hall for All will take place Saturday, Sept. 13, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Kirkland City Hall and adjacent lots, city organizers said. The free, family-focused event will combine community booths, a curated pop-up market, sustainability demonstrations and a large “touch-a-truck” display.

The event’s lead organizer, Senior Community Engagement Coordinator Daniel Lazo, said, “Think of city hall for all in 4 elements,” and described the categories as community, sustainability, a pop-up market and trucks. He said the event will feature “over 30 community partners and departments” plus more than 50 curated vendors and roughly 16 large vehicles and specialty trucks on display.

Why it matters: City Hall for All doubles as an outreach and service opportunity. The City Hall building itself will be open so residents can pay bills, get permits or make passport appointments, and nonprofit and city program staff will be on site to share services and resources.

The market will be presented by 1 Eastside and organizers said it aims to showcase locally owned businesses across the Eastside. Christina Hudson, representing 1 Eastside, said the market is “intentionally curated so that we make sure we have a diversity of product” and noted participating vendors include food, pet products, home goods and handcrafted items.

Organizers described a substantial sustainability presence at the event. Gina Jan, the city’s environmental education and outreach coordinator, said the sustainability showcase will highlight reuse and recycling, including reusable dishware funded through King County’s RE+ Circular Economy grant, a fixer fair hosted by a reuse nonprofit and demonstrations of heat-pump rebates, solar panels and battery backup systems. Jan said the city will offer a waste station for reusable dish drop-off and will give away reusable bags and utensil kits.

The event is also tied to regional Welcoming Week activities. Erica Muscora, the city’s diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging manager, said the city recently obtained welcoming certification from Welcoming America and that several welcoming collaborators and community partners will have tables at the event to promote cultural programming.

Highlights listed by organizers include a pop-up market with about 50 vendors, a philanthropic pet-adoption presence, a fully electric ice cream truck, a kids’ area, karaoke hosted by welcoming partners, and a “podcast nook” where This Week in Kirkland will record a live episode.

Practical details: trucks and heavy equipment will be staged in the auxiliary lot north of City Hall; vehicle operators will be on site to answer technical questions. The event is free; organizers encourage attendees to use reusable dishware at food vendors to support the county-funded reuse pilot.

Speakers quoted in this article are identified in the speaker list below and spoke during the podcast episode promoting the event.