Seattle's big street partyMay 24, 1997Web posted at: 12:00 a.m. EDT (0400 GMT) (CNN) -- With fish-tossing, wise-cracking vendors and swarms of tourists, Seattle's Pike Place market is as much a center of play as commerce. This weekend, the bustling market's festive atmosphere is expanding into a full-blown festival. The Pike Place Market Street Festival celebrates 26 years since citizens saved the market from the wrecking ball. "The market sits on really prime real estate on the Puget Sound," explains Cyndi Pock, a festival organizer. "Probably throughout its contemporary history, there have been developers wanting it." The 90-year-old market, which houses more than 600 merchants (from fish and vegetable vendors to herbal remedy and bead shops), is now an historic landmark. Pike Place is the United States' oldest continuously operating market, and its street fair is one of the oldest in the region. The two-day event features festival standards such as blues and jazz music stages, street performers and crafts booths. One of the most popular attractions is Stewart Street, which is blocked off for its elaborate display of chalk art. In addition to plenty of food vendors and a beer garden, there's a coffee garden, too -- this is, after all, Seattle. Admission to the festival is free. It runs Sunday and Monday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 
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