Issaquah, WA Special Events & Permits: Street Fair Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Festival timing
- First full weekend of October
- Booth requirement
- All sales and solicitation activity must be from a booth
- Permit application deadline
- On or before September 1st of each year
- Booth exemption
- Existing businesses at their normal location
- Attendee sign size limit
- No larger than 4 square feet
- Enforcement
- Issaquah Police Department, verbal warning first
Summary
During the Issaquah Salmon Days festival, every sales or solicitation activity within the city limits must take place from a booth rented from or authorized by the Festival Events Division of the Greater Issaquah Chamber of Commerce or the City. Selling outside a booth is a misdemeanor, after a verbal warning from police.
A. All persons desiring to engage in any sales activities or solicitation activities during the festival within the city limits must do so from within a booth rented from and/or specifically permitted or authorized by the Festival Events Division of the Greater Issaquah Chamber of Commerce or the City of Issaquah. It shall be a misdemeanor to engage in any sales activity or solicitation activity where the seller or solicitor is not located within such a booth. Before enforcing this subsection, police officers shall give a verbal warning informing the violator of this chapter, the potential for arrest, and the potential for confiscation of the goods being sold. If the violator continues the activity after this warning, the police may arrest the violator and confiscate goods to be sold. B. A booth shall not be required for existing businesses conducting normal daily business activities in or on their normal location.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 5.40 IMC governs the Salmon Days festival, which § 5.40.010 places on the first full weekend of October. Sales activity means distributing or seeking to distribute goods or services in exchange for consideration. Solicitation activity means seeking donations of money, signatures, sweepstakes entries or similar input from the solicitee. A booth is a designated area within the festival area that the Festival Events Division of the Greater Issaquah Chamber of Commerce has assigned to a specific person. The festival area is the location shown on the special event/special use permit the City issues to that Division.
Section 5.40.020(A) requires all sales and solicitation during the festival within the city limits to happen from a booth rented from, or specifically permitted or authorized by, the Division or the City. Existing businesses conducting normal daily business activities at their normal location do not need a booth (§ 5.40.020(B)). Applications for City permits for the festival are due on or before September 1st of each year, and failure to apply in time results in denial of the permit for that year (§ 5.40.021).
The chapter also controls what happens around the booths. No person can erect a table, easel, soapbox, stand or similar structure that could interfere with pedestrian traffic in the festival area without written permission of the Division (§ 5.40.040(D)). Organized protesting, meaning a group of 20 or more people, and nonscheduled entertainment such as busking are allowed only in a booth or the designated expression areas. Attendee signs cannot be larger than 4 square feet and can only be built of cloth, paper, cardboard or plastic (§ 5.40.050). Section 5.40.060 prohibits loudspeakers and megaphones in the festival area, except for authorized festival agents, the Issaquah Police Department and officially scheduled entertainment.
Violations & Fines
Selling or soliciting outside a booth is a misdemeanor under § 5.40.020(A). Police first give a verbal warning about the chapter, the potential for arrest, and the potential for confiscation of goods; if the violator continues, police can arrest the violator and confiscate the goods to be sold. Under § 5.40.070 any violation is a misdemeanor punishable under Chapter 1.06 IMC, and § 5.40.060(C) lets police confiscate a loudspeaker or megaphone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sell goods at Salmon Days without a booth?
Do Issaquah businesses need a booth during the festival?
When is the City permit application due for Salmon Days?
Can I use a megaphone or hold a protest at the festival?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Issaquah
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