Mason County, WA Special Events & Permits: Street Fair Rules (2026)

MCC 5.18.010 defines a 'temporary outdoor public event' as any temporary commercial activity lasting more than four contiguous hours that is not meant to be a permanent use of a structure or the land it occupies, including live or recorded musical entertainment or other events open to the public that involve an exchange of currency for profit or non-profit purposes. Events not advertised as open to the public, those run by public schools or government entities on public land, and gatherings protected by the First and Fourth Amendments, such as political or religious expression, fall outside the definition and are not subject to the chapter.

MCC 5.18.020 requires a valid county permit before the event, obtainable by any person, corporation, organization, landowner or lessor, and each distinct event type defined in Section 5.18.010 needs its own individual permit; responsibility for securing it rests with everyone associated with the event. MCC 5.18.040 sets the permit fee at $350, or the amount in the reviewing department's fee schedule. Section 5.18.070(a) folds in the county's food code: if food will be served, each vendor at the event must obtain the appropriate food establishment permit under MCC 6.08, the same chapter that licenses restaurants and mobile food units countywide. A decision on a permit can be appealed under the procedures in Mason County Development Code Chapter 15.11.