Ten reasons to visit Seattle

1. Seattle Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
Celebrating its twelfth anniversary in 2007, the Seattle Gay & Lesbian Film Festival showcases more than 150 films and 65 themed programs, including feature films, documentaries and experimental cinema. Spanning ten days each October, the festival takes place at select cinemas throughout Seattle. 2007 dates are October 12-21. www.seattlequeerfilm.com

2. Pride on a Pacific Northwest Scale
The Northwest's largest Lesbian/Gay-Bi-sexual/Transgender Pride Parade for 2008 will kickoff on June 29th beginning at 11:00 a.m. from 4th Avenue and Union Street to Seattle Center. www.seattlepride.org

Stay tuned for other Pride month festivities on the LGBT Travel select events calender.

3. Closer than Venice but Just as Hot
Seattle is known as one of the world's leading glass art centers, drawing artists, collectors and admirers from around the world, thanks to the renowned Pilchuck Glass School and acclaimed artists such as Dale Chihuly. Art galleries, hot shops and public installations of glass art can be found throughout the city. Plan a half-day trip to the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, or shop for affordable baubles in Seattle's Pike Place Market.

4. The Pike Place Market
Celebrating its centennial in 2007, the Pike Place Market is one of the oldest continuously-operated farmer's markets in the U.S. Presiding over a nine-acre historic district in the heart of downtown Seattle, the market offers a colorful mix of fish and produce stands, arts and crafts booths, ethnic groceries and gift stores, vintage clothing, antiques and collectibles, international restaurants, cafes and food bars. www.pikeplacemarket.org

5. Recreation for Every Persuasion
Outdoorsy or decidedly urban? Seattle offers a wealth of in-city recreation just steps from your guestroom. "Flightsee" by floatplane, take an urban sea kayaking excursion or scale the world's tallest indoor climbing pinnacle at the REI flagship store. Or, consider a trip to one of three national parks within a two-hour drive of Seattle: Mt. Rainier National Park features the snow-capped 14,000-foot mountain which backdrops the city's skyline; Olympic National Park features the only temperate rain forests in the continental U.S.; and North Cascades National Park offers stunning views of jagged peaks and glacial lakes.

6. Gateway to Getaways
Downtown Seattle is the hub for short and long excursions in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Day trips via Catamaran and sea plane are available to British Columbia, the Olympic Peninsula and the popular San Juan Islands. May through September, a growing number of luxury cruises depart the Port of Seattle for Alaska with service by Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line and Celebrity Cruises.

7. Art in Abundance
Seattle is one of few U.S. cities to include a major symphony, ballet and opera. Its 25 professional theater companies have been known to launch Tony-award winning Broadway plays such as Hairspray. Museums such as the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) often lure traveling exhibitions of international significance. A major expansion of SAM's downtown branch and new Olympic Sculpture Park are complete. The Seattle Men's Chorus is one of the largest community choruses in the U.S. and one of the largest gay men's choruses in the world. The Seattle Women's Chorus, though newly formed, is selling out shows. Seattle's Convention & Visitors Bureau offers a comprehensive, searchable calendar of events for convenient trip planning.

8. A Civilized Climate
Seattle's gentle, marine climate offers year-around outdoor recreation. Summers are reliably dry and mild, with extreme heat being infrequent and usually short in duration. On average, temperatures fall below freezing just 15 days a year. The region is mild and moderately moist due to the prevailing westerly air currents from the Pacific Ocean and to the shielding effects of the Cascade Mountains. And, Seattle ranks 44th among U.S. cities by rainfall amounts, with an average of just 37 inches a year. Leave the umbrella at home!

9. Bumbershoot
Each Labor Day Weekend for more than 30 years, Bumbershoot, The Seattle Arts Festival, has featured a world of entertainment under one umbrella. One of the five biggest arts festivals in the U.S., Bumbershoot presents 2,500 artists and performers at some 20 indoor and outdoor performance venues - all at the 74-acre Seattle Center. The festival boasts a wide array of musical genres, literary arts, dance, theater, comedy, film, kids' performances and visual arts. Also features are an art market with more than 100 craft booths, a book fair with more than 30 small and independent presses represented and more than 60 food and beverage booths. www.bumbershoot.org

10. Championship Sports
A winning trip to Seattle begins with the 2004 WNBA champion Seattle Storm. Or, choose among the NFL Seattle Seahawks or MLB Seattle Mariners.