Summer concert series kicks off at Remlinger Farms

Gear up concert-goers. Remlinger Farms’ summer concert series starts May 24 with indie rock band Portugal. The Man.

The concerts will go on as planned while Remlinger — in partnership with Seattle Theatre Group — and King County Permitting (KCP) work to remedy two code enforcement cases at the historic farm in Carnation and complete the requirements of an event permit.

Two instances of unauthorized work at the farm resulted in the opening of code enforcement cases since December 2023. The work was identified on the farm through a county-maintained mapping database and later explained to Remlinger by a King County Code Enforcement (KCCE) officer in a letter on Feb. 22 this year.

One violation was issued for the unpermitted construction of multiple structures, including a stage expansion, adjacent structures, a bridge, the placement of an amusement ride and covered structures within a critical environmental area. Another violation was issued for the clearing, grading and placement of a new impervious surface within the same critical area without permits.

Jim Chan, director of the King County permitting division, wrote that the county’s code enforcement department had received a pre-application meeting request from Remlinger for the cited violations. Chan wrote that Remlinger Farms and the permitting division are motivated to complete the event permit by Friday. The permit will address the stage use, emergency ingress/egress, parking, temporary riggings, generator placement, fire safety, public safety, tents, beer gardens, food truck placement and crowd control.

“We are considering interim options as the code enforcement due process is unlikely to be completed by the scheduled events,” wrote Chan. “Options may also include an agreement on the timing of resolution when each party agrees on specific dates for compliance steps (when permits are submitted, issued, construction/demo completed, etc.).”

The Carnation Community Alliance (CCA), which has long called for the immediate revocation of Remlinger’s ability to host the concerts — in the form of a non-conformance certificate — stands firm in its opposition.

“We still believe these concerts will have a profound negative effect on our Valley and the immediate Carnation area, in particular,” wrote Jules Hughes, a CCA member. “Of course, we’re nervous that these shows are about to begin and hoped to stop them from starting while they still have unresolved code violations and many unanswered questions.”

The CCA recently met with King County Executive Dow Constantine’s staff members to express their concerns. They will hang flyers on the doors of Carnation homes with instructions on how to file complaints resulting from the concerts, Hughes said.

On the opposite end, Carnation Mayor Jim Ribail supports the concert series. In an interview with The Seattle Times, Ribail said the events “will be a great addition to the [Snoqualmie] Valley and the city of Carnation.”

Remlinger Farms did not respond to a request for comment, but wrote the following in a joint statement with the Seattle Theatre group on March 21.

“Remlinger Farms has always worked hard and will continue to work diligently to keep guests safe, whether on a pony ride or a roller coaster ride — and that commitment continues now alongside the expertise of STG,” according to the partnership’s statement. “It’s with the utmost thought and care that our organizations have reviewed and implemented safety measures like law enforcement, medical services, security measures, and fire safety compliance.”

Full concert series lineup

May 24: Portugal. The Man and Bomba Estéreo with Reyna Tropical

June 6: Daryl Hall and Elvis Costello & the Imposters with Charlie Sexton

June 15: Parliament Funkadelic with George Clinton

June 25: Totally Tubular Festival

June 26: Kaleo with Reignwolf

July 17: Hiatus Kaiyote with Free Nationals and Digable Planets

July 28: The String Cheese Incident

Aug. 9-11: THING festival

Aug. 21: Mt. Joy

Aug. 23: Blondie

Sept. 6: Chromeo and The Midnight