When is the Schack Art Center’s Artists’ Garage Sale in 2026? The Artists’ Garage Sale runs Saturday, May 30, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. along Hoyt Avenue between Pacific and Hewitt in downtown Everett. More than 140 artists — painters, glassblowers, potters, jewelers, photographers, metalworkers — line the street in front of Schack Art Center (2921 Hoyt Ave) selling original work and studio cleanout supplies at deep discounts. Admission is free. It’s the biggest one-day art sale of the year in Snohomish County.
The one Saturday every Everett art lover blocks off
There are art shows, and then there’s the Artists’ Garage Sale.
On Saturday, May 30, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., more than 140 Pacific Northwest artists will roll folding tables onto Hoyt Avenue in downtown Everett, stack them with originals they’ve been sitting on for months, and sell work at prices that are — to put it mildly — not what you’d see in a gallery. Paintings, blown glass, studio pottery, hand-hammered jewelry, prints, photography, mixed-media pieces, garden art, even art books and secondhand supplies. All of it out on the street. All of it negotiable. All of it in front of Schack Art Center at 2921 Hoyt Ave.
If you’ve lived in Everett for more than a minute, you already know. If you haven’t been yet, this is the year to go.
Why this sale is different
The Artists’ Garage Sale isn’t a craft fair. It’s not a farmers market with a few artisan booths tucked in the back. It’s something closer to what Schack spokeswoman Maren Oates once described as “really a clean-out-your-studio sale” — working artists offloading the pieces that didn’t make it into their last gallery show, the prototype that led to a series, the pottery seconds with a tiny kiln mark no one would ever notice, the frames they’re not going to use, the tubes of paint they bought three of and only need one.
That’s why it works. The prices are real. The artists are working artists. The stock rotates on the day — as the afternoon goes on, prices drop. By 1 p.m., the deals get deeper. By 2:30, people are walking away with pieces they could never have afforded at retail.
This year, the sale stretches along Hoyt Avenue between Pacific and Hewitt — a full multi-block footprint in the heart of downtown. It is, without exaggeration, the single biggest one-day art event in Snohomish County.
The history nobody talks about
The sale started in 1995 in the living room of artist Lisa Spreaker. A handful of Snohomish County artists showed up, cleared out their studios, and sold what they could. It grew. It moved to the Rosehill Community Center in Mukilteo. Then, in 2010, it landed at the Schack — and it never looked back.
By 2019, the Everett Herald reported that more than 150 artists were participating, drawing roughly 3,000 attendees across a single Saturday. Artists were driving in from Bellingham, from Bellevue, from the Olympic Peninsula — because nowhere else in the region offers this many working studios in one place, on one day, at garage-sale prices.
That scale is exactly why the 2026 sale is already sold out for vendors. If you’re an artist hoping to get a table, Schack has a waitlist — email kestenson@schack.org and hope someone cancels. If you’re a buyer, you just show up.
How to actually do this right
Go early. This is not advice — it’s a warning. The best pieces are gone by 10:30 a.m. Glass artists in particular sell out fast. If there’s a specific medium you’re hunting (watercolor, raku pottery, encaustic, fused glass), walk the whole route before you commit — artists group themselves along the block but not in any predictable order, and the piece you’ve been looking for might be three tables down from where you started.
Bring cash and something that can run Square. Most artists take both, but lines at the card readers get long around 11. Cash always moves faster — and a tenner in small bills is a surprisingly effective negotiating tool at a sale that, historically, gets more forgiving as 3 p.m. approaches.
Parking is easy if you know where to look. The Everpark Garage at Hoyt and California charges a dollar per hour — cheapest covered parking in downtown Everett. Street parking on Colby, Wetmore, and Rucker is free on Saturdays and usually holds up until mid-morning. If you’re coming from Seattle or Tacoma, the Everett Station is a 10-minute walk from the sale; Sound Transit 512 and Amtrak Cascades both stop there.
Bring a tote bag. Bring two. The Schack gift shop will give you one, but you’re going to need more than that — most buyers underestimate how much they end up carrying home.
What you’ll actually see
Based on prior years and the stable of artists in the Snohomish County arts scene, expect a wide mix across disciplines:
- Glass: Blown vessels, fused wall pieces, jewelry, beads, sometimes demo pieces from the Schack’s own Hot Shop team
- Ceramics: Functional stoneware, decorative vessels, raku, and the dreaded but beloved “seconds” — pieces with a tiny glaze blemish at 40% off
- Painting: Oil, acrylic, watercolor, encaustic, plus unstretched canvas work at prices that make stretching it yourself look appealing
- Printmaking: Etchings, monoprints, letterpress, linocuts, relief prints — the bargain category every year
- Photography: Fine-art prints, unframed and framed, Pacific Northwest and travel work
- Jewelry and metalwork: Silversmiths, enamel, forged work, chainmaille, cold-connection pieces
- Mixed media, garden art, textiles, books, and supplies: Everything that didn’t fit the other six categories
The through-line: every table is a working artist clearing space. You’re not buying from a reseller. You’re buying directly from the person who made the thing.
Why this fits the moment for downtown Everett
The timing of the 2026 sale lands in the middle of one of the best stretches the Everett arts scene has had in years. The Schack’s “Water Ways: Healing the Circle of Water and Life” exhibition — the 2026 Arts Education in Action show — runs through May 16, so if you show up to the sale on May 30 you’ll have just missed its closing weekend, but the building itself will still be deep in exhibition transition. The Schack’s Summer Auction runs concurrently from May 28 through June 7, giving serious collectors a second tier of bidding above and beyond the street sale.
Upstairs in the galleries and down in the Hot Shop, the Schack is in the middle of its most ambitious programming year since the 2011 rebuild. Around the corner on Colby, the Historic Everett Theatre is booking national acts into its 1901 building. Two blocks south, Tony V’s Garage is stacking three-night weekends of tribute bands and touring punk. Three blocks east, APEX Everett is bringing regional headliners into Kings Hall. Funko HQ is still pulling collectors off the interstate.
The Artists’ Garage Sale sits in the middle of all of it. It’s the day the downtown arts scene puts on its loudest, most visible, most democratic face — and the day anyone who claims to love Everett’s cultural renaissance should be standing on the curb at 9 a.m. with a coffee from Narrative or Makario and a wallet that’s more optimistic than it usually is.
If you only have an hour
Skip the temptation to start at one end and walk slowly. Instead:
- Start at the Schack’s front door (2921 Hoyt). The density of vendors is highest closest to the main entrance.
- Walk the whole Hoyt corridor first — fast. Don’t buy yet. Scout.
- Loop back to your top three tables. Talk to the artists. Ask what they’re willing to move.
- Close before 11. If you wait for prices to drop, you’re gambling against someone else walking off with the piece.
If you have more than an hour, this is the rare Saturday in Everett where lunch is the easy part. Quán Ông Sáu is a block down on Hewitt. Narrative Coffee and Makario are both in walking distance. Tabby’s at the Everett Public Library is a five-minute walk if you need a quiet minute between passes.
Event quick facts
- Date: Saturday, May 30, 2026
- Time: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
- Location: Hoyt Avenue between Pacific and Hewitt, in front of Schack Art Center (2921 Hoyt Ave, Everett, WA 98201)
- Admission: Free
- Vendors: 140+ regional artists (event sold out for vendors; waitlist via kestenson@schack.org)
- Parking: Everpark Garage ($1/hr); free street parking on Colby, Wetmore, Rucker
- Transit: Everett Station (10-minute walk); Community Transit and Sound Transit bus service
- More info: schack.org/artists-garage-sale or (425) 259-5050
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Artists’ Garage Sale the same as the Fresh Paint Festival?
No. The Artists’ Garage Sale (May 30, 2026) is a one-day studio-cleanout-style street sale where artists sell existing work at discounted prices. Fresh Paint (August 15–16, 2026) is a two-day plein-air festival where artists create new work on the waterfront. Different dates, different formats, both produced by Schack Art Center.
Do I need a ticket or to register?
No. Admission is free and open to the public. You just walk up.
Can I bring my dog?
Yes — the sale is outdoors on downtown sidewalks, and the crowd is generally dog-friendly. Bring water and be mindful of high foot traffic in the first two hours.
Do artists accept credit cards?
Most do (typically via Square readers), but cash moves faster and is always welcome. ATMs are available inside the Everett Public Library and several downtown banks within a block of the sale.
How early should I arrive to get the best pieces?
If you’re hunting for glass, jewelry, or anything in a small-edition medium, arrive at 9 a.m. For painting and prints, 9:30 is fine. By 11 a.m. the crowd peaks; prices start dropping after noon, but so does inventory.
Is there food and coffee nearby?
Yes — downtown Everett’s coffee scene is within a two-block radius, including Narrative Coffee, Makario Coffee Roasters, and Tabby’s Coffee at the Everett Public Library. Several restaurants on Hewitt Avenue open for early lunch service.
What happens if it rains?
The sale runs rain or shine. Artists bring canopies and plastic sheeting. If you’re going in the rain, bring a small umbrella and boots with grip — the sidewalks can get slick.
How do I become a vendor next year?
Vendor applications for the Schack Art Center Artists’ Garage Sale typically open in late winter or early spring. Email kestenson@schack.org for waitlist information for 2026 or notification when 2027 applications open. Vendor guidelines are posted at schack.org/artist-garage-sale-vendor-guidelines.