Bumbershoot, a visual and performing arts festival, was first organized in 1971. By 1973, Bumbershoot was a 10-day event with attendance at over 100,000; in 1977, it became a four-day festival held at the Seattle Center during Labor Day weekend. It was administered by the Seattle Arts Commission for its first four years, with oversight transferring to Seattle Center in 1975. These two agencies, along with the Parks Department, sponsored the festival between 1971 and 1976. Originally free to the public, Bumbershoot began charging admission in 1980. The Bumbershoot Festival Commission was created in 1985 to oversee the festival. Following three straight years of financial losses, a restructuring plan was adopted in 1994 that consolidated the management of the festival with production and abolished the commission.

The bulk of this series consists of correspondence, memoranda, reports, promotional materials, and financial information related to the Seattle Arts Commission's administration of the Bumbershoot Festival between 1971 and 1974. The records show the development of the festival from a small and casual event to a more professionalized festival with a larger staff, bigger acts, and increased corporate and grant funding. Files from 1974 often include publicity photos for performers. A smaller subset of records covers festivals between 1975 and 1985 more generally, focused on overall administration and funding.