This destination will have a pop-up ‘sauna city’ this winter, complete with cold baths, live music and Nordic food

Along Seattle’s waterfront, a city of wood-fired saunas is quietly taking shape.

The emerging “sauna city” features saunas from across the region along with pop-up bonfires, cold baths, food and drinks, and live music. It’s all part of the first Seattle Sauna Festivalwhich will take place from November 1 to 2.

Billed as the Pacific Northwest’s first large-scale gathering dedicated to sauna culture, the festival will be held, appropriately, at the Nordic National Museum. The museum is Seattle’s center for Nordic history, art, and heritage, and honors the cultural traditions of the region’s many Nordic immigrants for whom saunas are traditionally a ritual and refuge (Helsinki, after all, was home to the first airport tarmac sauna).

Each of the festival’s saunas features its own design and heating style. The antidote to all that heat is the festival’s ice baths, which are set up for submersion in cold water.

Hot and cold therapy will take place with live music, including acoustic sets, live DJs and cultural performances. And to keep festival-goers energized, the event will offer Nordic foods, including smoked fish, hearty soups, and baked goods.

The festival will take place from 9am to 8pm on both November 1st and 2nd. To attend, tickets must be purchased in advance for a scheduled session. online. Tickets start at $65 for general admission, which includes a 60-minute session with full access to all saunas, cold baths and gathering spaces at the festival. VIP tickets are also available for $165 and come complete with a 90-minute session, plus a box of snacks, drinks and merchandise.

The festival will have dressing rooms and small ticket offices, but attendees must bring their own lock. Organizers suggest that festival-goers arrive at the Nordic National Museum freshly showered with a swimsuit and towel for inside the saunas, along with a robe and flip-flops to wear outside the saunas. Attendees should also bring a bottle of water.

The Seattle Sauna Festival may be the first in the region, but there are sauna festivals all over North America, including in Washington, D.C., Traverse City (Michigan)and toronto. There is also a strong sauna culture outside of festivals, such as in New York City, where you can find “sauna parties” with breathing exercises, live music, and dancing for up to 90 people.

Even without a spa or festival, sauna lovers can get their own Nordic-inspired sauna on Amazon to enjoy the benefits of heat without having to leave the comfort of their home.