Our Believe event is next week, and we are looking for more like-minded folks to join us for an evening of chatting with local nonprofits and getting to know our community's needs a little bit better! We will have food, drinks, music, the works — you coming?

Thursday, May 28

5:00 - 7:00 p.m. @ the Bellevue Botanical Garden

For this gathering, think garden party, meets nonprofit-showcase-slash-networking. Get to know the currently-confirmed nonprofits we will be hanging out with on our website, and we hope you join us for an evening of connection, passed bites and drinks, and the backdrop of the Bellevue Botanical Garden!

Join Us for Believe

Thank You, Sponsors:

2. Voting Closes Tomorrow for BRAG

The Bellevue Regional Awards Gala — which naturally, we are calling "BRAG" — is coming up quick on June 5, but the deadline for voting is even quicker. Submit your votes for the following public voting categories by end of day tomorrow, May 21, and register for the Gala itself to find out who wins!

Nonprofit
of the Year:

Boys & Girls Club of Bellevue

KidsQuest Children’s Museum

Rainier Athletes

Treehouse

Bellevue College Foundation

Vote Now

Signature Experience
of the Year:

Snowflake Lane

4th of July Fireworks

Bellevue Botanical Garden

Lunar New Year @ The Bellevue Collection

Old Bellevue Wine Walk

Submit Today

People's Choice Business
of the Year:

Visit Bellevue

The Bellevue Collection

Bellden Cafe

Bellevue Farmers Market

Clark Nuber PS

Enter Here

3. Last Night @ Council: MFTE

At last night's Bellevue City Council meeting, the final study session of the evening focused on the City's Multifamily Tax Exemption (MFTE) Catalyst Program for the parts of the city recently upzoned as part of the Housing in Mixed Use Areas (HOMA) land use code amendment.

Specifically, staff were looking for direction on whether to proceed with the existing program, or implement the Chamber-proposed "Supercharger" similar to what is in place in Wilburton. Here, the Chamber advocated for a 4-year program with no cap on the number of units that could benefit during that time frame.

This Chamber position is outlined more specifically here. The Council agreed with the Chamber's recommendation, instructed staff to eliminate the unit cap, and added a two-year lookback to assess impacts at that time.

Watch the full discussion in video form here, check out the agenda packet here, and take a look at the presentation materials here.

Watch the Meeting

4. Index Alert: How Seattleites Are Feelin'

The tenth edition of the Seattle Metro Chamber's annual "Index" report was released last week, with the primary findings showing that Seattle voters are increasingly concerned about the economy and want city leaders to focus on supporting jobs, strengthening the business climate, and delivering results.

Check out more of the key findings below, and access the full dataset here.

Access The Index

Key Findings:

National economic uncertainty is driving local concern. 88% of voters say the country is on the wrong track and 61% are strongly concerned about a recession, contributing to growing anxiety about personal finances.

Large businesses are seen as essential to Seattle’s success. 73% of voters agree large businesses are essential, yet 64% say the City is not doing enough to support a strong business climate, highlighting a gap between priorities and perception.

Voters rank homelessness (36%), public safety (35%), and affordability (28%) as the biggest issues facing Seattle.

5. Fresh AF: Farmers Market is Back for Summer

The Bellevue Farmers Market is back for the 2026 season starting TOMORROW, and will be taking place each Thursday afternoon in the parking lot of the Bellevue Presbyterian Church.

Learn more about what to expect here, check out the market vendor list here, and learn how you or your organization can support the market here! (Even better, if you are coming to our Chamber Lunch event tomorrow afternoon, you can pop by afterwards 😉.)

About the Market

Member News:

520 Turns 20: One of our favorite downtown joints, 520 Bar & Grill, is celebrating its 20th birthday! Get a bev or a burger to ring in the restaurant (almost) being drinking age. Congrats to the Brazens!

More Moves for KidsQuest: Similar to last week's news, the Bellevue Arts Museum officially sold its longtime downtown home to KidsQuest Children’s Museum on Monday. Read the reporting here.

Puget Sound Goes Polynesian: Our members at Pasifika Grill & Bar (connected to Hotel 116) are throwing a luau experience this weekend, complete with an island buffet, live entertainment, and much more. Learn more and get your tickets here.

Just the Essentials: Apply now for the 10-week course on Bellevue city government in action! Bellevue Essentials is the city’s 10-week civic engagement course offers Bellevue residents a behind-the-scenes look at city government, and this course is specifically designed to teach participants how the City of Bellevue makes decisions, builds lasting relationships, and gives participants the knowledge they need to get involved in their community. More info & apply here.

Safety First: As part of the City of Bellevue’s Vision Zero safety initiative, city staff are inviting Bellevue community members and students to offer insights on how to make walking, rolling, and bicycling safer on city streets. Fill out the Road Safety Assessment Survey here, or attend an upcoming Community Walking/Rolling Audit which are detailed here.

Emerald Ballet Academy: This season, Emerald Ballet Academy presents a program on the 23rd and 24th at the Northshore Performing Arts Center in Bothell, pairing the timeless elegance of La Bayadère Suite with The Sunshine, a newly choreographed ballet created especially for this production. Learn more and purchase your tickets here!

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Bellevue Chamber | 425.454.2464 | bellevuechamber.org