Can Can's Chris Pink Named Mayor of Pike Place Market

With great excitement, Can Can Kitchen and Cabaret today announced that its artistic director and founder Chris Pink has been named the new Mayor of Pike Place Market. A tradition decades old, Mr. Pink is the third Mayor in the succession and was selected by leaders within the Pike Place Market vendor family, including the very first Mayor, for his keen eye for fun and spectacle, and ability to accent the true wonders that make up the world-famous destination.

On Friday, May 12, a celebration will be held at 4:45 p.m. to usher in the new Mayor, and all are welcome to attend. In the 1970s, local artist and performer Billy King was appointed the first Mayor of the Market. Embraced by the Market, King was a leader amongst his peers, creating events and celebrations, like soap box derbies down Post Alley, and generally being a lively figure respected throughout the community. In 1986, King stepped down and appointed Michael Yaeger as the new Mayor. Yaeger's legacy goes beyond the many events he organized and rallied for - he was dedicated to maintaining the spirit of the market in a time when new business and new ideas were coming to life after its historic renovation.

Yaeger passed away in 2016 without appointing a new Mayor, so in his stead, his daughter Mercedes Carrabba, owner of Ghost Alley Espresso at the Market, teamed up with King to select a new Mayor. "Mr. Pink represents the spirit of the Mayorship, and the spirit of an Ambassador," first Mayor Billy King commented. "He has the theatre [Can Can] and the panache of the first two mayors, a quality we believe will help to maintain the tradition of creating events in Pike Place Market.

With the new Market Front opening this year and the continued lineage of the Market being a show and not just a place of commerce, Mr. Pink is the perfect Mayor to usher in the new evolution of the Market, tying it to the waterfront and cementing its place as the "Casbah of the Pacific," as Michael [Yaeger] used to call it." "I am honored to carry on the decades of traditions established by my Market Mayor predecessors," Pink commented. "I look forward to offering new and exciting avenues of inspiration and ingenuity that will benefit the Market community - a community I am so proud that my family and I are part of. I hope to be a resource to my fellow Market neighbors, the guests, managements, travelers, and the greater Seattle community in facilitating interactions and conversations at the Market.

Pike Place Market is arguably the soul of our city, rich with art, folklore, delicious local foods, family, and so much more. I hope the city will join us in our first celebration of many on May 12!" On Friday, May 12 at 4:45 p.m., Can Can and long-time vendors and leaders at Pike Place Market will gather under the Pike Place Market sign on Pike Street to host an official celebration, honoring the new Mayor, and ushering him into the position. This celebration is free to attend - there will be live music, Can Can dancers, a brief speech, and general merriment.

Leading up to the celebration, get to know the incoming Mayor on Facebook: Facebook.com/CanCanSeattle If you are unable to attend, Can Can will Facebook Live stream the events leading up to the honoring as well as the official celebration from roughly 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Facebook.com/CanCan.

Entertainment veteran Chris Pink was born into a musical family and has created entertainment ranging from punk to opera for over 20 years. Mr. Pink began his early career in the arts at the Spokane Symphony and Spokane Opera before taking a position as Auditions Administrator at the prestigious Lyric Opera of Chicago Center for American Artists. There he worked under renowned director Richard Pearlman who directed the first fully stage production of The Who's TOMMY starring Bette Midler for Seattle Opera.

After Chicago, Chris launched a production and entertainment services company in California-Tixstar serviced over 70 organizations and venues in the Southern California region in production, ticketing, marketing, booking, and so on. After facilitating thousands of events Chris followed additional opportunity to his home state where he parlayed his vast event experience into his arts branding and development company, founding Can Can Kitchen and Cabaret, Fred Wildlife Refuge, Seattle International Cabaret Festival, Vince Mira, "This Is Halloween," and the Buckaroos, to name a few. Mr. Pink now acts as the Artistic Director for Can Can's renowned stage shows and is leading expansion efforts for the company.

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