Overview U District Chow Down is a food walk and street party that closes five blocks of the Ave, University Way NE in Seattle's University District, while more than 70 neighborhood businesses sell $6 bites and drinks from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. The U District Partnership, the neighborhood organization that works with the district's businesses, residents and institutions, produces it as its kick-off to fall. On site With the street closed to traffic, the festival stage runs live music and audience contests through the day, and dance troupes and marching bands perform along the route. People stroll University Way NE between restaurants and neighborhood shops and snack as they go, from restaurants the Partnership describes as serving cuisines from all over the world. Each business serves its own $6 bite or drink, so the day is eaten in small stops up and down the street. Audience The Ave runs a block west of the University of Washington campus, and the Chow Down falls on the first Saturday after UW's fall quarter classes begin. Brand presence The most recent sponsor and partner wall put national names, Xfinity and Amazon, beside neighborhood ones: the student-housing company American Campus, ChiroOne, Diamond Parking, Hunters Capital and Ave restaurants from Birreria Pepe El Toro and Xian Noodles to Cheba Hut and Shawarma King. KUOW, Dance 89.5 and The Stranger were the media partners. The main stage can be sponsored on its own.