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Memorial Day weekend brings two massive music festivals to the Northwest: Folklife at Seattle Center, and Sasquatch at the Gorge Amphitheatre. Both ramp up Friday and continue through Monday.

NW FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL

Folklife Festival 2012. Photo by Bettina Hansen/The Seattle Times.

Music writer Paul de Barros’ preview orients you to this year’s programming, which focuses on Washington’s labor history. He’s also assembled a list of highlights for Friday through Monday. Look for live coverage throughout the weekend on The Seattle Times’ new music blog, SoundPosts, and find stories and photos in print in The Seattle Times on Saturday and Tuesday. On Twitter, follow Paul de Barros at @pdebarros.

Details: The festival begins at Seattle Center at 11 a.m. Friday through Monday. It ends at 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday, and 9 p.m. Sunday. For tips on driving, parking and taking public transportation, visit this page on NW Folklife’s site.  The weather forecast is the usual for late May: Drizzle with glimpses of sun. Saturday may be your best chance for avoiding rain — which means it might be your worst day for avoiding crowds. The festival is free, but a $10 donation is requested.

SASQUATCH! FESTIVAL

Check out Andrew Matson’s overview of this wildly popular indie music festival at the Gorge. Matson and editor Brian Gallagher will blog daily from the grounds; look for print coverage of Macklemore (+ more) on Sunday and Tuesday. On Twitter, follow the SoundPosts blog at @SoundPosts.

Sasquatch! Festival 2012. Photo by Aaron Lavinsky/The Seattle Times.

Details: The campground opens at 1 p.m. today (May 23); festival gates open at 3 p.m. Friday and noon on Saturday-Monday. The Gorge is about a 3-hour drive east on I-90, though heavy traffic can make coming and going much slower. Find a million details about getting there, camping and regulations on the Sasquatch info page. The weather at the Gorge — which can often be either blazing hot or wet, wet, wet — looks to be fine this weekend. The festival is sold out.