Jump to: Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday
TUESDAY
1. Amy Stewart: Lady Cop Makes Trouble
Amy Stewart will read from Lady Cop Makes Trouble, a sequel to Stewart's debut, Girl Waits with Gun.
2. Brian McLaren
Pastor Brian McLaren will speak about his book, The Great Spiritual Migration: How the World's Largest Religion Is Seeking a Better Way to Be Christian.
3. Faggots in the Stacks: A Book Group
All you had to say was "Seattle's forbidden World War IIâera queer cabaret" and our interest was entirely piqued. For their next discussion group, the Faggots in the Stacks are tackling the fascinating book An Evening at the Garden of Allah, which chronicles the unbelievable story of Seattle's seedy postwar underbelly. Sex work, drag queens, and dive bars aboundedâin other words, the same old Seattle we know and love, only with better hair. Read the book ahead of time and get ready for some real sassy talk with your fellow literate fags. MATT BAUME
4. J.A. Jance: Downfall
Best-selling genre author J.A. Jance, who splits her time between Seattle and Arizona, will speak about Downfall, the 17th book in her mystery series starring Arizona sheriff Joanna Brady, as well as the inspiration behind the book and her creative process.
5. J. Lincoln Fenn: Dead Souls
J. Lincoln Fenn will read from thriller Dead Souls, about marketer Fiona Dunn who makes a deal with the devil.
6. Jeff Johnson: Everything Under the Moon
Jeff Johnson will read from his latest novel, Everything Under the Moon, about a man raised in a Pentecostal orphanage who happens to be part-werewolf.
7. Teddy Wayne
Teddy Wayne (journalist, and author of books including Kapitoil and The Love Song of Johnny Valentine) will read from his new novel, Loner. Leslie Jamison writes that the book is "like a novel of manners distorted by a twisted funhouse mirror."
TUESDAY-FRIDAY
8. Step It Up
Stairs. Generally, there are only two things you can do on them: go up, or go down (hopefully feet first). GGLO's temporary installations will encourage you to play around, up, down, in, and on these transitional spaces.
9. [un]Restricted: 19th Annual Model Exhibit
Instead of using their skills to create mini ninja-fairy castles like we probably would, the Seattle Architecture Foundation's designers have constructed architectural models that respond to real-world constraints--material, environmental, economic, and so forth. Come see their proof that necessity spurs the imagination.
TUESDAY-SUNDAY
10. The Royale
From Marco Ramirez (Sons of Anarchy and Orange is the New Black) comes this show that's loosely based on the life of Jack Johnson, a boxer during the Jim Crow era who became "the most famous and most notorious black man on earth," and set in a boxing ring.
WEDNESDAY
11. Amor Towles
This eventâco-presented with Folio: The Seattle Athenaeumâwill feature author Amor Towles (Rules of Civility) reading from his latest work, A Gentleman in Moscow, set during the wake of the Bolshevik Revolution.
12. The Construction Zone
The Construction Zone is a month-long workshop where you have the chance to see new work by contemporary playwrightsâand get a preview of what's coming up next at ACT, because they'll choose one play from the series to feature in their 2017 season. This week, watch their production of The Ansel Intimacy.
13. Ice Nine Kills, Secrets, Sylar, Out Came The Wolves, Cover Your Tracks
Theater-core nightmare humans Ice Nine Kills ride the Satanic wave of their Hell in the Hallways tour to Studio Seven, with Secrets, Sylar, Out Came The Wolves, and Cover Your Tracks.
14. Jacqueline Woodson
Jacqueline Woodson, author of award-winning poetry-memoir Brown Girl Dreaming, has a new book out about a woman's teenage memories from the 1970s, titled Another Brooklyn, which novelist Edwidge Danticat called "a lyrical, hallucinatory, heartbreaking, and powerful novel." Woodson will read from her new novel at this event, co-presented with Hedgebrook, a retreat on Whidbey Island for women writers.
15. Jimmy Jia: How Energy Gets its Power
Jimmy Jia ("Seattle's own energy entrepreneur") will speak about energy infrastructure and sustainability in the context of his book Driven by Demand: How Energy Gets Its Power.
16. Luminata
From the same people who bring you the naked painted bicyclists of Fremont Solstice every year comes a rager against the dying of the light. Luminata is a great gathering of shiny, blinky, glowing things and the people who love them. Expect to see some supercool art projects and costumes from Seattle's most defiantly weird neighborhood.
17. Moviecat: Movie Trivia Night
Show off your screen smarts with some quality movie nerd company, plus "cats drawn into movie scenes."
18. Room for Change Mural
Art can sometimes seem like a rarefied process. Artist Carolina Silva, in collaboration with Urban ArtWorks and Space.City, will invite the public to connect with her as she paints at the top of steps over the first week of the Seattle Design Festival. The end result of this communal artwork will be celebrated with the public on September 21st.
WEDNESDAY-SATURDAY
19. Joyful Noise
This musical by Tim Slover details the drama, scandal, and public humiliation in the story of George Frederick Handel struggling to present "The Messiah."
WEDNESDAY-SUNDAY
20. Bellevue Fashion Week
Sure, it rains a lot here and in winter it gets dark at two. All the more motivation for Northwestern fashion to bring a little elegance and color into our lives. If you've got visitors from out of town, bring them to Bellevue Fashion Week to show them we don't only dress in flannel. There will be indie designers, a show presented by Vogue, and opportunities to sip whiskey and wine while looking super sharp.
21. A Tale for the Time Being
A Tale for the Time Being, based on the book by Ruth Ozeki, presents an intriguing story about found artifacts and international connections in the wake of Japan's devastating 2011 tsunami. This production is adapted by the innovative and engaging Laura Ferri (Broken for You) and directed by Desdemona Chiang (known for her work at the Seattle Rep and Ashland's OSF).
22. Washington State Fair
This year, the Washington State Fair kicks off one week early, meaning you could spend your Labor Day weekend eating all of the fried fair food you can handle, in addition to most of September. Plus, there will be rides, baby animals, rodeo shows, the "world's largest mobile bar" serving local craft beers, free cultural shows, and the Columbia Bank Concert Series, headlined by artists including Kid Rock, Smash Mouth, and Flo Rida. There's also a fair share of art, including a "Celebrate Life in Washington" fine arts show, an International Photo Salon exhibit, agricultural art displays, and live demonstrations by regional artisans.
THURSDAY
23. Bunker Blocked! Rally to Build 1,000 Homes
Councilmember Kshama Sawant and Socialist Alternative are not resting on their laurels after helping stop the proposed construction of a $140 million-dollar police bunker in North Seattle. Now, Sawant is urging citizens to take on the new Children and Family Justice Center. More generally, the rally aims to support Black Lives Matter on housing, policing, transit, and other issues.
24. change.gif
"change.gif is an exhibition of GIFs that explores their potential to enact social change." And you thought the controversy was limited to people who say "jiff."
25. Deep Lez, Stronger Than Love, and Fifty Percent Less Bear
We're not sure what this Seattle troupe means by advertising "Fifty Percent Less Bear," and, moreover, we're not sure we believe them. Whatever! Their promise of experimental sketch will pull us in anyway. Plus, we don't want to miss queer performance troupe Deep Lez, or Stronger Than Love, whose sketches "generally end in death and/or making out."
26. Ian Brown: Sixty Years Young
Award-winning Canadian author and journalist Ian Brown (The Boy in the Moon) will speak about his new book In Sixty, which deals with aging, memory, and keeping a diary.
27. Joshua Partlow
Joshua Partlow (the former Kabul bureau chief for the Washington Post) will read from his book A Kingdom of Their Own: The Family Karzai and the Afghan Disaster.
28. SAM Talks: Wounds in Warhol
Hal Foster is coming to town! Hal Foster is coming to town? Yes, the big-deal art historian is going to talk to an MDâlocal Dr. John Ryanâin a discussion that has juicy potential despite the hoariness of yet-another-discussion-about-Warhol. Learn about how Andy Warhol's 1968 injuries (sustained when radical feminist writer Valerie Solanas shot him in an attempted murder) affected his life, art, and body.
29. Share the City
Play urban planner and try to find the best way to make space for the growing Seattle population.
30. Totally 90s Sing Along
Charge up your Tamagotchi, frost your tips, and Hammer-dance your way to Central Cinema, where you can snack and sing along with the ninetiest of tunes. Try not to spray crumbs on your neighbor; it's not a good substitute for body glitter.
THURSDAY-SATURDAY
31. Alcestis
Irrational Robot Bureau will present a new, original adaptation of "problem play" Alcestis, which is believed to be the oldest surviving work by Euripides, and whose plot deals with grief and cheating death.
32. Hotel Nordo
Did you hear about that summer camp in Los Angeles where participants are whisked back to the 1920s? Despite the fact that almost no one should really want to travel that far back in time, the concept is popular because the fashion was gorgeous. Embrace it for an eveningâdress up, have some drinks, and visit a 1920s hotel at this dinner theater production.
33. Trump the King, or POTUS DRUMPH
Ubu Roi is a satirical and often nonsensical play by Alfred Jarry that is sometimes (incorrectly) translated as "King Turd." This adaptation by Nick Edwards crowns Drumph our new King Turd, and offers an irreverent modern take on the state of politics today.
THURSDAY-SUNDAY
34. The Sacred and The Profane
Sinner Saint Burlesque and Seattle Immersive Theatre present The Sacred and The Profane, an immersive burlesque experience "where good is irreverent and evil is irrelevant," starring Evilyn Sin Claire, Doña dei Cuori, Lady Tatas, and hosted by Sailor St. Claire.
35. Verdensteatret: Bridge Over Mud
Bridge Over Mud is an unsettling and immersive performance/installation, with strange sounds, abstracted projections, and movable sculpture made up of 195 feet of elevated train tracks, 11 motorized vehicles, 60 speakers, and 30 micro-controlled motors.
FRIDAY
36. The Austin Olson Show
This comedy performance modeled on a late night talk show will feature games, music, sketches, stand up, and special guests.
37. Black Celebration
Seattle-based Black Celebration is a tribute band dedicated to all things Depeche Mode, that performs selections from across DM's diverse catalog of British electro-pop.
38. Euphoria 11.0: Dark Disney
Celebrate the advent of the haunting autumnal season with the 11th edition of Euphoria. "Dark Disney" is the theme, so come dressed as your favorite fractured fairytale and dance to the gothed-out synthpop tunes of DJs Evan Blackstone, Mikey Shadow, and Reptile House.
39. Gulf Flood Relief Benefit with The Ringers and Guests
In order to offset the damages done to southern Louisiana by extreme flooding this year, local groups have gathered to throw a fundraiser for the region. Enjoy live sets from The Ringers, Jake Hemming and the Bereaved, The Gods Themselves, Sam Russell & The Harborrats, and DJ Mamma C spinning a set NOLA funk and soul.
40. I Drink Your Blood: Grindhouse Theater Day
Uh, we think we'll let you handle the plot description, Grand Illusion... "After consuming rabies-infected meat pies, an LSD-addicted hippie cult goes on a vicious murdering rampage!" Sounds like date night to us!
41. Jason Goad, H.U.N.K.S., and Getting Naked with Friends
Show some love for Getting Naked with Friends. Actually, neither they nor (presumably) their fellow performers H.U.N.K.S. and Jason Goad will de-pants, but they're all funny, smart, and generally plaid.
42. Josh Chambers, TwoSon, and Villains
The two funny women of TwoSon have come all the way from Toronto to make this night an international event. The line-up also features Seattle troupe Villains and stand-up guy Josh Chambers.
43. Julie Weston: Basque Moon
Julie Weston will read from Basque Moon, a sequel to Moonshadows: a mystery centered around the character of photographer Nellie Burns.
44. Make Your Own Terrarium Night
Who wouldn't love making their own baby biodome with weeny little succulents and tiny mosses and maybe the world's most adorable gazebo? $20 covers the materials you'll need for your low-maintenance microgarden. Also, there's wine.
45. Opening Night: Forward Flux
Gay City presents a double feature of two provocative plays staged by Forward Flux, The Wedding Gift and The Summer House. Meet the casts and The Wedding Gift playwright Chisa Hutchinson. The tickets to this extra-special night subsidize reduced prices for those unable to pay during the season.
46. Oregon Trail Live!
Jim Stewart Allen will appeal to millennial nostalgia with this comedy show centered around the Oregon Trail game.
47. "Orthodox Music: Ancient and Modern" 25th Anniversary Celebration
For their 25th anniversary celebration, enjoy a reprise of Cappella Romanaâs 1991 dĂ©but performance, featuring selections from Rachmaninoff's All-Night Vigil, rare Byzantine chants from the Hagia Sophia, and more contemporary Greek-American choral works, followed by their "A Night on the Aegean" 25th Anniversary Gala.
48. Pete Magill
Pete Magill, who made his own journey from drug-addled young man to master runner, will read from his book The Born Again Runner: A Guide to Overcoming Excuses, Injuries, and Other Obstacles for New and Returning Runners.
49. Seattle Design Festival After-Party
The Seattle Design Festival has become a big deal, so it's fitting to end things with a bash. Come to Makers to see an art installation, listen to DJ T.Wan, drink, snack, and toast the sustainable, equitable future of our fair city.
FRIDAY-SATURDAY
50. Captain Smartypants: Girl Crazy
Watch this "homosexual vocal comedy group" pay tribute to incredible women including the Golden Girls, the Spice Girls, Madonna, and Adele.
51. Cotton Gin: An Improvised Puppet Show For Grown Ups
Enjoy adult musical comedy performed by puppets and marionettes (think Avenue Q) at Cotton Gin.
52. Dark Side of the Boob
Presented by Les Spectacles Flambés in association with Theatre Off Jackson, Dark Side of the Boob is a burlesque tribute to the music of Pink Floyd.
FRIDAY-SUNDAY
53. The Fall Kick-Off
Velocity will kick off its fall dance season with this special eventâfeaturing different performers each nightâthat offers the chance to re-live 2016 highlights and see what's coming up in 2017.
54. Fremont Oktoberfest
At Fremont Oktoberfest, you'll have the chance to try more than 80 different microbrews in their sports bar and "Buxom Beer Garden," and enjoy a festival-style celebration of beer and Lederhosen. In keeping with tradition, kids are absolutely invited on Sunday, when they'll have children's activities, games, music, and more.
55. Steamposium
It's a three-day celebration of all things steampunk, so bust out your finest clockwork corsets and reserve some zeppelin parking down at the waterfront. The weekend's schedule includes tea tastings, costume balls, burlesque shows, panels on everything from absinthe to penny dreadfuls, celebrity meet and greets, dance lessons, and a steampunk parade.
SATURDAY
56. Art House Theater Day
Recognize and celebrate Art House Theaters at various venues around Seattle, including Central Cinema, Northwest Film Forum, SIFF Cinema Uptown, and Grand Illusion.
57. Atheism vs. Christianity: Which Is More Reasonable?
Atheist author David McAfee will debate with Christian scholar and apologist Luuk Van de Weghe to answer the question: which belief is more reasonable, atheism or Christianity?
58. Austin Dwyer
This event features a series of original oil paintings by classical marine painter Austin Dwyer, as well as a book signing for Dwyer's new book Ships to Remember.
59. Ben Nickol: Adherence
Ben Nickol (author of the short story collection Where the Wind Can Find It) will read from his debut novel, Adherence: A Romance.
60. Blade Brown, Baby Fin, and Nathalie Holt
SketchFest wraps up with Blade Brown, visiting all the way from Hollywood to share its "urban slice of life" theater, plus Babyfin's haunted-AirBnB comedy and Nathalie Holt's surreal stand-up.
61. David Liebe Hart, WARNING DANGER, Velvet Grapes, Jonah ThâMole Mociun
Very special weirdo David Liebe Hart, occasional star of Tim & Eric Awesome Show Great Job! on Adult Swim, graces the Highline stage with a live set of comedy, music, space aliens, a lifelong love of trains, and some puppet friends.
62. End AIDS Walk
The 30th annual End AIDS Walk starts with a 5K walk or run through Capitol Hill, followed by an after-party with a beer and mimosa garden, free HIV testing, and family-friendly activities. The walk is free, but there is a $35 fee for runners, and participants are asked to raise $100 to receive a T-shirt.
63. Erin Judge
Queer standup comedian and writer Erin Judge will read from her novel Vow of Celibacy, and will be joined by comedians Jenny Chalikian, Mike Primavera, Sarah Skilling, and Val Nigro.
64. Finn Cottom, Love Snack, and Ladies and Gentlemen
Tonight's SketchFest line-up includes Seattle duo Love Snack, decorated Montreal comedians Ladies & Gentlemen, and "very fucking funny" queer stand-up artist Finn Cottom, whose work received a Gender Justice League award.
65. Firefly Run Seattle 2016
This fun 5K might test your night vision. The scenic Magnuson Park will be adorned with lights to guide the path and runners will be given glow sticks in various forms. There will also be music throughout the race to keep up the energy.
66. 28th Annual Fishermen's Fall Festival
Make fishing-inspired art projects, talk with community members, and raise money for the Seattle Fishermen's Memorial Foundation at the annual Fishermen's Fall Festival.
67. Full Disclosure: Where True Stories Feed the Laughs
This evening promises comedic improv scenes and characters inspired by true stories told by the comediansâand, later in the show, by the audience.
68. Juan Gabriel Vasquez: Reputations
Bestselling and award-winning author Juan Gabriel Vasquez (The Sound of Things Falling) will read from his new novel, Reputations, that deals with "how a public persona intersects with private histories."
69. Rugby is a Drag V
Rugby players take a break from scrumming all over each other (or whatever) to show off their amazing physiques as God intended: in teeny skirts and dizzying heels.
70. Sci-Fi Night!
Bacon Strip combines sexy men, alien queens, and other weirdness to bring you a "sextraterrestrial" show! Okay, that was really bad, but not as bad as what they have to say: "Canât wait to beam you into the night and probe you deep with our salty meat!"
71. Screen Printing 1 with Dillon Lacey
This workshop will teach the basics of DIY screen printingâcome to class with your design drawn out, and learn how to transfer it to a screen.
72. The South Sound Underground 2016
The joint forces of El Corazon and the Funhouse are hosting a free and all ages fundraiser for veterans split between the two stages. From noon to 1am, the building will shake with the heavy, alt, prog, and post-rock and metal sounds of Darklight, American Wrecking Company, Taipan, Noctium, Vultures Above Us, Salem Knights, and many more. Show up in your best star-spangled bandana and get ready to give to a worthy cause.
73. Typonexus: Silent Film Nouveau featuring Tatsuya Nakatani
Enjoy Tatsuya Nakatani's original score in an inaugural screening of Silent Film Nouveau, described as "a tour de force of a landmark visionary, cinematic masterpiece nearly half a decade in the making, bejeweled with rich, transcendent, living sounds enchanted by visceral reverberations of butoh, cello, visualizations, installations, and durational painting." A workshop and lecture by Nakatani will follow the film.
74. Washington Artisan Cheesemakers Festival
As Corina Zappia wrote last week in her article about Washington State's local cheese explosion, "If you're anything like me, you like what you've tried and would like to learn more, but you're not sure where to begin. The Washington Artisan Cheesemakers Festival on September 24 is a good place to start." It certainly is, with cheeses from 24 of the state's artisan creameries, bread and crackers from Essential Baking upon which to spread those cheeses, lots of other interesting snacks, and beer and wine from some truly kickass producers (Mollusk!). "Try an aged sheepâs milk cheese with a smear of fruit preserves," the event's presser urges, "or a luscious blue cheese with a drizzle of honey." You ain't got to tell me twice. Buy an advance ticket (they often sell out), bust out the Lactase, and get after it! TOBIAS COUGHLIN-BOGUE
75. Zumiez Best Foot Forward Finals feat. Vic Mensa
Watch the finals of "the biggest am skate contest series in the country" at this event featuring 37 amateur skateboarders, and performances by musicians including Vic Mensa, Meatbodies, Mean Jeans, DJ Beatnick and DJ Sean Cee.
SATURDAY-SUNDAY
76. Festa Italiana 2016
Celebrate the spirit of the Italian people with tiny Greyhound pup parades, food everywhere, live music, a grape stomp, kids' activities, and chef demos.
77. Michelmasse Festival
The Michelmasse Festival lures you into a medieval life of cider pressings, puppetry, music, archery, minstrels, and more. Live demonstrations of medieval crafts, such as candle dipping, wool dyeing, blacksmithing, and carpentry, will be performed by villagers throughout the two-day event. Ale, wine, and mead will be available with your hot lunch, and make sure to call ahead (425-788-8624) to reserve your seat at the supper table for the Michelmasse Feast.
78. An Ode To Marlin
This dance performance, choreographed by Noelle Price and performed by Noelle Price, Kelli Carnes, Margaret Hotckiss, Leah Jones, and Racine Lemons, is set in Detroit in 2008.
79. Seattle Theater Group Presents The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Everyone's favorite disturbingly sexy despotic scientist returns to the Neptune. The film starts at eight, but come early for STG's costume party, shadow-casting, and other diabolical festivities.
80. Tough Mudder Half
The newest edition to the Tough Mudder family brings you, the runner, just as much excitement and thrill in half the distance. In just five miles, course designers were able to fit in over fourteen obstacles. This year's course features thick mud, wooded trails, and open meadows.
SUNDAY
81. J. Patrick Black: Ninth City Burning
J. Patrick Black will read from University Book Store's "Book of the Month" for September, dystopian thriller Ninth City Burning.
82. Karaoke World Championships Duets 2016
In its inaugural year, the Karaoke World Championship USA 2016 Duets Competitions are here to blow your tiny mind. Join in on a day of witnessing national talent, as up to 30 duet couples compete to become the #1 fake-singing Americans, and head to the World Finals in Vancouver.
83. Ladies Night
Head to Push/Pull to meet fellow ladies, and work on crafts, art, comics, plus whatever other projects you may have up your sleeve. Bring refreshments to share!
84. Piggyback
Piggyback features a stand-up comic followed by improvisers who'll create a narrative story inspired by the stand-up act.
85. School of Rock Bellevue: Grateful Dead & Friends
Watch the tiny musical treasures of the future play the folk-rock relics of the past, with School of Rock Bellevue's tribute to unrelenting jam band legends the Grateful Dead.
