If you follow our Things To Do calendar, you already know that Seattle has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to great events—November is no different. There may be colder weather and shorter days this month, but there's no shortage of excellent arts, music, food, and holiday events. Below, we've rounded up the 150 biggest events that you should know about, ranging from performances like George Balanchine's The Nutcracker and The Humans, to big-name concerts like the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Kid Cudi, to food events like the Miracle on 2nd Pop-Up and the Grilled Cheese Grand Prix, to authors like David Sedaris and Alec Baldwin & Kurt Andersen, to art events like SAM Remix and the opening of Seattle on the Spot, to holiday events like WildLights, the Green Lake Gobble & Mashed Potato Munch Off, and plenty of makers' markets. See them all below, and, as always, find even more options on our complete Things To Do calendar.

Get all this and more on the free Stranger Things To Do mobile app—available now on the App Store and Google Play.

NOVEMBER 1-12

MUSIC

1. Earshot Jazz Festival
If you have any love for jazz in the Pacific Northwest, clear your schedule right now for the Earshot Jazz Festival. The nonprofit Earshot began life in 1984 and has presented 2,500 concerts since then, and the festival marks the yearly culmination of their programming. This year, it will feature more than 50 events in venues across the city, including "the contemporary giants of the art" (Brad Mehldau, Brian Blade, and Wycliffe Gordon), according to Charles Mudede, not to mention the avant-garde star Satoko Fuji and Greg Tate's Burnt Sugar Arkestra, which is "all about Miles Davis fusion period." What keeps Earshot so vital, year after year? "Jazz is an expanding universe," said festival executive director John Gilbreath to The Stranger's Dave Segal in 2014. "All directions. All of the time. In Seattle, as around the world. And that's the juice for this festival, presenting that momentum within the frame of this place, at this time."

PERFORMANCE

2. The Crucible
John Langs’s version of Arthur Miller’s fuck you to McCarthyism is powerful enough to blow the dust off a play as played out as The Crucible. This production is so good, it makes me want to use a bunch of clichéd theater-critic phrases like “Thrilling!” and “A delight!” and “I was on the edge of my seat!” or whatever I have to say to get you people off your asses and into the Falls Theatre at ACT to see this thing. Even at nearly three hours, the script feels trimmed and somehow muscular, and the story feels as urgent as it ever was, if for no other reason than for its implicit endorsement of the permissiveness of polyamory. There isn’t one weak link in the ensemble, and there’s only one or two very small directorial choices I question. But on the whole, this is the best show I’ve seen this season, and it’s hard to imagine topping it. RICH SMITH

NOVEMBER 1-19

PERFORMANCE

3. The Government Inspector
The richest tradition in Russian literature does not begin with Leo Tolstoy but with Nikolai Gogol. In the first half of the 19th century, Gogol formed the foundation of a tradition that includes Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Yury Olesha, Vladimir Nabokov, Sasha Sokolov, and Tatyana Tolstaya with only three major works: a novel (Dead Souls), a novella (The Overcoat), and a play (The Government Inspector). The first work is one of the greatest things ever written in the universe that is known. The second is a masterpiece of Russian literature, and the third is just plain fun. The play involves a young man who is mistaken for a secret inspector by the corrupt officials of a small town. These officials do everything they can to please the young man. Wives and daughters are offered to him, and he accepts all of these gifts. Like Dead Souls and Overcoat, the humor in The Government Inspector is not bright or totally dark. It’s a humor that’s mezhdu sokakoi i volkom—between the dog and the wolf. This is the time of day when the shepherd can’t tell who is the friend and who is the enemy of his flock. This is the twilight time. CHARLES MUDEDE

NOVEMBER 2

MUSIC

4. Bizarre Ride Live: The Pharcyde 25th Anniversary Tour
Twenty-five years ago, four young rappers and a producer released what was at the time the most advanced hiphop album the world had ever heard, Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde. It's a record that time will never touch or rust. The LA rappers (Fatlip, Slimkid3, Imani, Bootie Brown) and producer (J-Swift) superpacked each track with surprises. Nothing on Bizarre is flat. Everything pops. On top of all that, a number of the then-major schools or branches of hiphop are mocked: gangsta rap, conscious rap, hippie rap, R&B rap. This show is two of Pharcyde's original rappers (Fatlip, Slimkid3) and the producer (the genius J-Swift—his life, sadly, has not been easy; he's gone in and out of jail, on and off the streets) celebrating one of the most remarkable albums in the 39-year history of hiphop. Yeah, I want the farmer man. CHARLES MUDEDE

5. Morrissey
Sean Hughes once said that “everyone grows out of their Morrissey phase… except Morrissey.” Well, all due respect, etc., but the Paramount will be filled with close to 3,000 people who beg to differ with the late Irish comedian/writer/DJ. The Morrissey phase is a complicated matter, and Morrissey himself doesn’t do much to make it easier, between the increasingly reactionary public pronouncements and the late-period music—most recently the keyboard-y “Spent the Day in Bed” (which is qg, actually)—one strains to love. And yet, the love of Morrissey is not easily renounced, because it tends to be foundational, in a way that is unique among lovers of pop music. It’s the kind of love you might feel you ought to grow out of, but then, without it, like, who would you even be? SEAN NELSON

NOVEMBER 2-3

ART

6. CoCA Legacy Marathon & Auction
The Center on Contemporary Art (CoCA) is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its 24-Hour Art Marathon and Auction, an annual tradition in which artists spend 24 hours of "controlled chaos" creating new works of art to be auctioned off at the Legacy Auction on November 3. The action begins at 10 a.m. on Thursday, November 2, and the marathon will be open to the public during the First Thursday art walk. While you're in the neighborhood, don't miss CoCA's Legacy Exhibition at their Third Avenue Gallery, featuring an impressive roster of artists who have shown at CoCA through the years. EMILY POTHAST

NOVEMBER 2-5

COMEDY

7. Piff the Magic Dragon
Piff the Magic Dragon is (1) British, and (2) a performer of very impressive and hilarious magic, while (3) dressed as a dragon. In a way, it’s like: What more do you want, jam on it? But in another way, his performance elevates what might and should have been pure gimmickry into something approaching the exalted state of high lowbrow, something that transcends this unbearable world by being utterly of it. Or maybe it is just pure gimmickry, but if so, the emphasis is on “pure,” which makes him a must-see. SEAN NELSON

FILM

8. Seattle Turkish Film Festival
The Turkish American Cultural Association of Washington will present this community-driven, volunteer-led festival featuring a rich panorama of new Turkish films. Titles include the LGBT doc Mr. Gay Syria, [deep breath] Don't Tell Orhan Pamuk that His Novel Snow is in the Film I Made About Kars, and the rock doc Blue.

PERFORMANCE

9. Ragtime
This musical is “rarely produced at the professional level due to the sheer size of it,” a source at 5th Avenue Theatre said. “It calls for a nearly 30-person cast and the orchestra is monstrous.” But after Theatre Latte Da in Minneapolis produced a stripped-down, streamlined version of Ragtime with very little in the way of a set, the 5th Avenue hired that same director, Peter Rothstein, to do a similar production for Seattle. The cast includes talented 5th Avenue all-stars like Joshua Carter, Louis Hobson, and Kendra Kassebaum. CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE

NOVEMBER 2-12

FILM

10. 13th Annual HUMP! Film Festival
Every year we put out the call to sex-havers everywhere to submit a homegrown amateur porn film depicting whatever they're into (barring poop, kids, and animals, of course). The result is an incredibly diverse representation of human sexuality in all its straight, gay, trans, queer, kinky, funny, pissy, painful, and pretty forms. (And then it goes away, allowing the filmmakers to go back to their normal lives, thanks to the festival's strict privacy and security policies.) That diversity is also reflected in HUMP!'s audiences, making for a unique theater experience. The person sitting next to you might be seeing your everyday kind of sex for the very first time. In a world where fear and ignorance breed hatred, HUMP!'s demystifying inclusivity is on the front line of deflecting destructive alienation. (You also might surprise yourself by getting turned on by something unexpected.) And, like the best film festivals, it's also fun, thought provoking, and often hilarious. MARJORIE SKINNER

NOVEMBER 2-18

PERFORMANCE

11. Burn This
There are plays and there are plays. Lanford Wilson’s Burn This is the latter. It’s heavy, funny, and real (at least it was in 1987), and it's made for actors to sink their fangs into. Most of all, however, it is canon, and therefore both a challenge and an opportunity for a small local theater company to put its stamp on. Theatre 22 has enlisted a fantastic cast for the task: Carolyn Marie Monroe, Jason Sanford, Alex Garnett, and Tim Gouran in the critical role of Pale. This means they have a good shot. It also means that if they don’t bring it off, I’m gonna cry all over your shirt. SEAN NELSON

12. Coriolanus: Fight Like a Bitch
The all-woman cast of this infrequently produced Shakespearian tragedy stars Z Nation’s Nike Imoru, who showed off her ability to play King Lear and Lady Macbeth in her solo show Ode earlier this year. When she bellowed Lear's famous line, "Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow!" I felt a desperate urge to see her take on a kingly role of classical proportions, and the theater gods (who are taking the form of Rebel Kat Productions) have granted me this wish. Straight from the audition materials: “What happens when we smash our current political, gendered landscape onto the sacrosanct canvas of one of the greatest playwrights ever? If a man can destroy an entire city… can’t a woman do the same? We say they can.” RICH SMITH

NOVEMBER 2-JANUARY 29

PERFORMANCE

13. Wonderland
Wonderland returns! Can Can will transform its venue into a snowy chalet and populate it with teasing beauties. VIP tickets get you champagne and a meal as well.

NOVEMBER 3

MUSIC

14. $uicideboy$
It's time for a night of critically thinking about the point of your existence, to the tune of Southern trap, thanks to New Orleans-based hiphop group $uicideboy$, currently on their Global Epidemic Tour.

15. King Krule, Mal Devisa
Archy Marshall (aka King Krule) got his first release on an indie label at age 17. It’s a credit to his curiosity as a songwriter that his music since then has deepened in feeling and complexity rather than remain in a state of arrested development, as is sometimes the case with wunderkind artists. He’s embraced the take-it-or-leave-it quality of his voice—somewhere between a croon and a yelp, it’s polarizing but highly expressive—and draws from an increasingly diverse sonic palette of jazz, down-tempo electronica, bossa nova, and hiphop. New album The Ooz is his strongest work to date.  ANDREW GOSPE

16. Tyler, the Creator; Taco
As an independent MC and producer, Tyler, the Creator made a serious name for himself as a uniquely talented musician with the Inglorious and Goblin albums. He also gave himself a serious rap as a homophobe and misogynist. The latter record in particular goes over-the-top with its depictions of violent, intrusive thoughts. On his later LP, Flower Boy, Tyler threw the world a curveball by coming out of the closet and expanding his sound into psychedelic and jazzy territory. It’s unclear exactly where Tyler’s head was at when his career began, but right now he’s one of the most free-thinking rappers in America. JOSEPH SCHAFER

17. Yanni
Bury yourself in the glossy mane of Greek heartstring-tugger Yanni as he performs an intimate set of his mellow New Age classics, along with "piano and conversation."

READINGS & TALKS

18. Barry Blitt with Luke Burbank
Think of any memorable, timely New Yorker cover in recent memory, and chances are good that Barry Blitt drew it. Donald Trump as a beauty queen wearing a sash that said “Miss Congeniality” in October 2016, when it seemed like he was going to lose. The guy on the subway right after the election reading a newspaper headlined “OH SWEET JESUS, PLEASE GOD, NO.” Even the highly controversial satirical drawing of Barack Obama in a turban fist-bumping a heavily armed Michelle Obama was his. There is much to discuss—and funny guy Luke Burbank will be asking the questions. CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE

NOVEMBER 3-4

COMEDY

19. Mike Birbiglia
Mike Birbiglia (who David Schmader described as "the beloved storyteller and This American Life contributor with the famous sleepwalking problems and habit of saying 'uhhhhh…'") will entertain at the Moore.

NOVEMBER 3-5

MUSIC

20. Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood
Disregarding his awkward Chris Gaines alt-rock phase, Garth Brooks ranks fairly high on the American national treasure list, having been marked as a top selling solo artist by Billboard and awarded the accolades of 2016 Country Music Awards Entertainer of the Year and 2017 CMA Entertainer of the Year Nominee. Since this will be Garth's first time in the Seattle-Tacoma area for over a decade, you may wanna hang your hat on this cowboy for a night.

NOVEMBER 3-12

PERFORMANCE

21. Her Story
The work of three very different, very major choreographers will be on display during this female-focused program. Crystal Pite's kinetic and structurally fascinating Plot Point makes its Pacific Northwest Ballet premiere, and Twyla Tharp's weird, swirling, galloping Afternoon Ball returns to wow and exhaust us, as does Jessica Lang's Her Door to the Sky, which will explode with a million soft New Mexico sunset colors. RICH SMITH

NOVEMBER 4

ART

22. The Time. The Place. Contemporary Art from the Collection Opening
To celebrate its 90th anniversary, the Henry will display a diverse spread of more than 50 works from their contemporary collection. The theme is essentially "time and place"—broad enough to justify pulling out all their most interesting and beloved pieces, regardless of subject matter.

READINGS & TALKS

23. An Evening with John Hodgman
Much as his look has undergone a radical transformation—from tweedy (popliny, if we’re being fussy), smooth-faced intellectual to medium-shaggy, facial-haired normal—John Hodgman’s writing has also recently emerged from a chrysalis. His new book, Vacationland, is a departure (YES, pun intended) from the ingenious, deceptive complexity of his fake trivia trilogy and an effort to move the complexity to the foreground, treating race and class in Trumpmerica while sustaining the wry, absurd sense of humor that has made him a beloved figure. PS: I hereby disclose that Hodgman and I are friends. But I further disclose that if the book weren’t good, some other sucker would have had to write this blurb. SEAN NELSON

24. Short Run Comix & Arts Festival
Now in its seventh year, Short Run has firmly established itself as an indie comix festival of the first order, featuring well over a hundred local, national, and international publishers. You should take your time and do a couple loops, but I guarantee the following artists/tables will have the best shit: Taylor Dow, 2dcloud, Fantagraphics, Cold Cube Press, and Wave Books. This year, I'm especially excited to see special guests Anders Nilsen (Big Questions) and Julia Wertz (Tenements, Towers & Trash) in the lineup. RICH SMITH

NOVEMBER 5

MUSIC

25. Goblin, Mondo Drag
Italy’s Goblin have the rare distinction of straddling the incongruous worlds of horror-film scoring and Euro-disco. For the former, Goblin set the bar high with their chthonic soundtracks for directors such as Dario Argento (SuspiriaProfondo RossoTenebre) and George A. Romero (Dawn of the Dead, aka Zombi). The group contoured their extraordinary prog-rock chops to serve the ghoulish needs of horror flicks, generating some of the most unsettling atmospheres ever to accompany attractive people doing macabre things on a silver screen. They also could make a discotheque throb, with tracks like “Tenebre” and “Flashing.” Goblin’s 2013 comeback show at Neumos exceeded expectations. Since then, key member Claudio Simonetti’s left the lineup, but don’t count these guys out.  DAVE SEGAL

26. Lee "Scratch" Perry with Subatomic Sound System
I have the last Lee “Scratch” Perry album! It’s called Must Be Free! It’s great! It makes no sense even by Lee “Scratch” Perry standards! I’ll quit with the exclamation points now! He’s collaborating with something or someone called Spacewave. The man says he can read minds, but he doesn’t know that his own website hasn’t been updated since 2010. I’m fascinated on each spin at how the new music recognizes the pull of classic, therefore expected, arpeggios and riffs in electronica, then systematically refuses them and throws out subtlety instead. No idea if the album will relate to the show at all. But Perry is 81. Catch what you can catch of him while you can. ANDREW HAMLIN

READINGS & TALKS

27. SAL Presents: A Conversation with Ta-Nehisi Coates
The title of MacArthur genius Ta-Nehisi Coates's new book, We Were Eight Years in Power, sounds like a quote pulled from the mouth of a Democrat in 2017, but it comes from the mouth of Thomas Miller, a black congressman from South Carolina who was elected to office during the relatively progressive period of Reconstruction. Not much changes, I guess, when it comes to the racist's response to much change. In this collection of essays, mostly composed of stuff he published in the Atlantic during Obama's presidency, Coates looks back at how the GOP used the election of the country's first black president to dogwhistle for eight years, and thus usher in the current hounds. RICH SMITH

NOVEMBER 7

MUSIC

28. LANY with Dagny
Frontman Paul Klein has said that LANY just want to be “the biggest band in the world.” (That’s all.) And while they’ve struck an electro-pop chord with a growing fan base in Asia, they’ve yet to really explode stateside, so it’s worth checking out not just to see what all the hype is about, but also to take in their breezy, synth-y, dance-y tunes that herald the end of summer. AMBER CORTES

NOVEMBER 8

MUSIC

29. Ani DiFranco
Honestly, I haven’t listened to much of Ani DiFranco’s music in the last decade, but as a young woman coming of age in the 1990s I spent enough hours devouring and inhabiting her albums Imperfectly, Like I Said, Out of Range, and Not a Pretty Girl to last a lifetime—literally. DiFranco’s voice—by nature soft, high, and vulnerable—was always her most powerful (and political) weapon, and her aggressive approach to the folky acoustic guitar turned it into both a melodic and percussive instrument. When I listen to her more recent (and much more expansive sounding—is that a tuba I hear?) albums Allergic to Water and Which Side Are You On?, they sound completely foreign, but also deeply familiar. “Every woman has the right to become herself,” said DiFranco, who has released all 20-plus albums on her own independent label, “and do whatever she needs to do.” ANGELA GARBES

30. Emily Saliers with Lucy Wainwright Roche
Emily Saliers is no stranger to the stage, having been a part of the Indigo Girls for other 30 years. She'll be joined in this solo set by Lucy Wainwright Roche.

31. Tom Paxton, the DonJuans
Famed Greenwich Village 1960s folkie Tom Paxton—who’s nearly 80 and in “semiretirement”—is in town to share his fabulous story songs. When it comes to folkies, Paxton is a heavy: He performed at 1963’s Newport Folk Festival, was involved with the period’s civil rights movement, and fellow folkie Dave Van Ronk has said that Paxton started the “new song” movement, performing self-penned tunes before Bob Dylan even turned up. Tagging along tonight will be Paxton’s pals, the singer-songwriter duo the DonJuans.  MIKE NIPPER

NOVEMBER 9

FOOD & DRINK

32. City Fruit Celebrates
Join City Fruit for its annual fundraising event/harvest party, City Fruit Celebrates. It will feature all things cider, including ten local cideries, small plates from local chefs and establishments (Edouardo Jordan, Tom Douglas, Tarik Abdullah, and Full Tilt, to name a few), a live auction, on-site cider pressing, a photo booth, lawn games, and live music from Nathaniel Talbot. All funds will benefit City Fruit's vital work to protect Seattle's fruit tree canopy.

33. I'M A CHEF!
I’M A CHEF! is part of local chef and Alinea alum Eric Rivera’s pop-up series, addo. It’s a 12-course affair highlighting the talents of 12 up-and-coming local chefs. One for each course, obviously. What’s extra interesting about it is that all 12 chefs are women. However, it is not presented as an all-female lineup. It is simply the lineup, which means that these chefs were selected because they were the people whose stars Rivera thought were shining the brightest. This is rad. As Bethany Jean Clement recently wrote in a piece on the Women Chefs & Restaurateurs Conference, the fact that such a thing even had to exist was frustrating for her. Indeed, when it comes to the culinary world, it’s hard to fathom why bro culture still has such a hold on kitchen culture. Food is food. It tastes good or it doesn’t. Much of the food that tastes really, really good in this city is cooked for you by women. This event recognizes that, but doesn’t make it all about that. It is, as it should be, about the food. TOBIAS COUGHLIN-BOGUE

MUSIC

34. The Breeders, Melkbelly
Welcome to today’s Breeders Chat. Did you know that Pod was originally conceived of as dance music? Can you rave till dawn on “Doe”? I know I can. Is the Last Splash–era lineup still on board now that the 20-year brouhaha has died down and new music approaches? Why did nobody get me LSXX for my birthday? Did you hear “Wait in the Car”? (Did it make you, like me, think of Juelz Santana saying, “Sit in the car”?) Doesn’t it sound like vintage, hard-charging Breeds, Kim jolting us awake with a “Good morning” that’s more wood-chipper than chipper? Aren’t they just your favorite 1990s survivors? Why are you walking away from me? LARRY MIZELL JR.

PERFORMANCE

35. The Poetry Brothel
A madam will lead you through an evening of tantalizing verses in a "poetry bordello." Expect magic, music, mysticism, movement, and more, and stay after the show for private readings.

NOVEMBER 9-12

PERFORMANCE

36. Sovereign
This series of solo performances—in their words, "Seattle’s First Black Queer One Womyn Show Festival"—invites you to discover a range of talents among prominent black womxn artists. The programs include Amber Flame's "Hands Above the Covers: Hairy Palms & Other Nightmares of a Church Kid," a one-act play about religion and superstition in childhood; Po' Chop's Dynamite, an exploration of masculinity using striptease and storytelling; Anastacia Reneé's 9 Ounces, described as "an unkempt, de-ribboned braid dangling crooked parts "; and more.

NOVEMBER 9-16

FILM

37. Cinema Italian Style
Cinema Italian Style is an eight-day-long SIFF mini-festival featuring the best in contemporary Italian cinema.

NOVEMBER 10

ART

38. Alison Marks: One Gray Hair Opening
The Frye continues its outstanding track record of programming multimedia investigations of identity, tradition, and history with Alison Marks's first solo museum exhibition. Rejecting the notion that Native art must function spiritually to be considered legitimate, Marks uses unexpected materials and imagery drawn from contemporary internet culture to reimagine customary Tlingit forms as something fluid, playful, and made with whatever materials are available. Through her work, Marks constantly asserts that "culture is not stagnant"—new mediums create an ongoing context for new forms. EMILY POTHAST

39. Making our Mark: Art by Pratt Teaching Artists Opening
The Pratt Fine Arts Center is a true resource for the community. It's the most grassroots, accessible place to make art of all kinds, from starting out in prints or clay or metal sculptures, to using large-scale or arcane equipment to realize a grand project that will be exhibited at a museum. And over the years they've had an incredible roster of teaching artists, including Buster Simpson, Marita Dingus, Mary Anne Carter, Preston Singletary, and Cappy Thompson. Making our Mark will showcase pieces by more than 250 past and present Pratt teaching artists, including those listed above, reminding local arts lovers exactly how much they owe to Pratt.

MUSIC

40. Elbow
Proudly repping Manchester, alt rock group from the '90s Elbow have reformed for the promotion of their latest album Little Fictions.

41. Halsey, PARTYNEXTDOOR, Charli XCX
Pop star Halsey went from "up and coming" to completely explosive in a matter of a few years. She'll take the stage on her Hopeless Fountain Kingdom tour, flanked by PARTYNEXTDOOR and Charli XCX.

42. Ja Rule & Ashanti
I hated the heyday of Murder Inc.—it was the official Western Family version of the Bad Boy era, the Hydrox Ruff Ryders, if you will—but it was a little unfair what happened to them. I mean, not only were the Feds after them, but 50 Cent (and later, Eminem and all their attendant demons) just turned their cash cow into dry-ass, late-night AM/PM burger meat faster than J.Lo could delete Diddy from her Motorola two-way contacts. There’s been no more complete decimation in the history of the genre. Luckily, the Inc.’s two biggest stars (including Ja Rule), beloved survivors, aided by the hyperactive millennial nostalgia engine, are able to sidestep the casino circuit. Expect Ja Rule and Ashanti to rapturize a crowd full of ostensibly grown folks who are reliving their middle-school peaks with a hit parade of treacly rap&B dance hits. LARRY MIZELL JR.

PERFORMANCE

43. Moscow Ballet's Great Russian Nutcracker
A cast of touring ballet dancers from Moscow will take their 25th tour across the United States to perform the Great Russian Nutcracker, which promises "larger than life puppets, nesting dolls, and gloriously hand-crafted costumes."

READINGS & TALKS

44. Hugo Literary Series: Jericho Brown, Porochista Khakpour, Rachel Kessler, Katie Jacobson
Every time you think a Jericho Brown poem is about to drown in sentimentality or gushy eroticism, he makes a turn that freezes you solid, or boils you over, or completely vaporizes you. Look no further than every single love poem in his 2014 book The New Testament, which rightly scooped up a bunch of awards for its lyrical beauty and its incisive and understandably cynical perspective on the potential for true racial justice in America. He’ll be joined this evening by novelist Porochista Khakpour, whose memoir about living with late-stage Lyme disease, Sick, is due out this summer from Harper Perennial. Seattle’s very own (and occasional Stranger contributor) Rachel Kessler will offer up some new poems and visual art, and musician Katie Jacobson will present new songs based on the theme of neighborhood watches. RICH SMITH

NOVEMBER 10-11

MUSIC

45. Wynonna & The Big Noise
Nashville country singing legend, famous redhead, and musical force of nature Wynonna Judd will throw down all the classics and some tracks from her latest release with her backing troupe The Big Noise.

NOVEMBER 10-12

ART

46. Best of the Northwest Art & Fine Craft Show
More than 100 artists and artisans will exhibit their wares at this fall show presented by Northwest Art Alliance. Get some food and espresso in between browsing and shopping.

FOOD & DRINK

47. COWABUNGA
Cowabunga USA, a beef-filled bacchanalia brought to you by Seattle Met and Amazon, is three days full of 9,481 pounds of red meat. There will also be over 50 chefs preparing said beef.

PERFORMANCE

48. Eight Abigails
The power of one Abigail from Arthur Miller’s The Crucible was enough to kill dozens of her fellow townsfolk and cripple the local economy in the process. I can only imagine what righteous havoc the Eight Abigails in Kaitlin McCarthy’s dance will bring. Judging by her recent work, reframing “a whore’s vengeance,” as John Proctor describes Abigail’s false accusations, as a sympathetic act of rebellion against a repressive, Puritan society seems to be very much in McCarthy’s wheelhouse. RICH SMITH

NOVEMBER 11

FOOD & DRINK

49. Elliott's Oyster House 25th Annual Oyster New Year
Seafood is delicious, but a lot of your favorite fish are overharvested and in crisis. So if you want to dine fancily and sustainably, oysters are definitely the way to go. Elliott's Oyster New Year is sheer oyster insanity. Held in a giant tent on the pier behind the restaurant, it's got all-you-can-slurp of 30-plus varieties of local oysters at the 150-foot bar, a seafood buffet, live music, and all-you-can-imbibe of 60-plus local wines and 40 or so microbrews. Also: shots of vodka via a giant ice luge track, a "Most Beautiful Oyster" contest, and—composting! That's right: All of your discarded shells will receive new life as natural fertilizer or something. Proceeds benefit the Puget Sound Restoration Fund.

50. Holiday Wine Fest
Sample wines, spirits, beers, and ciders from producers in France, Italy, Spain, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, Chile, Washington, Oregon, and California.

MUSIC

51. Daniel Johnston & Friends
Daniel Johnston’s upcoming Hi, How Are You tour will be a national parade for pariahs. It’s a rosary of reverence for those who have been indelibly influenced by his outsider fortitude, like the members of Wilco, Built to Spill, and Fugazi, who will be playing with him on select dates. It was news to even Johnston himself that this tour was going to be his swan song, but it wasn’t even his idea. “Why would it be?” he told the New York Times. Whether it is or not, it’s going to be a devil town celebration, so don’t chance it! ZACH FRIMMEL

52. Lizzo
Lizzo is an unforgettable performer—she’s compelling, entertaining, and always feeling good as hell. Lizzo sings and raps about body positivity, independence, and self-acceptance better than anyone, and her beats are next level. On stage, Lizzo is joined by the Big Girls, two of the most fabulous backup dancers, and the ultra-chic DJ Sophia Eris. The four of them combined make for a powerhouse of pop, from Lizzo’s speaker-blasting rhymes to the choreographed dance routines. You’ll leave this show feeling so empowered, you won’t remember life pre-Lizzo. ANNA KAPLAN

READINGS & TALKS

53. Marc Maron and Brendan McDonald - Waiting for the Punch
Comedian/musicians/writer/man of many talents Marc Maron, best known for The Marc Maron Show and WTF with Marc Maron, will debut his book Waiting for the Punch, co-written with Brendan McDonald. It's a collection of interviews with such prominent culture icons, musicians, comedians, and actors as RuPaul, Amy Schumer, Mel Brooks, Will Ferrell, Amy Poehler, Sir Ian McKellen, Judd Apatow, Lena Dunham, Jimmy Fallon, Barack Obama, Robin Williams, and others.

NOVEMBER 11-12

FOOD & DRINK

54. The Northwest Chocolate Festival
"Chocolate lovers unite!' is the rallying cry for this event, which will feature international chocolate exhibits, seminars from professionals, tastings, and a focus on sustainability. Exhibitors come from all over the world and include locals like Fran's, Dilettante, Hot Cakes, indi, and others.

NOVEMBER 11-DECEMBER 2

ART

55. Emily Gherard: It All Burns
Stranger Genius Award nominee Emily Gherard's new paintings "continue her pursuit of abstraction evoking the figure"—ghostly monochromes that seem like humped shapes, doorways, or even coffins, depending on how you look at them. This new exhibition, It All Burns, also includes scored graphite works on rubber by the Seattle-based artist. Contemplate her works and discover her meticulous use of layers, and how they reveal a buried, almost monolithic structure despite their ethereality.

NOVEMBER 12

FOOD & DRINK

56. The Best Chefs You've Never Heard Of
Some chefs are household names in this city: Renée Erickson, Tom Douglas, Rachel Yang. But do you know the names of those more down-to-earth cuisiniers who run the kitchens? Courtesy of Ethan Stowell and Joe Ritchie, meet the sous-chefs, banquet chefs, and chefs de cuisine who craft the excellent meals at some of the best restaurants in the city. Jeremy Arnold of Hitchcock, Christopher Coker of Adana, chef de cuisine Mitch Mayers of Lark, Tyson Wardell of Salare, Sadie White of Tavolata, Jason Melton of Four Seasons, and Alexus Williams of Navy Strength will prepare small dishes. Visit each chef's station, graze on their morsels, and relax with a drink (two are included with your tickets). Once you're finished, you'll have a new appreciation for head chefs' busy and brilliant first mates.

MUSIC

57. Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is back for some reason!! Go celebrate the emotional freedom of canonical emo-rock with your fellow rabid fan base members in the wake of FOB's M A N I A Tour.

58. Third Eye Blind
Led by Stephan Jenkins, '90s pop-alt rockers Third Eye Blind (or 3EB if you're a real fan) achieved wide success during a bizarre time in the post-grunge music scene. They performed at the 2016 Bumbershoot, and will return to Seattle again for a night of classic singles.

READINGS & TALKS

59. Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor
Created by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor, Welcome to Night Vale is the twice-monthly podcast that presents itself as a news-radio show for a fictional town where all conspiracy theories are true. In style and content, the show blends Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon with David Lynch’s Twin Peaks, and the results are deeply weird and beguiling. It Devours is the sequel to the first book based on the Night Vale universe and the Cult of the Smiling God. DAVID SCHMADER

NOVEMBER 13

COMEDY

60. Doug Stanhope
Doug Stanhope (The Man Show) promises a set that's perverted, nasty, insensitive, offensive, and—if you believe Time Out New York, which twice awarded him "Best Comedy Performance of the Year"—very funny.

FOOD & DRINK

61. Deb Perelman
Deb Perelman has never worked in a restaurant, but her food blog Smitten Kitchen features more than 1,200 recipes and has won multiple awards. Based on the popularity of her accessible, dressed-up-comfort-food recipes, down-to-earth writing, and mouth-watering, sun-soaked photos she takes in her tiny New York apartment, Perelman has become a giant in the food-writing industry. She’ll come to Seattle on her book tour for her second and much-anticipated cookbook, Smitten Kitchen Every Day: Triumphant & Unfussy New Favorites, which includes 115 recipes, 101 of which are new, for everything from cake to ceviche. So many fans are expected to turn out for her Book Larder appearance, in fact, that Perelman will only sign books rather than giving a talk—but they'll have snacks from the book available while you wait, eliminating the impossible task of waiting until you get home to try out her new recipes.

62. Rain City Chefs Alliance Dinner
"The Rain City Chefs Alliance (RCCA) is exactly what it sounds like: a group of chefs working toward a common goal. What, exactly, is that goal? To 'unite the community of chefs in Seattle to offer diners truly unique and inventive dining experiences.' In plain English, they're doing a collaborative pop-up series. Also, those pop-ups raise money for Big Table, a nonprofit that helps chefs dealing with mental-health and substance-abuse issues," wrote Tobias Coughlin-Bogue about this series' first event in October. "This dinner might seem spendy, but remember that it's brought to you by the closest thing Seattle has to an all-star team and it's raising money for a very good cause. It's also representative of a burgeoning trend in this city toward more daring in fine dining, which is something that we definitely need. Encouraging the culinary adventures of the RCCA is well worth your money." This second edition will feature guest chefs Deborah Taylor of Finistère in Port Townsend and JJ Proville of L'Oursin in Seattle. For an extra $50 per person, you can sit at the chef's table by the fire pit.

READINGS & TALKS

63. A.E. Stallings
Rich Smith describes A.E. Stallings as a "top notch formal poet with deep intellectual and aesthetic roots in ancient Greek writings."

64. Matthew Weiner with Maria Semple
Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner has written a novel called Heather, the Totality. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if it were really good? Aren’t you tired of expecting and receiving disappointment from everything? What if we all just agreed to agree that Matthew Weiner, a manifestly brilliant writer in other mediums, will have written a novel that is worth desultorily skimming with one eye on the Twitter dis you’re half composing while you half read before throwing it across the room with a dismissive harrumph? And did I mention that his interlocutor at this event will be the mighty Maria Semple, a brilliant writer for screen and page her own damn self? SEAN NELSON

NOVEMBER 14

MUSIC

65. Ibeyi, theMIND
If you haven’t already joined Beyoncé and the bedazzled bandwagon in crushing hard on the French-Cuban, Lemonade-featured chanteuses of Ibeyi (“twins” in their Yoruba mother tongue), then there’s your music hack for the day. Early in their 20s, Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi Diaz have just released their sophomore full-length, Ash, which exclaims their deathlessness and explains why their electro-pop syncopations are able to move mountains. Their timbre-forward layers of tension and harmony, giant-stomping beat drops, and parables of pathos are all immersive qualities that will drown worries that you’ve carried for years and baptize your soul in the river called transcendence. ZACH FRIMMEL

READINGS & TALKS

66. Lawrence O’Donnell
MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell delves into another tumultuous time in American history in Playing with Fire: The 1968 Election and the Transformation of American Politics, exposing Nixon's undemocratic practices and the lingering "fallout" from his administration.

67. Reza Aslan
SAL associate director Rebecca Hoogs described Aslan's new show as a kind of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, but for religions. Sounds equal parts promising and infuriating. RICH SMITH

NOVEMBER 14-19

PERFORMANCE

68. The Bodyguard
Deborah Cox—an actress and singer known for bringing Canadian R&B to ears worldwide—will star in this production of The Bodyguard, a musical about an unexpected romance between a superstar and her bodyguard, based on the 1992 movie starring Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston. (Cox also provided vocals for last year's made-for-TV Whitney Houston biopic.)

NOVEMBER 15

ART

69. Amanda Manitach: Dirty Opening
From afar, Stranger Genius Award nominee Amanda Manitach's block prints look like inner thoughts (or perturbing greeting cards) punched into colorful stains. Get closer, and you'll realize that these stains are elaborate patterns that may evoke Victorian wallpaper. Manitach's artistic process is demonstratively physical: She rubs patterns into splashes of color, getting herself "dirty" in the process. She says: "I see my work as a task of both consciously and subliminally sorting out the experience of a female trying to make expressive marks—a task that has found uncanny resonance for me with the history of female hysteria." Like her sexualized, meme-y T Shirt Girls series or Nothing Left to Say, which took material from Frances Farmer's autobiography, Dirty interrogates popular and private verbal expressions of femininity.

MUSIC

70. Gwar, Ghoul, He Is Legend, U.S. Bastards
Damn it, I love GWAR! I mean, they lose their frontman and original founding member, Dave Brockie, aka “Oderus Urungus” (he died in 2015 of a heroin overdose), and what do they do after 13 albums and 30-some years as a band? They fucking carry on! They go on tour in honor of their fallen comrade! Brockie would undoubtedly be proud that his blood-and-guts-spewing thrash metal freak show from Richmond, Virginia, refused to lie down and die with Oderus. Instead, they replaced their irreplaceable leader from “Planet Scumdogs” with a singer/bassist dude named “Berserker Blóthar” and lead singer lady named “Vulvatron.” The latter is an inspiration—more warrior than princess. She’ll probably become the number-one motivator for young girls who dream of starting heavy-metal bands. Oh, yeah, and her gigantic boobs spray blood—totally and perfectly GWAR. KELLY O

71. Hamilton Leithauser, Courtney Marie Andrews
It’s cliché to attribute a singer’s rough voice to hard living—booze, cigarettes, drugs, or all three. For Hamilton Leithauser, the act of singing itself sounds like enough to do permanent damage. He less sings melodies than attacks them with a throat-shredding, vein-bulging intensity more typical of rock music where the audience wears all black. The Walkmen would have been just another forgettable 2000s indie-rock band without him. As a solo artist, Leithauser could still use a lozenge, but pleasantly retro-pop production from former Vampire Weekend multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij puts that voice in a welcome new context. ANDREW GOSPE

72. Kishi Bashi with Tall Tall Trees
Not unlike the experience of going crazy on the froyo condiments bar, where you may start to worry that you've exceeded beyond the far corners of what will taste good together, Kishi Bashi—pseudonym for violinist K. Ishibashi (formerly of influential pop outfit Of Montreal)—combines dabbles of Eastern-influenced, avant-noise pop, '70s prog ballads, and experimental improv. It's a feat, but sometimes that sprinkle/mochi/chocolate-chip/coconut-pearl concoction can be a mysteriously perfect slam dunk of melting, unexpected flavors. BREE MCKENNA

READINGS & TALKS

73. Kate Lebo and Samuel Ligon: Pie and Whiskey
Novelist Samuel Ligon and poet Kate Lebo are braving the mountain pass to bring Seattle this collection of (very good) recipes and writings from Jess Walter, Steve Almond, Elissa Washuta, Anthony Doerr, and many others. Each literary contribution was spurred by booze-filled buttery reading parties the editors have been throwing out in Spokane and Missoula. I have no memory of eating pie and drinking whiskey at the same time. But the idea of pie and then whiskey appeals, or whiskey and then pie and then whiskey again, especially if those pies are made by Lebo, the best pie-maker there is. Plenty of both those staples will be available at this reading, in addition to fine poems and stories from Robert Lashley, Anastacia-Renée, and Washington State poet laureate Tod Marshall. RICH SMITH

74. Krysten Ritter
Actor Krysten Ritter (whom you may recognize as the star of Jessica Jones) presents Bonfire, a novel about an environmental lawyer tracking down a vanished friend and a strange, secret ritual.

NOVEMBER 16

MUSIC

75. Lil Debbie, Raven Felix, VarSity Crew Entertainment
Lil Debbie is the queen of shit talking. The sassy rapper (not the line of sugary snack cakes) first showed up in the music world in Kreayshawn’s 2011 video for “Gucci Gucci,” where she appeared beside the fellow White Girl Mob rapper wearing a shirt that said “Smokin’ Super Chronic” while Kreayshawn sang about basic bitches. After a fallout with the group of Oakland lady rappers, Lil Debbie launched her own career, teaming up with RiFF RaFF for a few over-the-top videos. When she’s not smoking gold-woven blunts, starting beef on Twitter, or accusing Miley Cyrus of stealing her culturally appropriated persona, Lil Debbie brattily raps about weed and haters and Michelle Obama over junky beats that maddeningly lodge themselves deep in my brain. And yours, too, maybe, if you go to her spectacle of a show. ROBIN EDWARDS

PERFORMANCE

76. The Dinner Party Download
This live edition of NPR's Dinner Party Download offers a chatty take on culture, food, and conversation hosted by Rico Gagliano and Brendan Francis Newnam.

READINGS & TALKS

77. Chris Matthews
Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's Hardball, will read from a new biography of called Bobby Kennedy: A Raging Spirit. Find out about Kennedy's stint in the Navy as a common sailor and the effect on his politics.

78. Mark Z. Danielewski: The Familiar Volume 5
Rich Smith called Mark Z. Danielewski's most famous novel, House of Leaves, "the literary Rubik's cube of my college years." For the past few years, Danielewski has been writing his The Familiar series (he plans to publish a total of 27 volumes) that focuses on a vast web of interconnected narratives. At this event, he'll share the fifth installment.

NOVEMBER 16-18

MUSIC

79. Harry Potter & The Chamber of Secrets in Concert with the Seattle Symphony
The Seattle Symphony will take on the cultural phenomenon with a performance of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, providing the audience with a chance to relive the magic of the film in high-definition on a giant screen amid John Williams’ unforgettable score.

PERFORMANCE

80. Soledad Barrio and Noche Flamenca
Madrid-born Soledad Barrio and the Noche Flamenca troupe, headed by Martin Santangelo, will bring the color and artistry of the Spanish dance to Seattle. They're replacing Lizt Alfonso, a Cuban company that was unable to secure a visa. Barrio will perform solo dances and join the troupe for classic works and a new piece called La Ronde.

NOVEMBER 16-19

PERFORMANCE

81. Graham Reynolds + Shawn Sides + Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol
Super popular Austin-based creative duo Graham Reynolds and Shawn Sides are teaming up with innovative Mexican theater company Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol to present a new work, Pancho Villa From A Safe Distance. This performance, described as "experimental opera," will explore both Mexican and American perspectives on the famous Mexican Revolutionary general.

NOVEMBER 16-21

FILM

82. Social Justice Film Festival
Celebrate progressive causes and learn more about pressing social issues at the Seattle Social Justice Film Festival. Films include Whose Streets? and Trails of Hope and Terror.

NOVEMBER 16-22

PERFORMANCE

83. Kitten N' Lou Present: Cream
A confession: I've watched Kitten N' Lou's wedding video at least 20 times. They're just so gosh darn intoxicating and lovely. (It's on their website. I didn't, like, steal it or anything.) The burlesque duo exudes a chemistry unrivaled by any other stage pair I've seen, and, luckily for Seattle, this "world's showbusiest couple" are mainstays of the Emerald City. Their new show, Cream, brings Milk, Cherdonna, and the Atomic Bombshells along for a Spanksgiving feast of drag and burlesque. Go and prepare to fall in love. CHASE BURNS

NOVEMBER 17

ART

84. SAM Remix
SAM Remix is a recurring and ever-changing art party that includes performances, tours, and dancing, inspired this time by the exhibit Andrew Wyeth: In Retrospect—which you're welcome to tour. Guests artists include dancers Lavinia Vago, Jenna Eady, and Tyisha Nedd, drag UFO Arson Nicki, Aramis O. Hamer, and others.

FOOD & DRINK

85. Beaujolais Nouveau
Welcome the season's new wines at this festival with excellent French wines like the Beaujolais Nouveau, a buffet featuring fine French-influenced cuisine, French music (live and DJ), and a silent auction of rare treats that include wine, hotel, and restaurant certificates.

86. Toklas Society Presents: Alison Roman
Angela Garbes moderates a discussion with Alison Roman, Suzi An (Vita Uva), and Alex Pemoulié (Mean Sandwich) as they talk about how they launched their careers and what it’s like to be a woman in the food industry. Tickets include a sandwich and side, as well as a Ramona wine cooler.

MUSIC

87. Cannibal Corpse, Power Trip, Gatecreeper
For nearly 30 years, Cannibal Corpse have thrived on the dichotomy of knuckle-dragging metal and depraved imagery delivered in a very disciplined, proficient, and melodically sophisticated manner. Controversial album art and gruesome lyrics might provide the initial lure, but the band flourished throughout the peaks and valleys of death metal’s popularity on the strength of their intricate instrumentation and inhuman stamina. Gatecreeper take a streamlined approach to death metal, eschewing its more disorienting and complex attributes in favor of sheer blunt force. And the unhinged live show of crossover thrash kings Power Trip is not to be missed. BRIAN COOK

88. SF9
SF9 are one of the vastly popular boy groups in South Korea right now. What sets them apart is that they were formed by FNC Entertainment as the company's first dance-centric boy group. They debuted on October 5, 2016, with the release of their first album Feeling Sensation, and are now touring the U.S. to promote their latest single, "O Sole Mio."

89. The Shell Tour: Enter Slugz City Edition
Bass music heavyweight and general eardrum-crusher Snails will bring along Kayzo, Downlink vs. Space Laces, Saymyname, Boogie T, and Squnto as he turns the Dome into "Slugz City" on The Shell Tour: Enter Slugz City Edition.

READINGS & TALKS

90. Alec Baldwin & Kurt Andersen Book Signing
Though Spy cofounder Kurt Andersen recently wrote Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History, a truly indispensable book about American life, and though Alec Baldwin is a truly fine actor and excellent radio host who recently wrote a goodish memoir called Nevertheless, these two big deals are coming to town to sign copies of a book called You Can't Spell America Without Me: The Really Tremendous Inside Story of My Fantastic First Year as President Donald J. Trump (A So-Called Parody), designed, presumably, to capitalize on Baldwin’s Trump impression, which only feels good if you still say “internets.” But who knows? Maybe the book is just “what we need right now.” Also, it’s not a reading. It’s a signing. No photos are allowed. Expect a long-ass line. SEAN NELSON

91. Jackson Galaxy: Total Cat Mojo
Cat behaviorist and host of the (all-too-relatable) TV show My Cat from Hell will share his latest book, Total Cat Mojo: Everything You Need to Know to Care for Your Favorite Feline Friend.

NOVEMBER 17-18

FESTIVALS

92. Freakout Festival 2017
What’s better than the Mothers of Invention’s debut album Freak Out!? A 34-band, Ballard takeover where you can infinitely freak out under the influences of Porter Ray’s flow-and-beatsmith hiphop, plus enjoy Smokey Brights’ synthy riff rock. Where Charms’ shoegaze-y thrash-rock will charm your pants off. Where Cumulus’ sad-song jams will pinch you on cloud nine. Where Taylar Elizza Beth’s seamlessly fitting, legato-lipped rap will impress even a tailor. And where Acid Tongue’s fuzzy licks and quips will take you on a trip. If that’s not convincing enough then My Goodness (also playing), I don’t know what is. ZACH FRIMMEL

FOOD & DRINK

93. Grilled Cheese Grand Prix
The organizers claim that this is "Seattle's first ever Grilled Cheese showdown." Whether that's accurate or not, we can't say, but cheese lovers aren't going to care very much about accurate timelines when they're faced with a spread of 50 pop-ups. Brought to you by the Seattle Street Food Festival and KURB.

MUSIC

94. Noah Gundersen
Hometown boy gone good Noah Gundersen will bring his bittersweet folk to Seattle for two nights in celebration of his latest studio LP, White Noise. Support will come from Phoebe Bridgers on Friday and the Hollers on Saturday.

NOVEMBER 17-19

FILM

95. ARCS Romanian Film Festival
The fourth annual Romanian film festival will celebrate Romania's cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity. On the lineup are films by two of the most celebrated directors working in the country, Cristi Puiu (famous for The Death of Mr. Lazarescu) and Radu Jude (director of Aferim!), as well as Iulia Rugină's award-winning Breaking News.

NOVEMBER 17-26

MUSIC

96. Taj Mahal Quartet
So. The Apocalypse. I didn’t get much sleep, either. The Walking Dead’s squish crunch munch still stung mean if no longer fun, but didn’t quite finger the zeitgeist. The Leftovers hit harder with nothing to grab onto—everything looks the same, including the cops, but nobody knows exactly what the rules, or if the rules, might be. So anyone anytime can throw a punch. Anyone might fall bloodied. Listen to Taj Mahal sing “Celebrated Walkin’ Blues,” which he lifted from Robert Johnson. He starts out with nothing but shoes and proceeds to survey the landscape in those lyrics and a great deal about the universe with that mandolin. Macrocosm in microcosm. Joy from deep in a rut. We’ll need those. ANDREW HAMLIN

NOVEMBER 17-DECEMBER 16

PERFORMANCE

97. The Twilight Zone: Live!
Experience the cheesy yet unsettling 1960s thrills of the classic Twilight Zone scripts—live.

NOVEMBER 17-DECEMBER 17

PERFORMANCE

98. The Humans
Stephen Karam's 2016 Tony Award-winner for Best Play gets plaudits for its expert characterization, its subtle but gut-busting humor, and its clear-eyed view on contemporary family relations despite the fact that it's a play about a dysfunctional family spending a dysfunctional Thanksgiving together in Chinatown dysfunctionally. This is the official Broadway tour, directed by Joe Mantello. RICH SMITH

NOVEMBER 18

ART

99. Pancakes & Booze Art Show
That's right, hungry-thirsty-arty pancake aficionados, this show's got everything you need: 70 or more artist vendors, a free pancake bar, DJs, and body painting.

COMEDY

100. Ilana Glazer and Phoebe Robinson
Once upon a time, a queen was born, who rose from humble roots in St. James, New York, to bestow laughter upon the world as one half of the lovable stoner duo on Broad City. Her name was Ilana Glazer. Another queen, born hundreds of miles away, grew up to make an amazing podcast featuring all sorts of funny folks who aren’t white, straight, or male. Now these "besties from another testes" have joined forces for their first stand-up tour (called "YQY" which stands for "Yaaas Queen Yaaas," natch). And, as luck would have it, they’re coming to Seattle, so no #FOMO allowed. AMBER CORTES

READINGS & TALKS

101. TedxSeattle
This independently organized TED event promises fast-paced and engaging presentations on the theme of "Changing Places." The diverse topics include ending child trafficking, embracing diversity, making research free, ending homelessness, building a Seattle-Portland hyperloop, and more excellent goals.

NOVEMBER 18-19

COMMUNITY

102. Native Art Mart
Buy authentic Native gifts—clothing, drums, art prints, and more—from a group of diverse local artists in beautiful Discovery Park.

FESTIVALS

103. Yulefest
Celebrate the holidays the Nordic way with traditional Scandinavian dance, music, and crafts. Adults over 21 can enjoy a fully stocked Scandinavian bar, while the kids can enjoy arts, crafts, and a visit from Santa. Scoop up some Nordic prizes in the raffle or the silent auction. This is also your chance to say good-bye to the Nordic's old location as they prepare to move.

NOVEMBER 18

ART

104. Everyday Poetics Opening
These works by Central and South American artists are constructed from humble materials—from dust cloths to soda cans to lottery tickets— to make sculptural poetry shaped by social, resistance-related, and religious themes. The artists include Cildo Meireles and Sonia Gomes, who began their careers under Brazilian dictatorship in the 1960s; Fritzia Irízar of Mexico, a conceptual artist; and many others.

105. Seattle on the Spot: The Photographs of Al Smith Opening
According to Al Smith's 2008 obituary in the Seattle Times, Smith never considered himself a professional photographer. But his photographs of the Central District, jazz clubs, and African American community in Seattle number in the tens of thousands, and their quality, depth, and breadth are unparalleled. In particular, his documentation of the Jackson Street jazz scene has helped preserve memories of a relatively fleeting but culturally formative time in our city's history. Smith's archive is gigantic, so selecting images for this exhibit will be tough, but there will almost certainly be shots of a few famous musicians touring through Seattle—he photographed legends including Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, Jimmie Lunceford, Kathryn Dunham, Lionel Hampton, Erskine Hawkins, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie.

NOVEMBER 19

COMEDY

106. Matt Bellassai: Everything is Awful Tour
Web series star Matt Bellassai, whose shtick involved complaining about things from behind a glass of wine, will present his new book, Everything Is Awful.

PERFORMANCE

107. Down The Rabbit Hole
You'll probably recognize Kari Byron, Tory Belleci, and Grant Imahara from the hit series Mythbusters—plus, they recently launched a new series called The White Rabbit Project (investigating unusual events and technologies from pop culture, science, and history) on Netflix. At this event, they'll treat the audience to an evening of live sleuthing and performance.

READINGS & TALKS

108. An Evening with David Sedaris
NWAA presents this reading with the witty, self-deprecating, hilariously judgmental David Sedaris, best known for his essays and memoirs. He's worth seeing in person—Amy isn't the only performer in the family.

SPORTS & RECREATION

109. Green Lake Gobble & Mashed Potato Munch Off
You have your choice of numerous activities: a 10K or 5K around Green Lake or a kids' dash, plus a post-race celebration, during which your alimentary tract can match wits with a mound of mashed potatoes in the competitive Munch Off. Seattle's Union Gospel Mission will receive funds from the event, and you can bring canned food for local residents as well.

NOVEMBER 20

READINGS & TALKS

110. Bill McKibben: Radio Free Vermont
Bill McKibben is the founder of 350.org, a laudable nonprofit climate action/environmental organization whose activists have protested Shell's arctic drilling rig, protested the Keystone XL pipeline, and attempted to shut down tar sand pipelines in North Dakota, among many other campaigns. McKibben has also written at length about global warming and is one of the nation's most prominent thinkers and writers on environmentalism—he's written more than a dozen books on the subject. At this event, he'll share his latest work, Radio Free Vermont: A Fable of Resistance, a novel that explore the idea of state succession from the United States (an oh-so-relevant concept for many Washingtonians).

NOVEMBER 21

MUSIC

111. Flying Lotus, Seven Davis Jr, PBDY
Of all the international stars birthed from Los Angeles' flourishing ’00s beats hub Low End Theory, Flying Lotus reigns supreme. From the mutated post-hiphop he explored on his landmark Los Angeles LP or the manic and groovy prog heard on 2014's You're Dead!, his music has always been both banging and brainy. His past high-tech, immersive live shows have made for some of the most exciting electronic music events, but he's gone in on this latest tour, a 3-D spectacle premiered at last summer's FYF festival and was raved about by fans and critics alike. Well, depending on whether you've forgiven him for his knee-jerk defense of the Gaslamp Killer... NICK ZURKO

NOVEMBER 21-22

MUSIC

112. New Found Glory, the Ataris
The 20-year nostalgia cycle brings us New Found Glory and the Ataris, two bands that represent the vocal spectrum of mid-’00s mainstream pop-punk, from Jordan Pundik's hyper-nasal SoCal inflections to Kris Roe's regular-nasal SoCal inflections. Turns out NFG have been producing relentlessly upbeat, power-chord-heavy pop-punk songs full of clap-track breakdowns for two decades straight, and if nothing else, their new album, Makes Me Sick, is another prime example. I thought for one second to rag on the new joint, but then re-listened to “My Friends Over You,” one of their early hits, and found my high-school allegiance renewed. Fuck the haters. Go to the show, yell every word to every song (you can probably guess the lyrics to the new songs as they’re happening), get Warped Tour sweaty, and prove that being grown up is twice as fun as growing up. RICH SMITH

NOVEMBER 22

MUSIC

113. Gary Numan, Me Not You
It's Gary effing Numan. Oh, still need convincing? Okay. He was a catalyst in bringing British synth-pop to the mainstream following the release of his so-ahead-of-its-time-it-hurts 1979 LP The Pleasure Principle. His catalog is as forward-thinking and out-there as any other in the genre. Oh, and he's one of the most dynamic and under-heralded live performers around, who turned what could have been one-hit wonder success into a career replete with a massively dedicated cult following. So, yeah, it's Gary Numan, and you should definitely go see him if you've ever once sung along to "Cars" or "Are 'Friends' Electric?” NICK ZURKO

114. Kid Cudi
College kid favorite Kid Cudi will be back with a new set of R&B-aspirational flows and pot pun wobbles for everybody.

115. Princess Nokia, Suzi Analogue
Princess Nokia is the early-2000s cell-phone-inspired moniker of Destiny Frasqueri. After dabbling in some other projects in the early 2010s, Frasqueri settled on Princess Nokia in 2014, using it as an alter ego to channel the multidimensional aspects of herself. Princess Nokia raps about her experiences growing up in New York—she’s confrontational and totally unafraid to say how she’s feeling (check “Tomboy” and “Brujas”). She released her debut EP 1992 twice this year, self-releasing her collection of fiery verses in January, and then as a deluxe album with eight new tracks, including her indulgent rhymes and impenetrable knocks on Rough Trade Records in September. ANNA KAPLAN

NOVEMBER 23

SPORTS & RECREATION

116. Magnuson Series Turkey Trot
Make room for the Thanksgiving feast by running or waddling in a 5k, 10k, or 15k Turkey Trot (or a 400 meter kids dash) to support Teen Feed. The University Food Bank will also be collecting canned food donations. There will also be a turkey trot in Ballard.

NOVEMBER 24

MUSIC

117. Hot Chip (DJ Set)
Britain’s Hot Chip have become global standard-bearers for song-oriented house music. Their frictionless tracks bubble with a restrained optimism and melodies to which well-adjusted people like to sing along. As DJs, Hot Chip dig deeper than you’d think in the techno and house realms while staying open to a wide range of styles in order to undercut expectations. For example, their Bugged Out mix includes tracks by Theo Parrish, Armando, Conrad Schnitzler, Sparks, Zapp, and Gang Gang Dance while Hot Chip’s DJ-Kicks mix contains cuts by Audion, Tom Zé, Black Devil Disco Club, Grauzone, and This Heat. Let’s hope the Hot Chip blokes still harbor such adventurousness on the decks. When you’re as popular as they are, crowds will likely let them get away with such idiosyncrasy. DAVE SEGAL

118. Illenium
Melodic bass producer Nick Miller performs as Illenium, acting as a weaver of complex aural arrangements for the dance party set.

119. Mogwai, Xander Harris
Mogwai have mastered shifting dynamics: quiet to loud, dark to light, ice to fire, and back again. Members of the Glasgow, Scotland, five-piece are skilled craftsmen of the transition. More than just going big to small, Mogwai compose movements in volume. Calm sections pull you into a cellular stillness, an ultradefined slow motion. These parts are almost in stasis, like looking at an insect wing under a microscope, where you can see the cells, the nuclei, and the serene structural makeup at its most minute. The wing cells look colossal through the microscope, the nuclei as big as lakes. When the music then moves to loudness, guitars distort massively, cymbals ride into turbulence, and production swells into overdrive. And in what often seems an instant, Mogwai crush the microscope, ignite it, then drop it off a cliff. TRENT MOORMAN

120. Tori Amos
Vulnerable and deep and more than a bit witchy, full of melodic contradictions and classic Tori Amos themes: the devil, moonlight, love as well as hate, unapologetic feminism, and a mythical Aah-am-er-her-her-ICA that exists only in her head. Classic Tori. ADRIAN RYAN

NOVEMBER 24-26

FESTIVALS

121. Native Holiday Gift Fair
Kick off your holiday celebrations with National Native American Heritage Day on November 24th, the first day of this three-day art fair and gift market. Buy unique gifts with cultural significance, such as fine art, cards, handmade jewelry, and smoked salmon directly from the artists and makers of the gifts. Winter delights, such as hot chocolates and daily soups, will be available for those who shop themselves hungry.

MUSIC

122. The Paperboys 11th Annual Thanksgiving Weekend Meltdown
Spend three nights (or just one if you don't want to go whole hog) with Vancouverite folk-rockers The Paperboys as they celebrate Thanksgiving the only way they know how, with a weekend-long superset at the Triple Door for the 11th year running.

NOVEMBER 24-DECEMBER 23

COMMUNITY

123. Christmas Ship Festival
This "ship-to-shore" holiday celebration has been a Northwest tradition since 1949. The Spirit of Seattle is decorated with twinkly white lights and sails to 65 Puget Sound waterfronts, where an onmagboard choir serenades passengers and shore-dwellers alike.

NOVEMBER 24-DECEMBER 24

FOOD & DRINK

124. Miracle on 2nd Pop-Up
Celebrate the season with a "Cocktails Advent Calendar" and festive drinks (like eggnog and "Old Grand Dad's Furnace," which has a gigantic pepper in it), plus plenty of holiday decor, including Santa mugs.

PERFORMANCE

125. A Christmas Carol
ACT Theatre's production of A Christmas Carol is a dependable, simple pleasure, with just enough variation to warrant returning year after year.

NOVEMBER 24-DECEMBER 28

PERFORMANCE

126. George Balanchine's The Nutcracker
If you haven't seen this Christmas classic since you were a kid, give it a go this year. In 2015, PNB replaced its beloved Maurice Sendak set with one by Ian Falconer, who did the Olivia the Pig books, and I'm glad that they did. The new set is gorgeous in a Wes Anderson-y way, and it reflects the genuine weirdness and beauty in the story. I mean, the last 45 minutes of this thing is a Katy Perry video starring dancing desserts and a glittery peacock that moves like a sexy broken river. Bring a pot lozenge. RICH SMITH

NOVEMBER 24-DECEMBER 31

PERFORMANCE

127. Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn
A musical based on the film by Gordon Greenburg and Chad Hodge, it features songs by Irving Berlin such as "White Christmas" and "Easter Parade." It's going to be the 5th's holiday show, directed by David Armstrong and choreographed by James Rocco. CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE

NOVEMBER 24-JANUARY 1

COMMUNITY

128. WildLights
See the zoo in a new light—500,000 energy-efficient LEDs, in fact! See luminous animal-themed designs, have an indoor snowball fight, meet Santa and his very real reindeer and some nocturnal animals, listen to carolers, and enjoy the holiday beer garden.

NOVEMBER 25

MUSIC

129. Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn
Bluegrass bigwig Bela Fleck and bandmate/wife Abigail Washburn will play sonic vignettes of their multi-decade career as the "king and queen of the banjo."

130. Mannheim Steamroller Christmas By Chip Davis
Pity the aging prog-rockers. They are banished, with the obligatory string section, to the Wine and Cheese Circuit (outdoor amphitheaters, tiny wineries, symphony halls) or fated to wander the Elysian Fields of New Age music. Miraculously, Mannheim Steamroller skirted those two dooms with a series of Christmas records that still sell by the truckload today. Unlike their prog-progenitors (Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, et al.), who attracted an audience on the then-underground FM radio stations in the early and mid 1970s, Mannheim Steamroller found fame in hi-fi stores, which used the group's superbly recorded LPs to demonstrate audiophile stereo systems. While other prog-rockers evaporated in the 1980s, the Steamroller released a series of records, which, though titled "Fresh Aire," deftly fused Bach and Brahms to a groovy backbeat. Of course, it's not all schlock: Fresh Aire VI boasts seven seconds of the most glorious polyphony written in the last century. This stuff is noxiously catchy, so take Mom and/or Pop to this one. You'll save yourself the headache of deducing which Messiah to go hear/sing, and get your holiday excursion with the folks out of the way. CHRISTOPHER DELAURENTI

131. Matisyahu, Common Kings
Matisyahu is undoubtedly devoted and faithful, and yet his iconic stage persona feels gimmicky and calculated. His earnestly worn Hasidic attire and Orthodox Judaism grant him an exoticized authenticity that trumps race and class, allowing white, middle-American footbaggers entry into a musical tradition that is otherwise comically foreign to them (as in white dreadlocks and the ubiquitous freshman-dorm Bob Marley poster). What's really bizarre is how Matisyahu's bland, lyrically ascetic music has become so popular. At least with dub appropriators like Sublime or jam-band heroes like Phish, there's a culture of rebellious hedonism to entice the youth. But Matisyahu's lyrics call out materialism, drug use, atheism, and apathy, all without even the radical political undertones of traditional reggae. Could it be that the kids just want to rock out with God? It's a possibility that shakes the very foundations of rock music. ERIC GRANDY

132. Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Yes, I know, they're cheesy in the extreme and not even actually from Siberia, but Trans-Siberian Orchestra's jolly blend of electric-guitar shredding and Christmas music is like the flu: It comes around every year and it's extremely catchy. That being said, if I'm going to be afflicted with pinch-harmonic-inflected cheer, then I'm at least going to focus on the upside. Which is, TSO formed from the remains of the excellent and under-appreciated power-metal outfit Savatage, whose interpretation of Edvard Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King" probably sparked the whole classical-music-meets-metal fad. Now if only they still had Alex Skolnick from Testament in the band. JOSEPH SCHAFER

NOVEMBER 25-26

GEEK & GAMING

133. GeekCraft Expo Seattle
Buy gifts for the nerds in your life (or your own geeky inner child) at this "Etsy-Meets-Comic Con craft market," offering lots of pop culture items. Kids can do crafts with Seattle ReCreative.

NOVEMBER 26

MUSIC

134. Syd, Buddy, Malia, DJ Osh Kosh
Odd Future DJ and producer Syd will return to Seattle as a solo act, fresh off the release of their critically acclaimed album, Fin, and recent EP, Always Never Home.

PERFORMANCE

135. So You Think You Can Dance
Watch So You Think You Can Dance's Top 10 finalists when they swing through Seattle on their national tour.

NOVEMBER 27

MUSIC

136. An Acoustic Evening with Dispatch
Known equally for being one of the biggest independent rock bands in history, as well as inspiring a million different footbag-friendly jam rockers, Dispatch has reformed and returned to the public eye for a tour celebrating their classics.

NOVEMBER 28

MUSIC

137. Jonny Lang
Few contemporary axmen can match Jonny Lang's skill at crafting sizzling solos, and even fewer share his penchant for blue-eyed soul bellows. But no one in any genre can top Lang's ability to make guitar-playing look like the most vile of tortures. During each concert, Lang musters an expression that screams, "Bloody hell, I just lost my hand to the hedge clippers," even as his digits nimbly operate the strings. It's hard to discern the source of Lang's ostentatious angst, as he's been a successful musician since age 16. Fortunately, he doesn't resort to a far-fetched lyrical backstory, as dramatized in Ghost World when an all-white group moaned about "picking cotton all day." But Lang's recent leanings toward polished boogie rock have alienated longtime followers. If he unveils too many tunes from 2003's Long Time Coming at this show, fans might even outscowl their wayward hero. ANDREW MILLER

READINGS & TALKS

138. Isabel Allende
Author of The House of the Spirits, which Alexander Coleman over at the New York Times described as "a unique achievement, both personal witness and possible allegory of the past, present, and future of Latin America." She's written 22 books, including In the Midst of Winter, which comes out in October. RICH SMITH

NOVEMBER 28-29

MUSIC

139. The National, This Is The Kit
The National's popularity is a bit surprising. Whereas a lot of prominent indie acts garner attention through buzzworthy artistic conceptualizing—see Vampire Weekend's upper-crust appropriation of Afropop, Animal Collective's bubblegum collages of found sounds, everything Flaming Lips have done in the last two decades, etc.—the National have won critical accolades and a sizable following solely on the strength of their distinguished vignettes on maturing in the big city. Granted, a good song is a good song, but the Brooklyn band's tendency toward dour melodies and slow-burn arrangements, coupled with their no-frills aesthetic, is a publicist's nightmare. Fortunately, good taste occasionally prevails, and their baritone-throated brand of rock music has struck a chord with many a metropolitan inhabitant trying to navigate their way through adulthood. BRIAN COOK

NOVEMBER 29

PERFORMANCE

140. Bill Murray, Jan Vogler & Friends: New Worlds
This concert was born of a friendship between the actor Bill Murray and the cellist Jan Vogler. This show pays tribute to the American classical music and writing, from Twain and Hemingway to Bernstein and Gershwin. The duo will be accompanied by Mira Wang on violin and Vanessa Perez on piano.

NOVEMBER 29-30

MUSIC

141. Jane Lynch: “A Swingin’ Little Christmas”
The Emmy-winning Jane Lynch will perform a two-night set of sentimental Christmas classics.

PERFORMANCE

142. Building the Wall
Playwright Robert Schenkkan, armed with the prowess that's won him a Tony and a Pulitzer, confronts dangerous possibilities in American society with his Building the Wall. This play imagines what would happen if anti-immigration speech were enforced politically through the story of a prison guard and his charges. Desdemona Chiang will direct this production.

NOVEMBER 29-DECEMBER 30

PERFORMANCE

143. Howl’s Moving Castle
This is the world premiere of a new musical based on Diana Wynne Jones' novel Howl's Moving Castle, adapted and directed by Myra Platt with music and lyrics by Justin Huertas. Local powerhouse Sara Porkalob will star, transporting audiences to a world of fantasy, disguises, demons, mysterious portals, and witches.

NOVEMBER 30

MUSIC

144. The English Beat, DJ Dr Wood
Two-Tone ska legends the English Beat (known to Brits as simply the Beat) built a particularly danceable strain of late-'70s revivalist (or "second wave") ska, separated from contemporaries like the Specials and Madness with the easy, soulful charm of new wave troubadour Dave Wakeling. After three albums, the band dissolved and members formed '80s pop hit machines General Public (Wakeling) and Fine Young Cannibals (Andy Cox/David Steele). Although the original band has reunited before, right now the English Beat are just Wakeling with an "all-star backing band" playing mostly Beat songs, as well as General Public and his solo material. Normally I'd scoff at a one-man reunion also featuring his other bands' songs, but the potential of also getting to hear GP's "Tenderness" or "Hot You're Cool" live makes for a definitively squee-worthy night. BRITTNIE FULLER

PERFORMANCE

145. A John Waters Christmas
Legendary cult director/noted Baltimore resident/moustache-haver John Waters regales Seattle with filthy Christmas jokes, monologic shenanigans, and gripes about holiday traditions.

146. Trailer Park Boys
Based on characters from the show Trailer Park Boys, Ricky, Julian, Bubbles, Randy, and Mr. Lahey take their style of novelty comedy on the road for a bombastic sketch version of their own interactions on TV.

READINGS & TALKS

147. Andy Weir in Conversation with Neal Stephenson
The author of The Martian returns with a thriller called Artemis, about a smuggler who stumbles across a conspiracy to take over the only colony on the moon.

148. Hinge: Kevin Young
Author and poet Kevin Young, whose nonfiction book The Grey Album: On the Blackness of Blackness won the Graywolf Nonfiction Prize and the PEN Open Award and was chosen as a New York Times Notable Book for 2012, was called "one of the most talented poets in the United States" by the San Francisco Chronicle.

NOVEMBER 30-DECEMBER 1

PERFORMANCE

149. Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!
Comedians, journalists, celebrities, and listeners vie to win "a custom-recorded greeting by scorekeeper emeritus Carl Kasell for their voicemail" by answering current-events questions on NPR's Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Get in on the lighthearted news fun (if there can be such a thing these days) and celebrate the 20th season of the comedy show.

NOVEMBER 30-DECEMBER 17

PERFORMANCE

150. Ham for the Holidays: The Hamchurian Candidate
Lisa Koch and Peggy Platt present their annual campy, satirical holiday show, this time with a theme inspired by Richard Condon's all-too-relevant 1959 novel. They promise favorites including "dysfunctional country duo The Spudds, the tiny Sequim Gay Men’s Chorus, and the angst-ridden Slam Poet."

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