MONDAY 6/1
Hard Covers & Bare Backs: An Erotic Novel Pop Up
(FOOD) No Call No Show’s tagline is “Boozy popups for unpretentious foodies,” and when it comes to ridiculous concepts—and completely committing to the bit—this gang of veteran chefs and bartenders are not playing. On June 1, NCNS’s theme is erotica, and the party will be at Kilig, sister restaurant to Musang. Chef-owner and serial JBA semifinalist Melissa Miranda is on deck to provide bespoke bites, while cocktail weirdos TN Trang (Itsumono) and Matt Pachmayr (Le Coin, Streamline) will be shaking up bawdy, gaudy craft drinks. Source material will include steamy romance, Get in My Swamp: An Ogre Love Story, as well as Triceratops and Bottoms, a dinosaur erotica novella. The menus are still under wraps, but the team will be costumed absurdly (as ever) and soliciting amateur erotica from guests. If you’re no novelist, that’s okay—Trang says there’ll be smutty books on tables from which folks can share their favorite quotes via mic, plus a live erotica reading. Pachmayr adds, “It’s going to be so fucking dumb, lol.” (Kilig, 5–11 pm) MEG VAN HUYGEN
TUESDAY 6/2
Nature and Health Community Dinner, Featuring a Talk from Dr. Sabine Thomas
(FOOD/COMMUNITY) At a certain point, adulthood involves realizing that a dinner conversation about nature and public health actually makes for a genuinely excellent night out. Which is precisely why this interdisciplinary gathering of students, healthcare workers, researchers, retirees, and community advocates is such a fantastic way to kick off June. Centered around health equity and access to nature, the evening features Dr. Sabine Thomas of JSOL STUDIOS discussing her work leading Anchoring Our ROOTS, a King County initiative supporting BIPOC childcare providers through “restorative and nature-embodied” wellness practices. Alongside talks, attendees can dig into a shared plant-based meal and sip drinks with like-minded nature lovers. (Fremont Brewing’s Urban Beer Garden, 6 pm, 18+) LANGSTON THOMAS
WEDNESDAY 6/3
She Don’t Fade: The Short Films of Cheryl Dunye
(FILM) If you’ve never seen Cheryl Dunye’s 1996 masterpiece The Watermelon Woman, stop what you’re doing and watch it RIGHT NOW (or at least snag tickets to the Grand Illusion screening next Monday). The film, which was written, directed, edited by, and stars Dunye, established her as a leading voice in the New Queer Cinema movement with her uncompromised vision as a Black lesbian filmmaker (the film is considered to be the first feature film by a Black lesbian). But before the success of The Watermelon Woman, Dunye directed several short films exploring dating, family, and the racism embedded in America’s history. This showcase will feature six of Dunye’s rarely screened, often humorous short films from 1990 to 1993, including She Don’t Fade. The 24-minute film offers a window into the sexual escapades of Shae Clark (played by Dunye), who claims to have a “new approach to women.” Watch and learn, people! (Northwest Film Forum, 7 pm) AUDREY VANN
THURSDAY 6/4
Lars Bergquist: Recognize Me In Everything
(VISUAL ART) Lars Bergquist grew up here, and his relationship to the city is informed by how he’s moved through both its seen and unseen underbelly as a street artist. For years, he worked with wheat paste, pasting up large-scale, hand-painted watercolors across both high-visibility structures and out-of-sight corners. Recognize Me in Everything is an evolution in Bergquist’s work—and his first solo exhibition in a decade—that features oil paintings and installation elements in his exquisite, hyperrealistic trompe l’oeil style. Like a flock of 40 hand-painted, life-size pigeons (each individually mounted and suspended in space), old payphone boxes overtaken with flowers and graffiti, construction signs printed with poetry, and decommissioned newspaper boxes, busted, paneless, and somehow sublime. Bergquist makes us look closer at the things we often filter out. Note: Shows at Europa are usually one-night-only, so don’t miss it on art walk. (Europa, 6 pm) AMANDA MANITACH
FRIDAY 6/5
Andy DeLapp: Hang In There, Baby!
(VISUAL ART) Andy DeLapp is one of the most exciting painters today. Named a Neddy Artist Award finalist fresh out of art school last year, DeLapp is a trans artist who takes representational oil painting to a place of unforced freshness by queering the classical and infusing scenes plucked from antiquity with contemporary pops. Trompe-l’oeil stickers of cartoon characters and imagery from video games look like they’re taped to the surface of the canvas, except they’re oil paint, too. Hang in There, Baby! is DeLapp’s first solo show, and it riffs on the 1970s inspirational poster and ur-meme featuring a kitten who’s hangin’ in there. Each of the pieces in the show feature something hanging in some sort of trompe-l’oeil way, and over half the work features cats! Geheim Gallery is in Bellingham, but it’s worth the trip. Also, buy up his work now while you can! (Geheim Gallery,
Bellingham, 5–9 pm) AMANDA MANITACH
SATURDAY 6/6
(FESTIVAL) You may not know this, but in 1986 Maple Leaf won neighborhood of the year. Celebrate the 40th anniversary of that great honor by attending Maple Fest, the annual neighborhood-run block party. If it’s successful enough, maybe Maple Leaf will win the award again (are they still awarding that thing?). On the streets around 88th Street and Eighth Avenue there will be kegs and tamales, plus performances—local fire jugglers, stand-up comedians, magicians, and musicians will take the stage. It’s bound to be a hoot and a holler. Tell your friends, then bring your friends. It’s the event designed to melt the Seattle Freeze. Go for free, or toss a suggested $15 donation so the supply of cold beer keeps flowing. (Maple Leaf, 3–10 pm, all ages) NATHALIE GRAHAM
SUNDAY 6/7
Bob Dylan, Lucinda Williams and Her Band, the John Doe Folk Trio
(MUSIC) Dylan/Bobby/Blind Boy Grunt/Zimbo/Zimmy is returning on his ever-expanding Rough and Rowdy Ways tour, which is now going on its fifth year. However, the real heads know that he has been nonstop touring since 1988 (except for canceled dates in 2020), which can only mean one thing: He genuinely loves performing. I’ve seen Dylan play three times in the last four years, and each time I was dazzled by his spontaneity and unpredictable setlists—no two shows are the same. While this freewheeling authenticity blows my mind each time, the man is as divisive as ever (I’ve overheard fans complain that he sounds “terrible” and “old”). So, if you want to attend this show and actually have a good time, I have some tips for you. (1) He does not play to please, so don’t expect any hits, at least not in their classic form. (2) He feeds off the energy of the crowd, so be nice! (3) He is 85 years old, and he sounds it—how lucky we are to age! Arrive in time to see the opening set from punk legend John Doe (of X) and national treasure Lucinda Williams, who will be supporting her 16th album, World’s Gone Wrong. (Chateau Ste. Michelle Amphitheatre, 6:30 pm, all ages) AUDREY VANN
