The weekend is finally here! If it snuck up on you and you forgot to make plans—don’t worry. Here are 16 free things you can still do, including a celebration of Rainier beer, a harvest festival in West Seattle, and a Genius performance at the Frye by Marya Sea Kaminski. For even more events, check out our complete Things To Do calendar.
FRIDAY
Playing ’Til Your Soul Comes Out! Music of Macedonia
This album release event will feature producer Martin Koenig, delivering a presentation on his album Playing ‘Til Your Soul Comes Out! Music of Macedonia, which is described as “a sonic time capsule of the 1960s”—literally. You’ll never get another chance to hear music like this.
Best of the Northwest Art and Fine Craft Show
Head to Hangar 30 in Magnuson Park and check out jewelry, designer clothing, furnishings and home decor, plus local cuisine and a (free!) children’s art table. (Through Sunday)
SQUALL
Kremwerk’s experimental night returns, with the adventurous sounds of Portable Morla, Meridian Arc, and Holographic Beast.
Design Lecture Series: Lance Wyman with Special Guest Adrian Shaughnessy
Legendary designer Lance Wyman will give a talk on visual identity. Following the lecture will be a discussion with Adrian Shaughnessy, graphic designer, writer, co-director of publishing venture Unit Editions, and editor of the recently released Lance Wyman: The Monograph.
Mike Nipper
The Stranger‘s very own Mike “Teal Pants” Nipper takes the decks for some northern soul and ’60s mod.
SATURDAY
R Day
A celebration of college mainstay brewski Rainier Beer, featuring music by Beat Connection and the Helio Sequence, an ice skating rink, and something called the Jubilee Team Challenge. All the beer you buy is directly supporting college mainstay radio station KEXP.
Halloween Pub Crawl
Over 500 people join in on the bar hopping across Seattle. In costumes! You’ll have to buy drinks, but the crawl is free, and it’s a weekend early, so you won’t have to worry about the actual Halloween crowds.
Me and My Selfie at Photographic Center Northwest
Think selfies don’t belong in a museum? Think again.
Johanna Sinisalo with Lola Rogers
The press release describes her as “the Queen of Finnish Weird,” and you’d be hard-pressed to argue. Johanna Sinisalo drops by Elliott Bay with her translator to discuss and read from her new book, “The Blood of Angels.”
Rebecca Brown and Ellen Forney: Why Seattle?
Stranger Geniuses and authors Rebecca Brown and Ellen Forney will read and speak on a panel that asks, “Why Seattle?” They will discuss why someone would want to make this city their home and how it affects an author’s writing.
Jimmie Herrod
Singer Jimmie Herrod is great live, and tonight you can see him for free at Vito’s.
Pumpkin Weekend at Jubilee Farm
If you’re up for a drive to Carnation, you’ll be rewarded with free live music, cooking demonstrations, a hay maze, and a pumpkin patch.
‘Ales from the Crypt: Spooky Stories ‘n Suds
As part of the library’s Booktoberfest, you can sit around and listen to scary stories about beer. While drinking beer!
SUNDAY
Marya Sea Kaminski: The Mysterious Others
Marya Sea Kaminski is a writer, performer, and Stranger Genius. This solo performance “uses text, video and terrible jokes to conjure and then cast out the demons of her brother’s mental illness, while parsing through ghosts, grief and the way memory will haunt the half-lit corners of a house.”
Guatemala Solidarity Walk
Walk in solidarity with Guatemalan students at Avivara’s charity walk. No pledges required to enter.
West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival
The West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival promises activities for kids, a chili cook-off, prizes, and, obviously impressive local produce. Come in costume!
