Wednesday 2/1

Aubrey Gordon in Conversation with Lindy West

Aubrey Gordon will be in conversation with Lindy West at Town Hall Wednesday, February 1. AUTHOR PHOTO BY BETH OLSON CREATIVE

(BOOKS) Last week The Stranger posted an interview Matt Baume did with author Aubrey Gordon about her new book "You Just Need to Lose Weight" and 19 Other Myths About Fat People. Not surprisingly, the comments section is filled with vitriol—people comparing fat acceptance to normalizing Fentanyl, trolls claiming its impossible for fat people to live past the age of 70. It's nothing new—I'm fat and I've heard this shit my whole life. But what the trolls don't realize—or they do and are too lazy to care—is that Gordon has built a career of debunking all the "proof" they offer to support their claims. If only they read one of her books or listened to her brilliant, hilarious podcast, Maintenance Phase, which she cohosts with Michael Hobbes, would they realize they've been tricked into believing dangerous, hateful lies for generations in part so the weight loss industry can continue raking in billions of dollars every year. Read a book, idiots! Specifically, read Gordon's book! I may be fat, but at least I'm not a brainwashed corporate shill. (Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave, 7:30 pm, $5-$20) MEGAN SELING


Thursday 2/2

Monyee Chau and Tu’er Shen: A Lunar New Year Installation

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by wug : walk up gallery (@walkupgallery)

(VISUAL ART) Located in the windows of Grocery Studios on Beacon Hill, Walk Up Gallery is accessible 24/7, making it a perfect stopping spot on long walks at any time of day. In celebration of the Lunar New Year, Seattle-based artist Monyee Chau transformed WUG's windows in an exhibition dedicated to the story of Tu'er Shen, a Chinese rabbit deity who is the patron and protector of same-sex couples. In one window is a poster of Tu'er Shen depicted as a trans man—with rabbit ears!!!—seated on a peach, surrounded by wisps of smoke and jade rings, and holding white lilies. Behind him is the Chinese word for "double happiness." In the other window, Chau installed a floating mobile of ceramic sculptures and fabric with text explaining the importance of Tu'er Shen. Go check it out! (The Grocery Studios, 3001 21st Ave S, viewable 24 hours a day, free) JAS KEIMIG


Friday 2/3

Safeword

 
 
 
 
 
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(COMEDY) If there’s one thing that stresses out stand-up comics, it’s interruptions and distractions during their set. But in the case of Safeword, it’s all being done with consent: Comedians get up on stage and do their jokes while practitioners of the erotic arts demonstrate various kinks on said comedians. Sounds chaotic! Perfect. Which comedians will be tied up and tickled in Kremwerk’s dark basement? And exactly which kinks will be demonstrated upon them? That is a closely-guarded secret that will only be answered on the night of the show. There will also be a raffle, sponsored by adult boutique Fantasy Unlimited. And “unlimited” is the spirit of the evening! Organizers have teased the possibility of various endeavors, from mummification to puppy play to fin pig scenarios, which, how exactly would that work? Are the comedians turned upside-down and shaken until money falls out of their pockets? Anyway, anything goes at this no-hold-barred event. Well, actually, a few things don’t go: There will be no full nudity, shaming is not allowed, and consent is mandatory for all activities. But within those parameters, performers are ready to go wild for your comedic/erotic pleasure. Will someone lug out a vac cube? Only time will tell! (Kremwerk, 1809 Minor Ave #10, every first Friday, 8 pm, $15-$20) MATT BAUME


Saturday 2/4

Lunar New Year Celebration

The Lunar New Year celebration at Hing Hay Park starts at 10 am Saturday, February 4. Jacobflicks | CIDBIA

(COMMUNITY) There are a lot of fun festivities planned for Saturday's Lunar New Year celebration in Hing Hay Park and the surrounding streets—lion and dragon dances, live music, and martial arts demonstrations. But what I'm most looking forward to is the food walk. More than 30 vendors are participating, all offering tasty snacks for $6 a pop. Spam musubi from Aloha Plates! Nutella and strawberry taiyaki from BeanFish!  Deep-friend mozzarella and potato chip sticks from Chungchun Rice Dog! Pandan waffles from Phin Coffee! Plus: If you try food from five different booths, you can enter to win a gift basket filled with even more goodies from neighborhood vendors. See even more Lunar New Year celebrations—including a lantern festival at Seattle Chinese Garden and a night market at Magnuson Park Hangar 30—in our comprehensive calendar EverOut. I'm comin' for your cream puffs, Beard Papa. (Hing Hay Park, S King St and Maynard Ave S, 10 am, free) MEGAN SELING


Sunday 2/5

Cupcake Royale's Deathcake

 MEGAN SELING

(FOOD) For 14 years Cupcake Royale has given even the most hard-hearted Valentine's Day haters a reason to look forward to February with the Deathcake, their "lovingly lethal dessert" that's only available about two weeks out of the year. At the bottom of the seven-ounce jar sits Cupcake Royale's rich chocolate cake and above that is a layer of flourless sea salt chocolate cake. It's fudgy and dense, like the center of a slightly undercooked brownie. If the Deathcake were that and only that it would still be worth the 50-week wait. But it doesn't end there—Cupcake Royale goes in for the kill with a thick layer of deep, dark Theo Chocolate ganache laced with Stumptown espresso. It's ready to eat right out of the jar, but the Deathcake's true ooey-gooey potential is reached with a quick 30-second ride in the microwave. The ganache loosens, the flourless cake transforms into a warm, decadent pool that flows slowly like magma, making it all the easier to dig your spoon down the side of the jar and pick up a little bit of each layer for the ideal bite. (Available at all Cupcake Royale locations through February 14, also available for nationwide shipping online) MEGAN SELING


Monday 2/6

The Welcome with Evan Flory-Barnes

(MUSIC) Seattle's greatest bassist, Evan Flory-Barnes, hosts an open mic at Lottie's Lounge that has the right mood and atmosphere. It's called the Welcome. It begins at 8 pm every Monday, and each session is punctuated by performances by Flory-Barnes, a jazz musician who sings like wind rising and falling in a forest. A recent Welcome included a number of talented musicians and readers who drifted in from around the city. One sang "Climbing Up the Walls" by Radiohead. It was deep and full of the kind of soul that makes an open mic special. (Lottie's Lounge, 4900 Rainier Ave S, 8 pm) CHARLES MUDEDE


Tuesday 2/7

Anthony White: Paintings

Everything Must Go, 2022, PLA on panel, by Anthony White COURTESY OF GREG KUCERA GALLERY

(VISUAL ART) The Seattle-based Anthony White put up a stellar exhibition at Greg Kucera Gallery called Extended Warranty. Collectively, the work deals with the vacuousness of modern living, consumerism, and our dependence on technology to entertain and enliven us. His paintings are stuffed to the brim with pop culture references, internet nuggets for the terminally online, birds, flowers, luxury labels. He uses colorful polylactic acid—the same material used in 3D printing—in a glue gun to create his works. "The material I use cements most of the concepts I work with and also critiques the synthetic, artificial, and superficial world we live in," he told The Stranger earlier this year. And that critique is apparent in pieces like "Gone Phishing," a chaotic portrait of the modern understanding of ph/fishing in its depiction of a giant iMac surrounded by the cultural debris of the 20th and 21st centuries: Energizer batteries, Balenciaga bags, frosted animal cookies, dildos, Disney logo, and the like. I love seeing the world through White's eyes—and this week is one of your last chances to do so, as Extended Warranty closes next week. (Greg Kucera Gallery, 212 Third Ave S, open Tues-Sat, 10:30 am-5:30 pm, free) JAS KEIMIG