MONDAY 7/21 

'Eddington'

(FILM) Ari Aster has a habit of sending messages before we're ready for them. Hereditary didn't wait for you to adjust to the darkness before it struck a decidedly freaky match. Then, Midsommar spawned a thousand flower crown costumes, but also drove horror films back into the daylight. Eddington is similarly uncomfortable, as some of the first narrative cinema set during the COVID-19 era. Are you ready? The film follows Joaquin Phoenix and Pedro Pascal as a sheriff and mayor in small town New Mexico, where in May 2020, a new virus propels a darkly comedic standoff. Aster looked to traditional and revisionist Westerns like My Darling Clementine and Unforgiven to inspire Eddington's style. (Various showtimes at SIFF Cinema Uptown, Regal Meridian, and AMC Pacific Place 11) LINDSAY COSTELLO

TUESDAY 7/22 

Koyaanisqatsi: Live with Philip Glass Ensemble

(FILM/MUSIC) If time is a flat circle, Godfrey Reggio’s Koyaanisqatsi is a set of interlinked rings in a magician's grab bag. The rollercoaster tone poem collages the cyclical nature of humanity with soul-stirring time-lapse photography. It was a quick (and surprising) sensation upon its 1983 release, so the cosmic flick, whose title is drawn from a Hopi word meaning “life out of balance," became the first entry in the Qatsi trilogy. Philip Glass's hypnotic score is basically crucial to the Koyaanisqatsi experience, so I'm stoked to witness the Phillip Glass Ensemble and Seattle Symphony perform it live for this concert-slash-screening. (Benaroya Hall, 8 pm, all ages) LINDSAY COSTELLO

WEDNESDAY 7/23 

Author Talk: Cassandra Khaw with Katee Robert, ‘The Library at Hellebore’

(BOOKS) Last year, based on recommendations from the Seattle Public Library and Elliott Bay Book Company, I picked up Bram Stoker Award–winning author Cassandra Khaw’s novella The Salt Grows Heavy, a gothic retelling of The Little Mermaid featuring a murderous, flesh-eating siren and an androgynous plague doctor who join forces to take down a sinister death cult. The book was both eerie and sensual, so I’m excited for their newest release, The Library at Hellebore, a dark academia fantasy tale in which a group of students enrolled at a prestigious boarding school must team up to defend themselves from the cannibalistic faculty. New York Times–bestselling erotic romance author Katee Robert will join Khaw in conversation. (Elliott Bay Book Company, 7 pm, free, all ages) JULIANNE BELL

THURSDAY 7/24 

Devo

(MUSIC) In the case of Devo, you need not be worried about the questionable stamina of aging rockstars or their stage presence fading with time. The band’s performance of “Uncontrollable Urge” at the SNL50 celebration proved that these new wave legends are continuing their long tradition of goofy stage antics and sounding fucking awesome. Celebrating 50 years of being a band and “cosmically devolving,” as their tour moniker describes it, they’ll perform two nights at the zoo. What a beautiful world. (Woodland Park Zoo, July 23-24, 6 pm, all ages) BRI BREY

FRIDAY 7/25 

Kate Berlant

(COMEDY) You might know comedian, actress, and LA cool girl Kate Berlant from her appearances in movies like Sorry to Bother You and Don’t Worry Darling, her role in Amazon Prime’s A League of Their Own reboot, her Bo Burnham–directed special Cinnamon in the Wind, her frequent collaborations with comedy partner John Early, or her existential wellness podcast Berlant & Novak (formerly Poog) with fellow comic Jacqueline Novak. (She’s booked and busy!) I was lucky enough to catch her critically acclaimed one-woman show KATE in New York and was delighted by her genius portrayal of an exaggeratedly egotistical character version of herself. Get a glimpse of her absurdist style at this stand-up performance at the Neptune. (Neptune Theatre, 6 pm, all ages) JULIANNE BELL

SATURDAY 7/26 

‘Spirit House’

Lien Truong, The Crone, 2022. See it at the 'Spirit House' exhibit at Henry Art Gallery beginning July 26. COURTESY OF HENRY ART GALLERY

(VISUAL ART) Taking its name from the small devotional structures that shelter the supernatural around Thailand, this group exhibition asks 33 contemporary Asian American artists to explore how art can bridge the gap between life and death. Through paintings, photography, and sculpture, these works invite you to “commune with your ancestors, reflect on significant memories, and journey through time and space.” I am most excited to see work from California-based artist Kelly Akashi, who creates tender sculptures of hands from glass and stone. (Henry Art Gallery, free) AUDREY VANN

SUNDAY 7/27 

Bite of Seattle

(FOOD) Seattle boasts plenty of food and drink festivals year-round, but Bite of Seattle—billed as “Seattle’s original and largest food and beverage showcase” and claiming to draw 355,000 guests each year—is the most well-known gluttonous gathering by far, having been in business since 1982. Look forward to upwards of 300 food vendors, as well as beer and wine gardens, retail vendors, cider tastings, kids’ activities, live cooking demos, and more than 65 musical performers. Artists include punk-infused instrumentalists mega cat, powerhouse vocalist Shaina Shepherd, rock-and-rollers the Moondoggies, rapper OblĂ© Reed, and “funk juggernaut” Eldridge Gravy & the Court Supreme. (Seattle Center, 10 am–9 pm Friday through Saturday & 10 am–8 pm on Sunday, free, all ages) JULIANNE BELL