It's the last full week of August, so it's time to squeeze in as many events as you can before summer comes to an end. To help you do that, our arts and culture critics have picked the best events happening this week in their areas of expertise—from several food and drink festivals (Sodo Block Party, Belltown Crush, the End of Summer Bash at Charles Smith Wines, and the Banh Mi Fest) to Velocity's Summer Bridge Project, and from the closing week of Out of Sight to the 70mm Film Festival. See them all below, and find even more events on our complete Things To Do calendar, including our music critics' picks for this week.

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


Jump to: Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday

MONDAY

PERFORMANCE

War on the Catwalk
In the recap of the Season 9 finale of RuPaul's Drag Race, Chase Burns wrote about Sasha Velour, the winner: "Truly, each of her lip syncs was among the best in all nine seasons of the show. I want to watch them over and over and over again. They are master classes in acting, drag, storytelling, gender... Ugh. But the show couldn't demonstrate Sasha's skills because the show is small and Sasha is big. Or rather, the world is small and Sasha is big. The world wants Sasha to wear a wig, and she comes bald. The world wants beauty, and she gives a unibrow. Sasha continuously showed us that in drag the highest beauty is not the illusion, but what inspires the illusion. It's not about the wig, but the imagination underneath." See Sasha alongside other contestants from Season 9—including Trinity, Shea, Aja, Farrah, and Alexis—as they perform live, in a big way, and strut down the catwalk.

MONDAY-SUNDAY

FOOD & DRINK

Seattle Highball Week
Okay, I know that Highball Week is our own event, and that recommending it might seem like blatant shilling. However, I can assure you that my pick has absolutely nothing to do with that and absolutely everything to do with how wonderful it is that The Stranger has conspired to bring you cheap booze. The drinks, at such auspicious locations as Palace Kitchen and New Luck Toy, are only five dollars! That’s ludicrous, because they all sound like very good drinks. As an adherent of George Dickel’s lovely rye whiskey, you can bet your ass I’ll be heading down to Palace for a Dickel Tickle. A mezcaloma—like a paloma, but smoky!—at Mezcaleria Oaxaca? Hell yes. Let me reiterate, The Stranger loves you and wants you to be happy, so we got some sponsor dollars (thanks, Toki!) and set it up for you to get $5 cocktails all week. You’re psyched. When you have too many of them, please remember to drunkenly yell our praises to anyone who will listen. Also, to tip really well and take a cab home! TOBIAS COUGHLIN-BOGUE

TUESDAY-FRIDAY

ART

Guy Anderson: Paintings
This show features paintings by very prominent local artist Guy Anderson, known for his work in abstract expressionism and his role as one of the Northwest School artists, otherwise known as "Northwest mystics."
This show closes on Friday.

National Heritage Award Artists: Mary Lee Bendolph, Loretta Pettway, and Lucy Mingo
See work by the awardees of the prestigious NEA National Heritage Award Fellowship (which recognizes "the recipients' artistic excellence and supports their continuing contributions to our nation's traditional arts heritage"): quilt makers Mary Lee Bendolph, Loretta Pettway, and Lucy Mingo.
This show closes on Friday.

WEDNESDAY

PERFORMANCE

Bard In A Bar: Julius Caesar
Shakespeare enthusiasts, rejoice: Bard in a Bar combines beer, karaoke, and Shakespeare for what is sure to be a night unlike any other. There is "plenty of audience participation," and no experience is necessary. Scripts and props are provided—all you need to do is bring Shakespeare's words to life.

Latrice Royale: Here's to Life
Drag superpower Latrice Royale is back with a new show called Here's To Life, with piano accompaniment by Christopher Hamblin. If you aren't aware, Royale (aka Timothy Wilcots) spent time in prison after a hard childhood and became a minister in 2013, so she's rather unique even for a queen with a RuPaul season under her belt.

WEDNESDAY-SATURDAY

ART

Aaliyah Gupta: Target
Aaliyah Gupta's new series of paintings, Target, depicts last year's New York Times documentation of historic and archeological sites that were destroyed in several Syrian cities. The series explores the significance of these sites as markers of history and identity, and considers the lasting effects of their erasure.
This exhibit closes Saturday.

PERFORMANCE

Much Better
What if you could take one drug to optimize your life and make you a better robot worker person? That's the emotional and cultural terrain Elisabeth Frankel explores in this premiere of Much Better, which was a semifinalist at this year's Eugene O’Neill Playwrights Conference. A brand-new New York–based theater company called Really Really is producing the show—its first—right here in Seattle. RICH SMITH

THURSDAY

FOOD & DRINK

Summerfeast by MarketShare
Summerfeast is a dinner to raise money for MarketShare, a nonprofit that empowers "diverse communities to create public markets that fuel food entrepreneurship." In Seattle, this means they want to convert a portion of King Street Station into a bunch of food stalls, all of which would be operated by low-income immigrants or refugees. In addition to giving Pioneer Square a new place for lunch, the bazaar would be "a low-barrier food business start-up model for immigrant and refugee cooks revitalizing culinary careers left behind in native countries." That low-barrier part is super crucial! Income inequality persists in part because of the incredibly high bar that's set for people to participate in the capitalist system as owners, even small-time ones. MarketShare also offers all sorts of other crucial business coaching services, which is great because launching a small business is daunting enough without also being a recent immigrant who is trying to figure out the absolute madhouse that is America. There will be a cocktail hour with appetizers by local immigrant-run restaurants, and Tamara Murphy of Terra Plata, whose food you already love, is furnishing tonight's dinner, so it's pretty much the biggest win-win ever. You spend $75, you eat food from one of Seattle's culinary titans, and you raise money to help the next one get their start. It's a no-brainer. TOBIAS COUGHLIN-BOGUE

READINGS & TALKS

Benjamin Percy: The Dark Net
Before we go any further, it's important to know how deep Benjamin Percy's voice is. It's comically deep. It takes you a few minutes to overcome its startling deepness. But once you get past his sound and into his sense, you'll realize he's a strong advocate for and excellent executioner of the literary/genre novel hybrid. "Why can't the helicopter explode with pretty sentences?" he once asked a room full of Canadians during an event for the National Writers Series. Percy tests that question yet again in his new book, The Dark Net, which is about a Resistance forming in the shadier parts of the web. It's set in present day Portland, so there's a little pleasing local connection there, too. RICH SMITH

Dock Street Salon: Juan Carlos Reyes, Zachary Schomburg
Join Northwest fiction authors Juan Carlos Reyes and Zachary Schomburg at Phinney Books for Dock Street Salon's reading series. Reyes, who won the Quarterly West novella prize for his first book, A Summer's Lynching, will publish his first novel, Mammother, in September. Schomburg is a poet, translator, and publisher of Portland-based Octopus Books.

RESISTANCE & SOLIDARITY

Resist/Recharge: Langston and 21 Progress
For the next installment of the Stranger's Resist/Recharge series, young black social and artistic leaders from the activist nonprofits 21 Progress and Langston will discuss their work. Guest speakers include Mozart Guerrier, Inye Wokoma, Marissa Vichayapai, Vivian Phillips, Devan Rogers, and Sheley Secrest, and Stranger news editor Steven Hsieh will moderate.

THURSDAY-SATURDAY

COMEDY

Bruce Bruce
Comedian Bruce Bruce (as seen in Think Like a Man, Maron and Top Five) will perform his stand-up routine at the Parlor. A 2015 Los Angeles Times article describes Bruce as priding himself "on not using vulgarity for his laughs."

FOOD & DRINK

14/48 + Nordo: Food Theater Thunderdome
On the Sunday before each week's performances, four playwrights and chefs are paired together to create plays on a theme featuring a randomly selected director and cast. The resulting shows, starting just five days later in true 14/48 "World's Quickest Theater Festival" style, will also feature four-course menus based on "randomly selected secret ingredients" for an unusual and immersive dinner theater experience.

THURSDAY & SATURDAY

ART

Summer at SAM
These Thursday and Saturday events offer a plethora of family-friendly arts programming throughout the park, including yoga, zumba, tours, shows, workshops, food, and more. This Thursday is Bike Night, and Saturday will have yoga, zumba, and a tour.

THURSDAY-SUNDAY

FILM

70mm Film Festival
Put down your phone and surrender to the splendor of actually-epic-scale cinema in the cathedral that is the Cinerama. Not much unites the films in this 10-day festival other than a commitment to MAGNITUDE, but several are essential viewing. I know you’ve heard it before, but I’ll say it again: Seeing a film in a darkened theater with strangers is a secular sacrament. The fact that you can't pause, talk, text, or tweet until it's over is a feature. Please enjoy it while it's still available. (And if you must pick one, the answer is always Lawrence of Arabia—a film that couldn’t be more timely.) SEAN NELSON

FRIDAY

FILM

Puget Soundtrack: Holy Mountain
Alejandro Jodorowsky may be best known for the films he did not make. The Chilean film director and comic-book luminary unsuccessfully attempted to make a huge adaptation of Dune in the late 1970s. That project never came to fruition, but it did create the entire 1980s sci-fi film renaissance, according to a ridiculously entertaining 2013 documentary about the maverick director’s attempt to interpret Frank Herbert’s novel. Before then, Jodorowsky was more famous for existentialist, sexual, and absurdly entertaining fantasy films like 1973’s The Holy Mountain, which was funded by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. It makes perfect sense that local ambient psychedelic rockers Zen Mother will provide a live soundtrack to this genre-defying, mythopoetic epic. JOSEPH SCHAFER

Three Dollar Bill Cinema: Parental Advisory
Three Dollar Bill will screen films about those folks your parents warn you about: Rebels, tricksters, and weirdos. Bring your own chairs and blankets and buy yourself (or a cute friend) a popcorn. The selection for the final week in the series is Juno.

FOOD & DRINK

Finnish Your Dinner
This year marks the 100th anniversary of Finland's independence, and to celebrate, the Swedish Cultural Center is throwing the party to end all parties. It's called "Finnish Your Dinner", and judging from the sound of it, that won't be hard to do. Dinner will be served on the front plaza, complete with white tablecloths and a traditional Finnish meal prepared by the center's Swedish chefs.

Obec Brewing Grand Opening
Come celebrate Obec Brewing's grand opening in Ballard, try its very first run of beers, and check out the taproom.

Old Ballard Crayfish Party
Join the Old Ballard Liquor Co. and its spin-off pop-up Tumble Swede for a Scandinavian-themed crayfish party, complete with outdoor, communal seating, live music, and all the messy fun of dissecting crustaceans for dinner. The festivities will take place at the newly remodeled Seattle Maritime Academy, which means you get to take in stellar views of Salmon Bay and the Ballard Bridge.

READINGS & TALKS

Anastacia Reneé Tolbert
Tonight, Anastacia-Reneé Tolbert will celebrate the recent release of three new books: (v.), Forget It, and Answer(Me). Rich Smith writes, "If you haven't seen Reneé at a reading around town in the last year or so, you haven't been going to readings around town. She's everywhere, either performing her dramatic, multi-persona poems from one of those three books, or starring in her ever-developing solo show, 9 Ounces. She's swept up tons of local and national awards and residencies recently, and for good reason: her poems are smart and powerful, her delivery is varied and compelling, and she's got great style."

FRIDAY-SUNDAY

ART

Out of Sight
Established in 2015 as an unofficial addendum to the Seattle Art Fair, Out of Sight is an annual survey of Northwest art that thrives, as the name implies, in the margins outside the commercial gallery system inscribed by the official fair. As a result, it's a place for artists to take risks and show edgier, more exploratory work. But it's also a great chance to catch emerging artists destined to be scooped up by galleries—(before Seth David Friedman was represented by Season Gallery, his intimate, biomorphic sculptures were featured at Out of Sight). Curated by Greg Lundgren, Ben Heywood, S. Surface, and Justen Siyuan Waterhouse, this year's Out of Sight promises to be a destination in its own right, full of promising young artists, seasoned veterans, and just about everyone in between. EMILY POTHAST

PERFORMANCE

The Summer Bridge Project 2017
In Velocity's Summer Bridge Project, three up-and-coming choreographers each create a new piece over the course of three weeks. This year, see work created in a frenzy by Cameo Lethem, Anna Krupp, and Ethan Rome.

SATURDAY

ART

Leon Finley: Swallow Me
Through a series of drawings and sculptures, Seattle-born artist Leon Finley's solo exhibition, Swallow Me, explores the theme of bodies--both human and inanimate--and the relationships between them.
This exhibit closes today.

FESTIVALS

The Ninth Smoke Farm Symposium
Attend the dinner party of your dreams at the Ninth Smoke Farm Symposium, featuring guest talks from historian, translator, and art critic Jaleh Mansoor and cartoonist Ellen Forney. The night will end with a big dinner, courtesy of Chef Monica Dimas. (But camping is welcome, so the night may actually end with a bunch of tipsy geniuses sleeping in tents.)

FOOD & DRINK

End of Summer Bash!
Charles Smith's June fête, the first-annual Jet City Rosé Experience, sold out quickly. Now, Smith is one-upping his own party-throwing abilities with the arrival of his first-ever Riesling Revolution, a celebration of the winery's new Jet City Riesling release. Eighteen premier wineries from the PNW, plus some from Germany, will showcase the best Rieslings they have to offer, and Georgetown Brewing Company will be onsite with beers as well. After you've stimulated your tastebuds, get ready to have your eardrums massaged by Arizona-based Americana band Calexico and a special acoustic set from hometown heroes The Head and the Heart. A bevy of local food trucks (The People's Burger, Sam Choy's Poke to the Max, Nacho Mama's, and more) will keep your hunger in check.

Fourth Annual Belltown Crush Block Party
Join the Plymouth Housing Group for its annual Belltown Crush Block Party, now in its fourth year. The summer wine and beer festival will feature local wines and brews, and bites from Pintxo, Road Dawg, Mama's Cantina and Belltown Brewing. You can also get all your summer frustrations out during the grape stomping competition, which sounds extremely fun and messy in the best way possible.

Sodo Block Party
Join SODO Urbanworks for its second annual SODO Block Party. This one will feature nine Washington wineries, one brewery, numerous food trucks, and restaurants like Nine Hats Pizzeria and Schooner Exact. Plus, live music at each venue.

READINGS & TALKS

Seattle Urban Book Expo 2
The Seattle Urban Book Expo is an opportunity for local urban authors to gather and to present their work to the community. Stop by to eat food, listen to some tunes, and chat with the writers about their work.

SUNDAY

FOOD & DRINK

Celebrate Little Saigon 2017: Banh Mi Fest!
This year marks the 7th annual Banh Mi Fest, sponsored by Friends of Little Saigon. It's a community festival celebrating Vietnamese American food, culture and entertainment. You can expect a bevy of vendors offering up their versions of the sandwich, as well as activities and games, a "Banh Mi Throw Down," a Pho and Banh Su Eating Contest, and a 21+ outdoor beer garden.

Chef Dinner Series Vol. XXXII: Seafood Boil
Join E. Smith Mercantile for its third annual in-house chef dinner, this time in the form of a good ol' crab boil, brown paper tablecloth and all. The event promises "organic treasures" and ultra-fresh crab.

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