In Seattle, October means not only cooler weather and changing leaves, but also a robust arts season (don't miss Peacock in the Desert), plenty of big concerts (like Car Seat Headrest), Halloween parties (including FreakNight), Oktoberfests (check out Leavenworth's major one), and fall harvest and foliage festivals (the Olympic Peninsula Apple & Cider Festival, anyone?). Below, we've rounded up the 150 biggest events that you should know about this month, including TWIST Seattle Queer Film Festival, Seattle Restaurant Week, Lit Crawl, the Earshot Jazz Festival, Seattle Opera's Turn of the Screw, and Borealis: A Festival of Light. Click through the links below for complete details, and, as always, find even more options on our complete Things To Do calendar, including our guides to pumpkin patches around Seattle and where to watch the Seahawks on TV.

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OCTOBER 3

FILM

1. 'A Star Is Born' Opening
God, how many times have we made this movie? A Star Is Born is something of a Hollywood Shakespeare play, in that Hollywood keeps doing this damn script over and over again, giving each generation’s shiniest and most famous actors a chance to play the roles, and it’s usually pretty boring. In 1937, it was Janet Gaynor and Fredric March. In 1954, it was Judy Garland and James Mason. In 1976, it was Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson (screenplay by John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion). Now it’s Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, and it’s apparently
 really fucking good!? Okay, Gaga! Get that Oscar! CHASE BURNS

MUSIC

2. Leslie Odom, Jr. with the Seattle Symphony
Grammy winner Leslie Odom Jr. is an acclaimed singer and dancer who has found mainstream recognition through his star turn as Aaron Burr in the hit Broadway musical Hamilton.

READINGS & TALKS

3. Arne Duncan: How Schools Work
President Obama's Secretary of Education confronts the crisis in public education in his book How Schools Work. In this Town Hall talk, he'll explain where we fall behind and why, and what we can do to give students the education they deserve.

OCTOBER 3–31

READINGS & TALKS

4. Booktoberfest
Celebrate books and alcohol at Booktoberfest, where readers are invited to enjoy bookish happy hours, librarian-hosted trivia nights, spooky stories, karaoke, literary fortune telling, and a whole lot more with the Seattle Public Library.

OCTOBER 4

ART

5. 100 under $100
Find affordable gifts from over 100 artists offering paintings, glass, fabric art, ceramics, jewelry, and more priced under one Benjamin—aside from an additional gallery of work under $300 called "The Sweet Suite." You can also roam the resident artists' studios and pause to take in live music by Victor Janucz and hear a talk by tailor David P. Plus, buy work by jeweler Addison Rain, "psychedelic" painter Obed Rosas, and abstract expressionist Scott Burnett.

FOOD & DRINK

6. Brew at the Zoo
Sample imports, domestics, microbrews, and ciders from 56 different breweries in the Rain Forest Pavilion and Zoomazium to support the Woodland Park Zoo's conservation efforts.

MUSIC

7. Beyoncé and Jay-Z
The Carters are an indisputable power couple, virtual hiphop royalty. BeyoncĂ© has been flying up near the sun with her 2016 tour-de-force/Grammy-worthy/critically celebrated Lemonade, though her influence, talent, and sheer diva power were never in question before then. Jay-Z could probably retire, but he keeps kicking out albums—and even if I thought 4:44 was a yawn, it topped the charts and earned him a Grammy nom, so what do I know? The duo also released a collab this year as the Carters, Everything Is Love, which sounds pretty good, from what I’ve heard. Opening track “Summer” is sexy and funky and cinematic in a retro-soul kind of way. LEILANI POLK

8. The Vaccines, Jesse Jo Stark
British indie rockers the Vaccines will come to Seattle in support of their new album Combat Sports, which they describe as being composed of "guitars, brevity, speed, and breathless excitement." They'll be joined by Los Angeles singer-songwriter (and Bella Hadid's BFF, apparently) Jessie Jo Stark.

READINGS & TALKS

9. Alice Walker
Even if you think you don’t know Alice Walker, you know Alice Walker: She’s the brilliant, Pulitzer Prize–winning wordsmith behind The Color Purple, not to mention dozens of other award-worthy works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. She’s also an activist who is well-regarded for her work in the civil rights and feminist movements. On this night, she will give a talk and read from a new book of poems, Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart, which “bears witness to our troubled times, while also chronicling Walker’s well-lived life.” LEILANI POLK

THROUGH OCTOBER 4

FILM

10. French Cinema Now
For one week, Seattle turns into a center for French and Francophone cinema culture, offering some of the best movies you'll see all year. The opening film, Return of the Hero, stars Jean Dujardin in a Napoleon-era comedy of errors. For those desiring grittier fare, Modi Barry and CĂ©dric Ido's ChĂąteau follows an ambitious street hustler in east Paris, while Mahamat-Saleh Haroun's A Season in France addresses the hard choices facing asylum-seekers. If you just crave some of that continental wit, try Place Publique or Just To Be Sure, but don't be afraid to get weird with When Margaux Meets Margaux or All You Can Eat Buddha. JOULE ZELMAN

OCTOBER 4–6

PERFORMANCE

11. Nrityagram Dance Ensemble
This all-female classical Indian dance company, joined by members of the Chitrasena Dance Company of Sri Lanka, will be something to see: The New York Times has all but said that the dancers are literally divine.

OCTOBER 4–8

FILM

12. Orcas Island Film Festival
Head to Orcas Island for this film festival—with 30 feature-length and short films—featuring progressive plots and directors.

OCTOBER 4–DECEMBER 6

FILM

13. Night Heat: The 41st Film Noir Series
They proliferated in anxious postwar America and still occasionally return to brood and smolder onscreen: films noirs, born of the chiaroscuro influence of immigrant German directors and the pressure of unique American fears. Once again, SAM will screen nine hard-boiled, moody crime classics like White Heat, Force of Evil, Sudden Fear, and one of the most fascinating films of the 1950s, Night of the Hunter.

OCTOBER 5

FILM

14. 'The Sisters Brothers' Opening
Patrick DeWitt's anti-Western novel will come to the screen, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Joaquin Phoenix as the titular assassins and directed by an internationally recognized talent, Jacques Audiard.

MUSIC

15. 5 Seconds of Summer, The Aces
Outrageously popular Aussie boybanders 5 Seconds of Summer will ignite their legions of screaming TigerBeat fans in Seattle once again on their Meet You There Tour.

16. Descendents, A Wilhelm Scream, Audio Karate
Back in the early 1980s, Descendents were one of the first bands that turned many kids on to hardcore. It was kinda easy, as they were one of the only bands that were somewhat melodic, hooky, and sang about the issues most weirdo suburban teenagers had to deal with: alienation, authority, dead-end wage-slave futures, and asshole jocks—and identifying with ’em was all too easy. Oh, and Descendents made fart jokes. So they were PERFECT. Their current live set list contains all, no ALL, the hits, shits, and a couple new jams. Yeah, “new jams,” as they’re touring in support of their last LP, Hypercaffium Spazzinate. The album is good, it sounds like the Descendents, so no surprises! MIKE NIPPER

17. Robyn Hitchcock & the Nashville Fabs
Englishman Robyn Hitchcock has made a respectable living squeezing whimsy from his John Lennon and Syd Barrett influences, tweaking the surrealism closer toward his own home blend, and swirling in some nihilism, understandable since, at 65, he’s seen much more of the real world than either Barrett or Lennon ever did. But he’s never less than warmly charming; if the “Devil’s Radio” plays, it kicks out a sing-along chorus to playfully counter the radio devils, a great grating chorus of worst wheels ratcheting toward the worst noise. He’s calling his band the Nashville Fabs, so expect nods to the Beatles and Buck Owens. ANDREW HAMLIN

SPORTS & RECREATION

18. Golden State Warriors vs Sacramento Kings
Two California b-ball teams—the Bay Area's NBA champion team Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings—will come up to Seattle for a pre-season game, the last event in KeyArena before it closes for renovations.

OCTOBER 5–6

MUSIC

19. The Church
For two nights, Australian psych-rock group the Church will play Starfish in its entirety to celebrate the album’s 30th anniversary. It makes sense to do this in the elegant setting of the Triple Door, as Starfish epitomizes a strain of rich yet understated ’80s rock that gently transports you to a dreamy destination without freakish highs or harrowing lows. (This music pairs well with the subtle Asian-fusion cuisine Wild Ginger serves to club patrons.) Nearly everyone knows and loves the hit single “Under the Milky Way,” with its spangly acoustic- and liquid electric-guitar latticework and phantasmal “bagpipe” solo. But the album is a remarkably consistent amalgam of somberly sweet melodies and translucent guitar textures, shot through with the maroon-velvet lassitude of post-Syd Pink Floyd, which somehow translates into glimmering gravitas. DAVE SEGAL

READINGS & TALKS

20. Puyallup Festival of Books
Calling all bookworms: This fifth annual Puyallup festival promises two full days of book and author events, including a screening of an episode of Longmire, followed by a talk with Craig Johnson, who wrote the novels. Plus, don't miss Jeremy McCarter, co-author of Hamilton: The Revolution, who will speak about his process working with Lin-Manuel Miranda.

OCTOBER 5–7

FESTIVALS

21. Oktoberfest Northwest
This family-friendly Oktoberfest celebration has the requisite German bier and brats in addition to activities like wiener dog races, a stein dash 5k, polka music, and hammerschlagen (a bar game where players compete to drive a nail into a cross section of wood faster than their opponents).

FOOD & DRINK

22. Cowabunga
Lauding itself as "America's largest festival of beef," Seattle Met's Cowabunga festival presents an all-you-can-eat weekend full of cook-offs and cow meat tastings (with some attention paid to seafood, cake, and booze, too).

OCTOBER 5–13

FESTIVALS

23. Seattle Made Week
Not only do local producers and manufacturers make cool stuff, but they also create jobs and allow our region to rely less on the global economy. Seattle Made’s annual celebration of local makers features a week of pop-ups, meet-the-maker events, a party, a panel discussion, and vendor showcases.

FILM

24. Seattle Latino Film Festival
This year's Seattle festival of Hispanic and Latinx cinema will highlight Spanish filmmakers and feature eight days of independent movies, filmmaker panels, workshops, and more, beginning with a splashy opening gala.

OCTOBER 5–14

FILM

25. Social Justice Film Festival: #HopeDemocracy
As social justice provides the only throughline, many of the movies have little in common. But the selection skews toward limber, on-the-ground filmmaking in the midst of protests and conflicts. The organizers write, "This year's screenings will fill in the national and local picture on immigration, Native American rights, Black Lives Matter, prisoner justice, and more. The festival will host several screenings with community groups and activists."

OCTOBER 5–20

FESTIVALS

26. Leavenworth Oktoberfest
Leavenworth is as close as you'll get to an actual Bavarian village without getting on a plane to Germany. For their three-weekend Oktoberfest celebration, they'll have beer, live music, and bratwurst. Leavenworth's mayor, Cheri Kelley Farivar, will perform the ceremonial tapping of the keg on Saturdays.

OCTOBER 5–NOVEMBER 3

HALLOWEEN

27. Georgetown Morgue
This annual haunted village of doom—which takes places in an actual former morgue—hosts scares all throughout autumn.

OCTOBER 5–NOVEMBER 10

PERFORMANCE

28. A Thousand Splendid Suns
Based on Khaled Hosseini's best-selling novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns shows what happens when two women, Laila and Mariam, join in unbreakable friendship in wartime Kabul.

OCTOBER 5–DECEMBER 1

ART

29. Maja Petrić: We Are All Made of Light
Who knew that there were so many awards for light art? Maja Petrić knows, because she's either won or been nominated for a number of them. A Ph.D. in DXARTS (digital art and experimental media) from University of Washington, she's contributing to the Borealis Festival of Light with an exhibition called We Are All Made Of Light, in collaboration with computer scientist Mihai Jalobeanu. Artificial intelligence generates "audiovisual trails" of every visitor, combining them with the traces of previous gallery-goers.

OCTOBER 6

COMEDY

30. Kathleen Madigan: Boxed Wine and Bigfoot
Midwest comic Kathleen Madigan, whose special Bothering Jesus skewers the Southern school system, retirement villages, the news, and her parents, will bring her wonderfully deep, sardonic voice to the Seattle stage.

FESTIVALS

31. R Day
Join the denizens of Georgetown for a celebration of a tried-and-true Northwest standby, Rainier Beer, with live music from Northwest rock groups the Helio Sequence, the Moondoggies, and Smokey Brights. The brewery has promised an all-night party in the heart of the neighborhood, with plenty of Rainier to drink for everyone (over 21 years of age, of course).

OCTOBER 6–7

GEEK

32. BrickCon 2018 Public Exhibition
You're never too old to build a LEGOÂź world. At this two-day festival, you'll get the chance to build your own masterpiece, marvel at models made by master builders from around the world, and purchase custom sets and parts.

OCTOBER 6–FEBRUARY 3

ART

33. Quenton Baker: Ballast
In 1841, American-born slaves on the brig Creole, led by a man named Madison Washington, commandeered the ship bringing them toward a continuation of misery and cruelty, and landed on British territory, where they found their freedom. Award-winning local poet Quenton Baker takes off on this story to examine black history from a personal standpoint, as he did in his collection This Glittering Republic. The survival struggle of long-ago people and the lingering effects of slavery on the psyche of those born free inspired Baker's "erasure poems," which he has created through the negative process of blacking out words in the Senate report on the Creole. Baker uses this selective elimination process to take control of the historical narrative, directing the viewer's consciousness to unintended meanings. The title of this exhibition, which will also be issued as a book, refers to the ballast counterweighting the Creole's human cargo. JOULE ZELMAN

OCTOBER 7

MUSIC

34. BEAK>
Anyone that delighted in the doomy instrumentation and murky production idiosyncrasies of Portishead’s Third is strongly encouraged to investigate British electronic outfit BEAK>. Guided in part by Portishead’s Geoff Barrow, the group summons the meditative propulsions and stripped-down synth explorations of krautrock with the ominous melodies and textural dissonance of the art metal scene. Further cementing the krautrock aura, BEAK>’s songs are generated from off-the-cuff studio jams and edited down to hook-driven compositions much in the same way Holger Czukay spliced the early CAN classics together out of taped snippets of protracted improvisations. Be prepared for an aural trip. BRIAN COOK

35. Chris Cornell: An Everlasting Tribute to Seattle's Son
The late Seattle singer-songwriter Chris Cornell, Soundgarden's charismatic front man, will be immortalized in the form of a life-sized bronze statue, thanks to his wife, Vicky Cornell. Witness the unveiling and watch footage of a special Soundgarden performance at Wiltern in MoPOP's Sky Church.

THROUGH OCTOBER 7

FILM

36. Tasveer South Asian Film Festival
This year, the 13-years-running, 10-day festival will focus on Pakistani film, with the theme of #KnowMe. Always relevant and on the artistic vanguard, Tasveer's biggest annual event does its best to dispel myths about South Asian countries.

OCTOBER 7–NOVEMBER 4

MUSIC

37. Earshot Jazz Festival
This year at the Earshot Jazz Festival, there is an emphasis on youth and women. Not saying that the festival has neglected young and female players. It has not. And the 2018 edition of Earshot seems to feature less huge names and more names you may not have heard of and need to discover. For example, there is harpist Brandee Younger, who’s worked closely with Ravi Coltrane and is certainly influenced by the musicians John Coltrane worked with in the last period of his musical career (1965–1967). Younger plays the kind of music that clears your brain and soul. Then there is Jane Bunnett and Maqueque. Bunnett is a pretty well-known Canadian saxophonist, but Maqueque, a superb band of Cuban women, is not. And there is also Helen Sung, a pianist who plays with a mesmerizing (and at times mind-boggling) mix of density and clarity. There’s the Seattle Women’s Jazz Orchestra, Samantha Boshnack, Sarah Manning, Madison McFerrin, and SassyBlack (formerly of THEESatisfaction). And there is much, much more. CHARLES MUDEDE

OCTOBER 8

COMMUNITY

38. 5th Annual Indigenous People's Day Celebration
On Indigenous Peoples' Day, which Seattle City Council officially deemed the replacement of Columbus Day in 2014, celebrate Native cultures in the Puget Sound, with a particular focus on Native womxn, at this fifth annual celebration. After a dinner, activists Luana Ross and Jeri Moomaw will give presentations and Indigenous dancers from around the country will perform.

FOOD & DRINK

39. Author Dinner at Delancey Seattle: Let's Stay In by Ashley Rodriguez
In her debut cookbook, Date Night In, Seattle author and Not Without Salt food blogger Ashley Rodriguez shared the story of her relationship with her husband and extolled the virtues of a weekly dinner for two. (Her internet-famous salted chocolate-chip cookies, riddled with melty pools of chocolate, rank among the best I’ve ever tried.) Now she’s releasing her follow-up, Let’s Stay In, an ode to the pleasures of sharing cozy meals at home with family and friends. At this dinner brought to you by the adorable Fremont cookbook store Book Larder, Ballard wood-fired pizzeria Delancey will serve a three-course meal inspired by the book with dessert and wine, and you’ll go home with a signed copy of Rodriguez’s new book. JULIANNE BELL

MUSIC

40. Courtney Barnett, Waxahatchee
Melbourne rocker Courtney Barnett returns to Seattle armed with her signature blatant lyrical approach that empathizes with “Crippling Self-Doubt and a General Lack of Confidence.” Her shredding slices through your latest anxiety without beating around the bush, thanks to Barnett’s latest release, Tell Me How You Really Feel. Katie Crutchfield’s Waxahatchee project has recently returned to her neo-folk roots with the new Great Thunder EP, which rediscovers six songs originally recorded in 2012. In these new versions, Crutchfield peels back the lo-fi effects in favor of beautifully pained vocals to breathe new life into her storytelling. ABBIE GOBELI

41. Ty Segall & White Fence, Lavender Flu
The inexhaustible Ty Segall, who turned 31 in June, has released more records than most musicians twice his age. This year alone, he’s issued a double-LP set, a sophomore album from his thrash trio GØGGS, a covers collection (out on October 27), and his second collaborative effort, Joy, with Tim Presley, aka White Fence. When Presley and Cate Le Bon join forces as DRINKS, they strip things down to the bone, but with Segall, he lets his acid-folk flag fly. They’re like a micro-budget Syd Barrett and Roger Waters—all the guitar heroics, but without any of the stadium histrionics. KATHY FENNESSY

READINGS & TALKS

42. Chris Hedges: America: The Farewell Tour
Many pundits have been racking their brains trying to understand how the United States got to this tumultuous moment, but few have the chops of Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Chris Hedges. At this Town Hall event, hear excerpts from his book America: The Farewell Tour, about the epidemic of hopelessness across the country and the ills that arise from it.

43. Eric Idle: Always Looking on the Bright Side of Life
In 2016, former Stranger arts editor Sean Nelson wrote: "Of all the members of Monty Python's Flying Circus, Eric Idle has surely had the most fruitful third act. This would be true even if he'd done nothing more than serving as playwright and co-creator of the monumentally popular Broadway show Spamalot. But following that award-winning revivification of the entire Python enterprise, Idle has been more visible than his counterparts in recent years, owing in part to his discovery that the songs he wrote for the group—especially 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life' (which, he says, has been the most-played song at UK funerals for the past 10 years)—have become cherished evergreens." The comic genius will be reading from his book, which is included in the cost of the ticket. He'll be joined by Ryan Stiles of Whose Line Is It Anyway? fame.

OCTOBER 9

MUSIC

44. Alkaline Trio, together PANGEA, Sharp Shock
In their heyday, Alkaline Trio wrote brilliant, albeit fucked up, brokenhearted punk ballads that were saturated with passion without being overly pathetic (or if pathetic, at least charmingly so). Today, frontman Matt Skiba looks like a vampire. And the sleek production on newer material doesn’t help the songs feel any less uninspired. But that’s still not enough to taint their older material, especially since the band are wise enough to showcase the old gems in their live shows. MEGAN SELING

45. Ghostland Observatory
Ghostland Observatory make catchy party junk music you'll feel slightly guilty about in an "I just ate an entire box of fruit snacks" way—recommended for teens and adults alike who just want to get wild. EMILY NOKES

46. Oddisee, Evidence, Warm Brew
In style and sound, Oddisee is a throwback. The Washington, DC, MC’s music is lyrically dense and message-driven, his rapping is precise and dexterous, and his live-band production style could have come from any point in the past 20 years. Depending on your point of view, it’s either “real” hiphop or backpack rap, but what sets Oddisee apart from other old-school rappers is his lack of didacticism: Unconcerned with trends, he hones his skill without bemoaning the state of rap music and its current preponderance of face tattoos. In other words, he’s a craftsman, and an unusually skilled one at that. ANDREW GOSPE

OCTOBER 9–NOVEMBER 4

PERFORMANCE

47. Come From Away
What happens when kind island people who live in the poorest province in Canada realize that they have to play host to a bunch of irritated, scared, and stranded "plane people" who nearly outnumber them? They help. Instantly, food comes off the store shelves, the hockey rink becomes cold storage, and every home's a hotel. An indicative line, given by an actor playing a clerk: "Thank you for shopping at Wal-Mart. Would you like to come back to my house for a shower?" This is the strong, uplifting premise of Come From Away. Normally, I'm a stone when it comes to musicals. But by minute six or seven, I was smiling at all the small town charm and rooting for the spirit these people projected. RICH SMITH

OCTOBER 9–NOVEMBER 28

READINGS & TALKS

48. Public Lecture Series: Bunk
Fake news is big news lately, from the role of online misinformation in the election of Trump to the sad state of science literacy and its effect on climate change awareness. This year, UW's lecture series will focus on the spread of information and lies and how we can evaluate news sources. Speakers include many journalistic luminaries like Cornell Clayton (Oct 9), Kevin Young (Oct 17), and Lori Dorfman (Oct 25).

OCTOBER 10

MUSIC

49. PHORA
Anaheim rapper Phora counts his father and the graffiti of his city as major influences on his creative work. He'll be touring up and down the West Coast on his Autumn 2018 Tour.

50. St. Lucia, The Night Game
St. Lucia is a band begun by Jean-Philip Grobler, a South African–born musician now making dreamy, gauzy electro-pop in Brooklyn. The blogosphere loves him, and if you're a fan of M83ish synth dramatics, you will, too. DAVID SCHMADER

READINGS & TALKS

51. Van Jones
If you don't know Van Jones as Barack Obama's Special Advisor for Green Jobs (remember when the president cared about stuff like that?) or as a co-founder of the social justice nonprofit Dream Corps, you've probably seen him on CNN. He'll present his topical new book, Beyond the Messy Truth: How We Came Apart, How We Come Together, which is included in the ticket price.

OCTOBER 10–31

PERFORMANCE

52. Beware the Terror of Gaylord Manor
The world-famous Seattle-based drag queen BenDeLaCreme has written and performed three acclaimed solo shows, but Beware the Terror of Gaylord Manor is the artist's first foray into writing, directing, and starring in an original play of her own. It's a spooky, campy twist on the horror flick genre, featuring ghosts, dancers, music, and special effects. It first premiered last year for a sold-out run at ACT, and returns this year surely with a few of its kinks worked out. The chemistry between BenDeLaCreme and Scott Shoemaker alone is worth the price of admission. CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE

OCTOBER 11

MUSIC

53. KYLE, Marc E. Bassy, Tobi Lou
Ventura-based rapper KYLE uses his deep '80s influences of hiphop and gaming culture to inform his smart, positive, and sometimes geeky verses.

READINGS & TALKS

54. Lit Crawl: Seattle 2018
Seattle was named an official UNESCO City of Literature last fall, which makes us one of only two U.S. cities on the worldwide list (surprisingly, the other is Iowa City). Basically, it means that Seattle is a haven for literary arts, and during this free, one-night-only event, locals are invited to soak it up during a night of booze and book loving, when a huge range of bars, cafes, and businesses in Capitol Hill present more than 80 writers and artists in events ranging from straightforward readings to cooking demos to performances, with a night-ending after party at the newly re-opened Hugo House. LEILANI POLK

THROUGH OCTOBER 11

PERFORMANCE

55. Richard III
Last year, the crew of upstart crow collective produced an all-female adaptation of Shakespeare's Henry VI that was so good, it actually made people want to see a production of Henry VI. I reckon they'll have the same luck with this classic tale of throne-hungry villainy. Top-notch veteran actor Sarah Hartlett will take on the title role. RICH SMITH

OCTOBER 11–14

FESTIVALS

56. Borealis: A Festival of Light
At this inaugural festival, South Lake Union will be host to kaleidoscopic light art installations from artists around the world, as well as an "international video mapping" showcase with live music and performances. Revel in luminous work by SKGMedia from China, George Berlin from the US, Sila Sveta from Russia, Flightgraf from Japan, Ouchhh from Turkey, and Akasha VisualStation from Slovakia.

57. Taste of Iceland
For the 11th year, venues across Seattle will be host to Icelandic cuisine, music, culture, literature, design, and film events.

PERFORMANCE

58. Chamber Dance Company: Unspoken
The NEA grant-winning Chamber Dance Company will perform works like expressionist German pioneer Harald Kreutzberg’s Dances Before God, Lucinda Childs’s Katema, excerpts from Susan Marshall’s Cloudless, Joseph Gifford’s The Pursued, and Daniel Charon’s Storm.

OCTOBER 11–21

FILM

59. TWIST Seattle Queer Film Festival
Local shorts, indie features, and national or international releases will stoke and satisfy your appetite for gay, lesbian, bi, trans, and otherwise queer-focused films, from hot romances to incisive documentaries to perverse suspense flicks. The opening film will be The Happy Prince, a portrait of the outrageous playwright and bon vivant Oscar Wilde that's directed by and stars Rupert Everett. The closing film will be Rafiki, Kenyan director Wanuri Kahiu's landmark work—banned in her home country for its "clear intent to promote lesbianism.” Other highlights will include the documentary Transmilitary, a biopic of Mapplethorpe, and the film history doc Dykes, Camera, Action! If you love queer movies and moviemakers, this festival is indispensable.

OCTOBER 12

COMEDY

60. Iliza
Iliza "Elder Millennial" Schlesinger, comedian and author of Girl Logic, will visit Seattle.

This show has been moved to January

FILM

61. 'First Man' Opening
Damien Chazelle (La La Land) adapts the exploits of Neil Armstrong, with Ryan Gosling playing the astronaut and Claire Foy as his wife, Janet.

MUSIC

62. Luke Bryan, Jon Pardi, Carly Pearce
Chart-topping country star and American Idol judge Luke Bryan will hit Seattle on his What Makes You Country arena tour with opening support from like-minded artists Jon Pardi and Carly Pearce.

63. War
LA funk/soul ensemble War have split into two camps: One goes by the name the Lowrider Band, while original lead singer and keyboardist Lonnie Jordan has retained the War moniker. It’s not an optimal state of affairs, but War’s hit-laden 1970s catalog is so potent and redolent of greasily groovy good times and carefree summers (except for the ominous “Four Cornered Room,” which I consider one of War’s peaks) that you can be assured no matter which unit is playing them, they’re going to transport you to a better, warmer place. DAVE SEGAL

READINGS & TALKS

64. Women You Need to Know: Jill Lepore
Harvard University historian and New Yorker staffer Lepore (Joe Gould's Teeth, The Secret History of Wonder Woman) will illuminate the origins of the USA's dire divisions in her new book These Truths: A History of the United States. "A nation born in contradiction, liberty in a land of slavery, will fight forever over the meaning of its history," she writes memorably.

OCTOBER 12–13

MUSIC

65. Car Seat Headrest, Naked Giants
Already prolific in quantity, Will Toledo of Car Seat Headrest has ascended to the high quality side of things with his band’s 2016 album, Teens of Denial. Surging ahead of the pack of anxiety-riddled, string-tearing indie rock, Teens of Denial actually accomplishes a goal, building a safe space in which one can be fully surrounded by and commensurate with the cares and desires of a demographic typically accused of never caring enough. Heavy on the Built to Spill–style slow build that crashes into persistent oblivion, Toledo strikes the middle point between career-peak Jonathan Richman and the subtle insecurity of Jeffrey Lewis, with stridently critical and clever vocalizations. You get the feeling he woke up alone in a stranger’s home and is now just making sense of his place in each room. It is simultaneously unsettling and deeply comforting. KIM SELLING

OCTOBER 12–14

FESTIVALS

66. Olympic Peninsula Apple & Cider Festival
At the second annual edition of this weekend-long festival devoted to the autumnal tonic and all things apple season, quaff lots of ciders, partake in a harvest dinner, attend apple-themed seminars, tour orchards, witness apple pressing, and snack on cider doughnuts and even apple tempura.

OCTOBER 12–MARCH 24

ART

67. Dylan Neuwirth: OMNIA
Dylan Neuwirth will transforms the entirety of the Bellevue Arts Museum into an enormous metaphor for the cycle of life through five exhibitions composed of neon, video, performance art, digital art, and sculpture. Two parts of this multi-faceted takeover are installed outside, on the building's exterior and on the balcony, while two more are found within the museum. The last piece in the entire installation is an online flash gallery entitled New Folklore. Elaborating on the theme of post-humanish, Neuwirth reflects upon "alienation, subconscious violence, [...] systemic addiction," and the search for freedom and control.

OCTOBER 13

FESTIVALS

68. Water Lantern Festival
Write a message or make a drawing on an LED lantern, then watch it drift across the lake with others'. Before the launch, enjoy food trucks, live music, and family activities.

FOOD & DRINK

69. Pull Up A Chair with Tiffani Thiessen
The Saved by the Bell and 90210 star will chat with Katie O of Seattle Kitchen about her new cookbook and sign copies. Snacks from the book, like chicken and dumplings and avocado brownies, will be served alongside bubbles.

MUSIC

70. Lee "Scratch" Perry with Subatomic Sound System, DJ Kid Hops, DJ Chilly, DJ Darek Mazzone
I have the last Lee “Scratch” Perry album! It’s called Must Be Free! It’s great! It makes no sense even by Lee “Scratch” Perry standards! I’ll quit with the exclamation points now! He’s collaborating with something or someone called Spacewave. The man says he can read minds, but he doesn’t know that his own website hasn’t been updated since 2010. I’m fascinated on each spin at how the new music recognizes the pull of classic, therefore expected, arpeggios and riffs in electronica, then systematically refuses them and throws out subtlety instead. No idea if the album will relate to the show at all. But Perry is 82. Catch what you can catch of him while you can. ANDREW HAMLIN

PERFORMANCE

71. Snap Judgment Live!
Snap Judgment is not your great aunt Susan’s public radio show. Hosted by master storyteller Glenn Washington, Snap Judgment is This American Life with a bit more grit and a lot more music. Backed by a live band and featuring some of the finest storytellers haunting stages today, Snap live shows have all the intimacy of the radio show, but brought to life and onstage. KATIE HERZOG

READINGS & TALKS

72. Washington State Book Awards Celebration
You'll be on the edge of your seat to find out the winners of this year's Washington State Book Awards, but the fun's not over after the announcements—there will also be signings, book sales, and mingling. There are too many finalists to list here, but we can tell you that you can hobnob with Nancy Pearl, Laura Anne Gilman, Laurie Frankel, Langdon Cook, David B. Williams, Jaimee Garbacik, and many others.

OCTOBER 13–27

PERFORMANCE

73. The Turn of the Screw
In 1954, English composer Benjamin Britten (1913–1976) premiered his opera based on Henry James’ ghost story, The Turn of the Screw. Its music is darkly gorgeous, jolting, manic at times, and often outright scary. In key sequences involving the children, the atonal sounds float like a ghost in a room of mirrors. Anyone familiar with the Portishead track “Cowboys” will already have a good sense of how this echo-stark opera sounds. Because the opera is as much about ghosts as sexual abuse of women and children, it provides new and important meanings for our #Metoo moment. CHARLES MUDEDE

OCTOBER 14

COMEDY

74. Cameron Esposito: Person of Consequence Tour
Fans of queer comedy must get out to see Cameron Esposito, named Comic to Watch by the New York Times, Variety, The Guardian, LA Weekly, Time Out Los Angeles, and many other publications. Host of the podcast Queery and of the comedy night Put Your Hands Together at the Upright Citizens Brigade, she'll be swinging by Seattle for some of her risky and courageous comedy.

75. Jonathan Van Ness & Friends
Emmy-winning Queer Eye guy and Gay of Thrones gossip Van Ness will appear to dish to his very enthusiastic fans.

READINGS & TALKS

76. Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, and Val Emmich: Dear Evan Hansen
Musical lovers should flock to this talk with Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who won an impressive array of awards for creating Dear Evan Hansen and A Christmas Story, The Musical. They've also worked on the movies La La Land, Trolls, and The Greatest Showman. They'll be joined by Val Emmich, whose novelization of Dear Evan Hansen will have just been published.

THROUGH OCTOBER 14

ART

77. Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel
This traveling exhibition is a full-scale reproduction of one of the most monumental artistic achievements of the Western world. Unlike the original, this one's available to see up-close.

PERFORMANCE

78. Jane Eyre
Book-It's inaugural play of the 2018-2019 season is based on Charlotte Brontë's Gothic novel about an orphaned young woman who becomes a governess to the handsome but taciturn Edward Rochester and discovers strange goings-on in her new home.

OCTOBER 15

FOOD & DRINK

79. Rene Redzepi and David Zilber: The Noma Guide to Fermentation
The legendary, two-Michelin-starred restaurant Noma in Copenhagen has been named the best restaurant in the world four times, and fermentation plays a pivotal role in their superlative, complex food—every dish on their menu contains fermentation in some form. Rene Redzepi, the chef and owner of Noma, and David Zilber, the chef in charge of the restaurant's fermentation lab, have written The NOMA Guide to Fermentation, in which they divulge their secrets and techniques for home cooks to recreate. At this event, they'll discuss their new book with an interactive presentation and tasting, with a treat prepared by Rachael Coyle and the Coyle's Bakeshop team.

MUSIC

80. Gwar, Hatebreed, Miss May I, Ringworm
Damn it, I love GWAR! I mean, they lose their frontman and original founding member, Dave Brockie, aka “Oderus Urungus” (he died in 2015 of a heroin overdose), and what do they do after 13 albums and 30-some years as a band? They fucking carry on! They go on tour in honor of their fallen comrade! Brockie would undoubtedly be proud that his blood-and-guts-spewing thrash metal freak show from Richmond, Virginia, refused to lie down and die with Oderus. Instead, they replaced their irreplaceable leader from “Planet Scumdogs” with a singer/bassist dude named “Berserker Blóthar” and lead singer lady named “Vulvatron.” The latter is an inspiration—more warrior than princess. She’ll probably become the number-one motivator for young girls who dream of starting heavy-metal bands. Oh, yeah, and her gigantic boobs spray blood—totally and perfectly GWAR. KELLY O

PERFORMANCE

81. Stuff You Missed In History Class
On their popular podcast, Holly Frey and Tracy V. Wilson unearth historical events that have been unjustly neglected in the books, like "the decades-long dispute between butter and margarine," "a pair of lions that terrorized a railroad crew in Kenya," and "the only successful coup d'Ă©tat in American history."

OCTOBER 16

MUSIC

82. MC50, Starcrawler, Fitz of Depression
The glut of 50th-anniversary celebrations in the music world can be overwhelming and not always worth your precious time. However, Kick Out the Jams: The 50th Anniversary Tour, which pays tribute to the debut live album by revolutionary Detroit rock thugs the MC5, looks like it'll be one for which to clear your schedule and set aside your cynicism. Guitarist Wayne Kramer is the sole original member participating (drummer Dennis Thompson sadly is the only other surviving player from the classic lineup). Filling in for MC5 musicians Fred "Sonic" Smith, Rob Tyner, Thompson, and Michael Davis are Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil, Zen Guerrilla vocalist Marcus Durant, ex-Fugazi/Messthetics drummer Brendan Canty, and King's X bassist Dug Pinnick. In a press release, Kramer enthused, "This band will rip your head off. It's real, raw, sweaty, total energy rock and roll, like a bunch of 40-to-70-year-old punks on a meth power trip." DAVE SEGAL

83. St. Paul & the Broken Bones, Black Pumas
St. Paul & the Broken Bones bring their lively eight-piece soul-based rock unit back to Seattle this fall with opening support from Austin soul group Black Pumas.

84. Zhu, TOKiMONSTA
Chinese American electronic musician Zhu has collaborated with the likes of A-Trak, Skrillex, AlunaGeorge, Gallant, and Vancouver Sleep Clinic. He'll bring his unique house music to Seattle on his 2018 DUNE tour.

READINGS & TALKS

85. Ted Chiang and Karen Joy Fowler in Conversation
Last year's lauded sci-fi film Arrival was based on Ted Chiang's short fiction "The Story of Your Life," which combined a gorgeously nerdy and profound examination of alien grammar with a sad and equally profound exploration of love and fate. Which is to say, Ted Chiang is a genius, and "The Story of Your Life" should be viewed as a gateway to his body of literature, not a companion to Denis Villeneuve's (admittedly pretty cool) movie. Chiang will appear with PEN/Faulkner Award winner Karen Joy Fowler, author of The Jane Austen Book Club, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, and many smart, emotional, literary spooky stories. JOULE ZELMAN

OCTOBER 17

FOOD & DRINK

86. Christopher Kimball: Milk Street: Tuesday Nights
The bespectacled, bow-tied personality previously associated with America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Illustrated will talk about his new cookbook Milk Street: Tuesday Nights, which provides recipes for quick and simple weeknight meals.

MUSIC

87. BØRNS
Michigan electro-pop singer-songwriter BØRNS is no stranger to selling out venues across the country. Riding the wave of success since the release of his debut album Dopamine in 2015, BØRNS will play tracks from that album as well as new material at his tour stop in Seattle.

88. KT Tunstall, Maddie Ross
After topping "the charts," soundtracking every major film and TV show, and being labelled the queen of the indie music scene, KT Tunstall dropped everything and peaced out to Venice Beach for a several-years-long detox session. Now she's back on another U.S. tour in promotion of her latest album, WAX. Los Angeles indie rocker Maddie Ross will play an opening set.

89. Matthew Sweet and The Dream Syndicate
One of the better rock comebacks of the last decade has been that of the Dream Syndicate, catalysts in the short-lived but fertile Paisley Underground uprising in Southern California during the '80s. Extrapolating on the Velvet Underground's combustible combination of gorgeous melodies and artful noise sculpting, Steve Wynn and company created some of the most vital rock of the Reagan era with The Days of Wine and Roses (1982) and Medicine Show (1984). DAVE SEGAL

READINGS & TALKS

90. Jodi Picoult: A Spark of Light
The prolific author of My Sister's Keeper and other hits has a new novel that sounds scarily relevant. It's about a reproductive health center held up by a gunman, a police hostage negotiator, and his teenage daughter, who's trapped inside.

OCTOBER 17–18

FESTIVALS

91. Seattle Interactive Conference 2018
Entrepreneurs and online business professionals in areas ranging from storytelling and branding to PR and social media will assemble for a two-day conference to share their work and build connections. 2018 speakers include Precision Nutrition's Mary Hable, Nordstrom's Evan Barocas, Zillow's Justin Farris, the Evergrey's MĂłnica GuzmĂĄn, and many others.

OCTOBER 17–NOVEMBER 25

PERFORMANCE

92. A People's History
Mike Daisey's back in town, as he often is, with a pretty simple but brilliant bit. He's going to read you some pages from Good Will Hunting's favorite history book. Then he's going to read you some pages from his high school history book. Then we're all going to sit there and have a little reflection session on the difference between history as told by the conquerors and history as told from the perspective of the dispossessed. RICH SMITH

OCTOBER 18–20

COMEDY

93. Ron Funches
Watch any Ron Funches clip on YouTube, or go to one of his live sets, and if you’re not in love with his gentle, quirky observations and off-kilter, ganja-logic transitions, you need to reassess your worldview. Dude is one of the funniest humans on Earth now. Funches may have lost a lot of weight recently, but rest assured: He’s still punching well above it with his endlessly unpredictable thoughts about whatever absurdities pop into his pot-enhanced mind. (“I like marijuana. It’s like getting a hug on your insides.”) This performance will be filmed for a TV special. DAVE SEGAL

PERFORMANCE

94. Andrew Schneider: YOUARENOWHERE
OBIE award-winning performer and "interactive-electronics artist" Andrew Schneider uses the idea of space-time collapse to shape this show. In addition to some extremely impressive FX, he employs a "lecture-style format, pop culture, and personal revelation to dissect subjects ranging from quantum mechanics and parallel universes to missed connections and AA recovery steps." If you like YOUARENOWHERE, which doesn't not look like a man having an existential crisis in the middle of an empty discothùque, be sure to check out AFTER at OtB (Oct 25–27), which is Part II of this avant-garde trilogy. RICH SMITH

OCTOBER 18–JANUARY 21

ART

95. Peacock in the Desert: The Royal Arts of Jodhpur, India
Organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, in collaboration with the Mehrangarh Museum in Jodhpur, India, Peacock in the Desert is a traveling exhibition of some 250 artworks and objects that trace four centuries of royal history of the Rathore dynasty of Rajasthan, India. Most of these objects—which include miniature paintings, handcrafted armor, and carved furnishings—had never traveled to the United States prior to this exhibition. The installation at SAM will include large-scale photographic murals that evoke the geographic and historical context of these rare treasures. EMILY POTHAST

OCTOBER 19

COMEDY

96. SAL Presents: Phoebe Robinson
During this podcast comedian and writer's "Yaaas Queen Yaaas" tour with Ilana Glazer, Stranger contributor Jenni Moore wrote, "I enjoy that Robinson has mastered the art of dismantling the patriarchy and embracing diversity through her work, while also unabashedly celebrating all the white culture she loves." Phoebe Robinson of WNYC Studios podcast/HBO special 2 Dope Queens will appear alone to share funny observations of her second book, Everything is Trash, But It’s Okay.

FILM

97. 'The Hate U Give' Opening
A black teen in a mostly white prep school witnesses the death of her childhood friend at the hands of police. Based on the young adult novel, George Tillman Jr.'s film looks honest, tense, and complex.

FOOD & DRINK

98. James Beard Foundation Taste America: Seattle Benefit Dinner
At this star-studded supper, the James Beard Foundation (named after the late, great cook and food writer) will bring together a jaw-dropping lineup of local chefs all in one place. The evening will begin with cocktails and hors 'doeuvres from Jay Blackinton of Hogstone's Wood Oven on Orcas Island, Felipe Hernandez of Los Hernandez Tamales in Union Gap, Melissa Miranda of the Musang pop-up, Shota Nakajima of Adana, Mutsuko Soma of Kamonegi, and host chef Paul Shewchuck, followed by a dinner from Edouardo Jordan of the James Beard Award-winning rsetaurants Salare and Junebaby in Ravenna. To finish, Brittany Bardeleben of Dahlia Bakery, Laura Pyles of the Pantry, and Artis Kalsons of 4th Ave Espresso Bar will create a dessert.

MUSIC

99. Soweto Gospel Choir
The 40-plus-member strong Soweto Gospel Choir have two Grammys to their credit (three if you count their contribution to Christopher Tin’s “Baba Yetu,” which won in 2010 for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists). But that’s the least of the reasons why you should care about them, and you don’t have to believe in god to be moved and inspired by their sonic expressions of love, unity, and hope. The South African group bring extra helpings of joy and uplifting exuberance to their rich, infectious, multi-voice performances of African gospel music, American spirituals, freedom songs, reggae, and pop music. Soweto—who were among the lineup of performers at the first 46664 Concert, a series of AIDS benefits hosted by Nelson Mandela from 2003 to 2008—celebrate the centenary of Nelson Mandela’s birth in their 2018 album, Freedom, and their current worldwide tour in support. LEILANI POLK

PERFORMANCE

100. Aaron Mahnke
Writer, host, and producer of the podcast Lore and a newer venture, Cabinet of Curiosities, Aaron Mahnke will share his spooky folkloric storytelling with a live audience.

OCTOBER 19–21

FOOD & DRINK

101. Hot Stove Society Food Lovers Weekend: Far Feast: Foods from Asia, Authentic or Not
This three-day food frenzy crammed with cooking demos, tastings, beverage pairings, and actual cooking is inspired by both modern and traditional Asian flavors and will feature such covetable and far-flung delicacies as Momofuku duck buns, Pok a Pok chicken wings, and Mission Street Chinese kung pao pastrami.

FILM

102. Kinofest
This short festival, co-organized with the Portland German Film Festival, screens new and classic German-language cinema from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. This year's lineup includes some intriguing biopics, like Egon Schiele — Death and the Maiden, about the mesmerizingly morbid/erotic Austrian artist, and Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe, about the ill-fated Austrian Jewish writer of The Royal Game and Letter from an Unknown Woman. There's also a drama about the clandestine Jewish survivors of the Nazi regime in Berlin, The Invisibles, a documentary following David Lama as he sets out to climb an insanely difficult Patagonia peak, Cerro Torre, and much more.

OCTOBER 19–28

FILM

103. Seattle Polish Film Festival
This film festival hailing from an important moviemaking center of Eastern Europe always has interesting features to offer.

OCTOBER 19–31

PERFORMANCE

104. This Is Halloween
Get mildly scandalized at this kitschy, kinky adaptation of Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas, all about the scary Jack Skellington and his discovery—and subversion—of the delights of Christmastown.

OCTOBER 20

ART

105. Fashionably Undead VIII
Wear your most freakish and fabulous costume to this spooky-ooky party to win appropriately ghoulish prizes. There will also be drinks, live DJs, art installations, and access to Scared to Death: The Thrill of Horror Film.

FESTIVALS

106. Diwali Ball
Celebrate India’s Festival of Lights, which honors "the triumph of good over evil." The Ball will feature henna, fortune tellers, dance performances, live music, tours of SAM's collection, food, drinks, and dancing.

PERFORMANCE

107. My Favorite Murder
Murder might not seem to be a subject ripe for humor, but comics Georgia Hardstark and Karen Kilgariff somehow make in happen in My Favorite Murder, the blockbuster podcast the duo records in Hardstark’s living room. The show’s fans, called Murderinos, are devoted, and tickets to the live show sold out quickly. If, however, you find a spare ticket lying around—or, even better, a Murderino willing to take you under her wing (and it will be a her—this is a very female-dominated sport), go to this show and you’ll see how everyone's worst nightmare gets a little less terrifying, and a little more fun, when you’re surrounded by the My Favorite Murder fam. KATIE HERZOG

OCTOBER 20–APRIL 15

ART

108. The Vikings Begin
With no written history and its stories passed down orally through skalds (poets and storytellers), the history of Vikings has been pieced together mostly through artifacts. This traveling exhibition organized by scholars from Sweden’s Uppsala University brings together agricultural, warfare, and ornamental artifacts dating back as far as 750 AD. New research has uncovered that women played a larger role in Viking society as warriors and sorceresses. (One of the carved bone figure heads in the exhibition found in a female grave is thought to have topped a sorceress’s wand.) This exhibition will also dispel other myths about Vikings, namely that they weren’t all warriors and most of them had normal jobs as fishermen and farmers. KATIE KURTZ

OCTOBER 21

COMEDY

109. Carol Burnett: An Evening of Laughter and Reflection
In a 90-minute stage show, the living legend shows clips and takes questions from the audience. In Chicago, someone asked her about her relationship with Julie Andrews, and she told a story about trying to prank Andrews’s husband—the two women started kissing outside an elevator right as he was expected to walk out. Instead, the person who came out of the elevator was Lady Bird Johnson. “Aren’t you Carol Burnett?” the First Lady asked. And Burnett answered: “Yes, and this is Mary Poppins.” CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE

MUSIC

110. An Evening of Songs from the Hymnal with Brian Fallon and Craig Finn
Brian Fallon, ex-frontman of rock group the Gaslight Anthem, will hit the road to play tracks from his latest contemplative project, with opening support from Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Craig Finn.

111. Mayday Parade, This Wild Life, William Ryan Key, Oh, Weatherly
Florida quintet and standard-bearers for the pop-rock genre Mayday Parade are back in Seattle for the 11-year anniversary of their release A Lesson in Romantics. They'll be joined by Long Beach rock duo This Wild Life, William Ryan Key of Yellowcard, and Dallas alt rockers Oh, Weatherly on their Welcome to Sunnyland tour.

112. Tech N9ne, Futuristic, Dizzy Wright, Krizz Kaliko
Hiphop legend and frequent PNW visitor Tech N9ne will bring his many evolutions back to Seattle for a night with opening guests Futuristic, Dizzy Wright, and Krizz Kaliko.

READINGS & TALKS

113. The Moth Seattle GrandSLAM
Listeners of The Moth know the deal: each storyslammer has a short period of time to tell a compelling story, whether poignant, funny, tragic, or edifying. This night's raconteurs are the top slammers from the previous ten months, so they're sure to be unmissable.

OCTOBER 21–NOVEMBER 8

FOOD & DRINK

114. Seattle Restaurant Week
Frugal gourmands everywhere rejoice over this twice-yearly event, which lets diners tuck into prix-fixe menus at more than 165 different restaurants hoping to lure new customers with singularly slashed prices: Three courses cost a mere $33, and many restaurants also offer two-course lunches for $18. It’s an excellent opportunity to feast like a high roller at an accessible price point and cross some otherwise spendy establishments off your food bucket list, including critically acclaimed restaurants like Tilth, Agrodolce, and Lark. JULIANNE BELL

OCTOBER 22

MUSIC

115. Noah Cyrus
Less famous but similarly chart-topping Cyrus family member and pop crafter Noah will hit Seattle on her Good Cry Tour, which is fortunate because she's fresh off her break-up with rapper Lil Xan.

PERFORMANCE

116. Gregory Awards
Watch the year's best theater artists, venues, and others receive their just desserts at this reception. Among the nominees this year are the productions Frost/Nixon, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Two Trains Running, Ironbound, and Hand to God; performers Richard Gray, Lamar Legend, Brandon J. Simmons, Amy Thone, Sylvie Davidson, Khanh Doanh, and others; and directors Kelly Kitchens, John Langs, Malika Oyetimein, Victor Pappas, and Victor McCuen Piggee and Steve Tomkins. Billy and Howie Seago, actor-director-producer brothers, will each get a Sustained Achievement award. Stay on afterwards for a bar-crawl after-party.

OCTOBER 23

MUSIC

117. 4AD Welcomes Tune-Yards + U.S. Girls
Like Brian Eno, David Byrne, and other art-pop groove merchants, Tune-Yards' Merrill Garbus weaves African influences into her work. As she noted at the EMP Pop Conference in 2016, it’s something she thinks about frequently in terms of appropriation and privilege, issues she confronts directly on her fourth album, I Can Feel You Creep into My Private Life, when she sings, "Now all I know is white centrality." KATHY FENNESSY

118. Arctic Monkeys
Since the early 2000s, Arctic Monkeys have cut their teeth twining together wit and gritty rock that skyrocketed them to stadium-sized success around the globe. Following the successful release of their fifth album, AM, frontman Alex Turner suffered a bout of writer’s block, but then combated it with his childhood love of science fiction. Turner slowed down the tempo astronomically in favor of an accentuated psychedelic organ and debonair vocal delivery that builds the futuristic, off-kilter world of their latest effort, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino. The change of pace has not fazed loyal followers, as evidenced by the band selling out WaMu Theater. ABBIE GOBELI

119. Christine and the Queens
Tiny French firecracker Christine will bring her Queens on the road for a night of clashing Euro dance-pop.

120. Seu Jorge Presents: The Life Aquatic, A Tribute to David Bowie
I don’t consider myself a Wes Anderson devotee in any way, but I do think that pulling Brazilian artist Seu Jorge for the soundtrack of The Life Aquatic was nothing short of genius. Already an established musician and actor in his home country, Jorge added a layer of retro curiosity and easy joy to well-known Bowie tracks without tacking on the schmaltz that typically goes along with attempting to cover the classics of such a legendary discography. I saw Seu Jorge perform this set, complete with a psychedelic visual tribute to Bowie, in Portland two years ago, and I can say with zero hesitation that it ranks as one of my favorite concerts. KIM SELLING

121. Yaeji
Brooklyn-based producer Yaeji ignites the dance floor with her unique fusions of house and bouncing hiphop that are glossed with soft vocals that switch between Korean and English. Her tracks survey the shadows of the club and the confessional thoughts that surface in your head as you move through this dynamic space. Yaeji found her footing in the underground electronic scene while studying at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, leading her to return to Brooklyn where she began recording original tracks that will guide you into chanting “Make it rain, girl, make it rain” to her break-out track, “Raingurl.” ABBIE GOBELI

READINGS & TALKS

122. Jill Soloway: She Wants It: Desire, Power, and Toppling the Patriarchy
Love or hate Transparent, you have to admit Soloway changed television. But I’d much rather talk about her TV adaption of I Love Dick. Have you seen that yet? Oh my god, what is wrong with you? What do you have against satires of the art world, send-ups of sexism, and Kevin Bacon’s bare ass? CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE

123. Markus Zusak: Bridge of Clay
The author of the decorated and massively popular The Book Thief is finally back (after 12 years!) with a family saga about five classically educated orphaned brothers and the secret of their father's disappearance.

OCTOBER 23–28

PERFORMANCE

124. On Your Feet!
Based on the lives of Cuban-born stars Emilio and Gloria Estefan, this musical features Olivier Award-winning Sergio Trujillo's choreography and a script by Alexander Dinelaris (Birdman).

OCTOBER 24

MUSIC

125. Billie Eilish, Childish Major, Finneas
Precocious singer Billie Eilish has rocketed upward since her debut single “Ocean Eyes” dropped in 2015, now selling out tour stops thanks to audiences fiending for her serpentine electro-pop that pulls from heavy hiphop, grunge, and glam inspiration sources.

READINGS & TALKS

126. Chelsea Clinton: Start Now!
Clinton the Younger will sign her book Start Now!, an inspirational book about activism geared toward young fry.

OCTOBER 25

MUSIC

127. Danzig, Venom Inc, Power Trip, Mutoid Man
Classic hardcore group Danzig, known best (fortunately or unfortunately) for their snarling frontman Glenn Danzig, will return to Seattle for a show celebrating the 30th anniversary of their iconic self-titled debut album.

PERFORMANCE

128. Ampersand Live
Forterra presents Ampersand Live, a multimedia storytelling event "about people and place." The list of (all-local!) performers—with filmmakers, artists, writers, musicians, and more—boasts the musicians the Westerlies, activist Nikkita Oliver, dancer and choreographer Zoe Scofield, wildlife photographer David Moskowitz, artist/activist C. Davida Ingram, author Donna Miscolta, singer Tomo Nakayama, and others.

READINGS & TALKS

129. Seattle Arts & Lectures: Barbara Kingsolver
Acclaimed novelist Barbara Kingsolver takes the long view. About her new novel, Unsheltered, Kingsolver says, “We’re living through a scary historical moment when the most basic agreements about who we are as citizens, and how we’ll succeed in the world, are suddenly unraveling. It isn’t the first time. People are such interesting animals. Unsheltered speaks to these moments, and uses the lens of unravelings past to ask where we might be headed.” Sometimes, the long view is exactly what we need to make sense of the present, and Kingsolver will be speaking about her new work, and her life as a writer and a reader, when she comes to Seattle. KATIE HERZOG

OCTOBER 25–26

FESTIVALS

130. Lemonhaze Convention and Comedy Festival
This event capitalizes on the natural bond of cannabis and comedy, pairing a convention filled with educational seminars and panels with a block party filled with live performances and vendors selling everything from buds to vape pens. Doug Benson, Jessimae Peluso, Donnel Rawlings, and Judah Friedlander will headline the comedy portion, and speakers will include Stranger staff writer and resident cannabis expert Lester Black, who will give a talk on journalism's crucial role in the legal weed industry.

OCTOBER 25–28

FILM

131. NFFTY
The "young filmmaker's Cannes"—Charles Mudede called it "world-class"—this festival assembles the best films made by directors under 25. See works by promising cineastes who will make you feel very old.

OCTOBER 26

HALLOWEEN

132. FreakNight 2018
Annual high-key wild-out throwdown FreakNight, basically a Halloweentown Coachella, features a whole night of live music, dancing, a market, and a darkly neon environment of scary circus attractions, bizarre sideshow marvels, and carnival rides.

MUSIC

133. The Internet
Originally stemming from the sporadic talent flow of hiphop collective Odd Future, the Internet formed as their own band—a band that combines various genres and styles for a fluid expression of kaleidoscopic neo-soul, R&B, funk, and hiphop by members Syd, Matt Martians, Steve Lacy, Patrick Paige II, and Christopher Smith.

134. Poppy, Kailee Morgue, Jaira Burns
Bizarro pop Barbie web artist Poppy has racked up hundreds of millions of views on YouTube for her many surreal Technicolor videos. She'll be performing tracks off of last October's debut album alongside openers Kailee Morgue and Jaira Burns.

OCTOBER 26–28

FILM

135. Friday Harbor Film Festival
Tip: take advantage of any excuse you have to travel up to the San Juans. The Friday Harbor Film Festival is a pretty good one, with documentaries focusing on Pacific Rim topics from culture to environmentalism, as well as discussions and special events.

OCTOBER 27

HALLOWEEN

136. Fremonster Spectacular
Halloween party people will be glad to know that Fremont's Halloweekend bash will return with even more DJs, live performances, tricks, treats, goblins, and inventive booze creations that ever before. Expect Valtesse go-go dancers, fog machines in every corner, bondage and suspension performances from Seattle Shibari, live sets form DJs Jeromy Nail and Kipprawk, a costume contest, and more.

137. HAUNT: The Ultimate Halloween Bash
Dance the night away with 2,000 other people at what claims to be "Seattle's largest, hottest and most anticipated" Halloween party. There will also be a costume contest with a $1000 prize for the best overall winner, so put some effort into it.

MUSIC

138. SOB X RBE, Quando Rondo
Vallejo’s constantly bubbling crew SOB X RBE add a splash of Bay Area flourish to the current rap scene. They'll be joined by Georgia rapper Quando Rondo on their 2018 Global Gangin Tour.

139. Ty Segall, Shannon Lay
Only six years ago, Ty Segall was playing record stores and midsize clubs. Now he’s headlining two- and three-night stands at large-capacity venues in Brooklyn and Seattle. Any other artist in his shoes might have signed to a major, but Segall has stuck it out with Drag City, the Chicago label that lets him do whatever the fuck he wants, and lately he’s been on a theatrical-rock kick. In 2016, that meant creepy latex masks. In 2017, it was all about the toreador cape, but everything Segall builds rests on a sturdy garage-rock foundation. After the anarchy of 2016’s Emotional Mugger, the latest self-titled record represents a return to a more cohesive form with the sort of hazy ballads and glitter-thrash anthems he does so well. KATHY FENNESSY

OCTOBER 27–28

GEEK

140. GeekGirlCon
For the eighth year in a row, GeekGirlCon will call attention to the underrepresentation of women in the tech and gaming world with panel discussions, games, vendors, and more.

OCTOBER 28

MUSIC

141. The Joy Formidable, Tancred
For those who find the xx too reserved to compel full engagement, the Joy Formidable are here to fill your guitar-based art-pop hole with an impressive droney racket. DAVID SCHMADER

THROUGH OCTOBER 28

HALLOWEEN

142. Wild Waves Fright Fest
If you think theme parks are kind of creepy on their own, prepare yourself for Wild Waves' October transformation, which will provide visitors the opportunity to brave three haunted houses and ride roller coasters in the dark (eep!). Little ones can play in Booville.

OCTOBER 28–30

READINGS & TALKS

143. National Geographic Live: Social By Nature
Broaden your horizons and discover social mammals close to us on the family tree, like chimps, or a little farther along the branch, like wolves. Join Ronan Donovan for a talk on animal observations.

OCTOBER 29

MUSIC

144. Public Image Ltd.
After flaming across the world's consciousness as one of punk's most provocative figureheads, John Lydon could've coasted on the notoriety of his Pistols tenure and milked that persona for easy money. Instead, he ripped up the script and started from scratch with PiL, which initially included ex-Clash guitarist Keith Levene, earth-moving bassist Jah Wobble, and a rotating cast of drummers, including Martin Atkins. With their first three extraordinary LPs, PiL shook punk's stylistic shackles and forged uniquely caustic and stark variations on rock, dub, and disco. Their alien vibrations are still inspiring musicians and blowing listeners' minds today. DAVE SEGAL

OCTOBER 30

MUSIC

145. FIDLAR, Dilly Dally
Greasy punx FIDLAR (it's short for "Fuck it, dawg, life's a risk") will graduate from headlining the Showbox for the past few years and move on to Showbox Sodo, with help from Toronto soft-grunge outfit Dilly Dally.

146. Years & Years, CYN
London-based electro-pop trio Years & Years will grace Seattle with their presence, playing tracks off their latest album, Palo Santo, with an opening support set by solo Midwestern pop artist CYN.

OCTOBER 31

MUSIC

147. La Luz, Shy Boys
Reliably excellent surf rock group La Luz will return to their original hometown for a rowdy Halloween show with opening support from psych-pop band Shy Boys.

148. Mitski, Overcoats
Mitski had me at her latest album title, Puberty 2. She pulled me deeper with hooded vocals born from an earnest power, à la Sharon Van Etten (with an occasional Angel Olsen–esque tremor) and an open seeking of clearer tones. She punches through with devastatingly honest lyrics, reminiscent of braying your true intentions at anyone you’ve attempted to care about, with all the subtlety of a brass section, loud and twisted, tucking and rolling her way into your heart. KIM SELLING

149. Tacocat, Sleepover Club, Mirrorgloss
I imagine that tonight’s performance will entail all the best aspects of Tacocat's glorious, bubble-filled Bumbershoot 2017 performance, including glitter, bright colors, and remarkably catchy ditties about day-to-day life. However, expect Tacocat to bring spookier and scarier vibes tonight.  ANNA KAPLAN

OCTOBER 31–NOVEMBER 1

MUSIC

150. Tokyo Police Club, Fleece
Canadian indie rock lifers Tokyo Police Club are back after a long session of churning out new work for a season-long tour crossing their home turf as well as the West Coast, with opening support from Montreal psych-rockers Fleece.