Our music critics have already chosen the 39 best music shows this week, but now it's our arts critics' turn to pick the best events in their areas of expertise. Here are their picks in every genre—from a goodbye party for the Mariane Ibrahim Gallery to the Nordic Lights Film Festival, and from the opening of Jeffrey Gibson: Like a Hammer to Pike Place Market's Pig Day Out. See them all below, and find even more events on our complete Things To Do calendar.

Stay in the know! Get all this and more on the free Stranger Things To Do mobile app (available for iOS and Android), or delivered to your inbox.


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

MONDAY

FOOD & DRINK

Old-Fashioned Beefsteak Dinner with West Seattle Brewing
Get your meat and beer fix at this old-fashioned beefsteak dinner with pairings from West Seattle brewing.

MONDAY-THURSDAY

VISUAL ART

Aming mga Pangitain: Our Visions
The M. Rosetta Hunter Gallery and Pinoy Words Expressed Kultura Arts (PWEKA) host five regional Filipino American artists: Beija Flor, Raphael Laigo, Sam Rodrick Roxas-Chua, Lisa Szillassy, and Jeaneatte Tiffany.
Closing Thursday

Jite Agbro: /ˈskāpˌɡƍt/
Jite Agbro is concerned with what you’re wearing. Well, okay, maybe not exactly with what you’re wearing right now, but more with how what we wear and how we wear it is an expression of our “projected narratives and our authentic selves.” Pretty heady stuff, huh? In /ˈskāpˌɡƍt/, the Seattle-based Nigerian American artist will be presenting her latest series of large-scale mixed-media works that investigate class distinctions and markers of status, drawing inspiration from the human body and what that body can wear. Show up in your Sunday best. JASMYNE KEIMIG
Closing Thursday

Katie Miller: Edifice
Northwest artist Katie Miller's latest show, Edifice, explores how our sense of place is informed by the rapidly evolving built environment, like construction sites promising architectural superstructures.
Closing Thursday

Two Ravens: Alison Marks & Crystal Worl
In their joint show, Alison Marks, a Tlingit language advocate and mixed-media artist, and Crystal Worl, a Tlingit and Athabascan printmaker, metalworker, and performer, explore the myth and meaning behind their shared clan marker, the Raven. Presenting works they made collaboratively and individually, both Alaskan artists seek to explore their shared heritage and add their own perspectives to it as well. Keep an eye out for Marks’s humorous and thought-provoking indigenous interventions on Western art, and Worl’s celebratory use of color and form in her creations. JASMYNE KEIMIG
Closing Thursday

MONDAY-SUNDAY

FOOD & DRINK

Li'l Woody's Burger Month
As part of their yearly Burger Month collaboration, Li'l Woody's has assembled a crack lineup of four local chefs to each create their weekly burger specials for February. This week features the "Deli Burger" with Painted Hills grass-fed beef, pastrami, sliced red onions, iceberg lettuce, spicy kosher pickle, Russian dressing, cream cheese Mornay, and an everything spiced bun from chef Mitch Mayers of Lark (Monday) and the "SARAP Sandwich" with roasted pulled pork adobo, chicharrĂłnes, radishes, fried garlic, patis salsa verde, and a Hawaiian bun from chef Melissa Miranda of Bar del Corso and the pop-up Musang (Tuesday-Sunday).

TUESDAY

READINGS & TALKS

How #MeToo Is Changing Culture, Politics, and Journalism: A Conversation with KUOW’s Sydney Brownstone
Thanks to the work of former Stranger writer and current KUOW journalist Sydney Brownstone, several local men have been held accountable for sexually assaulting people. She broke the story about porn scammer and sex offender Matt Hickey, she raised up the voices of former mayor Ed Murray's accusers when few were doing so, and she exposed the multiple allegations of rape and sexual assault against David Meinert. Those are just a few of her major stories on this beat, and she did a lot of that work before Ronan Farrow reported out the rape allegations against Harvey Weinstein, which helped to reignite the #MeToo movement. In this way, she's specially positioned to join Seattle University journalism professor Sonora Jha for a conversation about how her work and the work of others is changing—and, unfortunately, not changing—the culture, and to offer some guidance about how to write these stories responsibly. RICH SMITH

Michael Ondaatje: Warlight
Former Stranger staffer Paul Constant on this Canadian author: "Michael Ondaatje has seduced the world one reader at a time with his heartbreaking narratives and beautiful, crystalline prose (four words: The English Patient, motherfucker)." Ondaatje will read from his latest novel, Warlight, about two children abandoned by their parents in the wake of World War II and raised by a strange person known as "the Moth."

VISUAL ART

3D4M Open House
Meet the students, faculty, and staff of the Ceramic and Metal Arts program at UW. There will be two exhibitions to check out—one of juried undergrad work, the other Luke Armistead and Andy Romero's Dead Roads Left Open—as well as clay to play with and glass art demos to watch. Perfect for prospective students, but fun for everyone!

Ultra Light Beams
Revisit curator Anthony White's Ultra Light Beams, which Stranger art critic Jasmyne Keimig called "post-analog as fuck."
Closing Tuesday

TUESDAY-THURSDAY

VISUAL ART

Danny Giles: The Practice and Science of Drawing a Sharp White Background
Chicago-based artist Danny Giles is interested in a lot of things—namely, how to address “the dilemmas of representing and performing identity and interrogate histories of oppression and creative resistance.” Using sculpture, video, and live performance, Giles’s work doesn’t necessarily give answers but pushes us to ask questions about police surveillance, understandings of race and identity, and the relationship between state power and anti-black violence. JASMYNE KEIMIG
Closing Thursday

Indigenous Teen Art Show
Curated by Aiyanna Stitt alongside Moe’nayah Holland and Michael Anderson of Teens in Tacoma, the yəhaw̓ Indigenous Teen Art Show aims to recognize the artistic abilities and talents of young Native artists (between the ages of 13 and 20) in the Northwest. 
Closing Thursday

TUESDAY-SATURDAY

VISUAL ART

Meditation/Mediation
This wide-ranging group exhibition highlights artists' divergent approaches to concept and material. The contributors include such intriguing figures as sculptor Heike Brachlow, ceramicist Jun Kaneko, glass artist Preston Singletary, and many others.
Closing Saturday

Théo Tobiasse: Selected Lithographs
See the figurative lithographs of Lithuanian Israeli artist Théo Tobiasse, a fascinating figure who survived the Holocaust in Paris by hiding for two years in a tiny apartment with his family. Later, he became an advertising artist before turning to a career in fine art. According to a description from Elliott Gallery, Tobiasse always inserts a "secret message" into his works, a phrase in Yiddish that he then permanently hides with other elements. 
Closing Saturday

WEDNESDAY

FOOD & DRINK

Author Talk: Secrets of Great Second Meals by Sara Dickerman
At her talk for her new book Secrets of Great Second Meals, Seattle-based, James Beard Award-winning food writer Sara Dickerman will share inspiration for spinning your refrigerator odds and ends into satisfying and appealing second meals. 

Restaurant After Hours 2019
Over 25 Seattle restaurants will convene under one roof for the Seattle Metro Chamber's annual local food extravaganza. Taste offerings from Fremont Brewing, Cakes by Frosted, Homegrown, Ivar's Restaurants, Nutty Squirrel Gelato, Pike Brewing Company, and more.

PERFORMANCE

Peaches Christ's 'Mean Gays'
Demented drag legend Peaches Christ is the perfect queen to head this queer parody of Mean Girls, which co-stars Kim Chi as Kimmy, William as Regina, and Laganja Estranja as Karen. Christ herself plays Gretchen, of course.

READINGS & TALKS

Climate Science for the People: From the Courthouse to the Statehouse
Cascadia Climate Action will partner up with Climate Science on Tap for a panel discussion on how citizens can advocate for climate action policies. In addition, attorney Andrea Rogers of Our Children's Trust will share her work on behalf of youth plaintiffs in the Juliana v. United States case.

Leigh Calvez: The Breath of a Whale
Leigh Calvez writes well-researched, thoroughly beautiful books that illuminate the lives of animals without stripping them of their essential mystery. In her last book, The Hidden Lives of Owls, she headed into the forests in the middle of the night to track the complex lives of owls. With The Breath of a Whale, she's going back to her roots as an aquatic ecotour guide, which explains why the book reads like the literary accompaniment to a very excellent whale-watching excursion. Learn about the secretive lives of blue whales, migratory humpbacks, and, of course, our own endangered southern resident orcas. RICH SMITH

Stoked Spoke Adventure Series Presents: Women, Trans and Femme Riders in Early Cycling History
Tessa Hulls is a visual artist, comic, writer, and adventurer who has biked solo all over the planet, rolling over approximately 14,000 miles of paved road and donkey trail at 12 miles per hour. No matter where she went on her long rides, she always heard the same thing from passersby: "You know, a woman can't travel alone." This constant refrain provoked Hulls to add another line to her resume: feminist historian with a focus on little-known turn-of-the-20th-century adventurers. After digging up tons of primary source material about female-identified bikers of yore, she's now out on a lecture tour to show that she can travel alone, thank you very much. And what's more: she's following in a long but undersung tradition of women adventurers who used a two-wheeler to fight for their rights. RICH SMITH

Zadie Smith
Zadie Smith has been a major literary figure her entire adult life—since White Teeth was published in her early 20s. If you have somehow never read White Teeth, that’s the novel to start with. That said, her nonfiction is truly exceptional. Find her essay collection Changing My Mind, and flip straight to "Dead Man Laughing," about growing up in a family of comedy fans. Or find her most recent essay collection, Feel Free, and flip straight to “Joy.” She is also a fantastic art critic, political commentator, theater enthusiast, and satirist. On the side, she’s raising a few children. There is literally nothing she can’t do. CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE

WEDNESDAY & SATURDAY

OPERA

The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs
Contemporary opera probably isn't the most intuitive delivery system for the life story of the CEO of the world's largest tech company, but in some ways it kinda makes sense. Jobs was a major mythical figure for geeks, a reportedly tyrannical boss who basically wore a costume all the time, and a literary enthusiast! Regardless, the opera, which was written by Mason Bates and librettist Mark Campbell, has been getting great reviews since its premiere in Santa Fe last year, thanks largely to its state-of-the-art, "visually stunning" projection sequences. RICH SMITH

WEDNESDAY-SATURDAY

VISUAL ART

Elizabeth LaPensée: heart of the game
In any kind of game we play, there’s knowledge built into it that isn’t necessarily universal. Elizabeth LaPensĂ©e, who is Anishinabe, MĂ©tis, and Irish, looks at ways in which gaming architecture and systems can be rewired to “center, iterate, and mainstream indigenous ways of knowing.” In her most recent exhibition, visitors will have a chance to play both digital and non-digital games that LaPensĂ©e has created, like the iPad singing game Honour Water, and table-top role-playing game Dialect. They can also test out a few levels from When Rivers Were Trails and try an indigenous take on The Oregon Trail set for release sometime this year. JASMYNE KEIMIG
Closing Saturday

WEDNESDAY-SUNDAY

PERFORMANCE

American Junkie
In his book American Junkie, Seattle memoirist Tom Hansen presented his no-bullshit, matter-of-fact account of heroin addiction, self-destruction, and eventual recovery in the 1990s. According to press materials, Jane Jones and Kevin McKeon's adaptation of his story for the stage will be "a ride through Seattle’s music scene during the grunge era." No doubt Hansen's story will also resonate with people living through the current ravages of the opioid crisis. RICH SMITH

Bonbon
The slinky dancers of Pike Place's kitschy cabaret return with another tasty show. Ever wanted to ogle athletic dancers twirling from chandeliers inches from your face? Go. There's also a family-friendly brunch version that you can guiltlessly take your out-of-town relatives to.

Hollywood & Vine
Enjoy a vintage and magic-filled tribute to Tinseltown with the 20-year-old circus troupe Teatro ZinZanni as they perform in their new Woodinville space.

I Do! I Do!
Get ready to weep nostalgic tears at the Village Theatre's production of a multiple Tony Award-winning musical by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt, which portrays 50 years of a loving marriage.

VISUAL ART

Noble Splendor: Art of Japanese Aristocrats
Works commissioned by rich patrons of the arts in premodern Japan are celebrated: sculptures, screens, scrolls, paintings, and metalwork.
Closing Sunday

THURSDAY

FOOD & DRINK

Beat Bobby Flay ft. Bruce Naftaly Viewing Party
Enjoy light snacks, beer, cider, and wine as you watch Marmite chef Bruce Naftaly go head-to-head with the Food Network's Bobby Flay on TV.

Latta Wines x Saint Helens Dinner
Chef Ira Taylor will cook up a four-course dinner with wine pairings by Andrew Latta of LATTA Wines. 

READINGS & TALKS

'The Art of Leaving' with Author Ayelet Tsabari: Language, Longing, and Belonging
In her new memoir, The Art of Leaving, author Ayelet Tsabari traces her journey from her childhood home in Israel to the Canadian cities of Vancouver and Toronto, juxtaposed with her grandparents' migration from Yemen to Israel in the 1930s. Hear the author in conversation with Slavic and Jewish Studies Professor Sasha Senderovich.

Aldon Morris: W.E.B. Du Bois at the Center
What can we expect from Aldon Morris's lecture on one of the greatest black American intellectuals, W.E.B. Du Bois? Nothing but solid scholarship. First, Morris is, like the subject of his lecture and book (The Scholar Denied), a sociologist. And second, he makes a compelling case for how sociology, which is dominated by white scholars, has neglected the significant scientific contributions Du Bois made to the discipline. Du Bois is usually placed in the context of a 19th-century dispute concerning the future of freed blacks. Should it be Booker T. Washington’s vision or Du Bois’s? But it neglects that he was actually a scholar with a deep commitment to research. Morris’s work is to repair the damage done to his subject’s legacy. CHARLES MUDEDE

Jill Abramson: Merchants of Truth
The former editor of the New York Times, who was sacked in 2014, has a new book coming out on the past decade's upheaval in the news media. It's called Merchants of Truth, and in addition to drawing on Abramson's own time at the Grey Lady, it describes the trajectories of the Washington Post, BuzzFeed, and VICE. Since even before its publication, many of the people interviewed for the book have come forward with accusations of inaccuracy, while others have pointed to instances of apparent plagiarism.

Peter Buttigieg: Shortest Way Home
Peter Buttigieg is running to be the youngest and gayest president of the United States ever, so perhaps you should know how to say his last name? He says it’s pronounced "Buh-teh-juj," but you’d do better to go hear him say it himself in person. In South Bend, Indiana, where this 36-year-old Harvard grad, Rhodes Scholar, and navy veteran is known as “Mayor Pete,” Buttigieg has reportedly been overseeing a dramatic turnaround in his formerly “dying city,” making him, according to the Washington Post, “the most interesting mayor you’ve never heard of.” Buttigieg lives in South Bend with his husband, just a few doors down from his parents, and he’s written a book about his unique American journey called Shortest Way Home. Is this also the shortest way to the White House? Go, listen, and consider. ELI SANDERS

The Writing Workshop of Glamorous Refusal with Anastacia-Renee
In keeping with the pro-no theme of the empowering Glamorous Refusal magazine, Seattle Civic Poet Anastacia Renée will lead a writing workshop that explores "No-ing from our bodies" through chants, yelling, and physical movement. She'll also lead a series of poetry and prose writing prompts based on the idea that 'no' is a verb and 'no-ing' is a birthright."

VISUAL ART

Mariane Ibrahim Gallery Closing
Mariane Ibrahim Gallery was a very distinct and distinguished presence in the Seattle art scene. Run by the eponymous Mariane Ibrahim-Lenhardt, the gallery mainly focused on contemporary art made by African artists from around the world. In the past few months here in Seattle, they've shown Zimbabwean artist Kudzanai Chiurai and South African artist Alexandra Karakashian. The gallerist—who grew up in both Somalia and France—is also a huge player in global art fairs, taking home the first Presents Booth Prize at New York’s Armory Show in 2017 for showing the work of German Ghanaian artist Zohra Opoku. Come by and say goodbye! JASMYNE KEIMIG

THURSDAY-SATURDAY

VISUAL ART

Danny Giles: Figura
In collaboration with the Jacob Lawrence Gallery, the Pioneer Square art space displays work by Danny Giles, this year's Jacob Lawrence Legacy Residency Artist. Here's Jasmyne Keimig: "Chicago-based artist Danny Giles is interested in a lot of things—namely, how to address 'the dilemmas of representing and performing identity and interrogate histories of oppression and creative resistance.' Using sculpture, video, and live performance, Giles’s work doesn’t necessarily give answers but pushes us to ask questions about police surveillance, understandings of race and identity, and the relationship between state power and anti-black violence."
Closing Saturday

Jeffrey Gibson: Like a Hammer
In his first major museum exhibition, artist Jeffrey Gibson combines traditional elements of Native American art and materials with contemporary pop-culture references and images. This leads to objects displaying an interesting juxtaposition of cultures, like a wooden panel traditionally beaded with “I WANNA BE ADORED”—a lyric from the classic 1991 Stone Roses song—blazed across it. Or a punching bag beautifully adorned with beaded geometric patterns. The exhibit will bring together 65 different pieces of Gibson’s work from the past eight years. JASMYNE KEIMIG
Opening Thursday

FRIDAY

COMEDY

JB Smoove
Did you know JB Smoove was in Pootie Tang? That movie is terrible, but Smoove is pretty funny in it. The actor, writer, and comic has been active since his break on Def Comedy Jam in 1995. He’s since appeared in and written for a range of films and TV shows (you likely know him best as Leon Black in Curb Your Enthusiasm), in addition to writing a book (The Book of Leon: Philosophy of a Fool came out last year), and continuing to deliver sets of his well-honed stand-up, a mix of physical comedy and his humorous perspective on how the world works. LEILANI POLK

Safeword
Watch kinkster and vanilla comics incorporate random perversions into their routines in this sexy comedy game show, a brainchild of Claire Webber and Bobby Higley. As you might guess from the title, the audience enters into a "verbal contract" with the performers to ensure everyone's fun and safety. If the safeword is used, Claire and Bobby get spanked by someone who's shelled out to be in the "SplashZone"—these lucky folks also get to interact kinkily with the comics. Don't bring the kids, obviously, but there will be no nudity and no actual sex.

The Seattle Process
Described as "Seattle's only intentionally funny talk show" and "a mudpie lobbed into the halls of power," The Seattle Process with Brett Hamil offers politics, exasperation, information, and comedy. This year's guests include Democratic Socialist and Seattle city council District 4 candidate Shaun Scott, former mayor Mike McGinn, and the usual crew (beloved local comics Emmett Montgomery, Travis Vogt, and Galaxy. 

FOOD & DRINK

Pig Day Out
This event celebrates not one but two pig-related occasions: the Lunar New Year and National Pig Day—a special "Porcine Nexus" that only happens once every 12 years. Rather than just feast on pork (which you can still do via food specials at spots like Honest Biscuits and Pike's Pit Bar-B-Que), you'll be watching pig races, making pig crafts, witnessing the crowning of the 2019 Lunar New Year princess Golden Pearl, drinking in a Pig Pen Beer Garden and S’Winery, and seeing live performances by the Chinese Cultural Dancers.

Slovenian Dinner
Chef Derek Shankland will spotlight the cuisine from the tiny but culturally rich Baltic country of Slovenia. 

Wizards and Witches Beer Festival
Remember when Harry Potter has his first butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks and gets tipsy and tries to walk back to Hogwarts in the snow? Follow his lead by tasting the Adult Butterscotch Beer along with over twenty other wintery brews. Or, stop by the Lair of Secret Cider Potions. There will also be a themed photo booth and music by DJ Merlin.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY

VISUAL ART

Karey Kessler: between Place and Thought
Karey Kessler paints colorful, conceptual maps of areas like "Almost Majestic" and "Infinite Light." Her work teases out an internal landscape that reflects on the immigrant experience as well as individual spirituality.
Closing Saturday

FRIDAY-SUNDAY

FILM

Nordic Lights Film Festival
This annual film festival celebrates the richness of Nordic culture, featuring films from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and even the Faroe Islands. Highlights of this year's lineup include the opening-night feature Woman at War, Norwegian director Arild Andresen's Handle with Care, Danish director Daniel Borgman's Loving Pia, and Faroe Islands director Sakaris Stórå's Dreams By the Sea. 

PERFORMANCE

Romeo + Juliet
Shakespeare's most misread play gets a new treatment from ACT artistic director John Langs. For this production, he's casting deaf actor Joshua Castille as Romeo and incorporating ASL into the performance. Gabriella O’Fallon will play Juliet. Castille did a fine job starring as Quasimodo in 5th Avenue's recent production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and O’Fallon killed it in WET's The Nether, so this show will probably rule. Plus, Stranger Genius Amy Thone is playing the Nurse! It'll be interesting to see this excellent dramatic actor tackle a traditionally comic role. Press materials say the show will be accessible "for Deaf and hearing audiences alike." RICH SMITH

SATURDAY

COMEDY

Slick Tarp
The nerdy and anarchic improv talents of Samantha Demboski (brilliant in Empty Orchestra last year), Jeffrey Nickels, and Sophie Schwartz will be put to use in a scary, spontaneous horror-show. 

COMMUNITY

Lunar New Year Celebration
Welcome the Year of the Pig with traditional lion and dragon dances, other cultural performances, and food at Chinatown's annual Lunar New Year celebration.

FILM

What the Femme?
Jen Yu in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The creepily conformist hausfraus of The Stepford Wives. The scary mama of Babadook. Turn a critical eye to the portrayals of women in sci-fi, fantasy, and horror in this "extension" (or tentacular offshoot) of SIFF's outré "WTF" programming. The first class, conducted by Colleen O'Holleran, deals with "Mothers in Horror." It's recommended you watch some of the programmed films beforehand.

FOOD & DRINK

For The Love of Chocolate
Gastro Obscura will present a five-chocolate tasting flight of Intrigue Chocolate Co. confections (specifically truffles) meant to spark different emotions and sensations. You'll learn about the relationship between food and "the proverbial heart." The chocolates will be paired with paired with Conduit Coffee offerings.

Icelandic Þorrablót 2019
The mid-winter Icelandic festival Þorrablót is filled with traditional food (like fermented shark meat), Brennivin schnapps, and music (provided here by Icelandic band Sour Balls). 

Washington Beer Open House
For this event, more than 140 Washington breweries will open their doors for a simultaneous open house, which will give local beer lovers a unique opportunity to create their own adventure. Plot an itinerary for a personalized brewery crawl, travel to a few destination breweries you’ve always wanted to try, or simply drop into the nearest participating craft brewer in your neighborhood. Each featured brewer will have their own lineup of surprises in store, including samples, tours, souvenirs, rare barrel tastings, savory food pairings, and more. JULIANNE BELL

PERFORMANCE

Bacon Strip: Wrapped in Plastic
The drag company Bacon Strip, helmed by Sylvia O'Stayformore and Mizz Honey Bucket, sets a gaggle of mischievous queens to shocking shenanigans every month. This time, they will pay tribute to the morbid poetics of Twin Peaks.

SATURDAY-SUNDAY

FILM

Cat Video Fest 2019
Former Stranger writer Sean Nelson described it best: "A two-day celebration of the internet's greatest (and arguably only) contribution to the cultural life of this planet: short clips of humankind's second-cutest pets being cute as hail. Meee-ow." On Saturday, meet "celeb-kitty Klaus"; on both days, pick up kitty swag from All the Best, PAWS, and Neko Cat Café. The fest benefits PAWS and its programs for homeless pussycats. 

SUNDAY

FILM

DJ Nicfit & Substation Present: A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
From Sean Nelson's review of the hit Iranian horror film: "Just when you thought there was no gas left in the tank of revisionist vampire cinema, along comes A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, a tale billed as 'the first Iranian vampire western.' Though it’s unlikely to become a crowded field, this black-and-white Farsi-language gem is rich in allusive metaphor (blood-oil-sex-religion) and deep, dark texture. First-time writer/director Ana Lily Amirpour comes by her genre bona fides honestly, via a palette of cinematic and literary influences—Jim Jarmusch most strikingly, but also Leos Carax, Jim Thompson, and Raymond Chandler—not usually seen in horror films of any nationality." DJ NicFit will remix a new soundtrack on two turntables.

FOOD & DRINK

Third Annual Dumpling Fest
My number-one craving in these cold winter months is dumplings in any and all of their forms, whether they’re xiao long bao or potato pierogi slathered in sour cream. So it’s with particular delight that I recommend this cross-cultural celebration of pillowy pockets of goodness. Tom Douglas will assemble peddlers of doughy delicacies of every persuasion—from potstickers to pelmeni—in one room, so that you can drift from station to station, stuffing their wares into your face. JULIANNE BELL

Seattle Cocktail Week
This week-long event elevates the movers and (cocktail) shakers of the Seattle bar scene with special libations available at over 60 participating venues, plus a Brazilian Carnival celebration at Capitol Hill rum den Rumba, master classes and seminars for industry pros, pop-up cocktail bars, bar takeovers, competitions, tastings, a booze-soaked bartender’s brunch, and more. Saturday’s Cocktail District event at Bell Harbor Conference Center will feature presentations and demonstrations, a retail store, eight tasting areas, and a food truck pier with Uzbek street food from Tabassum, New Orleans soul food from Where Ya At Matt, cheesy toasted sandwiches from the Grilled Cheese Experience, Peruvian sandwiches from Don Lucho’s, Native American fry bread and tacos from Off the Rez, and Asian fusion eats from Crave by Suite J. JULIANNE BELL

PERFORMANCE

Staged Reading: Hookman
This performance of "existential slasher comedy" Hookman by Lauren Yee—the youthful talent behind The Great Leap—is the season opener of the Flux Salon, a series of live performances in venues around Seattle.