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MONDAY
FOOD & DRINKWalla Walla Wine in Seattle
Our slightly far-away neighbor to the East, Walla Walla, is known for its fine wines (and its onions, but that's for another time). Save yourself the five-hour drive and taste offerings from 50 Walla Walla Valley wineries, from vintages to current releases.
Ezra Klein: Why We're Polarized
In the late 1960s and 1970s, the Democratic and Republican Parties were more ideologically, religiously, and racially diverse than they are today. Back then, for instance, some Republicans supported abortion, and some Democrats were virulent, fearmongering racists. As Vox cofounder Ezra Klein argues in his new book, Why We're Polarized, that dynamic has radically changed. Over the last several decades, American political parties have sorted themselves into two teams based on identities. For the most part, the blue team is a godless, multiracial coalition of city dwellers, and the red team is a Christian army composed largely of white men from the suburbs and rural areas. Given this reality, Klein argues, a democratic system based on compromise has become nearly impossible to maintain. When groups feel like their identityâtheir very beingâis under attack, they're less likely to try to work out differences, and much more likely to try to wipe out their rivals. If you listen to Klein's podcast, The Ezra Klein Show, you know this book is essentially a product of the conversations he's had with political scientists, researchers, and Big Thinkers over the last several months. What I like about Klein's approach to this topic is that he doesn't merely point to the "divide" in American politics as a roundabout way to bemoan some perceived decline of "civility." He looks at the larger structures powerful people have built to break us up, and then shows us how they work. If we really want to create a less polarized society, it's going to take good, clear analyses such as Klein's to figure out how to improve those structures, or else dismantle them entirely. RICH SMITH
Bon Appétit: The Julia Child Show
Strolling through the Smithsonian Museum one afternoon, I stumbled upon a full replica of Julia Child's kitchen. I walked in because I had recently finished watching some classic episodes of The French Chef, including her infamous lobster show. "You have to cut him right here," Child says as she sticks her knife into the lobster's neck, "where all of his brains and hearts and feelings are." Genius. Anyway, in the Smithsonian exhibit, I saw a picture of Child bent over a counter in a small French kitchen. On the placard next to the photo was a quote from the famously tall chef: "When I get my own kitchen, I'm going to build the counters up to my waist. I'm through with this French pygmy bullshit!" If you haven't figured it out yet, Child is one of the greatest and funniest people ever to wield an eight-inch knife. In this light opera, a shade of the chef will crack you up while also making a chocolate cake. A serving of cake is included in the ticket price. RICH SMITH
MONDAY-TUESDAY
READINGS & TALKSDesigned By Nature (National Geographic Live)
Kakani Katija is quite a characterâonce part of the US figure skating team, she's now a bioengineer who specializes in studying organisms that live in ocean midwaters. In this multimedia presentation, learn how scientists like Katija model robots on jellyfish and other sea denizens.
MONDAY & THURSDAY-SUNDAY
PERFORMANCEOur Country's Good
Timberlake Wertenbaker's play, staged here by Strawberry Theatre Workshop, depicts a group of convicts in 18th-century New South Wales who are encouraged by British Navy officers to put on George Farquhar's restoration comedy The Recruiting Officer. In the words of the Workshop, the play is especially relevant to the current day, because "The United States incarcerates more people than any country in the world; the US constitutes 4% of the world population, but keeps 22% of the world's prisoners behind bars. Many prison inmates haven't been convicted of anythingâthey are jailed awaiting trial or a hearing on their immigration status."
ALL WEEK
FOOD & DRINKLi'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 "Good Old Burger" with fry sauce, American cheese, and yubeshi onions from chef Brady Williams of Canlis (Mon) and the Puerto Rican-inspired "Boricua Burger" with two picadillo patties, Sazon, plantain chips, and sauce from chef Eric Rivera of Addo (Tues-Sun).
TUESDAY
COMEDYDerek Eisel with Bobbi Jo Blessings: A Valentimes to Remember
Spend an irreverent Valentine's evening with drag queen Bobbi Jo Blessings and musician Derek Eisel.
smARTfilms: Black Excellence
This series, curated by Sade McInnis, includes five films that showcase black brilliance, starting tonight with I Am Not Your Negro.
Seattleâs Filipino Food with Chef Marcus Samuelsson
KCTS 9 welcomes celebrity chef and restaurateur Marcus Samuelsson, who you likely know from his appearances on shows ranging from Top Chef Masters (he won the competition in 2010), to Chopped (on which heâs a regular guest judge), to his PBS food and travel show No Passport Required. Seattleâs Filipino food scene (and places like Hood Famous Bakeshop, Knee High Stocking Co, and Archipelago) was featured in the season two premiere of No Passport Required that aired in December. In a recent interview with The Stranger, Samuelsson said he'd been to our city countless times but had no idea that almost 3 percent of our population is Filipino until he started filming. "With the show, I'm always learning about new communities," he said. This event celebrates the Seattle Filipino communityâs food and culture, with Samuelsson in a round table discussion with the chefs and restaurateurs who were featured in the episode, a Filipino Night Market, and Filipino food tastings. LEILANI POLK
Covering the World as It Is: How to Stay Informed in a News-Fatigued World
Join Jennifer Strachan, KUOW's Chief Content Officer, for a talk on how to sort through the often overwhelming news cycleâand which sources to trust.
Spotlight Fiction: With Teeth by Natanya Ann Pulley
DinĂ© writer Natanya Ann Pulley, founder of the Hairstreak Butterfly Review, will present morsels from her surreal, violent, hallucinatory new collection. Â
TUESDAY-SUNDAY
PERFORMANCEDisney's 'Frozen'
Iâve written in the past that I have a warm spot in my heart for Frozen, Disney's second-highest-grossing animated film, about a princess who sets out on a quest (with a group of helpful sidekicks, of course) to find her estranged older sister after said sister's icy magical powers accidentally bring eternal winter to their kingdom. Now the Tony-nominated Broadway show from Disney Theatrical Productions, directed by Michael Grandage, is coming to Seattle for an engagement that promises "sensational special effects, stunning sets and costumes, and powerhouse performances." Expect all those earwormy songs (including the relentlessly triumphant, hard-not-to-sing-along-and-make-dramatic-hand-gestures-to âLet It Goâ), plus an expanded score that features a dozen new numbers by the filmâs songwriters, Kristen Anderson-Lopez and EGOT winner Robert Lopez. LEILANI POLK
She Loves Me
You know the story: two people who hate each other in real life are unwittingly in love with each other in a different realm. It's based on the same 1937 play, Parfumerie, that Nora Ephron's You've Got Mail was based on. In She Loves Me, which is set in the 1930s, the romantic leads are Amalia Balash (Allison Standley) and Georg Nowack (Eric Ankrim). They spar in the perfume shop where they both work and while corresponding anonymously as pen pals connected through a Lonely Hearts Club. No one is as happy as they seem in She Loves Me and everyone seems to be hiding something. Maybe love could fix all this. Through the constant hum of music that serves as the heartbeat to She Loves Me, each character gets a breath of individuality. There are no showstoppers here. Some of the characters shine, and others fade into the background, all while telling us what they yearn for, or what they think they yearn for. Mostly, that's love. NATHALIE GRAHAM
True West
Americaâs favorite masc4masc playwright Sam Shepard is dead. He passed away in 2017, but the swaggering cowboy, called the âgreatest American playwright of his generationâ by New York magazine, is continuing to get a retrospective on stages across the country. Now the celebration comes to the Seattle Rep, with the theater putting on True West, a gritty and funny play about two brothers and some identity theft. Expect brawls and belly laughs. CHASE BURNS
WEDNESDAY
FILMFade to Black: Tales From the Hood
This monthly horror film series will celebrate Black History Month with a screening of Rusty Cundieff's 1995 classic Tales from the Hood, which the orgawnizers plant firmly in the "urban horror" genre. Curator and hostess Isabelle L. Price (aka "Seattle's Queen of Halloween") will lead a post-film discussion.Â
Courtenay Hameister: Okay Fine Whatever
Live Wire host Courtenay Hameister recounts her time tackling her deepest anxieties in her new memoir, Okay Fine Whatever: The Year I Went from Being Afraid of Everything to Only Being Afraid of Most Things, which Lidia Yuknavitch called "a brilliant testament to the fire of the spirit for misfits and scaredy pants everywhere." The author will be joined in conversation by Live Wire co-host Luke Burbank.
Diane Rehm: When My Time Comes
The cherished NPR and WAMU radio show host Diane Rehm (she started in 1979 with Kaleidoscope, which later became the Diane Rehm Show) will present her book on death, the right-to-die movement, and end-of-life care.
Nancy K. Rivenburgh and Patricia Chase in Conversation with A.V. Crofts: Envisioning Better Cities
Find out how cities all over the world are leading the way in sustainable planning, from solar energy projects in China to pollinator pathways in Seattle.Â
Renee Gladman
Experimental prose writer, poet, visual artist, and teacher Renee Gladman has built her long and celebrated literary career at the edges of genre. Calamities, the last book she wrote for Seattle/NYC outfit Wave Books, was a critically acclaimed long essay about the connection between writing and natural disasters that moved like a poem. For this Bagley Wright Lecture, Gladman will apply her formal innovations to the normally humdrum genre of academic public speech. Press materials say she will talk about the four books that compose her Ravicka series, and "conclude with the premiere of a sound piece, specifically commissioned for this project, composed and performed by Mauricio Pauly." I'm normally suspicious of any sort of "sound piece," but if Gladman is involved, and if it's happening at the Olympic Sculpture Park, then there's no way it'll end up being some kind of endurance test. RICH SMITH
WEDNESDAY-SUNDAY
COMEDYSeattle Festival of Improv Theater 2020
Rejoice in the local, national, and even international improv scenes with dozens of performers making up excellent improv groups, all of whom share a love for making up stories onstage. Local favorites include Death & Taxes, Book Club, Fat Cats, and B-Rated; the headlining act is Theme Park from LA, composed of John Michael Higgins (Best in Show, Pitch Perfect), Michael Hitchcock (Best in Show, Bridesmaids, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Jessica Makinson (Jimmy Kimmel Live!, South Park), Cole Stratton (RiffTrax), and Janet Varney (You're the Worst).
The Angel in the House
During the Victorian era, Coventry Patmore wrote a poem describing the ideal wife as an "angel in the house" who lives to please her man, as it were. Nobody liked the poem at the time, but it became popular around the turn of the century, and its ideology was pervasive enough to spur Virginia Woolf to write a whole essay collection critiquing it. "Killing the Angel in the House was part of the occupation of a woman writer," she wrote. Quadruple-threat Sara Porkalob, who has built her career on a biographical trilogy about her cool family, said her love of Victorian-era literature and her passionate agreement with Woolf's takedown inspired her riff on this cursed character. Like her Dragon Cycle, The Angel in the House will serve as the first installment of a new play cycle based on "magic, the occult, revenge, blood, and sacrifice." Unlike the Dragon Cycle, the show is a thriller that looks like a murder mystery at first but ends up being something else entirely. Major reasons to be excited include local stars Ray Tagavilla and Ayo Tushinde, plus the joy of watching a writer/director exploring completely new territory. RICH SMITH
The Best of Everything
2014 Stranger Theater Genius Valerie Curtis-Newton directs UW graduate actors in Julie Kramer's adaptation of Rona Jaffe's novel about an ambitious woman in a 1950s typing pool who's determined to make her way to the top.
The Atomic Bombshells in...J'ADORE! A Burlesque Valentine
Some of Seattle's most beloved burlesque dancersâlike Kitten N' Lou, Reigning Queens of Burlesque Inga and Indigo Blue, Reigning King of Boylesque Lou Henry Hoover, and moreâmake up the boisterous Atomic Bombshells troupe, which has been sexing up international stages ever since Kitten LaRue founded it in 2003. For lovers of feathery, busty, glitzy fun, complemented by the antics of special guests Cherdonna, Woody Shticks, and the Purple Lemonade Collective, there's no better spectacle to attend with your friends or sweetie(s) on the most romantic day of the year.
Peacock Valentine's Day Weekend
This year, the cabaret is offering a special Valentine's version of its newest narrative show, Peacock, taking place in swinging 1920s Paris.Â
The Turn of the Screw
Book-It will adapt Henry James's chilling and ambiguous Victorian ghost novel about a naive governess who discovers what she perceives as evil supernatural influences trying to possess her two charges. Carol Roscoe will direct an adaptation by Rachel Atkins.
THURSDAY
COMEDYHave a Slice with IMNDC
One lucky audience member will not only get a free slice of pizza, but also see their life transformed into improv comedy onstage. It's a "slice of life," get it? This will be the debut of three new members, Ethan Sabella, Cory Guebels, and Mia Iseman. The illustrious monthly guest improvisers team will be Half Sister.
Abbey Creek Wine Dinner
Join Bertony Faustin of Abbey Creek Winesâthe first noted black winemaker in the Pacific Northwestâfor a multi-course dinner and limited-edition wine release. An artist and a DJ will provide live entertainment.Â
Oyster Feast with Pleasant Bay Oyster Farm at The Growler Guys
Slurp some superlatively fresh oysters (pulled from the ocean that very morning and shucked on the spot) from Pleasant Bay Oyster Farm, paired with four kegs of Breakside Brewery beer (including a 2019 Salted Caramel Stout).
Taylor Shellfish Oysters & Bubbles Night
Your Thursdays just got classier thanks to fresh Shigoku oysters from Taylor Shellfish Farms and bubbly drink specials.
It's All For You: A Janet Jackson Revue
Watch Mx. Pucks A'Plenty, Isabella L. Price, Ava D'Jor, Briq House, Taqueet$!, and fellow incredible babes cavort and strip to the tunes of Janet Jackson at this single-friendly, queer-friendly pre-V-Day bash.
Spin the Bottle: Love Is a Lie
At this Valentine's edition of the long-running Spin the Bottle variety show, comics, musicians, burlesque dancers, and drag artists will set out to prove love's deceptive nature. The organizers write, "Single people: Don't bring a date. Couples: Divorce lawyers will be present to give advice." This night will feature Howie Echo-Hawk, "Love is a Lie Weather Correspondent" Stéphanie Nam, Dan Hurwitz, Issa Man, Sin de la Rosa, Hailey Tayathy, and Mitch Mitchell.
Tiny Dances
Students under Cornish professor and dance artist Wade Madsen will perform two-minute pieces on a four-by-four-foot stage.Â
Bedroom Botany: What Plants Can Teach Us About Sex
When it comes to sex, gender, and parenting, plants are way more evolved than humans and most other animals. Learn about double fertilization, parasite offspring, hermaphroditic flowers, and cleistogamy (the process of self-fertilization in flowers) with University of Washington Plant Molecular Biologist Orlando de Lange.
Critical Issues Lecture Series
You're invited to join degree-seeking students to listen to prominent artists and art academics from around the world at UW's annual lecture series, which this week will feature The New Enquiry editor Rahel Aima.
Front Row Center: The New Asian Art Museum
Explore the newly restored Asian Art Museum's new exhibition Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, then join KUOW's Macie Sillman and curators Ping Foong and Xiaojin Wu for a talk on the SAAM's new Asian art collection.Â
Spotlight Nonfiction: 'Wild Ride Home' by Christine Hemp
Hemp's memoir is framed by the taming of a wild horse, but it covers such heartbreaking encounters and experiences as "a dangerous fiancĂ©, her motherâs dementia, unexpected death and illness." This will be the renowned poet's nonfiction debut.
A Tribute to Waverly Fitzgerald With Curt Colbert: Hard Rain
Curt Colbert (All Along the Watchtower) will read from Hard Rain, the posthumous novel of late Seattle author Waverly Fitzgerald, who passed away this past winter.
Capitol Hill Art Walk
Every second Thursday, rain or shine, the streets of Capitol Hill are filled with tipsy art lovers checking out galleries and special events. Check out our critics' picks for this month here.
THURSDAY-SUNDAY
COMEDYMary Mack
Sometimes-musical folk humorist Mary Mack has been featured on WTF with Marc Maron, 2 Dope Queens, and elsewhere. She'll come to Seattle to tell jokes punctuated by possible mandolin and clarinet outbursts. Â
Solo Fest 2020
Rich Smith has written that solo performances "hold the attention of a room like nothing else in the world of performance," and this is true in theater as well as in dance. These four playsâOver 140 Lbs. by Susan Lieu, Left on Yellow Brick Road by Sherif Amin, and Bread Crumbs by Jasmine Joshuaâallow a single actor/playwright to delve into deeply personal experiences. From deadly beauty standards to non-binary identities, from Oz-ian fantasy to Black American trials and joys, the Solo Fest will invite you into others' realities.
Voltage!
Kink, luxury, and avant-garde fashion combine in Valtesse's signature style at this "futuristic sex dream" of a cabaret. Be sure to dress in red or black cocktail attire.
FRIDAY
COMEDYJust a Phase: A QT/POC (Mostly Comedy) Variety Show
Stephanie Nam's periodic stand-up showcases feature local up-and-comers who are traditionally underrepresented in comedy. This time, comics and performers Howie Echo-Hawk, Alyssa Yeoman, Christina Nguyen, and Elvis Bello will dish out their best Valentine's Day material.
Ten Percent Luck
Laugh machine improv hosts Yeah Okay will do their comedic thang with instruction and suggestions by a featured stand-up comic (Natalie Holt in February; February special guests also include the brilliant Zach & Kayla).
Your Funny Valentine
Prefer laughs to amorous corniness? You'll be in excellent hands with JR Berard, fiery-souled Mary Lou Gamba, and serene "mustache wizard" Emmett Montgomery. Just be sure to wear warm clothes and maybe bring a snuggle buddy, as this show will take place in the beer garden. There'll be food from Cycle Dogs and Mean Sandwich if you get peckish.
Valentine's Day Dinner
We know you can't go just anywhere for your Valentine's victuals, so we've chosen the best dinner offerings at places like Goldfinch Tavern, Hotel Sorrento, Lark, Sushi Kappo Tamura, Tilth, Jack's BBQ, and Maximilien so that you can choose your own adventure.
Aphrodisiac: The Sexiest Valentine's Show in Seattle
Ultra-hot, scantily clad burlesque dancers will do their best to distract you from your three- or four-course meal at this speakeasy-set Valentine's party. VIP tickets include champagne, osetra caviar, oysters, and chocolate.
Bubbles & Burlesque
Treat yourself and your loved one(s) to a three-course dinner, a glass of Veuve Clicquot rosé (plus more, not included in the ticket price), and a trio of performances from local burlesque entertainers.
Dani Tirrell: Black Bois
In Black Bois, which sold out its 2018 world premiere run at On the Boards pretty quickly, choreographer/dancer Dani Tirrell assembles a many-gendered supergroup of Seattle performers, each of whom could easily carry their own full-length show. Together they create a show about the irreducibility of black experience. Tirrell and the cast fight back against a world that tends to flatten and fragment blackness into digestible, dismissible bits and instead, gives you all of itâthe pain, the rage, the joy, the grief, the eroticism, the spirituality, the madness, the clarity, the multiplicity of the individual, and the deep-rooted particularities of the communities. RICH SMITH
Tyra Sanchez: Fatal Attraction
Tyra Sanchez, who won the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race, will headline this extra-sexy Valentine's Day show alongside resident MX queens and DJ Nitty Gritty.Â
Exhibitions Opening Reception
Celebrate the openings of Rebecca Brewer: Natural Horror, Subspontaneous: Francesca Lohmann and Rob Rhee, and Agnieszka Polska: Love Bite with a preview of the art and drinks from the cash bar.
FRIDAY-SATURDAY
PERFORMANCEDark Violet Productions Presents: 'Apocalipstick'
Valentine's Day doesn't have to be about romantic love, but the abundance of heart-shaped confetti and couples' deals this time of year can be tough if you're dealing with a broken heart. For a refreshing change of pace, head to this burlesque show with Texas collective Dark Violet Productions, Toronto's Zyra Lee Vanity, local performers from Mod Carousel, and others.
FRIDAY-SUNDAY
FILMNoir City 2020
Charles Mudede has written, "If you love film noir, then you must love the Noir City festival, which will feature a number of known and less known movies in this genre that has lots of spiderlike women, lots of long knives, lots of rooms with dark curtains, lots of faces of the fallen, and lots of existential twists and turns." All of these will be delivered at the 2020 edition, which will focus on dark crime cinema from outside the US: The Beast Must Die and The Black Vampire (an adaptation of Fritz Lang's M) from Argentina, Panic and Finger Man from France, A Colt Is My Passport and Branded to Kill from Japan, Victim (on 35mm!) from Britain, and many more.
NT Live: 'Fleabag'
This stage show by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, about a mad and sexually hungry young woman trying to make sense of life, inspired the Emmy-nominated TV show of the same name. See it broadcast live from London.
Emily Tanner-McLean: Rose/rose/rose/rose
"Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose. / Loveliness extreme." Those two lines from artist, writer, and poet Gertrude Stein's 1913 stream-of-consciousness poem "Sacred Emily" served as inspiration for Seattle-based artist Emily Tanner McLean's latest exhibition. The show turns the line of obsessive assessment of the flower (and of the self) into a multimedia art installation that explores the underlying sentiment of the original line (a thing is what it is), and the ideas of love, sex, and romance that are attached to the flower. The rose is everywhere in this show. Through sound and visual immersion, Tanner-McLean plays with the symbol of beauty and love with a curiosity that is compelling. The showstopper in the small gallery is Flower/Thorn, a digital, moving wallpaper that takes up an entire wall. The "wallpaper"âreally, a projection playing a looping videoâis dazzling. JASMYNE KEIMIG
Closing Sunday
SATURDAY
COMEDYMiscast
In Miscast, improvisers who've never seen a particular movie/TV show will be cast alongside scripted performers playing a character from said movie/show. It's always a goofy, unpredictable time as improvisers muddle through scenes that turn increasingly nonsensical.
Shot Prov
Well, this sounds a little dangerous: Improvisers violate secret rules (secret from them, that is) as they play and must take a shot every time they do so. Poor things! After they reach their limit, they're booted off the stage, presumably for their own safety.
The Art in Horror: Horror and the Director
"Prestige horror" isn't new; great directors have worked in the genre since the existence of the motion picture. Esteemed local critic Robert Horton will head this screening series of horror masterpieces, including tonight's Frankenstein. Discover or revisit these classics and discuss them with your fellow movie nerds.
Pee-weeâs Big Adventure 35th Anniversary Tour with Paul Reubens
Revisit the cult classic Pee-weeâs Big Adventure on its 35th birthday, presented by none other than Pee-wee himself, aka Paul Reubens, who'll have plenty of behind-the-scenes stories to tell.
Seattle Night Market: Lunar New Year
This massive indoor night market will pop up for the Lunar New Year, bringing over 100 local Asian-inspired vendors and food trucks, plus a live DJ, to Magnuson Park.
My Little Planet: A Performance by Agnieszka Polska
In conjunction with her new Frye exhibition, Love Bite, Berlin-based artist Agnieszka Polska will present a "quasi-scientific performative audio-visual presentation" that explores the ridiculousness of nature of social norms. Afterward, the artist will be joined by curator Amanda Donnan and historian Graham Burnett for a conversation on her work.Â
SATURDAY-SUNDAY
PERFORMANCEChop Shop: Bodies of Work
This contemporary dance festival has presented performances from troupes and artists around the world, with the goal of reaching diverse audiences and connecting people of all abilities with dance instruction. This year's festival will bring Seattle and world premieres by OcampoWang Dance (New Jersey), Adam Barruch (New York) with Daniel Costa (Seattle), Eva Stone (Eastside), Omar RomĂĄn De JesĂșs and Nicole von Arx (New York), Seda Aybay (Los Angeles), Ramona Sekulovic (Brooklyn), and Spectrum (Seattle).
Snow White
Two actors will portray Snow White, the evil queen, seven dwarfs, the talking mirror, and the huntsman in this ambitious children's theater production written by Greg Banks and directed by Desdemona Chiang.
SUNDAY
COMEDYChris Redd
A Saturday Night Live cast member whoâs impersonated Kanye West, Cory Booker, and others, St. Louis native Chris Redd is also a rapper who wrote the hilarious song âCome Back, Barackâ for that show. Redd parlays a quick wit and snappy story-telling instincts into dozen-laughs-a-minute sets. When he gets excited, Redd radiates Chris Rock-like energy and inflections, which you can hear on his 2019 album But Here We Are. On it, Redd doles out hilarious bits about crackheads, close talkers, the âcute shitâ people do in the first year of a relationship, climbing mountains when you donât want to, and Los Angeles. âI didnât like L.A. at first when I moved here,â Redd says, âbecause all L.A. people look like theyâre having multiple good days in a row. And I donât like that confidence.â DAVE SEGAL
Middleditch & Schwartz
Improv unfolds on the big stage when Emmy-nominated Thomas Middleditch (Richard Hendricks on Silicon Valley) and Emmy-winning Ben Schwartz (most famous for playing Jean-Ralphio Saperstein on Parks and Recreation, but also in House of Lies and co-author of Things You Should Already Know about Dating, You Fucking Idiot) put on a two-person longform show.
Alki Oyster Fest!
At the third annual Oyster Fest on Alki Beach, slurp fresh Hama Hama oysters alongside a glass of wine or craft beer from West Seattle Brewing Company, Alki Beach Pub, or Harry's Beach House while listening to live music. Net proceeds benefit the Puget Sound Restoration Fund, whose mission is to "restore marine habitat, water quality, and native species in Puget Sound through tangible, on-the-ground projects."
Bug-Eating Adventures with The Bug Chef
Atlas Obscura will host a decidedly entomological dinner at beloved dive Darrell's Tavern, where local "insect evangelist" David George Gordon (who is also known as the "Bug Chef" and authored The Eat-A-Bug Cookbook) will prepare a feast using insects such as seasoned mealworms, dried ants, and skewered locusts. Belly up to the bar for some insect-based cocktails before witnessing a cooking demonstration from Gordon (and volunteers from the audience), and snack on slices of insect-topped pizza.
Chef Dinner with Bryant Terry
A January 24 Washington Post article noted that eight percent of African American adults consider themselves vegansâthe highest among all demographic groups in the US. (According to a 2016 survey by Pew Research Center, only three percent of Americans overall identify as vegans.) Black vegan eco-chef and food justice activist Bryant Terry is among veganismâs strongest advocates and is working on increasing that number one fantastic cookbook at a time, including 2014âs Afro-Vegan: Farm-Fresh African, Caribbean, and Southern Flavors Remixed (which Bon AppĂ©tit praised as one of the best vegetarian cookbooks of all time; it also helped him earn a James Beard Foundation Leadership Award in 2015). Heâs got a new book out, Vegetable Kingdom: The Abundant World of Vegan Recipes, and heâll be appearing at two events here in conjunction with its release: a veggie-centric dinner showcasing dishes from Vegetable Kingdom at Edouardo Jordan's restaurant Salare on Sunday; and a cookbook signing and talk with local chef and instructor Tarik Abdullah at Book Larder on Monday. LEILANI POLK
Seattle Cake Con & Dessert Showcase
Finally, a convention centered on towering frosted confections! But that's not all: Seattle Cake Con will also showcase ice cream, chocolate, macarons, doughnuts, and other sweets. In addition to tasting a plethora of sugary delights, attendees can enter decorating competitions, take in live demonstrations, and chat with experts of various dessert disciplines. JULIANNE BELL
Valentine's Champagne Cocktail Class
Impress your Valentine by learning to craft three sophisticated champagne cocktails using Veuve Clicquot and MoĂ«t & Chandon from Goldfinch Tavernâs Wesley Johnston.Â
Dennis Baron: Exploring the History of Our Pronouns
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's professor emeritus of English and linguistics will examine supposedly today's newfangled use of gender-neutral pronounsâwhich actually go back centuries, as Baron shows in his book Whatâs Your Pronoun: Beyond He and She. This book, which delves into Shakespeare's use of singular-they, the interpretation of "he" by turn-of-the-century feminists, and neutral pronouns of history, sounds like an educated and informed survey of an important linguistic-social phenomenon.
