By now, you might have a queue of recurring virtual events whose hosts earn your attention (and donations) every week, which is awesome. But if you're looking for something new, we've rounded up the latest, most exciting stuff popping up on the internet this week on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other platformsâfrom the Capitol Hill Art Walk to the Children's Film Festival, and from Zoom of Shame: Shame Across America (aka Salon of Shame) to Virtual Brewology. Find even more events on our complete streaming events calendar, and check back on Friday for a roundup of the best local virtual events this weekend.
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MONDAY
MUSICGarth Brooks
Disregarding his awkward Chris Gaines alt-rock phase, Garth Brooks ranks fairly high on the American national treasure list, having been marked as a top-selling solo artist by Billboard and awarded the accolades of 2016 Country Music Awards Entertainer of the Year and 2017 CMA Entertainer of the Year Nominee. Hang your hat on this cowboy every Monday on the internet.Â
Grace Potter: Monday Night Twilight Hour
Grace Potter, formerly of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, has shared the stage with the likes of the Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson, Robert Plant, the Allman Brothers, and Mavis Staples. Catch her live on her YouTube channel.
Tina Fey Presents: Rise up New York!
New York has been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, which is why 30 Rock star, author, and general delight Tina Fey is rallying her most famous friends (Bon Jovi, Mariah Carey, Billy Joel, Sting, Chris Rock, Bette Midler, etc.) for a virtual fundraiser for the city's relief programs.Â
Surviving the Digital Revolution With Gillian Andrews and Katy Sewall
It's digital security trainer Gillian "Gus" Andrews's lofty goal to help us "overcome our digital helplessness to achieve online mindfulness and escape the feeling that technology is out of our control." In this live episode of The Bittersweet Life podcast hosted by former Town Hall programming director Katy Sewall, Andrews will outline the most common online stressorsâfrom the proliferation of fake news to the threat of identity theft to the overwhelming amount of online contentâand offer tools to mitigate those anxieties.Â
TUESDAY
FILM50 Years of Seattle on the Big Screen
Location scout Dave Drummond will take you on a virtual tour of Seattle-set movies filmed on location over the last 50 years, from Cinderella Liberty to Say Anything to Singles to It Happened at the World's Fair.
The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend
Here's a chance to enjoy some Bandersnatch-esque streaming entertainment without having to submit to the soul-crushing bleakness of a Black Mirror watch! The choose-your-own-adventure Netflix experience is back again, but this time applied to the sunshiny sitcom fun of Kimmy Schmidt. The story: Kimmy just wants to marry Frederick (Daniel Radcliffe), but she's distracted by the newly-unearthed possibility that Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne (Jon Hamm) has another bunker of trapped women somewhere. Oh, also, you have to prevent Titus (Tituss Burgess) from getting fired from an action movie. BOBBY ROBERTS
Brimmer & Heeltap Women in Wine Tasting
The Ballard wine bar and gastropub's Jen Doak will talk about women in the wine industry with Buty Winery's Nina Buty on Instagram Live. They'll be sipping Conner Lee Vineyard Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
Pizza, Robots, and Restaurants of the Future
Are robots the answer to saving restaurants post-COVID? Clayton Wood, the CEO of a local company whose mission is to build a pizza-assembling robot, will talk about the newest intersections between technology and the restaurant industry.Â
STG + Starbucks Up Next: Lucia Flores-Wiseman
Every Tuesday, STG and Starbucks will partner for Up Next, a series aimed at presenting live music from "rising stars," with a special spotlight on young artists from More Music @ The Moore and STGâs Songwriters Lab. This year's virtual iteration kicks off with a set from 17-year-old Maple Valley songwriter Lucia Flores-Wiseman, who rightly idolizes Brandi Carlile.
Katie Roiphe: The Power Notebooks
Love her or (perhaps more likely) hate her, Katie Roiphe has been a daring, unique, and critical voice for decades. She's argued against victimhood feminism, claiming that women actually do have agency and control over their actions, and was famously accused of planning to out the creator of the #ShittyMediaMen list. This won her few fans on the left, but Roiphe, undaunted, continues to speak her mind, whether it's good or bad for her own reputation. If it's ballsy, unapologetic women you like, Katie Roiphe is it. KATIE HERZOG
SAL Presents: Local Voices, Reading #3âOnline
SAL Writers in the Schools residents Samar Abulhassan, Sara Brickman, Karen Finneyfrock, Jourdan Keith, Gary Lilley, Sierra Nelson, and Ann Teplick will share new work on the digital stage.Â
Zoom of Shame 2: Shame Across America
The "Salon of Shame" is a Seattle institution, and one not about to be cut short by coronavirus. Indeed, the cheerful exploitation of our younger selves' awkward adventures in adolescence translate just fine online, and so: "Shame Across America," an online compilation of the finest cringe comedy a collective childhood can cough up, with proceeds benefiting arts, service, and healthcare workers nationwide. Come for the laughs, stay for the catharsis, and lend a hand if you can. BOBBY ROBERTS
WEDNESDAY
COMMUNITYPanel Discussions: Public Art in Private Space
Every Wednesday, the Northwest Film Forum hosts virtual Zoom conversations about how artists and communicators are creating new things with major limitations. Tonight's event will center around mural projects related to Sound Transit, featuring NWFF Executive Director Vivian Hua and interdisciplinary artists Sabah Al-Dhaher, Gabriel Marquez, and Cecelia DeLeon.
Virtual Silent Reading Party
The first worldwide silent-reading party was such a huge success that we're making it weekly. Every Wednesday at 6 pm we're going to throw these parties, at least until stay-at-home is over. Attendees at the first Zoom silent-reading party included famous actors, writers, composers, artists, families, teenagers doing their homework, people staring into space listening to the music because it was just so beautiful, cats, and even one household on Orcas Island that was eating dinner and decided to broadcast the reading party as their background music. (What a brilliant idea!) It wasn't just a great party to be at. Behind the scenes, this was a roaring success as well. The Stranger brought in revenue from the reading party for the first time ever, our musician Paul Matthew Moore made ten times more on Venmo tips than he's ever made in the tip jar at the Sorrento (thank you for your generosityâhe deserves it!), and hundreds of people at the party have written us emails, clamoring for more. CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE
In Plain Sight Film Series
The Henry Art Gallery's In Plain Sight exhibition will present this tie-in series reveling in the "myriad shades of nuance in disciplinary synthesis and delight in the discovery of new relationships between poetry, artifactology, and cinema." It'll wrap up tonight with L'Appel à la Danse au Sénégal, a collection of modern Senegalese dances directed by Diane Fardoun.
SIFF Movie Club: Wild Combination
For this virtual edition of the SIFF Movie Club, watch Matt Wold's Arthur Russell documentary Wild Combination and then cue up a Zoom roundtable discussion with KEXP's Larry Rose and journalist/XRAY.FM DJ Robert Ham.Â
Burial 8th Nail Bottle Release
Pine Box will release its eighth-anniversary beer, a dark sour brewed and blended by Burial Beer Co., in 500ml bottles available for preordered pickups.Â
MovieCat Trivia
Show off your screen smarts with some quality virtual movie nerd company, plus "cats drawn into movie scenes."
Virtual Planetarium Show
Learn about the planets in our solar system and recent astronomy discoveries from Pacific Science Center educators, then go for a social distancing walk after dark to see if you can apply your newfangled knowledge.Â
Live Lydia and the Troll Concert
In Justin Huertas's very homegrown, brand-new fantasy musical, a follow-up to Howl's Moving Castle, a woman moves to Fremont and learns that trolls live among us in human formâor do they? The in-person production was canceled, so the players are bringing it to youâthe concert version, not the full showâvia livestream.
WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY
FILMChildren's Film Festival Seattle 2020
Parents with restless children and adults who enjoy whimsical storytelling, rejoice! The Children's Film Festival, which was canceled back in March due to COVID-19 concerns, will resume its 15th edition online. That includes seven short film program screenings ranging from live-action to animation to documentary. Plus, all screenings will come with bonus activities like coloring pages, discussion guides, and more.Â
THURSDAY
COMMUNITYTravel the Oregon Trail Live
Take a virtual tour of the Oregon Trail route's historic sites, and learn forgotten stories, characters, and other "lost secrets" along the way.
Cascadia International Women's Film Festival
This festival in the small, artsy city of Bellingham showcases women's filmmaking every year. This year it'll go digital, which means you can look forward to features like Sheri Davenport's Flight, Sara Hallowell, Hello, I Must Be Going, and Melissa Dowler and Tom Dowler's Twin Flames from home.
Virtual Brewology
Middle-school field trips and responsible beer-drinking collide in the Pacific Science Center's Brewology series, which will move online this time. Here's how it'll work: Preorder and pick up your crowler pack (or have it delivered) from Fremont Brewing and cue up the livestream to learn the science behind your beverages. This edition's beers are Lush IPA, Head Full of Dynomite v. 19, and Dark Star Imperial Oatmeal Stout.
Virtual Renton Wine Walk Experience
Order your tasting kit and pick it up from Antiques 4U in Renton to participate in a blind tasting challenge, prize-bearing games, and a livestreamed treating event with a vintner.
Live on KEXP at Home: Ty Segall
Multi-instrumentalist Ty Segall (White Fence) will make you groove around in your chair on KEXP's YouTube channel.Â
No Place Like Home Ft. Built to Spill
Noise Pop's virtual benefit series for Bay Area COVID-relief efforts will feature live sets, conversations, and other interactions with K.Flay, Rogue Wave, Geographer, and Built to Spill.Â
Norah Jones
Husky-toned Shankar daughter Norah Jones takes on a myriad of genres, notably jazz and blues, in her latest work. Join her for a virtual set on Facebook Live.
Coexisting with Covid-19: Failures of the Public Safety Net
When COVID hit, it became clear to many that public resources were not as organized or abundant as they seemed. Join this virtual UW lecture about how fragile our communities really are.Â
Quarantine Write-In with Rebecca Agiewich
Hugo House will help you get out of your writing rut with weekly Zoom events where you can connect with other writers and get inspired by prompts. Local author Rebecca Agiewich (BreakupBabe) will lead the way.Â
UW Engage Science: HIV Antibodies, Microbubbles, Laser Light
Meghan Garrett, a Ph.D. student of molecular and cellular biology at UW, will share her research on HIV. Why isn't there a vaccine yet? Why are some babies with HIV-positive mothers born with the virus and some without? Expect some answers in this live Town Hall virtual talk.Â
Virtual VOW: Voices of Womxn Salon
Womxn writers, readers, and literary enthusiasts are invited to gather on Zoom for a virtual salon.Â
Capitol Hill Art Walk
Capitol Hill's second-Thursday art walk is back in digital form! Make yourself a plate of assorted cheeses, pour some wine, and browse new work by artists like Aria Riding (showing oil and acrylic paintings at Aria Salon); Yarden Ben Hamo and Teddy Phillips (exploring digital art through a VR Gallery via Captured Nouns); Susan Christensen (featuring new work at Ghost Gallery); and a surrealism group show (also at Ghost Gallery). Plus, it's your last chance to check out work by over 50 queer artists in Crush/Repeat 2020.
Jeffrey Veregge: A Better Tomorrow - Works Inspired by the 1962 Worldâs Fair
Inspired by the 1962 Seattle World's Fair and Century 21 Expo, Jeffrey Veregge (Port Gamble SâKlallam) follows up is 2019 exhibition Bold Americans: Above and Beyondâwhich highlighted achievements in aerospace and aeronauticsâwith a tribute to "a time when Americans set aside differences to achieve what was considered impossible, held strong beliefs in science and mathematics, and looked to the future with ingenuity and hope." Check out his pop art- and Coast Salish-inspired designs in this online exhibition.Â
Opening Thursday
Virtual West Seattle Art Walk
West Seattle businesses will share videos of new work by local artists on Facebook and Instagram.
ALL WEEK
COMMUNITYRed May 2020
This annual, intellectual "vacation from capitalism" ("the most star-studded regular radical left event in Seattle," as The Stranger's Charles Mudede writes) offers new takes on Marx, equality, and economics in community spaces. The monthlong festival began on May 1, and will continue throughout the month through virtual meetings on Zoom, featuring guests like Jodi Dean, Leo Panitch, Kathi Weeks, Micheal Hardt, Joshua Clover, and Doug Henwood. This week brings a talk with Resource Radicals author Thea Riofrancos (Mon), a look back on the political movements in 1960s L.A. (Tues), a talk on monolith tech companies with McKenzie Wark (Wed), a look at the climate crisis through the lens of this pandemic (Thurs), and more. BOBBY ROBERTS
Virtually Spectacular: Sensory Perception
On the Boards is hoping to raise $80,000 to keep their wonderful arts programmingâwhich has been keeping us entertained even in quarantineâgoing with a month-long, "sensory-focused" digital fundraiser culminating in a big ol' virtual party. Every weekday, engage your sense of smell, touch, sight, and all the rest with live (and archived) videos on their Instagram, and donate to the cause.
SIFF Retrospective
In place of this year's canceled Seattle International Film Festival, Telescope will showcase a retrospective of all of the films that have won awards at SIFF in its 45-year history (the ones that are available online, at least). The films will be available for the duration of the would-be in-person festival.Â
Trial By Media
Netflix takes a break from offering up that smooth-brained binge material to premiere this six-part true-crime docuseries (!) today, from producer George Clooney. Trial by Media investigates the way the court of law became one of America's most reliably entertaining reality shows. If that sounds somewhat dark, that's because it is, and the miniseries takes care to spotlight six different high-profile trials (including a wrongful death suit against The Jenny Jones Show and Rod Blagojevich's crimes against democracyâwhich he just got pardoned for by our idiot president, btw), and the way the coverage of those trials shifted perceptions and expectations of notions as basic as "justice" and "criminality." And, of course, "entertainment." BOBBY ROBERTS
National Theatre Live: Antony & Cleopatra
National Theatre at Home continues its stellar stay-at-home programming with another pair of powerhouse performances after last week's showing of Danny Boyle's Frankenstein (starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller). This week, the one-two punch of onstage brilliance comes in the form of Sophie Okonedo and Ralph Fiennes bringing Shakespeare's Antony & Cleopatra to life under the direction of Simon Godwin. If you're feeling like diving into the deep end a little, don't sweat that: National Theatre's YouTube doesn't just provide the play in full (with an intermission! Fancy!) but also provides a lot of background material to poke through to help you feel up-to-speed before you hit play. BOBBY ROBERTS
Pat Graney's Faith Triptych
These three performances from renowned choreographer Pat Graney (titled "Faith," "Sleep," and "Tattoo," respectively) span the course of a decade, from 1991-2001. Stream all three parts featuring 12 of the original cast members (including KT Niehoff, Peggy Piacenza, and Amii Legendre).
Steven Miller: Pandemic Portraits
Over the past several weeks, Seattle photographer Steven Miller has documented his friends and community members in their homes as part of his Pandemic Portraits series. Standing outside their windows and doors, Miller uses a camera, tripod, his phone's speaker, and sometimes a ladder to capture these pictures, directing the shoot from a safe distance. The results are candid looks inside the homesâand by extension, the brain spaceâof his subjects during this time of social distance and quarantine. While there is certainly a sense of tension and isolation to the photos, there's also a profound sense of intimacyâeven a tendernessâto them as well. Many of the buildings and subjects are unfamiliar to me, but that unfamiliarity makes the photos more universal, as if it could be taken in my neighborhood, on my street. JASMYNE KEIMIG
2020 Virtual BFA Exhibitions
Admire the achievements of Cornish College's graduating BFA students in art, design, film, and interior architecture by checking out this virtual exhibition.
Opening Monday
