To prevent some of the quirkier and more extraordinary events from slipping through the cracks, we’ve compiled them here—from a Dragtastic Bubbly Brunch with RuPaul’s Drag Race judge Ross Mathews to the Sunflower Festival on Bob’s Corn and Pumpkin Farm, and from the honky-tonk Bumbershoot alternative Bumberboot to the Greenwood Music Crawl.
- Super Smash Tournament
Show off your Super Smash skills for the chance to win two Sunday badges to PAX West. - Trivia Tuesday: Big Mouth
Win prizes for knowing the most about the hilarious animated series Big Mouth.PERFORMANCE
- ‘Dragula’ Watch Party with Heavy
Enjoy a screening of this week’s bloody episode of Dragula with local drag queens at St. John’s and Queer Bar. - The All-American Magic Show
Magician and hypnotist Zurbano will impress you skeptics with her mind reading, math magic, and science tricks.TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY
PERFORMANCE
- Kittens in a Cage: Reunion Reading
This play by Kelleen Conway Blanchard satirizes the 1950s prison-exploitation genre. A ukulele-toting innocent named Junie gets sent to the pokey where she has to toughen up fast—and confront her forbidden desires. Catch this revival/staged reading, and check out the sequel, Kittens II, the next day.TUESDAY-THURSDAY
VISUAL ART
- Brent Rogers: Green Room
Glass and sound art combine in this experimental installation by local designer, artist, and teacher Rogers.
Closing ThursdayTUESDAY-FRIDAY
VISUAL ART
- Resident Artist Exhibition
Get acquainted with the diverse styles and achievements of Pottery Northwest Resident Artists such as Ryana Lawson, Soe Yu Nwe, and Tzyy Yi Young.
Closing Friday - Wandering and Wondering Photo Exhibition
See photos of people practicing the beautifully grotesque dance form of Butoh in the Seattle Japanese Garden.
Closing FridayTUESDAY-SATURDAY
VISUAL ART
- Art of the Garden
Schack Art Center exhibits works that would look great in your home or garden—especially if you have refined and unusual tastes.
Closing Saturday - Electric Coffin: Discover + Disrupt
The art duo Electric Coffin—aka Duffy De Armas and Stefan Hofmann—imagine playful ways of disrupting ordinary life in the city through an investment in art and beauty.
Closing Saturday - From the Archives of ZAPP
The Zine Archive Publishing Project was a volunteer-driven Seattle zine library and workshop space that housed over 30,000 zines, comics, chapbooks, and other small-press periodicals from the Pacific Northwest and beyond. The founders have since donated all their titles to Hugo House, who donated the collection to the Seattle Public Library in 2017. Check out a special selection from the archives (the main collection is open every Wednesday).
Closing Saturday - Jeff Mihalyo
Check out large-scale abstract artwork—including an augmented reality painting made using the (AR)t Portal app—by local artist Jeff Mihalyo.
Closing SaturdayTUESDAY-MONDAY
FESTIVALS
- Evergreen State Fair
Monroe’s summer festival will once again bring carnival games and rides, Native dancers, live music, duck races, and more.WEDNESDAY
GEEK
- Astronomy on Tap: Star Today, Gone Tomorrow
What happens to stellar siblings when one of them explodes? Dr. Melissa Graham will break it down for you while you drink beer at this Astronomy on Tap. Plus, Professor Eric Bellm will talk about the discoveries made by the Zwicky Transient Facility. - Harry Potter Trivia
Faye Fearless and Worthwich School of Wizardry present 70 original questions pertaining to your favorite denizens of Hogwarts, focusing specifically on the Prisoner of Azkaban.MUSIC
- Lost ’80s Live
Experience the many hits of a colorful decade with performances by members of Flock of Seagulls, Wang Chung, Farrington & Mann, the Vapors, the Motels, Boys Don’t Cry, and even more special guests.PERFORMANCE
- Kittens II
This is a staged reading of the sequel to Kittens in a Cage, a play and web series spoofing the women’s prison exploitation genre. - Podcast Listening Party: Loving Lynn
Spend an evening listening to a story about a young woman who leaves her home in the Philippines for a housekeeping job in Lebanon, where she falls in love with her employer’s nephew, Butros. The podcast is presented by Kerning Cultures, “the first venture-funded podcast company in the Middle East.”READINGS & TALKS
- Re-birthing a Nation: Letters From the Future
Ray Corona, who was recently recognized as an Emerging Leader by the City of Seattle for his work with the LGBTQ Latinx community organization Somos Seattle, will be the special guest at this installment of Art on the Plaza.WEDNESDAY-SATURDAY
VISUAL ART
- Žanetka K. Gawronski and Aaliyah Gupta
Gawronski presents “mixed media explorations in narrative” in deCONSTRUCTed, while, in Tópos, Gupta produces topographical maps of ruined landscapes out of “paper, rusted metal and organic materials.”
Closing SaturdayWEDNESDAY-MONDAY
VISUAL ART
- Origins: Unearthing the Montana Sapphire
Liaung-Chung Yen, Melinda Risk, Elisa Bongfeldt, Peg Fetter, Janis Kerman, and others have crafted jewelry made with rough Montana sapphires.
Opening WednesdayTHURSDAY
COMEDY
- Fine Imports
Mike Coletta will host a mixed lineup of out-of-town and local comics: Abraham Tadesse, Taylor Bonzer, Lisa Wallen, and Charles Hall Jr.FOOD & DRINK
- Garbage People Love Wine: Bumbershoot Pre-Game
Snack on chips and dips to the sounds of a DJ and pre-game for Bumbershoot with natural wine. - Unwind After 5
What better way to relax after work than by sipping cocktails on a boat? Waterways will host their final hour-and-a-half-long weekday cruise of the summer so you can do just that. - Vegan Bake-Off
Show off your plant-based baking bona fides to fight for the title of master vegan baker (or just show up and sample all the cookies, pastries, pies, and cakes).GEEK
- Triwizard Drinking Tournament 2019
It’s time to embrace your witchy, wizardly, or mud-bloody self, get sorted into a house, and fly or apparate to various Capitol Hill pubs in pursuit of the cocktails of Grindelwald (or beer and snacks) while completing challenges at this event coinciding with PAX West. Proceeds will help fund toys and games for children’s hospitals through Child’s Play.MUSIC
- Emotional Distress, Green Lake Basement, Chance to Steal, 6 Acre Earth
Paint your fingernails black (extra points if you use a Sharpie) and sign up for a night of emo pop-punk with local bands Emotional Distress, Green Lake Basement, Chance to Steal, and 6 Acre Earth.PERFORMANCE
- addo: Latin Cabaret
Drag performer Lola Meraz (addo’s Mario Martinez by day) will provide Latin-centric performances alongside Rosa Marchita and Dolce la Vida, paired with dinner by Chef Eric Rivera. - Slut-esque
Stranger Queer Issue cover star and burlesque goddess Briq House will headline this sexy show to support the Sex Worker’s Outreach Project. - Wise Crows, Stupid Machines & Toy Dinosaurs: Memoirs of a Bohemian Puppet Family
Watch as this itinerant father/son puppet duo encounters obsessive crows, thinking machines, and secrets hidden in the basement of the Space Needle. With special guest Linda Comer.READINGS & TALKS
- Karin Slaughter: The Last Widow
Karin Slaughter will talk about her new twisty thriller with Christina Dodd, the author of What Doesn’t Kill Her.VISUAL ART
- 2019 Mayor’s Arts Awards Ceremony & Reception
See artistic innovators Dani Tirrell, Marcie Sillman, Center on Contemporary Art (CoCA), Delbert Richardson, and Intiman Theatre receive awards for their contributions to equality and excellence in their fields.THURSDAY-SATURDAY
COMEDY
- Christina Walkinshaw
Canada-born/LA-based stand-up comic Christina Walkinshaw has appeared in Just For Laughs, the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, and CBC’s The Debaters.PERFORMANCE
- Kiki’s Delivery Service
In this adaptation of Jessica Sian’s adaptation of the Miyazaki classic, a teen witch flies away on her broom to start her own small business.VISUAL ART
- A Kind of Reunion
Gallery 110 celebrates its member artists and their creative contributions to Seattle and the wider world, with work by Christopher Buening, Kate Sweeney, Betsy Best, Sarah Dillon, and many others.
Closing Saturday - Matthew Harkleroad: Allowing Space
Harkleroad’s focus is on texture; he layers spraypaint, gesso, ink, charcoal, collage, and even coffee to create chunky, eye-baffling forms.
Closing Saturday - Nicholas Pimentel: The End of the Mysterious Stranger
Pimentel’s portraits and surreal forms plumb the depths of loss and anxiety. Creepy stuff.
Closing SaturdayFRIDAY
COMEDY
- Caitlin Gill Album Release Party
Celebrate the release of Caitlin Gill’s debut comedy album, Major, recorded at the San Francisco Punch Line. - Can You Handle It?
Two of the funniest improv comedians around, Graham Downing and Michael Castillo, will host people in the community for “a big dumb gay talk show” about the things they can and cannot handle.FESTIVALS
- FarmJam Music & Camping Festival
Camp out at Colville’s Colville Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch for four whole days to enjoy live music from bands like the Red Dirt Rangers, Whitney Rose, Will Porter, Bryant Lamar, Blake Noble, and Sam & the Stylees. There will also be a corn maze and plenty of food.FILM
- The Wizard of Oz: 80 Years Down the Yellow Brick Road
Local film historian Lance Rhoades will muse over the persistent popularity of The Wizard of Oz and will fill you in on the film’s most niche details at this free screening.FOOD & DRINK
- WildNights
With the exception of sunbathing, everything you can do in the daytime is more fun at night. At these after-hours events, you’ll get to explore the zoo’s exhibits and hear keeper talks while you sip watermelon sangria and snack on s’mores.MUSIC
- Good Vibes Only
Northwest musicians will celebrate the end of summer with an evening of marimbas and vibraphones by composers Steve Reich, Ivan Trevino, and Marc Mellits. - SADE vs BADU
Get sweaty dancing to hits and deep cuts from contemporary soul icons Sade and Badu, spun late into the night by DJs MRE and Cut50. - Stayin’ Alive
Wear your most bell-shaped bottoms and your brightest sequins to fit the decade at this ’70s-style discotheque. DJs Supreme La Rock, Joey Webb, Jame$ Ervin, and others will provide the groovy sounds. - Storm Rider, Jethro Tull Experience
Fans of ’70s British prog-rock band Jethro Tull can bliss out over a night of covers by the Jethro Tull Experience, who will take the stage after Doors tribute band Storm Rider. - Zepparella — Charity Rocks!
Powerhouse drummer Clementine brings her Motown influence to her Led Zeppelin cover group ZEPPARELLA. She’s joined by Gretchen Menn on guitar, Angeline Saris on bass, and Noelle Doughty on vocals for a fundraiser that will benefit charities ranging from the Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony Statue Fund, to the Human Rights Campaign and Seeds of Empowerment.PERFORMANCE
- Bang the Gong!
Asian American drag performers (Kylie Mooncakes, Cherry Markos, Beau Degas, and other Seattle favorites) will sing about their backgrounds in this variety show. - The Disabled List
Seattle poets, comedians, storytellers, and other performers with disabilities will return after a sold-out edition of this show in March. - Video Games Are a Drag
Drag artists will embody their favorite Nintendo, Sega, and Atari characters in this geeky show complementing PAX West.VISUAL ART
- Haute Box: Fashion Show and Concert
Seattle fashion designers will show off their latest creations while Haute Sauce DJs spin hip-hop, trap, and other party beats.FRIDAY-SATURDAY
COMEDY
- All Star Showcase
This showcase will grant you access to the comedic spiels of local favorites. - Jesus Trejo
LA-based comic Jesus Trejo has featured on Comedy Central’s Adam DeVine’s House Party, FuseTV’s Uproarious, and elsewhere on the tube, and was also named one of “Top 10 Comics To Watch” by Variety. He’ll tell jokes in Seattle for two nights in a row.FILM
- Emerging Artists: Contemporary German Experimental Film vol. 4
See an architectural study of staircases, a couple having a tense vacation in the tropics, a solar eclipse, and more in this collection of German short films.GEEK & GAMING
- Chuck’s Arcade Expo
Play retro video games like Super Mario Kart, sip geeky beer specials, bop around to video game music, and watch “classic video game movies.”VISUAL ART
- Anne Marie Nequette
If you’re too terrified to think directly about sea level rise and its effect on dense coastal cities, let Nequette provide the intermediary of abstract collage inspired by this environmental plight.
Closing Saturday - Second Growth: Seam
The seven artists of Second Growth—Sam Kuniholm, Lindsey Champlin, Lalitha Bandaru, Kite Arner, Tonia Arehart, Matt Soma, and Joe Wilkinson—work together to create sculpture out of recycled plastic.
Closing SaturdayFRIDAY-MONDAY
FESTIVALS
- Ellensburg Rodeo
Ellensburg’s annual rodeo combines “the fun of the Kittitas County Fair” with the “old-west hospitality of the City of Ellensburg” for a Labor Day weekend full of slack and barrel racing, hoedowns, carnival rides, and more. - Washington State Fair
The first days of autumn coincide with the latter portion of the annual Washington State Fair in Puyallup, which brings family-friendly activities like rides and games, carnival food, free music and performances, baby animals, cultural events, produce contests, a rodeo, live concerts, and much more.SATURDAY
COMEDY
- The Mad Bus Driver and Friends
Anthony Session, the “Mad Bus Driver,” will team up with Portland’s Erin Ingle and Seattle’s Josephine Howell, plus DJ Diph, for some chuckles. Travis Terrell of WGNU radio of St. Louis will host. - The Reader
A tarot reading for a brave audience member will inspire an improv set in this “half-tarot, half-comedy” show.FESTIVALS
- 42nd Annual LeMay Show
Ogle over 1,000 vintage vehicles, as well as dolls, antiques, and other memorabilia from the LeMay family. - Bumberboot 2019
If this year’s Bumbershoot lineup isn’t honky-tonk enough for you, the organizers of this annual spinoff invite you to “giddy up or giddy out” for a full day of music from country-rockers Darci Carlson, Wildcat Rose, Country Lips, and others. The Smoke Tuff BBQ food truck and vendors from We are Witchy will be onsite.FOOD & DRINK
- Sound Craft Seltzer Anniversary Party!
Seattle’s own boozy bubbly water maker will unveil three new flavors on draft to celebrate its first year.GEEK & GAMING
- 4th Annual “Enter The Grid” PAX West Party + Chiptunes Concert!
Enjoy some 8-bit music and mingle with gaming industry professionals at this ’80s cyberpunk themed party.MUSIC
- 1st Annual Gumbo Affair!
The agile-voiced Sundae and swinging guitarist Mr. Goessl will provide the music at this all-you-can-eat gumbo cookout (which will include cornbread, bean soup, rice, and beer). - The Best You Have Ever Seen: Foxy Brown with Bearaxe and Adra Boo
In this series, one band and one DJ invent a new score for a popular film. This time it’s local prog-rock quartet Bear Axe and DJ Adra Boo, and the movie is Jack Hill’s 1974 druggy mafia-crime classic Foxy Brown.
- Blackout: 7 Deadly Sins
Dress up as one of the seven deadly sins (that’s lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride) for a night of harmless sacrilege and dancing with DJs Robbie Nielsen and Alex Cabot. - MVP: Michael Jackson vs. Prince Live!
Now that all our heroes are dead, MVP, a Seattle band that plays both the music of Michael Jackson and Prince, will be bringing all the hits from two of the biggest icons in music history for a special appearance. - Red Bennies, L80, Hoofless, Durian Durian
Check out retro arcade machines from the Gallery Of Fine Hyper-Art while you thrash around to cyberpunk from Red Bennies, bop to New Wave from L80 and Durian Durian, and sway to goth strings from Hoofless.PERFORMANCE
- Meat Circus: Under the Big Top
Flesh on display will be an important component of these variety shows, but not the only attraction: In addition to boylesque, there’ll be acrobatics, music, and comedy. Sit down to dinner and watch performers strain against the “boundaries of masculinity.” - Q2: The Second Annual Qabaret
Musical theater hits will be reinvented to align with queer narratives. Sing along and sip a special “One Gay More” cocktail. - Sex-A-Peel
Sexy Seattle queens will make you blush at this genre-bending drag show hosted by the beloved Miss Texas 1988. Additional performers include Americano, Dolce Vida, and D’Monica Leone.VISUAL ART
- Site Sculpture Shoreline: Discover Olympic Sculpture Park Tour
Discover the complexities of the Olympic Sculpture Park—its design environment, sculpture, plants, and monuments.SATURDAY-SUNDAY
FESTIVALS
- 2nd Annual Sunflower Festival
Saunter through fields of sunflowers, pick up some food from vendors, and shop from the country store at this annual late-summer festival.VISUAL ART
- A New Moon Rises
This exhibition includes 51 huge prints of images captured by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera. See the moon in a whole new light.
Opening SaturdaySATURDAY-MONDAY
COMMUNITY
- End of Summer Blast
Watch the exotic animals of Tacoma (from elephants to red wolf pups) cool off with icy treats and special summertime enrichments.FESTIVALS
- 30th Annual Blackberry Festival
Stroll along the boardwalk sampling doughnuts, scones, pie, and lots more treats and drinks made just in time for peak blackberry season.VISUAL ART
- The Modern Youth Identity
The League presents an art show curated by teenagers Alice Mao and Taylor Wang, featuring work by their high school and young adult peers. Support youth creativity and check out their accomplishments!
Opening SaturdaySUNDAY
COMEDY
- Deaf Comedy Jam
ASL interpreters will sign alongside local comics at this hard-of-hearing- and deaf-friendly showcase. The local lineup includes Chelsea Tolle, Sam Ellefson, Mike Parker, Jaci Terjeson, Felisha Barnes, and several others.FESTIVALS
- 100.7 The Wolf Presents Throwdown 2019
Seattle country music station 100.7 The Wolf will present a full day of live performances by Cole Swindell, Jordan Davis, Lauren Alaina, Jimmie Allen, Adam Hambrick, and a mystery singer. - 3rd Annual Greenwood Music Crawl 2019
Five Greenwood bars and nearly 50 local bands of all ilks will turn the neighborhood into a den of live music for 12 straight hours. The lineup includes Ten Miles Wide, Mercy Parker, Killer Workout, Sinister Six, Hellbat, the Black Chevys, Having Issues, and many others.FOOD & DRINK
- addo Themed Brunch (September): Betty Crocker
Chef Eric Rivera will serve his interpretations of some classic recipes from the iconic fictional domestic goddess of the ’50s.MUSIC
- 2nd Annual Afro-Caribbean Day Cruise
This party cruise will be decked out with a complimentary buffet, lots of beer (there will even be a beer-drinking contest), and two floors of Afro Caribbean with live DJs. - For the 99’s and the 2000’s with Bankhead, M0mlyn, and QJ
Get down to classic hits from the late ’90s and early ’00s spun live by Bankhead, M0mlyn, and QJ. - Give ‘n Groove and Sleepless Present D.A.N.C.E.
Groove to an eclectic lineup of house DJs (Big Boppa, Doswell, and Parker Mills) will be spinning everything from “bloghouse” to UKG and beyond at this fundraiser for Mary’s Place. - Jai Ho! Dance Party with Anoche — Latin & Indian Night
Jai Ho, “Seattle’s favorite Bollywood fusion dance party,” will put on an end-of-summer shindig. - Shuffle & Repeat | A Throwback 90’s & 00’s Dance Party
Ray and Jay, hosts of the local podcast He Said He Said, will put on a night of throwbacks by women hitmakers from the ’90s and early aughts—Missy Elliott, Brandy, and Foxy Brown to name a few.PERFORMANCE
- Murder at The TAP’Ocho
Billing itself as a “tap dance show with a fun and hilarious murder mystery for the entire family,” Murder at the TAP’Ocho will transport you to the opening night of a hot new Miami Beach club owned by a young trust fund celebrity. Someone is murdered, there are suspects, there are motives, and you get to watch the whole thing unfold clickity-clack style. - Ross Mathews Dragtastic Bubbly Brunch!
Mimosas, death drops, lip-sync numbers, and possibly waffles will flow at this drag brunch hosted by RuPaul’s Drag Race judge Ross Mathews, with performances by RPDR vet Laila McQueen, KungPowMeow!, and Karmen Korbel.VISUAL ART
- Shot On Film Grand Reopening Party
Lovers of analog film, get your butts to Lake City for this reopening of the photographic film and camera store in a bigger space! They’re marking the occasion with a photo contest running through Friday, with winners announced at the party on Sunday. For everyone else, there’ll be ice cream!MONDAY
COMEDY
- The Original Vikings of Comedy
Last Comic Standing’s Lang Parker from LA, Mike Masilotti from New York, Thomas Nichols from Dallas, and Michael Glatzmeier from Spokane will put on their Viking hats and storm Ballard with jokes.MUSIC
- The 6th Annual MC Frontalot & Friends PAX Party
An alleged progenitor of nerdcore hip-hop, Brookyln’s MC Frontalot has performed at comic cons around the world. He’ll come to Seattle for a post-PAX party with additional special guests Miss Eaves and Schaffer the Darklord.
TUESDAY
GEEK
