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COMEDY
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You might get “read” in more ways than one at this night of improv with a mystical twist. The mysterious Reader will pull tarot cards for you, and a team of New Age-approved improvisers will interpret their meanings. Hang on to your crystals. LC
(Rendezvous, Belltown, $15)
FILM
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S.O.V., short for “shot on video,” is also perhaps the most honest movie-making medium. The Beacon deems these works “trashterpieces,” which feels accurate in the best way, and the theater’s new series Magnetic Madness: The Citizen Kanes of S.O.V. will screen four of ’em. Among the trashterpieces is gross-out flick Hallucinations, which features a “giant penis monster,” and ’89 hoser horror Things. The series will continue this weekend with Suffer, Little Children, which was banned during the UK’s “video nasty” witch hunt. Let’s go! LC
(The Beacon, Columbia City)
LIVE MUSIC
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Following the death of his wife (poet and Great American Baking Show contestant Molly Brodak), Blake Butler discovered surprising secrets she kept from the world, fundamentally altering his view of her. This discovery eventually turned into his memoir Molly, which grapples with the loss of life, loss of potential, and loss of trust with unrelenting compassion. He will stop by Seattle on his book tour alongside Richard Chiem (author of You Private Person and King of Joy) with musical support from glam rock band Beautiful Freaks, pop-punk princess Lisa Prank, and folk troubadour Birdie Fenn Cent. Yes, this lineup is a bit chaotic…but I’m here for it. AV
(Sunset Tavern, Ballard, $12)
PARTIES & NIGHTLIFE
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Paging all Swifties! Have you been romanticizing your seasonal depression with cozy cardigans, messy braids, and Evermore playing on a constant loop? If so, consider coming out of your cottagecore hibernation for a dance party honoring Taylor’s folk-tinged pandemic albums, Folklore and Evermore. You can expect plenty of whirling, twirling, and maybe even running. And, be sure to prepare your pipes for the “Illicit Affairs” bridge. AV
(Neumos, Capitol Hill, $10)
READINGS & TALKS
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Alexis Devine, like, really talks to her sheepadoodle, Bunny. Big whoop, you say—after all, you refer to your cat as “Baby New Year” all January long—but listen, this is a big deal. Bunny has learned to communicate with Alexis via a system of buttons, which “string together important, relatable, and philosophical phrases” like “Dad went poop” and “Ugh, why?” The training process began with a single button, through which Bunny communicated when she wanted to go outside, and has since expanded to over 100 expressions. Learn more about it at this talk. (Devastatingly, Bunny will not be attending this event, but Devine will be on site to chat with certified dog behavior consultant Sarah Stremming.) LC
(Town Hall Seattle, First Hill, Sliding scale $5-25)
VISUAL ART
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Elizabeth Malaska’s moody figures, fearless use of patterning, and not-so-subtle responses to power dynamics and the Western painting canon take center stage in All Be Your Mirror, a solo exhibition resulting from her 2022 Betty Bown Award win. Head to this public reception for a free peek at the exhibition, plus a cash bar and live tunes spun by DJ Wax Witch. Malaska will be on site to chat about her paintings and answer your burning questions. LC
(Seattle Art Museum, Downtown, free)
COMMUNITY
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LED lamps be damned, because you can try beating SAD with SAM this year. The art museum will offer free, first-come, first-serve wellness activities on the first and third Saturday of each month through March 16 to help you battle the drab winter doldrums. Drag yourself out of bed and head to Olympic Sculpture Park on January 20 for a 9 am Vinyasa flow, followed by art therapy, sound bowl, and silent reading sessions, plus a performance by Shelby Natasha, who blends lo-fi R&B sounds with Chinese folk songs. Cool! LC
(Olympic Sculpture Park, Belltown, free)
FILM
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If you’re a sucker for old-school cinema with an element of surprise, this recurring series has your name written allll over it. Grand Illusion will continue a longstanding tradition with its 16th season of matinee classics screened alongside a secret feature film every Saturday, all in dreamy 16mm. The series takes a trip across the pond this weekend for “Forgotten British Sci-Fi,” which promises cinematic “lost gems” from the region. LC
(Grand Illusion, University District, $8-$11 tickets, $66 series pass)
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When some dude named Zeus gets his partner murked in a police shootout, he’s puzzlingly recruited by the CIA and tasked by the president himself to rid the streets of crime. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: Couldn’t be me. This kind of mayhem is par for the course at VHS Uber Alles, though, where three bucks will land you a ticket to a hush-hush flick that you’ve probably never heard of, anyway. The screening series is always offered at an ultra-low price aligned with the so-bad-it’s-good quality of its programming. (That’s what makes it fun.) LC
(Grand Illusion, University District, $3)
FOOD & DRINK
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The Central District’s convivial cafe/bar/bicycle shop Peloton (no affiliation with the faddish exercise bike) presents a prime example of Seattle at its finest: coffee, community, and cycling culture, all in one cozy location. Chef and co-owner Mckenzie Hart’s menu is an unalloyed delight—I’m smitten over that breakfast burrito. On Saturday, they’ll commemorate eight hard-won years with an anniversary party. In an age where small businesses find it increasingly arduous to stay open, institutions like this one are more precious than ever, so why not take the excuse to join them for some hearty jambalaya and festive drinks? JB
(Peloton, Central District)
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It takes more than an hour to get to Ballard from West Seattle by bus, so you West Seattle residents are forgiven if you have yet to taste the chewy, tender perfection that is a Rachel’s Bagel. But your excuses end today because Rachel’s is braving the bridge to bring their housemade bagels, sandwiches, and one-pound breakfast burritos to Peel & Press on California Avenue from 10 am-1 pm. There will be everything, sesame, cherry-poppy, za’atar, and togarashi bagels all begging to be topped with huckleberry, tarragon, harissa, and black truffle cream cheese. The sandwiches will be stacked with sweet and savory ingredients, from northwest wild lox to roasted pears to Spanish ham, and the burritos will be stuffed with eggs, potatoes, and your choice of dry-aged steak, carnitas, oyster mushrooms, and queso Oaxaca. There’s still lots of winter left—stock your freezer for the cold days ahead. STRANGER CULTURE EDITOR MEGAN SELING
(Peel & Press, Gatewood)
LIVE MUSIC
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Seattle-based singer-songwriter Tinsley takes the best parts of 1980s and 2010s pop music and squashes them together for pure pop perfection. Her latest EP, Love Songs, is dreamy, beachy, synthy effort in the vein of Taylor Swift’s 1989. She will play a hometown show alongside like-minded local artists Austen and Sister Swimmer. AV
(Barboza, Capitol Hill, $10-$12)
PARTIES & NIGHTLIFE
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The mountains finally have snow! (They better, what with the below-freezing temps we’ve had to endure here in the lowlands.) Celebrate with a free and family-friendly disco at the base of Crystal Mountain, where you’re invited to don your light-up best as you dance around to a live DJ with colorful lights and glowing characters. If you want to go a little farther up the mountain and get some night riding in, you’ll have to purchase a lift ticket. SL
(Crystal Mountain Resort, free)
PERFORMANCE
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It’s January, it’s gross outside, and if we have anything in common, you’re probably going more than a little stir-crazy. My suggestion: Watch laser artists choreograph an operatic soundtrack by prominent Black opera singers at the Pacific Science Center’s Laser Dome. A handful of spirit-lifting arias will get the laser-art treatment with narration from Seattle Opera’s dramaturg, Jonathan Dean, and you’re encouraged to BYOPAB (bring your own pillows and blankets) for maximum solace. LC
(Laser Dome at Pacific Science Center, Uptown, $10)
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Tacoma-based percussionist Antonio M. Gómez (of LINEAJES) will lead an “exploration of the interconnections between music and dance in the Americas” with an evening of conversation, demonstrations, and hands-on experiences. Gómez will be joined by members of the Meso-American drum and dance company Huehca Omeyocan to explore how Indigenous, African, and European heritages formed music and dance traditions across Latin America. AV
(Frye Art Museum, First Hill, $10-$15)
FILM
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I’m taking notes from Marlene Dietrich, who once said, “I dress for the image. Not for myself, not for the public, not for fashion, not for men.” As Hollywood director Josef von Sternberg sought out the next screen siren, his working relationship with Dietrich became the stuff of legend: The pair made bliss, beauty, and opulence come to life on screen in six Paramount-produced films throughout the ’30s. Dietrich did it all—she was a “sultry chanteuse, a cunning spy, and the hedonistic Catherine the Great,” for starters—and von Sternberg’s chiaroscuro lighting captured it all. Dress for the image and head to the Beacon for screenings of all six of the films, continuing with Dishonored this weekend. LC
(The Beacon, Columbia City, $12.50)
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Off-kilter filmmaker Tim Smith, a Portland legend in his own right, captured a long-gone Rose City through the lens of a 16mm Bolex camera. Smith’s sardonic films, which feature a plucky cast of his family and friends (including future Simpsons creator Matt Groening), radiate with his love for cinema. They often act as parodies of ’60s- and ’70s-era genre flicks—we’re especially intrigued by the anti-drug drama Drugs: Killers or Dillers? This selection of his most weird-out movies was digitally captured at 2K with support from the Al Larvick Conservation Fund. LC
(Northwest Film Forum, Capitol Hill, $10-$14)
FOOD & DRINK
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Take two: this hibernal festival was postponed from last weekend, ironically due to winter weather. Snap up some street food at the Mobile Food Rodeo-presented event, with vendors like Off the Rez, Bobaholic, Kathmandu Momocha, Kottu, Outsider BBQ, and Birrieria Pepe El Toro. In between bites, hunt for vintage treasures at the Fremont Sunday Market. JB
(Fremont Sunday Market, Fremont)
LIVE MUSIC
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On her latest album, Anarchist Gospel, folk-punk artist Sunny War tackles her internal battle with self-destruction. “Everybody is a beast just trying their hardest to be good,” she writes. “You’re not really good or bad—you’re just trying to stay in the middle of those two things all the time, and you’re probably doing a shitty job of it.” Through her songwriting, Sunny embraces the nuances of emotion, identity, personhood, and in particular, genre, finding the spaces between gospel, country blues, folk, rock, and avant-garde. She will support the album alongside local singer-songwriter Maya Marie. AV
(Tractor Tavern, Ballard, $16)
SPORTS & RECREATION
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The Seattle Kraken are back! The Seattle Center Armory is once again hosting pregame celebrations, starting two hours before each weekend match. You can join your fellow Kraken friends to make signs, play cornhole, enjoy food and drink vendors, and get hyped before the puck drops! If you don’t have tickets to the game at Climate Pledge next door, don’t fret, the Armory will be showing it on a big screen. You can even get your photo with Kraken mascot Buoy, or enjoy toe-tappin’ tunes from Kraken band Red Alert. SL
(Seattle Center Armory, Uptown, free)
WINTER
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We know the waterfront hardly sounds appealing in winter weather, but the Friends of Waterfront Seattle are lighting a fire right before dusk on every Sunday this month for folks to gather ‘round. Go for a nice little walk and enjoy sunset views of Rainier and the Olympics (on a clear day) or simply soak up the cozy campfire vibes. The fires are weather-dependent, so if it’s pouring rain or (god forbid) snowing, they might skip that weekend. SL
(Pier 62, Downtown, free)
EXHIBIT
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The first cohort to graduate from the Seattle Black Spatial Histories Institute will share their oral history and “Black memory work” in this culminating exhibition, which was inspired by interviews with Black longshore workers, barbers, dancers, educators, and beauticians. I’m stoked to see Ricky Reyes, Eboni Wyatt, and Sierra Parsons’s Making.Wavs zine and immersive reading room, Ariel Paine’s barbershop installation, and Brenetta Ward’s quilted scrolls. LC
(Wa Na Wari, Central District, free, Friday-Saturday; closing)
FILM
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The bisexual lighting is hard at work in All of Us Strangers, a film that stars Andrew Scott (the hot priest on Fleabag) and Paul Mescal in cute sweaters. The film follows two Londoners living in the same near-empty tower block, where they find each other, do ketamine, and vibe before memories of past traumas begin to interrupt their romance. The film is based on the eerie, hypnotic 1987 novel Strangers by Taichi Yamada. LC
(SIFF Cinema Egyptian, Capitol Hill, $13-$14, Friday-Sunday)
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If the words “incisive literary satire” perk up your ears, then boy, does director Cord Jefferson have the film for you!! In his new dramedy (an adaptation of Percival Everett’s Erasure), Jeffrey Wright stars as Monk, a novelist who’s understandably aggravated by the establishment that profits from “Black” entertainment and its exhausting tropes. When Monk writes a book under a pen name, he finds himself paddling in the same phony waters he admonished in the first place. LC
(SIFF Cinema Uptown, Uptown, $13-$14, Friday-Sunday)
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In post-apocalyptic France, a butcher with a troublesome habit of filleting the local handymen is perturbed when his daughter falls for the new shop employee. Also, the new shop employee is a former circus clown. I promise it gets weirder from there, too. This cult classic black comedy, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro (Amélie, The City of Lost Children), will be screened in a fresh 4K restoration; you’ll dig it if you’re into Luis Buñuel’s satirical films.
(Northwest Film Forum, Capitol Hill, $7-$14, Saturday-Sunday)
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Grand Illusion’s latest series of documentary screenings centers a high-brow selection of flicks you may have missed, like Smoke Sauna Sisterhood, which won the Directing Award for World Cinema: Documentary at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, and Nicole Newnham’s The Disappearance of Shere Hite, which tracks the life of the female orgasm researcher and writer. The series continues this weekend with 12 Years a Slave director Steve McQueen’s Occupied City and director Luke Lorentzen’s A Still Small Voice, which follows a chaplain’s year-long hospital residency. LC
(Grand Illusion, University District, $8-$11, Friday-Sunday)
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It always seems to be up to the teens to challenge outdated, discriminatory bullshit. Enter Tracy Turnblad, a ’60s-era teenybopper who lands her dream role on an American Bandstand-inspired variety show and becomes an overnight sensation, but is disgusted by the show’s racist practices. The “Hey, it’s Nikki Blonsky” meme is so camp it could have been conjured by John Waters himself, so check out this screening of Hairspray‘s 2007 remake to celebrate Nikki. LC
(Central Cinema, Central District, $12, Friday-Sunday)
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Takashi Miike’s musical horror depicts the oddball Katakuri family, whose bed-and-breakfast endeavor is quickly soured by a dead body in the backyard. The disasters continue, the bodies begin to pile up, and the backyard becomes a bit more hectic than the Katakuris bargained for. The Happiness of the Katakuris blends Miike’s outlandishly violent style with claymation, karaoke, and crime for a stand-alone experience. LC
(Central Cinema, Central District, $12, Friday-Sunday)
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Tina Fey will continue trying to make “fetch” happen in this musical “twist on a modern classic,” a phrase that makes me feel irreparably old. Pack it up, fellow millennials—our journey to cultural obsolescence is complete, I guess. ANYWAY! Regina George is wearing black leather, and Jenna Fischer, Busy Philipps, and Jon Hamm have cameos as various adults in Cady Heron’s teenage world. Will this newfangled version create the same fanatical chokehold on teen society that the original Mean Girls did? Honestly, I don’t think so. But you’ll have fun regardless. LC
(SIFF Cinema Downtown, Belltown, $14.50-$19.50, Friday-Sunday)
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Real Lanthimos heads know that he doesn’t direct anything without dystopic, black comedy underpinnings and plotlines that make audiences ponder why they’re on the planet at all. He is weird, as directors should be, and you’re either in or you’re out. This time around, he’s adapted a ’92 Scottish novel for the screen, painting the picture of a young woman (played by Emma Stone, who is raven-haired and looks charmingly bananas) brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist (played by my famous dad, Willem Dafoe). Best part? Poor Things “saved” my other dad, Mark Ruffalo, from “depressed dad typecasting.” Praise be. LC
(SIFF Cinema Uptown, Uptown, $13-$14, Friday-Sunday)
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If you’ve been keeping up with A24’s films by international directors lately, including solid entries like After Yang and Dream Scenario, you’re probably already jazzed for The Zone of Interest, which is a co-production between the US, the UK, and Poland. Filmmaker Jonathan Glazer (who directed the Scarlett Johansson-as-an-extraterrestrial flick Under the Skin) tells the story of a Nazi commandant and his family, who attempt to build a happy life near the Auschwitz concentration camp. Call me presumptuous, but uh, I’m not rooting for them. The film has been shortlisted for Best International Feature at this year’s Oscars. LC
(SIFF Cinema Uptown, Uptown, $13-$14, Friday-Sunday)
GEEK & GAMING
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Even if you’re not a millennial for whom this clip lives rent-free in your head, you probably like trains. They’ve been around forever, they’re powered by steam, and the miniature versions are really fun to play with. If you’re a hardcore enthusiast, a train-loving kid, or just mildly curious, the Great Train Show is definitely worth checking out. Featuring tables of trains for sale, free workshops and demos, and a train kids can ride on, this show has something for every railfan. You can even bring your own trains and run them on the show’s test track. SL
(Washington State Fair Events Center, Puyallup, $5-$15, Saturday-Sunday)
VISUAL ART
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Contemporary mainstay Traver Gallery’s first exhibition of 2024 kicks off the new year with its annual multimedia selection of works from its material-focused roster of artists, including heavy hitters like Granite Calimpong, Andrea Dezso, Naoko Morisawa, Bronson Shonk, Preston Singletary, Curtis Steiner, April Surgent, Dick Weiss, and more. Expect to feast your eyes on works from the realms of blown glass, watercolor, ceramics, and engraving. LC
(Traver Gallery, Downtown, free, Friday-Saturday)
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Aiming to redefine stereotypes and notions of luxury in Black culture, the group exhibition Black & Boujee challenges the Eurocentric conception of opulence, centers Afrocentric aesthetics, and will likely expand your perceptions on all things expensive. The show is a great reason to visit Bainbridge Island—it’ll showcase works by Black artists and designers working in painting, sculpture, and other mediums to investigate the “complexity of navigating luxury in a society shaped by racial inequalities.” LC
(Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, Winslow, free, Friday-Sunday)
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Seattle-based artist Eirik Johnson’s The Light That Gets Lost pairs tranquil, hushed diptychs with a sound installation, inviting the viewer to respond to the subtle differences in imagery within a larger thematic framework of natural transformation and climate change. The images depict hunting cabins “built by the Iñupiat inhabitants of Utqiaġvik (formerly known as Barrow), Alaska as seen through the extremes of the Arctic summer and winter.” There’s something deeply satisfying about observing the shifting appearance of the cabins as the seasons change—in summer, they have a bare, weathered, and makeshift appearance, but blanketed in snow, they become pristine, almost magical. LC
(Koplin Del Rio Gallery, Georgetown, free, Friday-Saturday; closing)
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Inspired by a recent residency in Joshua Tree National Park, which is home to delightful “Don’t Die Today” signage and over 300 historic mines, Katie Miller’s solo exhibition Overburden blends kiln-fired glass, photographic weavings, and hand-cut paper to think about the sociological influence of historic and modern mining and mineral extraction practices. A quick peek at Miller’s Instagram reveals ultra-detailed compositions that remind me of the Joshua tree’s spiky leaf growth. LC
(The Vestibule, Ballard, free, Friday-Saturday)
WINTER
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The canonical holidays may be over, but winter’s still here, and we recommend brightening up the darkness in Washington’s very own Bavarian town. Leavenworth’s Winter Karneval honors an ancient German tradition called Fasching, which brings about the “exorcism of winter.” Over half a million lights will brighten the streets where you can check out demos of ice carving, fire dancing, and fireworks over Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend. Don’t forget the traditional foods—fresh pretzels, hot bratwurst, and warm donuts (krapfen) will be on offer. SL
(Leavenworth, Saturday-Sunday)
RankTribe™ Black Business Directory News – Arts & Entertainment
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