Soar to: Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Multi-Day
FILM
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Secret Cinema is precisely what it seems like—simply present up and put together to be seduced by no matter pops up on display screen. Alternatives to be totally shocked by a movie do not come alongside fairly often, so strive it out as a reminder that there are nonetheless mysteries to uncover on this planet. Or possibly you may hate it. Who is aware of! That is the enjoyable of the entire shebang. Go forth, change off your mind, and let the enigma reveal itself.
(The Beacon, Columbia Metropolis, free)
FOOD & DRINK
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Don your most heinous knitwear for this festive night at Seattle Cider Taproom. Tattoo artist Ryan Wiebusch will present Friday the thirteenth ink, whereas the taproom will serve up cider cocktails and supply new merch on the market. JB
(Seattle Cider Taproom , Industrial District, free)
PARTIES & NIGHTLIFE
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Transfer over Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and winter solstice, there is a new December vacation on the town: Taylor Swift’s birthday. Not solely does the Sagittarius queen have a good time her thirty fifth birthday this month, however she’s additionally toasting the tip of her record-breaking Eras Tour and the discharge of the Eras Tour E book (reportedly riddled with grammatical errors and blurry pictures). The Excessive Dive will make the entire place shimmer this weekend with a Start-Tay bash that includes her infinite stream of hits performed by DJ DancingFaraZ. AV
(Excessive Dive, Fremont, $15)
PERFORMANCE
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The “longest-running drag present in Washington State historical past” has a brand new residence, and it solely is smart that the Unicorn would host the who’s-who of Seattle’s drag scene. This weekly present will host a number of the metropolis’s greatest drag names, together with Ladie Chablis, Londyn Bradshaw, Miss Texas 1988, Amora Namor, and LüChi. LC
(Unicorn, Capitol Hill, free)
WINTER HOLIDAYS
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We love that Seattle’s distinctive geography lends itself to distinctive Christmas celebrations, together with a parade of sparkly boats. You may seize a spot on the lead boat, comply with alongside in your personal decked-out boat, or stake out one of many many wonderful shoreside viewpoints. The parade will collect in Lake Union and head westward by the Fremont Minimize, the place a free viewing occasion can be held at Evanston Plaza. SL
(Fuel Works Park & Lake Union Park, $0-$76)
FILM
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I will be trustworthy: I have never seen a single certainly one of Mike Leigh’s movies. However the Beacon’s curation of the prickly English director’s flicks has impressed me to alter that. “Leigh has solid a physique of labor distinctive in its concern for the struggles of peculiar individuals,” the theater explains. On December 8, they’re going to display screen the 1990 comedy-drama Life Is Candy, Leigh’s portrait of a working-class household within the London suburbs whose humble desires of meals truck possession complicate their lives. LC
(The Beacon, Columbia Metropolis, $12.50)
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The anti-Christmas candle ritual within the woods: Botched. The three ’80s-era teen witches who unintentionally awaken a dormant, murderous elf: Complete screw-ups. Now that I’ve set the scene, think about a bloodthirsty elf hellbent on killing a mall Santa (and a coinciding horny sleepover occasion, as all low-budget movies should have) and you have got a common thought of VHS Uber Alles’s vacation programming. This type of mayhem is par for the course at VHS Uber Alles, the place three bucks will land you a ticket to a hush-hush flick that you’ve got most likely by no means heard of, anyway. The screening sequence is at all times supplied at an ultra-low worth aligned with the so-bad-it’s-good high quality of its programming. (That is what makes it enjoyable.) LC
(Grand Phantasm, College District, $3)
FOOD & DRINK
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I gotta focus, I am shifting into soup mode. Cookbook creator and “soup woman” Caroline Wright, who obtained a terminal mind most cancers analysis in 2017, will arrange in entrance of E book Larder and sling cozy, soul-soothing goodness impressed by her underground soup membership and her cookbooks, Soup Membership and Seconds. All proceeds go towards glioblastoma analysis on the American Mind Tumor Affiliation. JB
(E book Larder, Fremont, free)
LIVE MUSIC
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Omari Jazz’s ethereal beats are tough to categorize. Though he is usually shoved beneath the hip-hop umbrella, his compositions are rooted in digital and ambient music with glimmers of free jazz. His 2020 album Dream Youngster goes past the “chill beats to check to” trope with transcendental emotive sounds that stimulate introspection. Detroit-based audiovisual artist Otodojo and experimental ambient artist Asa Nakagawa spherical out the invoice. AV
(Good Shepherd Middle/Chapel Efficiency Area, Wallingford, $5-$20 prematurely/at door)
PARTIES & NIGHTLIFE
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DJ Dance Dance will spin a few of your favourite holiday-centric pop favorites when you reenact the long-lasting “Jingle Bell Rock” dance routine from Imply Women at this merry ol’ ’00s and ’10s throwback bash. Ugly Christmas sweaters are extremely inspired—can somebody please recreate Lizzie McGuire’s iconic unicorn sweater? AV
(Madame Lou’s on the Crocodile, Belltown, $5)
SHOPPING
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Black Black Friday has come and gone, however that does not imply you possibly can’t nonetheless assist Black artists and small companies. Wa Na Wari, ARTE NOIR, and Intentionalist have teamed as much as current this vacation market of Black-owned creatives like Soul Chains, Avenue South, and 9strokes. They’re going to present up with good items, decorations, and yummy treats in tow. Lifted! Youth Gospel Choir, soprano Ibidunni Ojikutu, and others will carry out all through the day. LC
(Opera Middle, Uptown, free)
SPORTS & RECREATION
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If you do not have tickets to the Seattle Kraken recreation, do not fret, the Seattle Middle Armory will present it on a giant display screen subsequent door. The Armory will open two hours earlier than every weekend match so Kraken followers can get hyped earlier than the puck drops with actions like sign-making, cornhole, flooring hockey, particular activations, and extra. Plus, snag a photograph with Kraken mascot Buoy and get a hockey-inspired portrait from a caricature artist. SL
(Seattle Middle Armory, Uptown, free)
VISUAL ART
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I am intrigued by the calming, contemplative framework of Mark Templeton’s A GUIDE TO INNER LIGHT—the solo present pairs lo-fi risograph pictures with repetitive tape loops pulled from ’70s- and ’80s-era meditation cassettes the Canadian media artist present in a library. I like to recommend testing the subtleties of the work in individual; subsequent yr, Templeton will publish the sequence as a photobook and restricted version tape. LC
(Solas Gallery, Pioneer Sq., free)
WINTER HOLIDAYS
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Seize your gloves, earmuffs, and possibly a rain jacket; this annual illuminated stroll round Inexperienced Lake occurs rain or shine. The vacation spirit can be within the air as you stroll alongside a path lit by hundreds of candles, get pleasure from complimentary refreshments, and switch your ear to vacation music carried out by native faculties and neighborhood teams on three levels. (Fingers crossed that the climate cooperates so we will see some magnificently lit sizzling air balloons.) The occasion is free, however be a very good neighbor and produce a non-perishable meals donation for native meals financial institution FamilyWorks. SL
(Inexperienced Lake Park, Inexperienced Lake, free)
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The winter solstice is upon us. (Appears iffy that it isn’t truly winter but, however I do not make the foundations.) Welcome the season on a serene stroll by the Pacific Bonsai Museum’s world-renowned assortment of bushes, which can be adorned with twinkly lights. Then, pop into the museum store for beanies, pins, and different reward choices, plus free sizzling chocolate. Count on a low-lit glow as you discover the bonsai beauties–’tis the season for early sundowns. LC
(Pacific Bonsai Museum, Federal Manner, $12 recommended donation)
LIVE MUSIC
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MAITA, the indie rock mission of Portland-based singer-songwriter Maria Maita-Keppeler, has moved many individuals with angelic vocals and weak lyricism. One such individual was Kill Rock Stars’ founder Slim Moon, who revived the label to signal her. She’s going to play tracks from her newest album, need, after opening units from Astoria-based alt-rockers Desolation Horse and singer-songwriter duo Marsha Candy. AV
(Sundown Tavern, Ballard, $15-$17)
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As a result of the Royal Room does the music of A Charlie Brown Christmas yearly, yearly I’ve to jot down this love poem to the core tune, “Christmas Time Is Right here (Instrumental),” this masterpiece of American tradition. It’s, I feel, one of the lovely items of jazz ever composed. Listening to it’s like watching the falling snow by a window. The room is heat, one thing is roasting within the oven, and out of doors, the flakes are falling faintly by the universe and upon the bushes, the hedges, the water gutters, the phone poles, and the rooftops of a thousand house buildings. That is the place you wish to be eternally. That is Vince Guaraldi’s “Christmas Time Is Right here (Instrumental).” It opens with a trembling bass, like somebody popping out of the chilly, stamping their toes, brushing the snow off their shoulders, hanging their winter coat, rubbing and blowing on numb fingers, and coming into the lounge the place there’s a window, watching the flakes falling faintly upon all of the buildings and the residing. STRANGER SENIOR WRITER CHARLES MUDEDE
(The Royal Room, Columbia Metropolis, Admission by donation)
WINTER HOLIDAYS
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Yearly, diabetes analysis heart JDRF Northwest invitations native structure corporations to make use of their abilities to craft elaborate gingerbread constructions for this vacation custom that’s displayed on the Sheraton. These aren’t your common gingerbread homes; some constructions can tower as much as six toes, making them a terrific reference level to surreptitiously see in case your Hinge date is mendacity about their top. Plus, it is a festive exercise to tack onto the usual “let’s get drinks” date. SL
(Sheraton Resort, Downtown, Donations inspired, Friday–Sunday)
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Vacation mild shows make any winter night higher. This lane of Twenties-era Tudor properties in Ravenna has been lighting up our chilly, darkish nights with vacation spirit since 1949. This Sunday’s pedestrian-only evening contains performances from a jazz combo, barbershop choir, and caroling membership. Even on common nights, Sweet Cane Lane offers an excuse to stretch your legs, get the youngsters out of the home, stroll the canine, or finish a date with some seasonal enjoyable. When you’re ready, carry a non-perishable good for the College District Meals Financial institution; donation bins are stationed on the exit. SL
(Sweet Cane Lane, Northeast Seattle, free, Friday–Sunday)
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As gimmicky because it sounds, this Christmas-themed nightly parade between Bellevue’s fundamental procuring facilities is definitely fairly magical (and completely free). Whatever the climate forecast, it snows. Dazzling lights and vacation floats that includes wintertime princesses, elves, and Santa himself cruise down the road amongst rows of dancers and toy drummers (enjoying actual drums). We advocate being in your greatest habits—Santa’s watching. SL
(Bellevue Assortment, Bellevue, free, Friday–Sunday)
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You may try Seattle Middle’s annual winter competition all month lengthy. To my excessive pleasure, the winter prepare and village show I keep in mind from my childhood continues to be arrange contained in the Armory, which additionally hosts a world bazaar for all of your gifting wants and on-stage leisure all through the month from the likes of the Dickens Carolers, Xmas Maximus, and Better Seattle Tubachristmas. Subsequent door on the Fisher Pavilion and adjoining garden, attend the second installment of the Seattle Christmas Market, which echoes the favored European custom with glühwein, bratwurst, and procuring. I did not go final yr due to the worth, however I peered over the excessive partitions and was tickled to see an enormous weihnachtspyramide or German Christmas pyramid, which is successfully an ornamental carousel that spins from the warmth of candles. (Though this one wasn’t powered by real-life flames, which might be for the perfect.) SL
(Seattle Middle, Uptown, Friday–Sunday)
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Get your skate on (free of charge!) at Occidental Sq.’s artificial ice rink this weekend. Over 30 native craft, meals, and drink distributors will line the sq. throughout the vacation bazaar on Friday and Saturday. Sunday will characteristic a “Kraken takeover” on the rink with Kraken-themed giveaways and selfie ops with Buoy. Coupled with the gorgeous lights that deck the bushes in Occidental Sq. each winter, one of these laid-back neighborhood occasion is way more my vibe than an overpriced corporate-concocted vacation show. SL
(Occidental Sq., Pioneer Sq., free, Friday–Sunday)
EXHIBIT
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New York-based photographer Victoria Sambunaris car-camps throughout the USA for a number of months a yr, creating large-scale pictures that hint the transformation of the nation with “particular consideration given to increasing political, technological and industrial interventions.” In Traces of the Manifest, Sambunaris shares snapshots, highway logs, minerals, discovered objects, and movies from her travels, which doc “the influence of commercial websites, geological forces, and human traces present in panorama” from the Texas Gulf Coast to the southern California desert. LC
(Photographic Middle Northwest, Capitol Hill, free, Friday–Sunday; closing)
FILM
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I may take or go away Jesse Eisenberg, however really feel strongly that Kieran Culkin is certainly one of our best modern character actors. (If you have not seen Succession, watch half an episode and you may perceive why.) In A Actual Ache, Eisenberg’s second characteristic movie as author/director, he stars alongside Culkin. The pair play cousins headed to Poland to “honor their beloved grandmother,” the place, maybe predictably, familial tensions floor. I like a chance for actors to indicate off their chops with out a lot distraction, so the movie’s pared-down premise is intriguing. LC
(SIFF Cinema Uptown, Uptown, $14.50-$15.50, Friday–Sunday)
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In want of some dependable Christmas cheer? Head to the historic Grand Phantasm for his or her 54th annual screening of vacation traditional It is A Fantastic Life, screened in lush 35mm for a really classic expertise. This screening can be certainly one of your final alternatives to go to the volunteer-run cinema at its present location—the Grand Phantasm plans to relocate after its lease ends in February 2025. LC
(Grand Phantasm, College District, $9-$12, Friday–Sunday)
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Say what you’ll about Paul Schrader (and there is, uh, so much to say—I am a diehard fan of this Twitter account that tracks the cinema auteur’s batshit Fb posts), however the dude is aware of easy methods to inform a narrative in an unflinching, exact, and possibly even transcendental model. When you noticed Schrader’s god-tier movie First Reformed, you are already conversant in his austere model of spiritualism. Hopefully, Oh, Canada continues the thread. The movie follows Richard Gere as Leonard Fife, an getting older leftist filmmaker who dodged Vietnam service by fleeing to Canada a long time earlier. When his former pupil (Michael Imperioli) sits him down for an interview, Fife shares myth-busting tales of his youthful self (performed by Jacob Elordi) and his spouse/creative associate (Uma Thurman). I might be seated for the solid alone, however Schrader’s path makes this one a stable guess. LC
(Grand Phantasm, College District, $9-$12, Saturday–Sunday)
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Love him or not, Luca Guadagnino and his psychosexual model are kinda unstoppable. The director of Name Me By Your Title and the cannibalistic highway journey Bones and All is releasing not one, however two movies this yr. (I am certain you keep in mind Challengers, everybody’s favourite sexy tennis romp, from again in spring.) Queer adapts a William S. Burroughs novella and follows an American expat in ’50s-era Mexico Metropolis (performed by Daniel Craig) who meets a cold, trendy youthful man. LC
(SIFF Cinema Uptown, Uptown, $14.50-$15.50, Friday–Sunday)
FOOD & DRINK
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Everybody’s favourite Capitol Hill dive bar is again with their vacation mild present! Bait Store at all times goes entire hog with vacation decorations, and their epic musical mild present kicks off each hour on the hour(ish). Take pleasure in certainly one of their blended cocktails or a seasonal sipper (final yr we tried “It’s Giving Thanks” and “Dancing Queen,” which makes use of Swedish Fish-infused vodka), and really feel your self get swept up within the vacation spirit. SL
(Bait Store, Capitol Hill, free, Friday–Sunday)
SHOPPING
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Buzzy Beacon Hill gallery Recent Mochi was named in honor of the handmade mochi made by artist-founder Elizabeth Jameson’s mother. Awwww! The modern artwork house will prop open its doorways for a vacation pop-up sale, full with (you guessed it) handmade artwork, plus jewellery, wearables, baked items, vegetation, playing cards, textiles, decor, and extra. Throughout the road, you may discover extra of the goodies at The Grocery Studios, the place Golden Restore, Day Moon Press, and others will arrange store. LC
(The Grocery Studios, North Beacon Hill, free, Saturday–Sunday)
VISUAL ART
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Russian-born studio e gallery artist Polina Bertou and Portland-based creator Jess Perlitz come collectively on this curious exhibition, which senses “the perimeters of their proprioceptive area” with reflections on containers, portals, and the physique. I am stoked to see Perlitz’s 16-foot fabric-and-sand arm sculpture paired with Bartou’s Flashe work, with figures that curve like banana bunches. Perlitz’s Rain Rainbow is particularly lovely, a stone-like kind streaked with rainbow hues. “Even what appears stable can spill,” the gallery explains. Right here, not all creative expression may be neatly contained. LC
(studio e, Georgetown, free, Friday–Saturday)
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Koplin Del Rio’s stylish annual winter salon facilities items from the woman-led classic boutique Casa Patina this yr. The gallery can be outfitted with a spread of the store’s treasures—assume trendy antiques, classic furnishings, and moody work—positioned alongside modern artworks that usually occupy the house. The salon goals to assemble distinctive new dialogues between objects; I am considering it will have a soothing impact throughout a busy time. LC
(Koplin Del Rio Gallery, Georgetown, free, Friday–Saturday)
