Stefan Bisciglia is selling tickets to space, and if you’ve got the cash, you’ve got a seat. The 27-year-old from Gig Harbor is one of only three accredited “space agents” in the Northwest trained by Virgin Galactic, the world’s first “commercial spaceline,” spearheaded by Richard Branson. Having begun his career working for his family’s luxury…

!–paging_filter–pstrongMust Bravoa href=”http://bit.ly/17jxNEU” target=”_blank”brThe Ring Cycle/a/strongbr(8/4 to 8/25, times vary) — Running times for The Ring might make your blood run cold (the four mini-epic operas are Das Rheingold: 2.5 hours; Die Walküre: 4.5 hours; Siegfried: 5 hours; and Götterdämmerung: 5.25 hours), but the pros know all this tush time is worth it. There’s simply…

Hooray for August, when we can finally say it’s summer without feeling the impulse to knock on wood. After spending most of the year complaining about the rain, we find ourselves seeking out precipitation—in the form of spray parks and fountains. While the International Fountain at Seattle Center wins big for, well, sheer bigness, there’s…

!–paging_filter–pstrongMust Rock/stronga href=” http://bit.ly/1aJxMxQ” target=”_blank”strongbrCapitol Hill Block Party/strong/abr(7/26 to 7/28, times vary) — It’s the sweatiest, loudest, most rockin’ party of the summer, when local musicians and the hipsters who love them swarm Capitol Hill’s Pike/Pine corridor. With more than 60 bands (including The Flaming Lips!) performing over three days, this is musical mayhem you…

There have been oodles of ceiling references swirling about the Internets this morning (“the ceiling did hold them after all!”), due to Macklemore et al filming a video on top of Dick’s Drive-In in Capitol Hill. (Underneath rock-dwellers: His song “Can’t Hold Us” mentions that, in fact, a ceiling perhaps may not hold them.) The…

This would be the weekend to avoid (most of) Capitol Hill if you aren’t into crowds. The crazy, three-day hipster-filled bash that is the Capitol Hill Block Party begins tomorrow, so expect the Pike/Pine corridor to be teeming with swarms of sweaty, music-loving revelers. (If you do need a ticket, go here. Single-day passes are…

Armed with good timing and the grace of an easy traffic day, bliss awaits you in the form of San Juan Islands tranquility. Getting there is half the fun (right?)—the other half, once you’re there, is all about taking it easy. Good thing there’s something about the islands that forces you to slow down and…

Arts in Nature FestivalOrganized by the Nature Consortium, this fest takes place at Camp Long in West Seattle and emphasizes “interaction rather than transaction” (translation: no vendor booths!). Wandering around the woods, participants will encounter live music (including headlining “eco-rockers” Cloud Cult), dance performances, art installations and a fun “museum of sound” staged in the…

COFFEE* DATE: Rick Araluce, lead scenic artist for Seattle Opera (see his set work in The Ring this month) and maker of tiny, haunting dioramas. His solo show, The Minutes, the Hours, the Days, opens at Bellevue Arts Museum on August 16 (bellevuearts.org).SCENE: Café Paloma in Pioneer Square, a sunny evening in JuneRICK’S ORDER: Beer….

The first thing you notice about Seattle cabaret band The Love Markets are the slips—black, lacy and worn by singer/keyboardist Angie Louise as well as the four esteemed male musicians behind her. “It was the perfect way to express our Weimar-inspired vibe and appear decadent, severe and totally absurd all at the same time,” Louise…

While talking with West Seattle writer Nicole Hardy about her new memoir, Confessions of a Latter-Day Virgin, I mention British installation artist Tracey Emin and her famously controversial piece consisting of a camping tent, on which she embroidered the names of 102 people she had “slept with” (32 in the sexual sense). Hardy, 41, whose…

!–paging_filter–pstrongMust Get Crabby/stronga href=”http://\/\/seattlemag.com/events/ballard-seafoodfest” target=”_blank”strongbrBallard SeafoodFest/strong/abr(7/13 to 7/14, times vary) — Celebrate crustaceans, mollusks and more at the 39th Annual Ballard SeafoodFest, a kid-friendly throwdown that features boatloads of tasty fishes, two stages of live music—including awesome bands Kithkin, Star Anna and Bobby Bare Jr.—a Ballard-based brew bonanza and, yes, a lutefisk eating contest./ppstrongMust Head…

We received a fax (really) the other day alerting us to this slightly weird, but pretty hilarious video of Macklemore touting the Lady Washington tall ship, which was where he filmed parts of his Can’t Hold Us music video. My fave part? Around 0:45 when he says “I was a baby pirate. A little urban…