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The Must List: Freedom Fantasia, Fourth of July Festivities and the Gate to Nowhere Art Installation
Things to do in Seattle this weekend
Must Paddle
Rent a Canoe and See the Gate to Nowhere
(Through winter, times vary) — You’ve likely seen the abandoned SR-520 “ramps to nowhere” in the Arboretum, leftover after voters rejected the R.H. Thomson Expressway in 1972. The spooky half-built highway will be torn down when the new 520 Bridge is completed, but in the meantime, an art installation called Gate to Nowhere highlights the visual impact of the structures. It’s best seen up close, so rent a canoe or kayak and paddle through a piece of Seattle history.
Must Ooh and Ahh
Lake Union Festivities Galore
(7/4 to 7/6, times vary) — The Center for Wooden Boats is holding its 38th annual waterfront fest–featuring free boat rides, a boatbuilding race and historic ship tours. After you get your seafaring fill, locate a spot in Lake Union Park to plop down and watch the Fourth of July fireworks.
Must Head East
See Stunning Artworks at Bellwether 2014
(7/5 to 7/6, times vary) — It’s time once again for the biennial Bellevue sculpture exhibition, featuring exciting new installations by Northwest artists including Elizabeth Gahan and Junichiro Iwase. Drink in the art over the holiday weekend–30+ works stretching from Downtown Park to City Hall.
Must Fly a Fabulous Flag
Freedom Fantasia Takes Over The Triple Door
Thursday (7/3, 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.) — This wonderfully wild spectacle of patriotism featuring song, dance, burlesque and theater returns for the fourth year to the Triple Door Mainstage. Witness stars BenDeLaCreme from season six of RuPaul’s Drag Race, local drag performer Lou Henry Hoover and Kitten LaRue of The Atomic Bombshells celebrate America in all its glittery glory.
Must Hear
Amy Pennington Reads at Book Larder
Tuesday (6/8, 6:30 p.m.) — Seattle urban farmer, host of KCTS restaurant review show Check, Please! and Seattle mag contributor Amy Pennington has released a new book, Fresh Pantry: Eat Seasonally, Cook Smart & Learn to Love Your Vegetables, bursting with recipes based in local bounty. She’ll share her words of wisdom at Fremont cookbook haven Book Larder.
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Rearview Mirror: Godzilla, Cork, and a New Sushi Spot
Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).
POPPING OUR SENSES I don’t think I’ve ever given much thought to a wine cork beyond the satisfying pop it makes when opening a bottle, but after spending a morning at DeLille Cellars in Woodinville with about 50 other people, I have a new appreciation for it. The occasion was “(Pop) Open Your Senses,” a…
Best Bookstore: Beguiled Books
This Pioneer Square darling is easy to spot: pink doors and candy-striped details mark its home near Occidental Square. Beguiled Books started in 2024 as a mobile bookstore, making its way from table to tent to trailer, and finally to its current brick-and-mortar space. Labelling itself as “Seattle’s Original Romance Bookstore,” Beguiled specializes in just…
Best Art Gallery: Foster/White Gallery
A pillar in Pioneer Square’s arts ecosystem, Foster/White Gallery opened in 1966 (then called Richard White Gallery) as the first space of its kind in the neighborhood. It soon gained notoriety for showing preeminent Northwest artists such as Morris Graves, William Morris, George Tsutakawa, and Dale Chihuly. In the decades after founding the gallery, its…
Best Museum: Seattle Art Museum
A vote for Seattle Art Museum is really a vote for three different art outings. The downtown museum pairs ambitious exhibitions with a global collection; the Seattle Asian Art Museum occupies SAM’s original 1933 Art Deco home amid the 43 acres of Capitol Hill’s Volunteer Park; and the Olympic Sculpture Park puts art out in…