Must List: Lunar New Year Celebration, Roger Guenveur Smith, Caribou Talk
Your weekly guide to Seattle's hottest events.
By Beau Iverson & Gavin Borchert February 7, 2019
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Due to weather conditions, there may be cancellations of certain events. Visit the event website or contact event organizers if you are planning to attend.
MUST CELEBRATE
Lunar New Year Celebration at Bellevue Square
(2/9) This festival, put on by the Bellevue Collection, Seattle Chinese Culture and Arts Association, and the Overseas Community Affairs Council, will ring in the 2019 Lunar New Year with music, art, food and more. Marvel at the lion and dragon dancing parades, participate in a calligraphy workshop and enjoy a Chinese Opera performance at this culturally rich event. The International District’s Lunar New Year Celebration was also set to take place this weekend in Hing Hay Park but has been rescheduled to March 2 due to inclement weather. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Free. Bellevue Square, 575 Bellevue Square; lunarnewyear.bellevuecollection.com
MUST EAT, DRINK, OR PLUNGE
Alki Winter Beer & Food Truck Festival
(2/9) Support Special Olympics Washington while tasting some of the best food trucks and libations in Seattle. Sample bites, visit the winter beer garden, and for the truly brave and/or polar bear-ish, plunge into the Puget Sound as part of a charitable Guinness World Record attempt for “Largest Polar Plunge” ever. Costumes are encouraged, and those abstaining from the icy waters still have opportunities to support Washington state’s 18,000 Special Olympics athletes. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Free, $5 entry for beer garden. Alki Beach, West Seattle, 1702 Alki Ave. SW; 206.362.4949; specialolympicswashington.org (register here for polar plunge)
MUST RIDE
Stinky Spoke Bike Ride
(2/9) We may be in for some highly uncooperative weather this weekend, but this mountain bike ride prides itself in manufacturing mid-winter cheer in spite of “stinky” weather. The 19+ mile ride starts at Redmond City Hall, and offers stops in which riders are encouraged to collect playing cards—in hopes of accumulating a hand worthy of a prize at the end of the ride. Registration fees for this “hardcore and heartwarming” event will benefit charities such as Together Center and Hopelink, and beer and music will be available post-ride. 9 a.m. registration check-in, 10 a.m. bike ride. $55. Redmond City Hall, 15800-15990 NE 85th St.; stinkyspoke.net
MUST SEE
Roger Guenveur Smith
(2/8-2/10) Perhaps most visible for his roles in several Spike Lee films, Smith has also staged a series of solo shows paying homage to black icons—a diverse lot, including Huey P. Newton, Rodney King, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Bob Marley. Here, he performs Frederick Douglass Now, based on the writings of the abolitionist leader; last November, it was reported that Lee plans to turn this, too, into a film. Times vary. $25. Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute, Central District, 104 17th Ave. S; 206.684.4757; langstonseattle.org
Photo by David Moskowitz
MUST LOVE CARIBOU
Caribou Talk
(2/12) David Moskowitz is a biologist, photographer and wildlife tracker whose new book Caribou Rainforest: From Heartbreak to Hope documents the state of the Pacific Northwest’s critically endangered mountain caribou. Join Moskowitz for a discussion exploring his time tracking and photographing these stunning animals and their fragile ecosystem. The talk is part of a monthly BeWild Speakers Series presented by The Mountaineers. 7 p.m. $12. The Mountaineers, Sand Point, 7700 Sand Point Way NE; 206.521.6001; mountaineers.org
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