Must List: Northwest Tea Festival, Refuge Outdoors Festival, Samsoom Pop-up

Love the Must List? Get it right in your inbox. Subscribe.

MUST SIP WITH PINKIES UP 

Northwest Tea Festival 
(9/28-9/29) While Seattle may be known for its coffee, our Pacific Northwest climate is perfect for other hot beverage connoisseurs, which has kept the Northwest Tea Festival going for 12 years. Check out the fest at Seattle Center this weekend, where you can try a variety of local and international teas, listen to tea industry experts, and of course purchase some fine teas and tea ware to keep you warm in the upcoming gray months. Times vary. $15. Seattle Center; nwteafestival.com 

MUST WATCH 

Local Sightings Film Festival 
(Through 9/29) The Northwest Film Forum is putting on its 22nd annual Local Sightings Film Festival, showcasing the endeavors of Pacific Northwest creative communities. The festival consists of Northwest feature-length and short films, along with virtual-reality projects, music videos and web series. Plus, attendees can catch workshops on subjects such as working with gender nonconforming talent and special presentations of artists performing original scores live to accompany their films. Times and prices vary. Capitol Hill; nwfilmforum.org

MUST EAT 

Samsoom Pop-up 
(9/29) Popular Middle Eastern restaurant Mamnoon is hosting a bakery pop-up at their restaurant. Customers can order Middle Eastern croissant sandwiches, baklawa and more, made by Mamnoon’s pastry chef from the restaurant’s walk-up window. More of these pop-ups may be in Mamnoon’s future if this Sunday is a success. 10 a.m.–1 p.m. Prices vary. Capitol Hill; mamnoonrestaurant.com 

MUST PARTY 

Night Nation Run 
(9/28) The Night Nation Run returns to Seattle for another 5K run and dance party experience. The course around Century Link Field will be filled with DJs, light shows, bubble zones, selfie stations and more—running is optional, walking, skipping and dance are also acceptable. Once you cross the finish line, join the huge party at the main stage, where you can dance the evening away. Proceeds from the run will benefit Stand Up To Cancer, a division of charitable organization Entertainment Industry Foundation. First wave starts at 7:30 PM. Prices vary. Downtown; nightnationrun.com/seattle

MUST CONNECT 

Refuge Outdoors Festival 
(9/27-9/29) Find community, conversation and diversity all under nature’s canopy at this one-of-a-kind three-day camping experience geared toward people of color and their allies. The nightly concerts, art and community service activities are designed to build relationships and celebrate our similarities and differences. Time and prices vary. Carnation; refugeoutdoorsfestival.com 

MUST GAZE 

Unsettling Femininity 
(Through 8/23/2020) The picture frame becomes a proscenium in the paintings of Unsettling Femininity, an exhibit gleaned from the Frye art Museum’s permanent collection: 19th– and early-20th-century images of women that “highlight the performative nature of gender,” as the Frye puts it. In their portrayals of real and fictional women of all classes, from the kitschy to the photojournalistic, these artists have both established and toyed with our notions of the feminine ideal. Some of the women depicted frankly acknowledge the “male gaze”; some seem unaware of it (or pretend to be); some gaze right back, confrontationally. Times vary. Free. First Hill, fryemuseum.org 

MUST LISTEN 

Blood Water Paint 
(Through 10/6) Local female-led theater group Macha Theatre Works will be showing Joy McCullough’s Blood Water Paint, directed by Amy Poisson. The story follows the history of the Italian Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi, considered today to be one of the most accomplished painters of her time in an era of scathingly few acclaimed female artists. When Gentileschi’s painting mentor rapes her, she takes him to trial. The story unfolds as Gentileschi fights a dual battle of personal and artistic justice. Times and prices vary. Capitol Hill; machatheatreworks.com 

MUST TASTE 

Feast at the Market 
(10/1) Take a tour of the food Pike Place Market restaurants have to offer at the 36th annual Feast at the Market. The evening starts at Neighborcare Health at Pike Place Market, the beneficiary of the event, where attendees will receive a booklet of tickets to use at the restaurants and may tour the clinic while enjoying wine and hors d’oeuvres. Your tickets can be used at 20-plus participating restaurants (one ticket per restaurant) where you can try special dishes prepared for feast-goers. Close the night at the Pike Place Market Atrium Kitchen for dessert. 5:30–10 p.m. $95. Pike Place Market; neighborcare.org/support-us/events/feast-at-the-market

MUST BE THERE FOR YOU 

Friends Anniversary Celebration 
(9/29) In honor of the 25th anniversary of the popular sitcom Friends, The Lounge by AT&T is transforming into the iconic Central Perk coffeehouse where celebration activities will commence. The Rembrandts, the band who sings the catchy theme song, will give performances interspersed between Friends trivia sessions hosted by James Michel Tyler, who played Gunther. Other activities include karaoke and even a Phoebe’s Yellow Cab Escape Room for a day of 90’s nostalgic fun. 11 a.m.–6 p.m. Free. Capitol Hill; att.com