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The Must List: Nyårsfest, Polar Bear Plunge, Protest the Bowls Kite Fly
Must Skål
Nyårsfest 2016
(12/31, 8 p.m.) Ring in the new year Swedish style—complete with a dinner that includes reindeer—with this festive party at the Swedish Club. Complimentary champagne, party favors, live music by the Moonspinners, the Purple Passion Swing Band, Gigantor, Maria Mannisto Trio, Swedish Dance Frenzy and DJ Jonasson, along with three floors of dancing, round out an evening that promises a fantastic view of midnight fireworks, too. swedishnewyears.brownpapertickets.com/
Must Dip
Polar Bear Plunge
(1/1, noon) Feeling up to a frigid dip in Lake Washington to start off the new year? Hundreds of locals bathe themselves blue in the yearly Polar Bear Plunge at noon on January 1 at Matthews Beach (5100 NE 93rd St.). Seattle Parks Department employee Garrison Wan suggests dressing in layers, fluffy towels and water shoes (not Timberlands). (Read more of Wan’s tips here.) parkways.seattle.gov/tag/polar-bear-plunge/
Must Fly
‘Protest the Bowls’ Kite Fly
(1/1, all day) Want to ditch the big bowl game this New Year’s Day? Join the Washington Kitefliers Association as its members “protest” one of the biggest football-obsessed days of year with their annual kite fly at Golden Gardens. Free. Golden Gardens Park, 8498 Seaview Place NW; wka-kiteflyers.org
Must Hear
Henry Rollins
(1/2, 8 p.m.) Actor, author, DJ, voice-over artist and TV show host, Rollins has fronted for Rollins Band and Black Flag, and toured Nepal, Sri Lanka, Siberia, North Korea, South Sudan and Iran. $27. Neptune Theatre, University District, 1303 NE 45th St.; 206.682.1414; stgpresents.org
Must Dribble
UW vs. UO Basketball
(1/4, 6 p.m.) Keep the Huskies on their winning streak by cheering on the men’s team in its conference game against Pac-12 champs team the Oregon Ducks. If they lose and you weren’t there, whose fault was it? $10–$35. University of Washington, Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion, 3870 Montlake Blvd. NE; gohuskies.com
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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…