The Must List: Seafair Celebrations, Seattle Art Fair & More
What to do this weekend in Seattle
By Seattle magazine staff August 4, 2016
Must Sea
Party On During Seafair Weekend
(8/5 to 8/7, times vary) Gather along the shores of Lake Washington to say farewell to another successful Seafair in the traditional way: with powerboats and air shows. Enjoy one of the city’s oldest events, as powerboats race on Lake Washington and the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels rocket across the sky.
Must Explore
Umoja Fest at Judkins Park
(8/5 to 8/7, times vary) Celebrate the city’s rich African and African-American cultural traditions at the Umoja Fest African Heritage Festival and Parade. Guests can expect plenty of live music, special events for kids, a marketplace full of goods from the African diaspora, as well as a basketball tournament.
Must Bravo
The Wicked Adventures of Count Ory Opens
(8/6 to 8/20, times vary) Rossini’s comic opera about a lascivious and bumbling nobleman’s persistent attempts at seduction is given a Pythonesque treatment in this all-new Seattle Opera production.
Must Get Arty
The Seattle Art Fair Returns
(8/4 to 8/7, times vary) The Seattle Art Fair returns for a second year at the CenturyLink Field Event Center, with representation from blue-chip contemporary art galleries, such as David Zwirner and the Zürcher Gallery, and more events and exhibits than before. Catch cool gal about town Nancy Guppy who will be taping her show Art Zone for future broadcasts at King Street Station (8/5 to 8/7, times vary). Expect artist interviews and antics aplenty.
Must See
Intiman Theatre Presents Meet Adrienne Kennedy
(8/5 to 8/7, times vary) For its 2016 Festival’s Emerging Artist Program, Intiman Theatre presents Meet Adrienne Kennedy, a series of short plays by the 84-year-old avant-garde black playwright.
Follow Us
Studio Sessions: Jo Cosme
The Seattle-based multimedia artist and 2026 Neddy Award winner challenges the postcard version of Puerto Rico and centers the persistence of its people.
Jo Cosme knows how seductive a postcard can be. The Seattle-based Boricua (Puerto Rican) multimedia artist works across photography, installation, video, sound, and interactive elements to examine and pull apart how Puerto Rico is seen, sold, and misunderstood from the outside. Trained in photojournalism, with a BFA in photography from Puerto Rico School of Fine…
Seattle’s Drag Brunch Has History
The city’s Sunday shows started long before the mimosas got bottomless.
There was a time not too long ago, when drag performances—now a mainstay of Seattle’s queer scene—were kept under wraps. And when brunches, complete with singing and dancing queens dressed in dazzling drag as you sipped mimosas, weren’t a Sunday staple. During the 1940s and ‘50s, an era largely shaped by restrictive laws and bias…
Studio Sessions: Sangram Majumdar
Working at the confluence of history, culture, and various painting traditions, UW associate professor Sangram Majumdar is one of this year’s Neddy Artist Award winners.
Discover the art of UW professor Sangram Majumdar, a 2026 Neddy Artist Award winner. Learn about his inspiration and upcoming Seattle exhibition at Cornish.
Rearview Mirror: A Georgian Dinner, Sidewalk Sips, and One-of-a-Kind Clothing
Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).
A new life for old clothes To celebrate one year in its current studio, the FXRY—a clothing repair service available via in-person appointments, home pickup, or mail-in drop off—is dropping its first collection. A small batch of reworked pieces, Second Mark will feature 13 vintage barn jackets, cropped, chain-stitched, and renewed into a completely unique, one-of-one…