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The Must List: Seafair Celebrations, Seattle Art Fair & More

What to do this weekend in Seattle

By Seattle magazine staff August 4, 2016

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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.

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Studio Sessions: Jade Solomon Curtis  

Studio Sessions: Jade Solomon Curtis  

With an interest in how bodies retain memory, emotion, and experience, the award-winning choreographer and interdisciplinary artist Jade Solomon Curtis presents an immersive work at Seattle’s historic Union station. 

Discover choreographer Jade Solomon Curtis and her immersive dance installation, Keeper of Sadness, at Seattle’s historic Union Station this August.

Northwest Tune-Up Bike and Music Festival Brings Big Air and Loud Sets to Bellingham

Northwest Tune-Up Bike and Music Festival Brings Big Air and Loud Sets to Bellingham

The three-day festival celebrates its fifth year with bike competitions and a genre-spanning music lineup—plus one unforgettable band of mummies.

If I were to summarize the sensation of attending Northwest Tune-Up, Bellingham’s three-day bike and music festival, in one image, it would be watching Tomomi Nishikubo—a Japanese street trials biker—doing acrobatic acts of derring-do on his bike while Seattle rockers Thunderpussy shred in the distance. My second lasting impression of the festival would be rounding…

Ferry Tales: Eight Indie Bookstores Worth the Ride

Ferry Tales: Eight Indie Bookstores Worth the Ride

Plan a summer day around these bookshops in Seattle, Bremerton, Bainbridge Island, Kingston, and Poulsbo.

Independent bookstores tend to be cornerstones of the communities in which they reside, and Seattle is no exception. In addition to helping customers discover their next read, these neighborhood hubs host weekly gatherings and events, like publication release parties, author talks, and book clubs. Many of them have cafés and reading tables that encourage lingering…

Rearview Mirror: Seattle Art Fair is Back, Nordstrom Throws a Block Party, and a Must-Try Ice Cream Sundae

Rearview Mirror: Seattle Art Fair is Back, Nordstrom Throws a Block Party, and a Must-Try Ice Cream Sundae

Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).

SEATTLE ART FAIR RETURNS  The buzziest event of the summer (well, aside from the World Cup), is returning next week. Now in its 10th edition, the Seattle Art Fair will once again take over the Lumen Field Event Center, packing it to the gills with art from 101 local, national, and international galleries. This year,…