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Must List: Seattle Cocktail Week, Octave 9 Open House, Penn Cove Musselfest

Your weekly guide to Seattle's hottest events.

A cold icy Moscow Mule cocktail with vodka, ginger beer and lime in a traditional frosty copper mug
A cold icy Moscow Mule cocktail with vodka, ginger beer and lime in a traditional frosty copper mug

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MUST IMBIBE

Seattle Cocktail Week
(3/3 – 3/10) This annual full week of cocktail specials and events is any mixed-drink enthusiast’s dream come true. Be sure to check out the highlights, which include a Moscow mule contest, the Bartenders Brunch and the Cocktail District event, which brings the city’s best local spirits and bartenders together for a daylong “carnival of cocktails” with pop-up cocktail bars, tastings and more. Times, prices and venues vary. seattlecocktailweek.com

MUST VISIT GRAND OPENING

Octave 9 Open House
(3/3) A new home for inventive performances, educational programs and community engagement opens its doors for the first time this Sunday. A lavish grand opening ceremony and 45-minute open house are free for those with tickets, allowing visitors the opportunity to marvel at Octave 9, Raisbeck Music Center. The state-of-the-art setting aims to provide supreme conditions for musical performances thanks to its in-the-round seating and responsive video and acoustics. 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Free. Octave 9 Raisbeck Music Center – Benaroya Hall, downtown, 200 University St.; seattlesymphony.org

MUST RACE

Hot Chocolate 15k/5k
(3/3) Around here, we think chocolate makes everything better, including a morning run. Starting and finishing at the Seattle Center, likeminded chocolate lovers will venture on either a 5k or 15k course to Green Lake before returning to downtown. A stuffed goody bag includes a chocolate bar themed medal for 15k finishers as well as ample treats, which will be waiting for participants at the finish line. Times and prices vary. Seattle Center; hotchocolate15k.com

MUST WATCH THE LIGHTS

Nordic Lights Film Festival
(3/1–3/3) Seattle is a city with a rich Nordic heritage, and this film fest, now in its tenth year, gives Seattleites an opportunity to revel in quality films from the European North. The three-day festival will open with the award-winning Woman at War directed by Benedikt Erlingsson, a film depicting the story of Halla, a choirmaster, eco-terrorist and newly adoptive mother. Times and prices vary. SIFF Cinema Uptown, 511 Queen Anne Ave N; nordicmuseum.org

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MUST EAT

Penn Cove Musselfest
(3/1–3/3) On the scenic shores of Coupeville, Whidbey Island, the Penn Cove Musselfest is a chance for locals and visitors alike to taste fresh, world famous mussels. The three-day festival celebrates the Pacific Northwest’s love of seafood, where mussel dishes are prepared by local chefs. Events include the mussel chowder tasting competition, cooking demonstrations and boat tours of the Penn Cove Mussels Farm. Times, prices and locations vary; thepenncovemusselsfestival.com

Rearview Mirror: Crocodile Guardians, Late-Summer Potato Salad, and a Halloween Costume Hunt

Rearview Mirror: Crocodile Guardians, Late-Summer Potato Salad, and a Halloween Costume Hunt

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

COOKING WITH ASTER PANTRY A few leaves turn, my inbox fills with fall festival pitches and cozy brunch menus, and suddenly I want to stay home with a glass of wine and cook. I love this nesting season, though I’m not ready to give up summer produce. Earlier this year, I wrote about Seattle chefs…

WALKDONTRUN Returns This Saturday, Turning Downtown Seattle Into a Sprawling Art Show

WALKDONTRUN Returns This Saturday, Turning Downtown Seattle Into a Sprawling Art Show

In its second year, the free festival brings 200-plus artists to a 20-block route September 19, with a secret garden and a former 7-Eleven stocked with art.

Most walks through downtown Seattle involve trying to get somewhere. On September 19, the crosswalk itself might be the reason to stop. Heap Troupe will turn a four-way crossing into a performance, one of dozens of encounters planned for this year’s WALKDONTRUN. The free, all-ages art walk stretches across more than 20 blocks. From 11…

At Two Dot Schoolhouse, Ruth Marie Tomlinson Builds an Artistic Community

At Two Dot Schoolhouse, Ruth Marie Tomlinson Builds an Artistic Community

For nearly 20 years, the Seattle artist and her husband have welcomed artists, writers, and musicians to a historic Montana schoolhouse. Now they’re searching for its next stewards. 

At her solo exhibition last year at The Vestibule, Seattle artist Ruth Marie Tomlinson presented a new series of work inspired by her close readings of British nature writer J.A. Baker’s The Peregrine and Icelandic author Sjón’s The Blue Fox. As if on sheets torn from a sketchbook, her pages included excerpts and outtakes of…

Rearview Mirror: Seahawks Off the Field, Seattle on the Board, and Smoked Oysters

Rearview Mirror: Seahawks Off the Field, Seattle on the Board, and Smoked Oysters

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

HOOKED ON KNOCKS Admittedly, I am late to this one. The Seahawks’ first season of Hard Knocks, the HBO series that follows NFL teams through training camp, premiered in August, but until last week, I had never heard of it. To be honest, my football knowledge starts with knowing what a touchdown is and doesn’t…