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Must List: Seattle Wine and Food Experience, Northwest Flower & Garden Festival, Chilly Hilly

Your weekly guide to Seattle's hottest events.

By Seattle Mag February 21, 2019

SWFEGrand

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MUST INDULGE

Seattle Wine and Food Experience
(2/21-2/24) Seattle magazine’s long weekend of fine local food and drink kicks off on Thursday with Comfort, featuring bites and sips from the area’s best gastropubs. On Friday, dress up for the weekend’s upscale champagne and seafood event, Pop! Bubbles and Seafood, then get ready for Saturday’s Grand Tasting, which showcases more than 200 wine, spirits and food vendors. End this weekend with the newest offering: Sunday Supper—a multicourse dinner and after-party where you can mingle with the chefs. Times, prices and locations vary. seattlewineandfoodexperience.com

MUST WATCH

PNW Regional Yo-Yo Championship
(2/23) Since 2005, nimble fingers have been flinging strings at the Pacific Northwest Regional Yo-Yo Championship. This daylong competition shows off the finest talent of all ages from the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe with tricks, freestyle, and stylized sets synchronized to music. 9 a.m. Free. Seattle Center Armory, Seattle Center, 305 Harrison St.; 206.684.7200; yoyocontest.com

MUST GROW

Northwest Flower & Garden Festival
(2/20-2/24) Let your imagination sprout at the largest event of its kind in the state. View more than 20 landscape display gardens; be inspired by patio designs for small urban spaces; shop at the marketplace with 200-plus vendors; check out more than 100 seminars, including the new floral design seminar Blooms & Bubbles (champagne included!); and much more. Times and prices vary. Washington State Convention Center, downtown 705 Pike St.; 206.694.5000; gardenshow.com

Photo by Ken Howard

MUST SEE

The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs
(2/23-3/9) Bouncing forward and backward in time, snapshots—or perhaps more to the point, Instagram posts—from the life of the computer visionary make up Mark Campbell’s libretto for Mason Bate’s opera, which premiered in Santa Fe in 2017. In Bates’ ear-friendly score, sprinkles of guitar and percussion add surface glimmer to themes of reminiscence and regret, both in Jobs’ personal life and his business life. Times and prices vary. McCaw Hall, Seattle Center, 321 Mercer St.; 206.389.7676; seattleopera.org

MUST PEDAL

Chilly Hilly
(2/24) Looking to get outside, get the blood flowing and benefit local cycling causes? Try this 33-mile ride, which includes 2,191 feet of climbing. The Chilly Hilly route runs around Bainbridge Island, and includes a complimentary food stop at Battle Point Park as well as chili feed at the finish line, for an additional cost. Registration for the ride raises funds for Cascade Bicycle Club’s youth programs and urban cycling advocacy. Registration-packets starting at 7:30 a.m., route and services open at 8 a.m. Prices vary. SEATTLE START LINE: Pyramid Alehouse, Pioneer Square, 1201 First Ave. S; BAINBRIDGE START LINE: B.I. Cycle Shop, Bainbridge Island, 124 Bjune Dr. SE; cascade.org

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