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Must List: SIFF, Norwegian Constitution Day, Beat the Bridge
Your weekly guide to Seattle's hottest events
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MUST WATCH
Seattle International Film Festival
(5/16-6/9) Seattle’s International Film Festival (SIFF) returns for the 45th year featuring more than 400 films from more than 80 countries in just 25 days. Seattle-based filmmaker Lynn Shelton will open the festival Thursday with her latest feature Sword of Trust at the SIFF Gala. The full schedule is available online, but our arts critic can’t wait to check out Between the Lines, I Am Cuba and Storm in My Heart to name a few. Times, locations and prices vary. 206.464.5830; siff.net
MUST CELEBRATE
Norwegian Constitution Day
(5/17) Ballard’s rich Nordic heritage is celebrated throughout the neighborhood by thousands of jubilant spectators on Norway’s Constitution Day (or Syttende Mai). Parades, classic cars and drill teams will converge in downtown Ballard at Bergen Place Park, so named to commemorate Seattle’s Norwegian sister city. A plethora of free kids’ events at the Nordic Museum (admission fees are still required for all museum exhibits) are among the highlights of the day. Times vary. Parade at 6 p.m. Prices vary. Ballard, 24th avenue NW; 17thofmay.org
MUST EXPLORE
Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission
(Through 9/2) This year marks the semicentennial of humanity’s greatest feat of exploration — the moon landing. Seattle’s Museum of Flight is the sole West Coast location displaying rare Smithsonian Institution relics from Apollo 11’s moon mission including the mission’s command module Columbia. Later this summer, on July 20, the date Neil Armstrong took the famed “Giant Leap,” a weekend festival is planned to celebrate that historic moment. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Prices vary. The Museum of Flight, Georgetown, 9404 E Marginal Way S; 206.764.5700; museumofflight.org
MUST RUN
Beat the Bridge
(5/19) Join the fight to help end Type 1 diabetes at the 37th annual Beat the Bridge run. Sponsored by Nordstrom, participants have three options to choose from: an 8K race, three-mile walk or one-mile fun run. Runners will race to cross the University Bridge before it lifts as part of the fun. Proceeds go to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. 7:30 a.m. Prices vary. Husky Stadium, University District, 3800 Montlake Blvd NE; 206.838.5153; jdrf.org
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