Must List: SIFF, Norwegian Constitution Day, Beat the Bridge
Your weekly guide to Seattle's hottest events
By Sydney Gladu & Chris Robinson May 16, 2019
Love the Must List? Get it right in your inbox. Subscribe.
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
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…