Arts
Read More ›
Must List: SIFF, SLU Saturday Night Market, ‘Towards Impressionism’
Your weekly guide to Seattle's hottest events.
MUST LOVE MOVIES
Seattle International Film Festival
(5/17–6/10) For the 44th year, SIFF confronts local film buffs with a dilemma: how to choose from among the 433 films screening during the festival. Then, throw in the actor tributes (this year features Ethan Hawke and Melanie Lynskey), the discussions and workshops, the Secret Festival and archival features, and tons more, and attending SIFF becomes a series of agonizing decisions about what you have to skip during its three packed weeks. Feeling overwhelmed about what to see? Our art critic put together a handy guide to the 6 films you shouldn’t miss at the festival this year. Plus: Read our feature on Artistic Director Beth Barrett, which ran in our May issue. Times, prices and venues vary. siff.net
MUST SEE
Towards Impressionism: Landscape Painting from Corot to Monet
(5/12–8/5) About 150 years ago, Impressionism was a reviled avant-garde movement, but somewhere along the line, popular taste did a 180, and the works of artists such as Degas, Renoir and Monet became beloved. Get a better sense of why it was such a departure in its day from this collection, combining works from the Frye’s permanent collection with others from the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Reims, France. Times vary. Free. Frye Art Museum, First Hill, 704 Terry Ave.; 206.622.9250; fryemuseum.org
MUST STAY UP
South Lake Union Saturday Night Market
(5/19) With warm and sunny days becoming more common in Seattle, night market season is upon us. The first of the monthly events is this weekend in Denny Park. Enjoy music spun by local DJs and discover local artists and vendors under the twinkle of lights and lanterns. Local food vendors such as Puffle Up and BeanFish along with several international food stands will be there for you to grab something to eat. 4–10 p.m. Free.139 Ninth Ave. N; Facebook event page
Photo via Cascade Bicycle Club Flickr
MUST PEDAL
Bike to Work Day
(5/18) May is National Bike to Work Month and Seattle sure knows how to celebrate. This Friday, celebrations hit their peak with Bike to Work Day. Cascade Bike Club and Commute Seattle are both setting up stations in and around the city to celebrate. Stations will be set up in the morning and the afternoon to provide snacks and coffee as you pedal to and from work. Certain stations will also hold raffles and giveaways along with bike safety checks. Free. Times and locations vary. cascade.org; commuteseattle.com
MUST LISTEN
Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet
(5/17, 5/20) Seattle Celebrates Shakespeare continues with the Seattle Symphony playing music from Sergey Prokofiev’s famous ballet based on on Shakespeare’s most well known tragedy. Other pieces that will be performed include Joseph Haydn’s Cello Concerto, performed by the symphony’s Principal Cello Efe Baltacıgil and Antonín Dvořák’s The Wild Dove. Times and prices vary. Benaroya Hall, downtown, 200 University St.; 206.215.4747; seattlesymphony.org
Follow Us
Rearview Mirror: Spinasse at Home, a New Spa Experience, and Seattle Mag’s Reader’s Choice Awards
Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).
YOUR VOTE MATTERS Everyone has a favorite restaurant, coffee shop, or local boutique. Call me old-school, but I will die on the hill that Caffe Vita has the best coffee in town. Disagree with me? Now’s your moment to speak up. Each year, we survey Seattle magazine readers, asking them to weigh in on everything…
Studio Sessions: Ling Chun
The Seattle-based artist brings playful color to ceramics and neon while exploring memory, transformation, and life between cultures.
For Ling Chun, creating begins with something sensed before it can be named. Working with clay, glass, light, and sometimes synthetic hair, the Hong Kong-born artist gives physical form to things that words cannot always hold. “For me, the magnitude of making goes far beyond the object that is eventually produced,” Chun says. “The object…
The Magic of PAX Is Stronger Than Ever
PAX West draws more than 100,000 people to Seattle each year. Co-founder Jerry Holkins reflects on what the gaming convention set out to change, how its community has grown and why gathering face to face still matters.
Access to game news as it was happening was difficult back in the day. Even with the advent of the internet, communication between game publishers and journalists was still a very elite affair. I used to fake credentials—via fax machine!—to attend the Electronic Entertainment Expo, mostly just known as E3. It was simultaneously as loud…
Your Guide to Bumbershoot 2026
Navigate Seattle’s wildest end-of-summer weekend with 20 picks spanning Death Cab for Cutie, Blood Orange, wrestling, skateboarding and—obviously—movies made in 48 hours.
Four years after Bumbershoot returned with its quirkiness revivified, Seattleites broadly acknowledge the two-day multimedia extravaganza as a welcome finale to the summer festival season. Fests like Bumbershoot are designed around a choose-your-own-adventure model, but if you’re the kind of person who looked at this year’s sprawling lineup—featuring multiple bands, artists, and exhibits happening at…