Will We Have an Early Spring? Find Out on GroundFrog Day
A local small-town tradition brings ‘frognostication’ to the fore
By Seattle Mag December 22, 2014
This article originally appeared in the January 2015 issue of Seattle magazine.
Punxsutawney Phil tends to (ground)hog all the attention, but truth be told, weather-predicting woodchucks are a dime a dozen (see Shubenacadie Sam, Wiarton Willie, General Beauregard Lee). In our rainy climate, we prefer a more amphibian take on meteorology, specifically, a revered bullfrog named Snohomish Slew.
2015 marks the 10th annual GroundFrog Day celebration, in which Slew journeys from the Just Frogs & Friends Amphibian Center in Edmonds to downtown Snohomish, and, with the assistance of his longtime human handler, Thayer Cueter (aka The Frog Lady), prognosticates as to the coming months’ weather. If he stays mum, expect more gloomy days ahead, but if he croaks, consider it a promise of an early spring. Ours is not to question whether the exact same Slew has performed this regal duty over the last decade, nor should we quibble over his status as an invasive species to the Northwest.
Instead, cheer on this year’s crowned frog princess, enjoy the fest-ribbit-ies and hop for spring. 1/31. 11 a.m.–1 p.m. Free. Downtown Snohomish; groundfrogday.com
Follow Us
Rearview Mirror: An Oyster Party, Money for Art, and Mac & Cheese at 30,000 Feet
Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).
We Partied for Art I love a party, and I love art, so when the Henry Art Gallery invited me to its annual fundraising gala, it was paddle’s up from the get-go. Held on the floor of Pioneer Square’s Railspur building in a space managed by Rally, Angela Dunleavy’s latest venture (read all about it…
Urban Grit Meets Wild Beauty: Inside Seattle Art Museum’s Beyond Mysticism
Seattle’s history is rooted in its fascinating juxtaposition of industry and nature, inspired by the region’s dramatic landscapes and rapidly changing cityscape. Seattle Art Museum’s current exhibition, Beyond Mysticism: The Modern Northwest, invites you to meet the artists who captured that tension and transformed it into a bold new vision of Modernism. Modernism, Made in…
Our March/April Issue Has Arrived!
Inside you’ll find Best Places to Live, a packed spring arts guide, and more stories from across the region.
The future’s bright, and so is the cover of Seattle magazine’s March/April issue! Featuring a mural by local artist (and 2023 Most Influential pick) Stevie Shao, the colorful cover is a snap from Woodinville, one of the six “Best Places to Live” featured inside. While we usually focus on Seattle neighborhoods, this year we expanded…
Supporting Roles
Three women in the Northwest are helping local artists through newly launched residencies outside of Seattle. Here, we take a look inside these thoughtfully designed spaces, and learn what drove their founders to become cornerstones in the creative community.
Iolair Artist Residency Eastsound, WA Years ago, after studying photography and earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Washington, Pacific Northwest native Linda Lewis realized that she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life behind a camera. “The minute I graduated from school, I was far more inspired by the…