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Will We Have an Early Spring? Find Out on GroundFrog Day
A local small-town tradition brings ‘frognostication’ to the fore
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
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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…