April 2021

Earth, Wind & Fire Keeps the Groove Going

Earth, Wind & Fire Keeps the Groove Going

Ahead of the band’s Seattle return with Lionel Richie, Grammy Award-winning drummer, percussionist, singer, and songwriter Ralph Johnson talks performing, enduring songs, and his new memoir.

Through the years, Earth, Wind & Fire drummer Ralph Johnson has stepped onstage in Seattle more times than he can count, but it was far from love at first sight. “I was born and raised in Los Angeles, so we had nothing but sunshine and 70-degree weather,” Johnson says. “When I went to Seattle for the…

Mailbox: Your questions on hope, betrayal and losing your temper
Seattle Podcast

Mailbox: Your questions on hope, betrayal and losing your temper

In this special episode, Mónica and producer Jessica Jones explore questions from curious listeners about fear, family conflict, patriotism when we’re so at odds, and the unforeseeable ways we come to believe what we believe. Also on deck: Advice to a mom caught in a political rift between father and son, what happens when Moni…

A Spa for People Who Are Bad at Relaxing

A Spa for People Who Are Bad at Relaxing

Circle Wellness is bringing its private thermal circuit to Seattle, where a calm voice keeps time so you don’t have to.

From the outside, Circle Wellness does not look like a spa. It looks like the sort of large black structure you might hesitate to enter without first texting someone your coordinates. I arrived at its Vancouver, B.C., location on an unusually warm June afternoon and found no windows, almost no signage, and one massive steel…

Why I Built a Pickleball Club With My Daughter

Why I Built a Pickleball Club With My Daughter

My father showed me how to turn my love of sports into something lasting. Pickle at the Palms carries that lesson forward. 

Looking back, I wouldn’t say my family teaming up to launch Pickle at the Palms—a new 20-court indoor pickleball club—was inevitable, but it may have been predictable. Sports have shaped my life for more than 50 years. I fell in love with rowing as a 17-year-old college freshman and went on to compete on two…

Enjoy a Summer Cocktail with SennzaFinne

Enjoy a Summer Cocktail with SennzaFinne

The makers behind this local, small-batch amaro brand are passionate about capturing the region’s flavors.

Joey and Gillian Diedrick are the kind of people you meet and instantly think: They are so cool, how can we be friends? Longtime staples in the Seattle hospitality industry, at establishments including Eden Hill and How to Cook a Wolf, the Diedricks are smart, funny, super knowledgeable about cocktail history and culture—and they produce,…

A Landmark Year: Rare National Archives Documents Come to Seattle

A Landmark Year: Rare National Archives Documents Come to Seattle

MOHAI marks the nation’s 250th anniversary with a free exhibit featuring a draft of the Constitution and other records from America’s early history.

The United States celebrated its 250th anniversary earlier this month, and to mark that milestone, Seattle’s Museum of History & Industry is welcoming Freedom Plane National Tour: Documents That Forged a Nation, a traveling exhibit from the National Archives. As one of only eight host venues, MOHAI is the final stop on the national tour…

Meet the Top Doctors: Dr. Margo Kober, M.D.

Meet the Top Doctors: Dr. Margo Kober, M.D.

Internal medicine, Providence Swedish

Every year, we ask a few of Seattle’s Top Doctors what led them to medicine, what they wish patients knew, and how healthcare is changing. These interviews are part of Seattle magazine’s annual Top Doctors feature, created with Castle Connolly. None of the doctors paid to be included—all are nominated by their peers. What led…

Local Canned Coffee Brand Seattle Strong Is Still Fighting Nestlé Over Its Name

Local Canned Coffee Brand Seattle Strong Is Still Fighting Nestlé Over Its Name

The multinational company says that Seattle Strong’s name and logo violate Seattle’s Best Coffee’s trademark.

It’s been a while since Seattle’s Best Coffee had a lot to do with its namesake city. Founded in the 1960s by Jim Stewart on Whidbey Island, the company was first called the Wet Whisker, then Stewart Brothers Coffee before changing its name in 1991 to Seattle’s Best. It was bought by Starbucks in 2003,…

Meet the Top Doctors: Dr. Ryan Broderick, M.D.

Meet the Top Doctors: Dr. Ryan Broderick, M.D.

Cardiology, Kaiser Permanente Bellevue Medical Center

Every year, we ask a few of Seattle’s Top Doctors what led them to medicine, what they wish patients knew, and how healthcare is changing. These interviews are part of Seattle magazine’s annual Top Doctors feature, created with Castle Connolly. None of the doctors paid to be included—all are nominated by their peers. What led…

Six Books by Washington Authors for the Last Month of Summer

Six Books by Washington Authors for the Last Month of Summer

These local reads are worth squeezing in before fall.

Looking for your next summer read? Discover 6 must-read books by Washington authors, featuring local book recommendations and top Seattle reading spots.

Three Things to See at Seattle Art Fair This Weekend

Three Things to See at Seattle Art Fair This Weekend

From tufted wool creatures to shimmering mother-of-pearl waves, these standout works demand a closer look.

There was joy in the air as the Seattle Art Fair opened the doors for its 10th edition Thursday, July 23, with visitors streaming in to the cool, dark interior of Lumen Field Event Center to be greeted with flutes of champagne and a fantastic feast of art.  Though the theme this year is textile…

Rearview Mirror: Storytellers in Clay, Wild Seattle, and an Alaskan Feast I'll Never Forget

Rearview Mirror: Storytellers in Clay, Wild Seattle, and an Alaskan Feast I’ll Never Forget

Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).

CLAY RELATIONS I went to see the Seattle Asian Art Museum’s new Kondō family exhibit expecting beautiful ceramics, and there are plenty. What I didn’t expect was a fascinating story that starts with samurai. Long before pottery became the family trade, earlier generations guarded Kiyomizudera, a historic Buddhist temple in Kyoto. That role vanished when…