February 2021
Dollars & Sense
Youth Finance University helps kids think logically about money
Princeton Lock likes to tell the story of a third grader who learned money management through Youth Finance University, a free, student-led financial literacy program created by three 16-year-old students at Bellevue’s Newport High School. “(She) successfully saved for her first major purchase instead of spending on impulse buys, exactly the kind of behavioral change…
The Cost of Prom Might Make You Gasp
What to wear and where to find it — because prom season is just about here
I wore a silver ball gown skirt to prom. I paired it with what I’m pretty sure was called an “eyelash fringe” tank top — a scratchy, lacy black thing that looked like something Winona Ryder might wear in the ’90s. I bought both pieces at JCPenney. The whole outfit cost $65. My parents paid…
Four Exciting New Hotel Openings for 2025
Urban luxury, European inspiration, and a wine-themed resort
Unlike other options, hotels offer more than just a bed for the night. They turn lobbies into social hubs, become neighborhood anchors, and raise the bar on food and drink. These new hotel openings for 2025 should be just as exciting for Seattleites as they are for visitors. Hotel Westland: A New Era for Pioneer…
Hoops and Hops at Seattle Bars During March Madness
Many have special hours during the NCAA Tournament
Jen Barnes, who owns the Ballard sports bar Rough & Tumble, is a fourth-generation Seattleite who grew up cheering on University of Washington sports. So, when the University of Washington women’s basketball team qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017 she celebrated. It also meant a boom to her business, the first women’s sports bar in Seattle. Sports fans and…
Simple Goodness
Plum Bistro chef and owner Makini Howell’s new cookbook makes vegan recipes easy
Plum Bistro restaurant owner and chef Makini Howell recently created some tasty vegan recipes for Stevie Wonder. Now she wants to do the same for you — sort of. Howell, who launched the popular vegan restaurant in Capitol Hill 20 years ago, just released a new plant-based cookbook, Simple Goodness: No-Fuss, Plant-Based Meals Straight From…
The Pulse: Twilight Season
A denim party and one very chill sloth
Everyone’s talking about spring. But Seattle — this is it for now. Gray and wet, with some sun speckled in. This is what you’re built for — slick streets and layered jackets. The city is at its most handsome when it’s moody. The cherry blossoms are just starting to show, soft little rebels that they…
Must List: Six Things to Do This Week
Jazz, colors, freedom
What are you up to this week? I’m going to see Emergence with my daughter, who’s a young dancer. Where should we eat dinner before the show? Today is Alien Abduction Day, and here’s how to celebrate. Waitress is at Fifth Avenue, and it sounds like a fun one. Ai Weiwei’s biggest U.S. show just…
Cascadia Art Museum Lands a Game-Changing Gift of Timeless Treasures
More than 75 rare Northwest paintings join the museum’s collection
What did the Aurora Bridge or South Lake Union look like in the 1930s? Probably not the way you picture it. Before tech campuses and traffic jams, Seattle’s waterfront and cityscapes had a different kind of energy — one captured in some of the paintings now headed to Cascadia Art Museum. Thanks to a major…
How to Celebrate Alien Abduction Day Like a True Washingtonian
If aliens are coming for us, we might as well be prepared
The beauty of Alien Abduction Day (AAD) is that nobody really knows where it came from, much like the aliens themselves. One day, it just appeared. And if any state should fully embrace it, it’s Washington — because according to actual data, we are the second most UFO-obsessed state in the country. The almost-reigning champs…
Ai Weiwei’s Biggest U.S. Show Opens at SAM
The retrospective covers 40 years of the conceptual artist’s career
This week, the Seattle Art Museum opened the largest-ever U.S. exhibition featuring the work of Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei. Spanning four decades of the artist’s career, Ai, Rebel: The Art and Activism of Ai Weiwei (March 12–Sept. 7) includes 130 works — a mix of sculpture, video, painting, wallpaper, furniture, and installation —…
Saying Goodbye to Barney
Seattle’s oldest harbor seal, the first born at the Aquarium, leaves behind nearly 40 years of memories
The aquarium and the city have lost a good friend. Barney, the Seattle Aquarium’s longtime harbor seal, has passed away at the age of 39 — roughly the equivalent of a centenarian in human years. He was the first harbor seal born at the Aquarium in 1985. He was also one of the oldest harbor…
Spring Arts in Seattle
Shake off the winter blues with a fresh crop of arts happenings around the Emerald City
Spring brings a vibrant season of arts performances, celebrating renewal and creativity. Here’s a roundup of major arts events happening across Seattle this spring. Dance One of the buzziest performances to hit the Pacific Northwest Ballet stage in years, Crystal Pite’s Emergence returns on March 14, sharing the bill with the late Jerome Robbins’ neoclassical…