A SOFT LANDING

There’s a new reason to look up in Pioneer Square. Seattle painter Cristina Martinez’s new mural, A Soft Place to Land, fills a wall along the Occidental Promenade with a dreamy woman stretched out in daisies. The mural measures 70 by 150 feet near Lumen Field Event Center, where Seattle Art Fair returns July 23-26. It’s the largest permanent commissioned mural in Pioneer Square’s history, and the largest work of Martinez’s career.

Courtesy of ARTXIV

The woman’s patterned dress and striped shirt have that graphic, playful quality Martinez does so well, with flowers rising around her, one hand open, and a butterfly nearby. Martinez, a Black and Mexican artist from Tacoma, often brings women and the natural world together in her work. “For me, this image is a quiet kind of radical act: a woman at rest, whole, unhurried, at home in her own skin and in the world around her,” she says in her artist statement. “The way nature doesn’t ask permission to bloom, neither should we.” We are fans here at the office, and seeing her work at this scale is pretty spectacular.

The timing is good, too. Pioneer Square is newly named a Washington State Creative District, First Thursday Art Walk is marking 45 years, and World Cup visitors are moving through the stadium district next door. The mural gives the neighborhood a softer, brighter new landmark.

You can find the mural at 1016 First Ave. S., along the Occidental Promenade, directly adjacent to the Seattle Art Fair entrance at Lumen Field Event Center. The mural was curated by ARTXIV and produced by Forest for the Trees.

Photo by Sean Airhart / courtesy of Squarehead West

PRETTY LITTLE THINGS

I love wandering around a beautiful shop. I don’t even need a reason. In fact, it may be better when there’s nothing I’m looking for, because then I can convince myself that a pretty little dish to put earrings in, or a new hand-painted mug has simply found me.

Squarehead West, a new home goods boutique in Madrona, seems made for that kind of experience. Founded by Tracy Green, the shop opened at 1430 34th Ave. and carries ceramics, cookbooks, kitchen supplies, barware, vintage finds, art, and goods from local artists and makers around the world. Little placards share the stories behind the pieces, which gives the browsing a nice extra layer. The look is Scandinavian-leaning, which here means functional, elegant, and nature-inspired, like a world-traveler with excellent taste invited you into their gorgeous house and told you to poke around. It’s the West Coast sister to Squarehead Industries in New Hope, Pennsylvania.

Squarehead West is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

Courtesy of The SOMM Hotel & Spa

CHATEAU READY

Outdoor concerts are a Northwest summer ritual we take very seriously. Put music on a lawn, preferably at a winery (or a zoo that serves wine), and suddenly everyone has a picnic blanket and food to share.

A friend and I have an inside joke about dresses that look right for this exact situation. If one has the correct floaty, winery-lawn energy, we call it “Chateau-ready.” So The SOMM Hotel & Spa’s new Chateau Ste. Michelle Concert Picnic Experience feels extremely in that zone. The Woodinville hotel, which opened last fall in the Harvest development, is offering a package that includes a one-night stay, two premium table seats to a Chateau Ste. Michelle concert, an artisan picnic dinner by chef Maximillian Petty, roundtrip shuttle transportation, and blankets for the evening. This season’s lineup includes Dierks Bentley, Ziggy Marley, Wynonna Judd and Melissa Etheridge, Boyz II Men, Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos, and Beck. Add tasting rooms and a spa treatment, and suddenly a concert becomes an easy summer escape.

To book the Chateau Ste. Michelle Concert Picnic Experience, go here.

Courtesy of Seattle Center

MOVE OUTSIDE

Every summer, I imagine becoming the kind of person who works out outside, and although the reality is not always quite as graceful as the fantasy, really, the fun is just being humans together moving our bodies—a free class in the middle of Seattle Center feels like a pretty good place to try. Workout Wednesdays are back through Aug. 26 with three outdoor classes each week. There’s gentle yoga, Zumba, and mat pilates.

I’ve dropped into these classes over the years and always had so much fun. If you live here, you know everyone seems to have a permanent smile once the weather gets nice, and people become extremely chatty in the best way. Add a workout high to that, and it’s a pretty great group of people to share space with. Yoga and Zumba do not require registration, though pilates registration is recommended.

For class times, locations, a list of what to bring, and registration details, visit SeattleCenter.com/fitness.

Courtesy of June

VANCOUVER, WITH PEAS

I was in Vancouver, B.C., this week, and it was very cool to see another Pacific Northwest World Cup city showing off. It made me feel very proud of Seattle. Vancouver looks good doing it, no question. But Seattle these last few weeks has been putting on a stunning show of beauty and community, from more than 450,000 people visiting the waterfront to a Juneteenth match day crowd of nearly 85,000 at Waterfront Park. There is a reason The New York Times named Lumen Field the best host venue (along with Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta) for World Cup 26.

While I was there, I had dinner at June, a brasserie-inspired restaurant in Cambie Village that opened in April of last year and landed at No. 17 on this year’s North America’s 50 Best Bars list. The room is pretty sexy, with red lighting and heavy drapes, a little Deco glamour, and a DJ. The restaurant is named for one of the owner’s mothers, an artist whose beautiful sculpture of a full-figured woman is on display inside. Many on the team, including one of the founders, were raised by single mothers, and the place is an ode to the women who hold everything together and always make room at the table.

I had a seasonal version of its signature pasta, a big sheet folded around cheese and fresh peas, plus a beet salad with pear, endive, and burrata on top. There was also trout rillette with crème fraîche, candied salmon, herbs, and the thinnest, most delicate house-made potato chips, and yes, I did make a tiny involuntary “yum” sound at nearly every bite. I also regretted not ordering the frog legs, mostly because I like to imagine I’m more adventurous than I actually am. Next time you are in Vancouver, make a point to stop in for them, then please tell me how they were. I imagine it won’t be long before this place is impossible to score a table at.