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Rearview Mirror: Spring Tea, an Arty Anniversary, and a New Look for Woodinville Whiskey 

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

By Rachel Gallaher March 20, 2026

A tiered tray with assorted pastries, scones, jam, and a chocolate dessert; a hand holds a green teacup in the background.
Photo courtesy of Café Flora

Last Weekend to See Red Angels

Every once in a while, a piece of art comes along and metaphorically knocks your whole world akilter. It becomes a kind of touchstone for other work, and something you come back to again and again in your head. For me, one of those pieces is Ulysses Dove’s Red Angels. I first saw this piece in 2010, when Pacific Northwest Ballet mounted 3 By Dove, a program featuring work by the late choreographer. As a former ballet dancer, I was gobsmacked—the speed, precision, and strength to dance this piece, and dance it well, i.e., make it look effortless, are off the charts. Paired with a solo electric violin score by Richard Einhorn, the 14-minute feat of athleticism stuck with me. When PNB brought the work back in 2018, travel precluded my ability to see it. I was devastated. So, last year, when they announced the 2025/26 season, and Red Angels was on the list, I whipped out my calendar and marked off the dates of the run. 

Two ballet dancers in matching red costumes perform on stage; one dancer lifts a leg high while holding the other's hand, bringing a touch of Arty Anniversary elegance to the performance.
PNB presents Red Angels on a triple-bill with works by Alejandro Cerrudo and Kent Stowell, onstage at Seattle Center’s McCaw Hall March 13 – 22, 2026. For tickets and info, contact the PNB Box Office, 206.441.2424 or PNB.org.
Photo © Angela Sterling / courtesy of PNB

Sharing the bill with Firebird (the Kent Stowell version returns to the stage for the first time in 20 years) and Alejandro Cerrudo’s captivating, humorous Little Mortal Jump, Red Angels opened last week, and it was everything I remembered it to be. Dramatic, fast-paced, cheeky at moments, but also sensual and emotion-driven. I had the opportunity to see principal dancer Lucien Postlewaite perform in Red Angels, which felt like an added bonus, as he is retiring at the end of the season. While the program is winding down its run, there are still a few days left to catch this show. 

Tickets for the Firebird rep available here.

A bottle of Woodinville Straight Bourbon Whiskey and a glass with whiskey sit on a wooden barrel.
Photo courtesy of Woodinville Whiskey

Bottled Ambition

Woodinville Whiskey Co. has debuted a new look. Fifteen years after its founding, the brand has introduced a refreshed bottle. Reminiscent of its original rectangular decanter, the new packaging features two glass textures, which, according to a press release, represent “the purity and terroir of Woodinville, where the whiskey is distilled, and the rugged lower half representing the dramatic climates of Quincy, where the whiskey is matured.” The texture is reminiscent of many things that make up the Northwest: the rough edges of tree bark, mountain peaks, and rippling water. Moving forward, the brand’s four flagship whiskeys will also include, for the first time, a six-year age statement (indicating the age of the youngest whiskey in the bottle), a testament to the maturity and quality of the product. 

People view various artworks displayed on the walls of a brightly lit gallery space from an elevated perspective.
Photo courtesy of Foster/White Gallery

Diamond Status Achieved

Foster/White, one of Seattle’s oldest and most respected art galleries, recently celebrated its 60th anniversary with a party (check out some photos from the event here)—and the opening of a new exhibition. Titled Everything, Everywhere, All at Once, the group show packs the Pioneer Square space with work from all of the gallery’s represented artists as an ode to the spirit of its founder, Richard White, one of the leaders in establishing the neighborhood’s early art scene. A patchwork of mediums, including painting, sculpture, photography, neon, and more, the displayed works (both new and inventoried) draw visitors through the gallery in a floor-to-ceiling scroll of colors, patterns, and textures that require a few loops to take it all in. These days, when it feels like we’re losing so many cultural landmarks, it’s refreshing to celebrate the continued success of one that connects the city to its creative history. Here’s to 60 more years!

Everything, Everywhere, All at Once runs through April 25, 2026, at Foster/White. 

A wooden table set for afternoon tea with plates of pastries, sandwiches, scones, teapots, cups, cutlery, and jars of jam and cream arranged neatly.
Photo by Belathee Photography

Afternoon Delight

Here’s a confession: I’m a sucker for a traditional English tea service. Tiered trays lined with adorable miniature sandwiches, perfectly patterned cups with matching saucers, fresh-baked scones… I’ll take it all. As a vegetarian, I was thrilled to learn this week that beloved Café Flora is now offering a spring afternoon tea service, with menus for various dietary restrictions, including vegan and gluten-free options. Running from March 23 – April 3, the menu includes sweet and savory nibbles, and, of course, a selection of teas from around the world. Scrolling the list of treats, my eyes stopped briefly at the herby crème fraîche deviled egg and pistachio rose financier, but it was the “cheese dream” that really sealed the deal for me. 

Reservations for the Spring Afternoon Tea can be made here

A stylized painting of a nude man sitting among large, colorful plants and flowers, with his arm bent and his hand near his face.
Cut Flowers by Bryan Rogers. Image by Dominic Nieri.
Photo by Dominic Nieri

Body of Work

Last Thursday, Cannonball Arts opened an exhibition curated by artist and Seattle magazine Most Influential alumni Anthony White that examines the age-old practice of figurative painting. Featuring work from 20 artists, Let There Be Light plays with in-between spaces—anonymity vs. self-proclamation, tradition vs. modernity, accepted tropes vs. experimentation—in a way that makes the viewer confront internalized beliefs about art, representation, and humanity. Some pieces made me…uncomfortable? I don’t quite know if that’s the right word, but they kicked off a series of questions: Why do I feel this way? What about the piece is creating this discomfort? What can I take away from this feeling? Even if I didn’t “like” a piece of work, the fact that it made me think deeper, I believe, is part of the reason we see art. It should challenge our ingrained notions (even if it ends up affirming them), and make us contemplate deeper, and hopefully, feel something. Let There Be Light also reminds us of how political the body can be, and the potential power in the ways that artists choose to portray it.

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