Welcome back everyone!!! Hope y’all had a great winter break and start to the new year. If you’re into reflecting + intention setting, I compiled a list of 10 end-of-year workbooks + exercises over at my other newsletter,
.I stayed local for the holidays this year, so I had the opportunity to try out many local businesses and stockpile a list of recs to share with you.
I’ve also been going through the responses from my end-of-year survey and getting stoked about all the things you want to do in Seattle this year. I can’t wait to help! If you haven’t filled out the survey yet, I’d greatly appreciate if you could add your opinions to the pile:
As for things I have planned so far:
a guide to Belltown Art Walk (coming next week before it takes place on Friday)
a list of activities that don’t involve drinking for Dry January (and beyond)
a round-up of Seattle third places
interviews with super cool locals
With your help, I can add even more cool stuff to this list 🙃
Alright – let’s get into this week’s recs!
*This post is a little long, so don’t forget to expand if it gets cut off in your email!
💎 Local Gems
Do206 MORE | Virtual
Is one of your 2024 intentions to get out there and try new things? If so, I’d recommend a $5/month subscription to DoMORE. Every month they send you a ticket drop of 5-8 events you can choose from to get two tickets to. If you don’t see anything you like, you can choose to get another drop the following week. You can also gift the tickets if you see something a friend might enjoy.
I’ve been using it for over a year and I’ve attended comedy shows, concerts, and most recently a performance at Benaroya Hall. For $5!! They made some recent updates to the model which have made it much better in my opinion, so I feel like I can confidently recommend it now.
Distant Worlds Coffeehouse + El Camion + Triple R Alley Tavern | Roosevelt
I recently discovered this trifecta of fun spots during a coworking afternoon with my cousin. We first set up shop at Distant Worlds, a funky corner coffeehouse with lots of tables and seating options. It’s also no-tip, so prices are all inclusive.
After shutting our laptops, we walked across the street to grab tamales from the El Camion truck and bring them to the brewery. The tamales were roughly $4 and massive – I highly recommend the pollo verde with the green salsa (although all the options sounded good).
Triple R Alley Tavern is actually in an alley and it feels very local and cozy despite being kind of a garage. It has two levels with tons of board games on the first floor, and darts, shuffle board, foosball, and pinball upstairs. They make their own Belgian Tripel which I would have loved to try, but with an 8% ABV and a drive home ahead of me, I had to opt for something lighter. They also let me try a Tom Kha-inspired beer which tasted… authentic!
The whole afternoon cost around $20, which seems like a pretty good deal in this economy.
👀 On my radar
Wet City Comedy Fest | Belltown
I’m a big fan of both Patti Harrison + Grace Kuhlenschmidt and I’m excited to finally see them both live at this multi-day comedy festival happening at the Crocodile. Saturday tickets are sold out, but you can still buy tickets for Friday and Sunday, or get a full weekend pass (fun fact: I once contracted Grace for a brand partnership when I was working at a fintech startup!).
Fyre Sauna | Woodinville
You know I’ve always got an eye out for a new water-centric activity! This mobile sauna company is hosting a dry sauna + cold plunge pop-up at Woodinville Lavender for the month of January. Tickets are $30 for an hourlong session but you can also book a private hour and invite some friends for $250 – it fits about 8-12 people.
The Memory Hub | First Hill
I came across The Memory Hub when I was browsing for events since they host a public tour on the first Thursday of every month. It’s a dementia-specific community center, collaborative workspace, and training center that welcomes visitors year-round to explore what it means to live well with dementia (they also have many volunteer opportunities). Reminds me a lot of this article I read and liked in the New Yorker about a dementia residential community in France that was doing some pretty radical stuff.
📆 This weekend’s events
First Thursday @ Seattle Museums | Thursday, 1/4 | Various Locations | Free
Pioneer Square Art Walk | Thursday, 1/4 | Pioneer Square | Free | Catch this mini-set by Luness at Studio601 or this night market while you’re there
Brooks Run Club | Thursday, 1/4 | Fremont | Free
Plant Based Junk Food Pop-Up | Saturday, 1/6 | Ballard | Free
The Blue Show: Adults-Only Improv Comedy | Saturday, 1/6 | Downtown | $20.50
David Bowie's B-day Bash | Saturday, 1/6 | Beacon Hill | $20
Swedish Pancake Breakfast | Sunday, 1/7 | Westlake | $14.33
Shishimai Lion Dance Blessing | Sunday, 1/7 | CID | Free | Tour the Wing Luke museum after or grab food at nearby Gan Bei
Hikerodose - Coal Creek Falls | Sunday, 1/7 | Newcastle | Free
Multi-day:
Fatlesque Fest NW | 1/4 - 1/6 | Downtown | $35-60
Wet City Comedy Fest | 1/5 - 1/7 | Belltown | $53.50-175
Village of Lights: Winter Karneval | 1/6 - 1/7 | Leavenworth | Free | This will be happening every weekend in January!
What’s next:
1/9 - 1/14 | Tickets to The Book of Mormon are essentially all snapped up, but you can enter a lottery to get $25 tickets.
1/15 | For MLK Day, you can find a local volunteer opportunity via United Way, attend King Day at NAAM (and experience their first Interrupting Privilege exhibit), or join the Seattle MLK Coalition at Garfield High School for workshops and a rally + march.
1/17 - 1/20 | Cirque du Soleil is in town at Climate Pledge for their show Corteo which is about the life and death of a clown. Sounds about right.
1/26 | While Pink Martini is playing at Pantages Theater in Tacoma, Fremont will be taken over by Soupocalypse.
2/14 - 2/17 | This could be a fun Valentines date – The Seattle Symphony will be live playing the score of The Princess Bride alongside the film.
🚨 ICYMI
Lots of foodie news: Blotto closed, Rose Temple is closing, Kedai Makan opened a 2nd location in Belltown, Raising Cane’s fried chicken is coming to Seattle, Stevie’s Famous is going to be slinging slices at Clockout Lounge, restauranteur José Garzón will be opening Bad Chancla on Capitol Hill, and The Stranger put together a list of places you can find NA drinks for dry January.
🧰️ Seattle Toolkit
A few of my favorite resources to stay tuned in to what’s happening around the city:
What Do - Seattle’s aggregated event list
Everout - Events & things to do
SEAToday - Daily Seattle newsletter
The Nudge Seattle - Text-based event planner
The Intentionalist - Discover + support local small businesses
Your turn!
What are you seeking this week? What do you already have planned? Share it with us in the comments ⬇️
I also highly recommend the Sunlight Cafe in Roosevelt too! They used to be where Distant Worlds is now but now they are on the other side of the square block at 64th and 9th (so I think along 9th it's Distant Worlds, Triple R Alley Tavern, then Sunlight Cafe). I first went there over ten years ago and had a nut burger that I thought about the entire almost ten years I was away. I'm not in that neighborhood very often, but I try to stop in for it whenever I can.
Another fun Valentine's event is Heartsongs: Justin Huertas & Kiki deLohr, with Tyler Rogers & Sarah Russell at Here-After (the basement of the Crocodile?). Justin is a phenomenal composer and definitely going to be the first person I personally know to win a Tony Award. His shows Lizard Boy, Lydia & the Troll, and We've Battled Monsters Before have traveled from Seattle to SF and NYC and Lizard Boy is premiering at Oregon Shakespeare Festival this summer. I don't know Kiki, but I've worked with Tyler and Sarah before and they are both incredible humans and so, so, so talented. https://www.ticketweb.com/event/heartsongs-justin-huertas-kiki-here-after-tickets/13388583?pl=crocodile