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Welcome to Seattle!
Everything you’ve heard about us is wrong.
Much has been said about our little corner of the world. For years, Donald Trump has been painting Seattle as a lawless danger zone where we skin rich people alive and force everyone to use they/them pronouns. But it’s all lies (well, mostly). And if you’re not an asshole, Seattle is actually a really beautiful, welcoming place.
The air smells nice, we produce some very cool weirdos, and our nature is Lord of the Rings-level stunning; we here at The Stranger love this place with a capital L-O-V-E, and we want you to love it, too.
That’s why, for the past few years, we’ve been compiling this guide to the city, How to Seattle, a Stranger digest of sorts, featuring so many of our favorite things to do, eat, see, and hear in Seatown. (First tip: Do not call it that.)
If you’re an avid Stranger reader (thank you!), some of this information will be familiar, as it’s compiled over years of coverage and previous installments of How to Seattle. Jump around—look for and do all
the new things that appeal to you!
But if you’re new in town, a tourist looking to make the most of a long weekend, or a person who just learned how to read (congratulations!), you’d be smart to start your journey at the beginning and pore over every page, soaking up all our hard-earned, heavily researched recommendations. (BTW, if you’re just visiting and like what you read, head to T heStranger.com to subscribe, and we’ll send you a fresh issue every month!)
We’ve also included checklists at the end of each section so you can keep track of your progress. If you’re up for the challenge, find out how Seattle you are with our worksheet in the back! It’s like homework, but fun. Because while most of what they’ve said about us is oh so wrong, some people have gotten it right. We are pretty nerdy here. We do love books; we think learning is cool! We love queer people, and our mayor is a socialist. But we’d never eat the rich... we leave that to our orcas.
See you out there,
Your Friends at The Stranger
Ballard
KNOWN FOR: A mix of classic, seagoing, Scandinavian Seattle with hipster breweries and upscale bars. CHECK OUT: The huge Sunday Ballard Farmers Market, the Nordic Museum, the fish ladders at the Ballard Locks, and sunsets at Golden Gardens Park.
Queen Anne/Lower Queen Anne
KNOWN FOR: Old, beautiful homes on Queen Anne Hill, stairs (so many stairs), and wrongly being referred to as Uptown. (Lower Queen Anne forever.) CHECK OUT: A stunning view of the skyline from Kerry Park (or check out the mountains at the slightly more hidden Betty Bowen Viewpoint), and art-house movies at SIFF Cinema Uptown.
Seattle Center
Belltown
KNOWN FOR: The Space Needle and the monorail. CHECK OUT: The Museum of Pop Culture, live music at the Vera Project, Pacific Northwest Ballet and Seattle Opera performances at McCaw Hall, and Seattle Kraken, Torrent, and Storm games at Climate Pledge Arena.
KNOWN FOR: Trendy bars, shops, clubs, and restaurants. CHECK OUT: Art installations and Puget Sound views from the Olympic Sculpture Park, live music and comedy at the Crocodile, and bars like Shorty’s (with a pinball arcade) and the James Beard Award–nominated speakeasy Phởcific Standard Time.
Downtown
KNOWN FOR: Being declared “dead” by mainstream media, skyscraper office buildings, and proximity to Pike Place Market. CHECK OUT: The architectural gem that is the Central Library, so much art at the Seattle Art Museum, Base Camp Studio, and Cannonball Arts, and Pike Place Market.
Waterfront
KNOWN FOR: Tourists, seagulls, and seafood restaurants. CHECK OUT: The heart of the city’s beloved ferry system, the Seattle Great Wheel, the summer concert series at Pier 62, and the Seattle Aquarium.
Bainbridge Island
KNOWN FOR: Easy day trips on the ferry for a taste of laidback small-town life. CHECK OUT: James Beard Award finalist Café Hitchcock, the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, and the 140-acre Bloedel Reserve garden.
West Seattle
KNOWN FOR: Its relaxed, beachy vibe and being hard to get to, except by riding the water taxi. CHECK OUT: Alki Beach Park, the view from Hawaiian-Korean taco joint Marination Ma Kai (get the Sexy Tofu Tacos!), and in-store performances at Easy Street Records.
Fremont
KNOWN FOR: Referring to itself as the center of the universe, lots of hippies, and the Solstice Parade/ naked bike ride in June. CHECK OUT: Public art like the Fremont Troll and the Statue of Lenin (which is actually privately owned, but shh), the nearly 20-mile Burke-Gilman Trail through the city, and year-round flea market goodies at the Fremont Sunday Market.
Pioneer Square
Wallingford/Green Lake/Phinney Ridge
KNOWN FOR: Residential neighborhoods with cute shops and restaurants, and easy access to the outdoors. CHECK OUT: Gas Works Park on Lake Union, the Archie McPhee joke shop in Wallingford, the trail around Green Lake Park, and the summer concert series at the Woodland Park Zoo.
University District
KNOWN FOR: The sprawling, Gothic University of Washington campus, and vintage shops and cheap restaurants along University Way (known as “the Ave”). CHECK OUT: The Henry Art Gallery and Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, handmade noodles at Xi’an Noodles, one of the city’s first and best coffee shops (Cafe Allegro), and live music at Neptune Theatre.
South Lake Union
KNOWN FOR: Amazon’s headquarters, waterfront bars and restaurants, and houseboats. CHECK OUT: The plant-filled Amazon Spheres (if you must), the Museum of History & Industry, the street-food-filled South Lake Union Saturday Market (June–November), and rowboat rentals from the Center for Wooden Boats.
Capitol Hill
KNOWN FOR: Bars and music venues that come alive at night, rainbow-painted crosswalks and gay bars, and The Stranger ’s offices! CHECK OUT: The cedar-shelved Elliott Bay Book Company, the trendy shops, bars, and restaurants at Chophouse Row, live music at Neumos, and walks and stargazing in Volunteer Park.
KNOWN FOR: Being Seattle’s oldest neighborhood, plus brick buildings housing art galleries and restaurants.
CHECK OUT: The Underground Tour, the monthly First Thursday art walk, the Smith Tower observatory, and the Waterfall Garden Park and Occidental Park.
Central District
KNOWN FOR: Its history as the hub of the city’s African American community and close proximity to Lake Washington. CHECK OUT: The Northwest African American Museum, Ethiopian restaurants like Meskel and Cafe Selam, and classic movies with table service at Central Cinema.
Chinatown-International District
KNOWN FOR: Amazing Asian American cuisine and cultural institutions including Bruce Lee’s favorite restaurant. CHECK OUT: The Asian supermarket Uwajimaya, the Wing Luke Museum, Fuji Bakery, and the drool-worthy Dough Zone Dumpling House.
SoDo/Georgetown
KNOWN FOR: An industrial background, T-Mobile Park (where the Mariners play), and Lumen Field (where the Sounders, OL Reign, and the Seahawks play). CHECK OUT: Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, the Hat ’n’ Boots sculptures at Oxbow Park, and the factory where Obama’s favorite Fran’s Chocolates are made.
Columbia City & Beacon Hill
KNOWN FOR: Having wonderfully diverse communities with great food and music. CHECK OUT: The James Beard Award semifinalist Columbia City Bakery, community coffee shop the Station, fantastic film programming at the Beacon, and live music at the Royal Room and ClockOut Lounge (both of which have excellent food, too).
Lyrics by Tim Rice Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
By Joe DiPietro
GETTING AROUND
Everything You Need to Know About Seattle’s (Pretty Good!) Public Transportation Options
By The Stranger Staff
Traffic sucks, we have some of the most expensive gas in the country (more than $6/gallon at present), and parking is impossible, so like so many other major metropolises (metropoli?), Seattle is best traversed on foot, on bike, and by public transportation. Between light rail, the bus, and, yes, the two-minute monorail ride, it’s easy (even fun!) to explore every neighborhood.
Bus
Seattle has an extensive bus system. Pay as you board with bills and/or coins—it’s $3 for adults and free for children 18 and under—or use an ORCA card. As of early 2026, you can also tap to pay with credit and debit cards and smartphones or smartwatches. Just like a real city! You can plan transit trips on all the major map apps, of course, but we’d be remiss not to shout out the free app OneBusAway, which is also handy when you need to pull up nearby and real-time bus information that is, in our experience, more accurate than Google and the city’s schedules. Please be nice to our drivers; they put up with a lot of shit.
Lightrail
We now have two light rail lines! Line 1 goes as far north as Lynnwood and all the way down to Federal Way, making a total of 26 stops along the way. That’s the train you want if you’re going to Pike Place Market, the airport, the stadium district— all the major tourist spots and then some. In March, Sound Transit finally opened the connection between Line 1 and Line 2, which crosses Lake Washington. Yes! A train crosses a lake! (And it’s the first to go over a floating bridge!) Line 2 takes you east to Bellevue and Redmond. The train ride is smooth, the cars are (mostly) clean—it’s an overall delight to ride. But fair warning about the station signage: IT SUCKS. At any given light rail station, you will see signs that say “Lynnwood” or “Federal Way Downtown.” Not north and south, not any kind of marking that makes things easy for people not from here and
The SEATTLE CENTER MONORAIL’s two minute trip takes riders through the Museum of Pop Culture. Literally.
don’t know the difference between Kent and Shoreline. We have told them to fix it. For now, don’t be too shy to ask a local to ensure you get on the right train. We’re nice, and we know the signage is trash.
Rentable Scooters/ E-Bikes
There are two major electric ride-share companies in Seattle, Lime and Bird. According to Lime, Seattleites took their scooters and bikes on more than 10 million trips just last year. They’re very popular! But in some people’s hands, they’re also a dangerous nuisance. In 2024, Harborview saw more than 160 serious injuries caused by rentable e-scooters and e-bikes. Some riders have died, and some riders have been involved in road rage incidents. Unless you’re experienced with zooming around on two wheels and are traveling with a helmet, you’d be better off walking or taking public transportation. That said, if you do decide to rent a scooter, there are a few rules to consider: Stay off sidewalks and ride in bike lanes when possible. Yield to pedestrians. Stay off streets where the speed limit is higher than 25 MPH. When you’re done, do not leave your scooter or bike in the middle of the sidewalk, blocking a crosswalk, or blocking a bike lane. And definitely do not throw it off a bridge. People do that! And you know what? It’s someone’s job to go get that scooter, no matter where it ends up.
Ferries and Water Taxis
There are two ferry terminals in town. At the Seattle Waterfront, you can walk,
BILLIE WINTER
bike, or drive onto boats headed to Bainbridge Island or Bremerton. From the Fauntleroy terminal in West Seattle, you can access Southworth and Vashon Island. The pedestrian-only West Seattle Water Taxi is also convenient and will take you from downtown Seattle to Alki Beach in just 15 minutes.
The Monorail
The Seattle Center Monorail is a beloved relic from the 1962 World’s Fair. It’s a two-minute elevated ride between the Seattle Center and Westlake Center in Downtown Seattle, and a lot of people assume it’s a pointless little gimmick. But the monorail is actually very useful! It is the quickest and easiest way to get from the downtown light rail station to the Seattle Center, so it’s often packed before and after games and events at Climate Pledge Arena. It’s consistently on time. Plus, Elvis rode it in that one movie that one time!
A Note About Driving in Seattle
Seattle drivers are psychopathically passive. We all know this. Yes, driving can be scary and is inherently dangerous, but if you’re behind the wheel, you need to be alert to your surroundings and proactive. Please don’t be so deferential and timid that you yourself become the danger and fuck up everyone’s commute with your insecurities.
Here’s how it works. When it’s time to turn your car, you must turn your car. Get
into an efficiency mindset. Your job is to turn your car, not to fret about whether it is polite to turn your car. You put your blinker on, and then you turn your car at a reasonable pace.
You don’t slow to a crawl at the green light, just like you don’t randomly slow to a near stop at an uncontrolled intersection with no stop sign, pedestrians, or other cars coming.
Switching lanes should also be done in a prompt manner. Slowly drifting to wherever you’re going is extremely not the move. Find a gap, turn on your blinker, and change lanes.
Do not screech to a halt the moment you see a hint of a pedestrian a few feet from the sidewalk. Yes, pedestrians have the right of way. But if they’re not actively crossing the street, you’re just inviting a rear-end collision.
When faced with a four-way stop, review the rules beforehand so you’re confident enough to make it happen when the time comes. In Washington, the first vehicle to arrive has the right-of-way. If two vehicles arrive simultaneously, the one on the left yields to the one on the right. All drivers must also yield to pedestrians and cyclists. This should all happen fairly quickly. If you blank on the rules and someone is waving you forward, go with it, confidently, and then wave back. This is no time to fret, and no time to get overwhelmed. You’ve got this.
Remember: Fear is the mind-killer.
(And public transit is also an option.)
THE STRANGER’S DRIVE-BETTER BOARD
Take in one of the most spectacular views of Seattle’s skyline from the deck of a WASHINGTON STATE FERRY.
Here’s something you might not expect to read in an alt newspaper run by cynical assholes: Many of Seattle’s well-known attractions and stereotypical “tourist traps” are worth visiting at least once. Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, the waterfront, the Seattle Underground... sure, they’re often crawling with bumbling out-oftowners, but they’re also packed with history, offering context to this strange little world we’ve created in the upper left corner of America. (For example, did you know how much of Seattle was built on sex work? Google Lou Graham and get a head start on your homework.)
ATTRACTIONS & LANDMARKS
Welcome to Our Weird Little Corner of the Country
Don’t blame us. A Canadian real estate developer chose to install a decommissioned BOEING 747 between two residential buildings on Denny Way.
Fend Off the Seagulls at the New Waterfront Park
SEATTLE WATERFRONT
Seattle’s famous Waterfront Park and boardwalk—which were renovated last year—stretch along the coast of Elliott Bay from the Olympic Sculpture Park to T-Mobile Park and Lumen Field. It’s gorgeous down there, but it’s also packed. Just down the hill from Pike Place Market, ferries, cruises, water taxis, and the Victoria Clipper all dock here, and it’s also home to the Seattle Aquarium, the Seattle Great Wheel, a vintage carousel, an arcade, outdoor concerts in the summer, and the kind of knickknack and curio shops you’d expect to find on a boardwalk. (Buy all the dead animals you could ever want at Ye Olde Curiosity Shop.) There are also plenty of spots to stop off for snacks, and Seattle’s seagulls want them. All of them. They want your fries, they want your fish. They want whatever is left of your Ivar’s clam chowder bread bowl, and they are not afraid to snatch it right out of your hand. Take in the view, but keep an eye on those birds. MEGAN SELING
Duck Under Flying Fish at the Pike Place Market
PIKE PLACE MARKET
Visiting Pike Place Market may be one of the most stereotypical Seattle things you could do, but that place is legit magic, and it’s full of tourists and locals alike. (Never call it “Pike’s Place” unless you are Dina Martina.) There are 500 vendors, so every stop can be a new experience, but on your first trip, prioritize two things: fresh flowers and fresh fish. The flowers, sourced from local farms, are unbelievably beautiful, and the huge bouquets are a bargain compared to florist shops or even grocery stores. Just beyond the rows of flowers, you’ll find the famous flying fish. A gimmick? Sure. But it’s pretty damn cool to watch the fishmongers throw fish orders back and forth to each other to be bagged up and rung up for customers. And if you’re lucky, you might see celebrities, including Bruce Springsteen, Chelsea Handler, or any number of local
Warning: The WATERFRONT SEAGULLS are not afraid to snatch fries from your hands.
See Where That Person Got Abducted in ‘Malignant’
PIONEER SQUARE
There is nothing quite like taking a pilgrimage to pay respect to an iconic horror destination right here in the city. No, not that remake of The Ring. I’m talking about where the one tour guide was abducted in Malignant. You know, the Seattle-set film that was absolutely not filmed here, yet is still one of the most bonkers to ever pretend to? If you’re unfamiliar, the film features a key scene where a character is taken while cleaning up after an underground tour. The real tour in Seattle, Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour, is nothing like how it appeared onscreen; it’s actually much more useful for understanding the true and
complicated history of this city. But hey, you can always imagine there’s a terrifying figure lurking in the darkness that’s just waiting for its moment to strike.
CHASE HUTCHINSON
Gaze at the Stars with Volunteer Park’s Telescope Club
CAPITOL HILL
Volunteer Park, built by the famous Olmsted Brothers at the turn of the century (the 20th century, that is), is one of Seattle’s most popular parks. There, you’ll find the Seattle Asian Art Museum, the Volunteer Park Conservatory, a water tower (just 107 steps to the top!), and lovely gardens. It’s there, in front of the museum, where the city’s impromptu telescope gang gathers on clear nights, inviting pass-
ersby to take a closer look at the stars… and the moon and comets and planets and galaxies and nebulae and whatever other intergalactic sights are visible at the time. You can chance it and hope you come across them on a cloudless evening, or you can email VolunteerParkTelescopesEmail@gmail.com to get added to their mailing list. I love that our city is full of kind, curious people who just want to share their passions with others, no strings attached. MEGAN SELING
Get Dizzy on the Space Needle’s Glass Floor
SEATTLE CENTER
“It’s a tourist trap!” they cry. “What a waste of money!” they shout. Ignore the haters. Whether you’re in town for the weekend or a lifelong Seattleite, it’s worth taking a trip to the top of the Space Needle at least once in your life. The 605-foottall attraction was built for the 1962 World’s Fair, but it underwent a massive renovation in 2017 and now features a disorientingly awesome (awesomely disorienting?) rotating, all-glass floor. You can stand on it or sit on it or lay on it belly down to feel like you’re (very slowly) flying above the Seattle Center. One floor above that is an all-glass observation deck that offers one of the best views in the city.
MEGAN SELING
Play Paintball at Gas Works Park
WALLINGFORD
Ha ha, just kidding. You can’t play paintball at Gas Works Park. 10 Things I Hate About You lied, and that heartwarming montage of Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger’s date was just movie magic. It’s still worth a visit, though! The waterfront park was once home to the Seattle Gas Light Company, and much of the defunct gasification plant still stands today. It’s cool! You’ll feel like you’re in a Tim Burton movie, but with infinite amounts of goose poop. There are also dreamy views of Lake Union and the city skyline, rolling green hills perfect for picnicking, and the occasional concert. Just stay off the gas towers! People have died or been seriously injured after falling from the eroding equipment. MEGAN SELING
professional athletes fielding a fish for fans. RACHEL STEVENS
HARALD SUND / GETTY IMAGES
TEDHOROWITZPHOTOGRAPHY
Touch Grass at the Hat ’n’ Boots
GEORGETOWN
Eating a sandwich under, or near, the largest hat and boots in America is a simple joy. Back in the ’50s, the Hat ’n’ Boots roadside attraction served as the respective office and restrooms of the state’s most successful gas station. Business boomed until I-5 siphoned traffic from the Georgetown neighborhood, and it closed in 1988. The giant accessories would’ve been erased from the face of the earth if passionate neighborhood residents hadn’t wrangled the funds to save, restore, and relocate the iconic structures to Oxbow Park in 2003. It’s a really big hat! Giddyup! VIVAN McCALL
Lean into the Liminal Vibes at Freeway Park
FIRST HILL
Liminal spaces are having a moment. The original 2019 4chan thread, which started with an infinite yellow-wallpapered office space lit by fluorescent lights, has spawned video games, fan art, and a viral series of YouTube shorts created by 20-year-old filmmaker Kane Parsons.
Seattle is filled with such spaces, and one of my favorites is Freeway Park. Hovering above a stretch of I-5, Freeway Park is a threshold between downtown and First Hill. Designed by Lawrence Halprin in 1976, it’s the first park to be built over a freeway. Blocky, brutalist concrete structures meet with a flourishing man-made forest, which makes the whole park feel unnatural and otherworldly, kind of like an overgrown urban space from The Last of Us. A few other spots worth noting, if you’re into that sort of thing, include the transit tunnel under the 5th Avenue Theatre, the AMC Pacific Place 11, and Pike Place Market after everyone’s gone home for the day.
JULIANNE BELL
Snap a Pic of the ‘Singles’ Building
CAPITOL HILL
If you live in Seattle and haven’t seen the seminal 1992 Cameron Crowe classic Singles, I insist that you amend this grievance posthaste (preferably by renting it from Scarecrow Video). The movie is a rom-com set in the golden age of grunge, featuring multiple storylines about lovelorn locals living in a single apartment block and accompanied by a
soundtrack of artists like Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden. Their building, which advertises “Singles” (as in one-bedroom apartments) for rent, serves as the fulcrum of the film, and you can still see it today—it’s actually the Coryell Court apartment building on Capitol Hill, located at the corner of 19th Avenue East and East Thomas Avenue. I still get a little thrill every time I pass it. Bear in mind that tenants live there, so please be mindful of their privacy and keep a respectful distance.
JULIANNE BELL
Wonder What the Fuck They Were Thinking in Denny Triangle
SOUTH LAKE UNION
If you see a plane, specifically a 250-footlong Boeing 747, wedged between two apartment buildings on Denny Way, you’re not hallucinating. A Canadian real estate developer named Ian Gillespie thought that cramming a decommissioned jet into the middle of his two 47-story residential buildings was some great symbol of innovation. (We said we’d never forget!) The buildings (and plane) were still under construction at press time, but once finished, the development will house more
than 1,000 units, and the plane will apparently be a coworking space for residents. But it has already become something of a symbol of the city—for months, locals have been posting pictures of it on social media, wondering, “What the fuck?” So when you see it, don’t blame it on Seattle. A Canadian did that. And we’re all as confused as you are. MEGAN SELING
Get High and Go to the Seattle Aquarium
WATERFRONT
One day, when I was feeling particularly depressed and burnt out, I decided to realize my dream of living out the Reductress headline “Stoned Woman Eating Pretzel Bread at Aquarium Has No Need for God or Money.” Just as I’d suspected, a little herbal enhancement transformed my grown-up field trip into a transcendent experience—I got to learn about the resident harbor seals, witness frolicking sea otters, coo over puffins, and prod sea anemones in a touch tank. The highlight was gazing at undulating jellyfish in an illuminated tank, which I truly could have done for hours in my altered state. I highly recommend this entire outing as a salve for the melancholy soul. Plus, it’s a little-known fact that you can book free tickets to the Seattle Aquarium through
The blocky and brutalist FREEWAY PARK on First Hill is a must-visit for those in search of eerie liminal spaces.
BILLIE WINTER
This exhibition is produced by The Home of Moomin Museum Tampere, Finland
the Seattle Public Library and King County Library, so with some planning, this low-lift excursion was also completely free. JULIANNE
BELL
Brunch with Literal Bears at Woodland Park Zoo
PHINNEY RIDGE
What do you do when you’ve exhausted all of the city’s best brunch options? You’ve had your fill of Dutch babies, you’ve drunk dry the few spots that do bottomless mimosas, and, despite eating all the huevos rancheros (in this economy!?), you still feel… empty. Well, don’t worry. Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo has put together a Grazing at the Zoo series where you can have pancakes at the penguin exhibit, sip afternoon tea and munch on little cakes in a pollinator garden, and brunch with bears. If you aren’t picky about your dining companions, join the zoo’s brunch club, where you can have eggs Benedict with different beasts depending on the date.
NATHALIE GRAHAM
Ride a Ferry
WATERFRONT
Every local has their preferred view of Seattle’s skyline. Some swear by Kerry Park on Queen Anne; others insist on Alki Beach in West Seattle. Personally, my favorite view is the one you see while standing on the deck of a Washington State Ferry as it pulls away from Colman Dock downtown. Walk, bike, or drive onto a boat headed to Bremerton or Bainbridge Island—both have charming little city centers within walking distance from their respective landings—and grab a spot on the outside deck on the backside. It will be windy, it will probably be cold, but the air is crisp and salty, and the view is incredible. You will see the whole skyline, from the Space Needle to Mount Rainier, stretching out across the horizon. Breathe it in. Then, as the city fades into the distance, warm up inside with a too-hot cup of hot chocolate from a vending machine that looks like it’s been there since the ’80s. (It has.)
MEGAN SELING
Take Shelter at the Gum Wall
PIKE PLACE MARKET
While we might not know who put the first piece of colorful, chewed-up goop along Post Alley’s now-saliva-encrusted bricks, we do know that adding your gum to
Some of the sticky substances on Seattle’s GUM WALL have been there since the ’90s. That gum might be older than you!
Seattle’s iconic Gum Wall could be the key to saving the city. Tucked alongside Pike Place Market is a tunnel-like passageway covered in chewed-up gum dating back to the 1990s. (The city did try to clean the wall once, in 2015, and removed more than 2,350 pounds of gum, but surely they missed some of the early bits, right?) Grab a pack of your favorite flavor and head on down to contribute your DNA to Seattle’s most disturbing wallpaper. Perhaps when the Big One hits—because it’s coming— there might be enough of the sticky substance to stop the city from splitting in
q Fend Off the Seagulls at the New Waterfront Park
q Duck Under Flying Fish at the Pike Place Market
q See Where That Person Got Abducted in ‘Malignant’
q Gaze at the Stars with Volunteer Park’s Telescope Club
q Get Dizzy on the Space Needle’s Glass Floor
Get Soaked—or Don’t!— at the International Fountain
SEATTLE CENTER
You haven’t truly been to Seattle until you’ve been baptized in the waters of the International Fountain at the Seattle Center on a barely hot enough summer’s day. Built in 1961 for the World’s Fair, the fountain—which cycles through water shows set to music between 10 a.m.
Think you know how to Seattle? Mark off every task you’ve completed at the end of each section. Then turn to page 81 to see how you stack up!
q Play Paintball at Gas Works Park
q Touch Grass at the Hat ’n’ Boots
q Lean into the Liminal Vibes at Freeway Park
q Snap a Pic of the ‘Singles’ Building
q Wonder What the Fuck They Were Thinking in Denny Triangle
q Get High and Go to the Seattle Aquarium
and 9 p.m.—is a prime place to soak up the sun, dare your friends to touch the metal dome without getting drenched by unpredictable water cannons, or watch kids of all ages experience the purest forms of surprise and delight. It’s free, it’s fun, it’s in the shadow of the Space Needle, and it’s a lifelong challenge—I have never once touched the dome without getting absolutely soaked, though to my intense chagrin, I have watched a cocky teenager walk backward to the fountain’s heart with nary a drop. I’ll get you one day, fountain... SHANNON LUBETICH
Visit a Cool Building Featured on the Buildings of Seattle Instagram Account
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
Buildings of Seattle is one of the best things to happen on Instagram. Founder Keith Cote created the account at the beginning of the pandemic, and he posts detailed but compressed descriptions of the homes, apartment buildings, and towers of our city. I did not know there was so much to say about Seattle’s architecture until I read the steady and never-disappointing stream of information on this feed of photos and words written in a style that is as informative as it is charming. It’s also noteworthy that Cote is not part of a movement, nor does he take sides with one architectural style over another. He only writes about what catches his eye during one of his many long walks around the city. Scroll through his Instagram feed, find a building that catches your eye, and read up on its history while paying it a visit. CHARLES MUDEDE
Say Hi to Dave Matthews
q Brunch with Literal Bears at Woodland Park Zoo
q Ride a Ferry
q Take Shelter at the Gum Wall
q Get Soaked—or Don’t!—at the International Fountain
q Visit a Cool Building Featured on the Buildings of Seattle Instagram Account
q Say Hi to Dave Matthews
COMPLETED ITEMS
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
That’s right, the patron saint of dad rock walks among us. I first learned this fact in second grade when my teacher told us that her favorite singer, Dave Matthews, was her next-door neighbor. Years later, I was playing at the park with my little sister when Matthews and his kids arrived. I heard my dad say, “Wow, you look a lot like Dave Matthews!” and Matthews responded, “Well, I am Dave Matthews!” I won’t disclose his address, but trust me—if you spend enough time near the Woodland Park Zoo, you will inevitably “Crash” into him. AUDREY VANN
two... just make sure to wash your hands after. NICO SWENSON
MELISSA TSE / GETTY IMAGES
ARTS & CULTURE
Where to Find a Rideable Nudibranch, Experimental Dance, and the Best Popcorn You’ll Ever Eat at a Movie Theater
Artists here aren’t afraid to get a little weird, to take risks, to forgo the formal process of getting their work in museums and instead wheatpaste it right onto the city’s walls, spraypaint it under freeway overpasses, or stick it to the back of No Parking signs. (Graffiti and stickers are art!) Which isn’t to say we don’t have contemporary fine artists. We do! But much of Seattle’s art scene is rich with wit, humor, playfulness, and schadenfreude (we love to dunk on billionaires as often as possible). Many of our contemporary galleries have embraced a less stuffy way of operating, too—our art spaces, and the work they show, are often immersive and interactive. They invite you to join in—to explore, touch, contemplate, laugh, and, in at least two instances, scream your face off.
The Henry Art Gallery hosts free guided meditation sessions inside LIGHT REIGN: JAMES TURRELL SKYSPACE every month.
The giant nudibranch at Cannonball Arts, TOXIC BEAUTY, bucks and spins like a mechanical bull.
Get Bucked off a Giant Nudibranch at Cannonball Arts
DOWNTOWN
Cannonball Arts opened in August 2025 as Seattle’s largest contemporary art space. The 66,000-square-foot building, which used to be a Bed Bath & Beyond, is full of art you can touch, ride, walk through, sit on, and hold. There’s Monster, a virtual reality installation made from an old VR Monster Truck amusement park ride, and “Virginia Park,” an indoor sculpture park and trail. Even the individual bathroom stalls have their own art installations. A highlight of the space— and what you have likely seen photos of from travel bloggers all over Instagram—is Toxic Beauty, a bright-pink rideable plush nudibranch. What’s a nudibranch? Glad you asked! It’s a small marine animal in the same family as sea slugs, and you can find them in local tidepools. They’re cool! The nudibranch at Cannonball, made by fiber artist Stephanie Metz, is 10 feet long, and it swings around and bucks
like a mechanical bull. How long can you hold on? MEGAN SELING
Get Lost in Samantha Yun Wall’s Monochromatic Fairy Tales at the Seattle Art Museum
DOWNTOWN
Overlapping figures of female bodies emerge and dissolve in Samantha Yun Wall’s velvet monochrome worlds. The Portland-based artist is a master of rendering images in ink and conté, where layers of shadow intertwine with stark black silhouettes. (We featured one of her pieces on the cover of our Spring Arts issue earlier this year.) Wall’s imagery reflects the artist’s multi-ethnic background, blending Korean folk stories with elements from Eurocentric mythology to create scenes that seem plucked from an untold fairy tale. Her solo at Seattle Art Museum, hanging through October 4, features new works haunted by the iconography of the pasqueflower, a motif
ture-like oculus in the ceiling, revealing a hint of sky. The Skyspace’s frosted glass perimeter is also programmed with LED lights that shift in color throughout the day. For heightened effect, Light Reign is a piece to form a relationship with—I recommend visiting once a season to see how your experience shifts. LINDSAY COSTELLO
Save Your Money for the Slugs at Frye Art Museum
FIRST HILL
throughout Korean lore, which Wall has entwined with the memory of a lost grandmother. While there, pause for Song Cycle, a newly installed kinetic sculpture by Chris Kallmyer, which uses vintage train-station signage to generate ever-revolving cascades of poetic fragments— words clacking and flipping through a mechanical stream of consciousness.
AMANDA MANITACH
Bliss Out (Or Have an Existential Crisis) in the James Turrell Skyspace at the Henry Art Gallery
UNIVERSITY DISTRICT
Light Reign was unveiled to the public more than 20 years ago, so if you haven’t spent a few moments meditating in the Henry’s permanent illuminated work, you’re long overdue. Everyone from Quakers to artists and performers have made use of the space, which the lightloving artist James Turrell designed with minimalist bench seating and an aper-
If you’re experiencing Seattle on a budget—hell, even if you aren’t—head to Frye Art Museum, which is open Wed–Sun and is 100 percent free. The Tom Lloyd exhibit—running May 16 through September 20—will showcase sculptures by Lloyd, who, in addition to being an activist and founder of the Store Front Museum in Queens, NY, in the early ’70s, was a pioneer in using programmable electric lights as an artistic medium. In June, don’t miss “Artists’ Choice,” a collection put together by guest curators including dancer Joseph Hernandez, playwright Amaya Zhané, and poet Cedar Sigo. It’ll be like listening to a mixtape they made for you from the Frye’s record collection, but with art. And since the museum was free, maybe you’ll have a little extra spending money for the gift shop, where you can snag one of Robert Banks’s glass-blown banana slugs, aka the most Pacific Northwest–coded gift ever created. We love a slug up here.
MEGAN SELING
Don’t Kick the Pigeons at Pioneer Square’s First Thursday Art Walk
PIONEER SQUARE
Pioneer Square’s First Thursday art walk is the city’s oldest art walk. Dozens of galleries and businesses participate, but a few favorites include Foster/White Gallery (they just celebrated their 60th anniversary!), J. Rinehart Gallery, Gallery 4Culture, Hometeam Gallery, and the Tashiro Kaplan Artist Lofts, which is a maze of artists’ studios that all open their doors to show off recent (and sometimes in-progress) work. During a recent First Thursday visit to those lofts, I saw live tattooing in the middle of a packed art show that felt more like a house party, and a sweet, quiet ASMR installation inspired by grief, all within 15 minutes of arriving.
WEST SMITH
Three adventures. One unforgettable summer.
This summer, Seattle Rep brings three extraordinary shows to the stage: the return of an epic comedy where everything goes hilariously wrong, a heartfelt world-premiere musical about two unlikely heroes, and a bold reimagining of what happens after Peter Pan’s Neverland.
Whether you’re discovering the theater for the first time or returning for another amazing night out, these summer stories prove that the biggest journeys can happen right here at Seattle Rep.
JUN 11 – 28 JUL 30 – AUG 30
Seoyoung Park in The Heart Sellers (2025).
AUG 7 – 16
FROM THE PRODUCERS OF COME FROM AWAY
Tickets on sale June 25 Back popularby demand!
Tickets on Maysale 22
By Kimberly
Belflower
By Henry Lewis, Henry Shields, & Jonathan Sayer
Book & Lyrics by Anthony Drewe Music by Ryan Fielding Garrett Based on the novel by Rodman Philbrick
warning to first-timers: Pioneer Square’s pigeons DO NOT GIVE A FUCK. Those dummies prioritize whatever garbage they’re pecking at over their safety, and they have, through generations of pigeon evolution, adapted to humans walking around them. Watch where you step.
MEGAN SELING
Choose Your Own Seattle Bookstore Adventure
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
Seattle is a UNESCO City of Literature, and, according to the latest report, there are more than 50 bookstores in the region. That’s too many to name here, and honestly, it would be an insult to try. But to help narrow it down at least a little bit, here are a few Stranger faves: Elliott Bay Book Company has been around, in some form or another, since 1973. Their current space on Capitol Hill feels like a warm, creaky treehouse, and they have a cafe and free author events almost every day of the week. Fantagraphics Bookstore and Gallery in Georgetown is a must-visit if you love alternative comics and graphic novels. Newer indie shops on the scene include Charlie’s Queer Books in Fremont, where 98 percent of the books are written by queer-identifying authors, and Mam’s Books in the Chinatown-International District, which stocks books by Asian American authors. Looking for anarchist literature? Left Bank. Rare books? Arundel. Poetry? Open Books. Cookbooks? Book Larder. Love cats? Head to Twice Sold Tales—they have several. And we’d be remiss not to mention Third Place Books and Phoenix Comics. Get out there and find your favorite.
MEGAN SELING
Skip Straight to the Steamy Stuff at One of Three Romance Bookstores
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
There are three—count ’em, three romance bookstores in Seattle proper, and they all opened before Heated Rivalry, kissing hockey players, and cottage talk hit the mainstream. Interestingly, two of them—Lovestruck in Seattle in Wedgwood and Beguiled Books in Pioneer Square—both claim to be the first romance bookstore in Seattle, which sounds kind of like the start of a romance book, tbh. All the shops host author events and book clubs. For example, Lovestruck is
Spend a Whole Day Exploring the Central Library
DOWNTOWN
There’s a free museum downtown boasting works by George Tsutakawa, Ann Hamilton, Tony Oursler, Lynne Yamamoto, and Frank Okada, and you can explore it floor by floor with a self-guided tour map. Thing is, the museum is actually Central Library, which is better, in my opinion, because you can leave with free books. Culture!!! If I were you, I’d make a day of it—start on level 1 to scope Tsutakawa and Hamilton’s works, then move up to level 4 for a truly eerie experience on the Red Floor, which is bloodied with 13 shades of red paint on the walls, ceiling, floors, and stairs. Jump up to level 10, the highest public viewpoint in the library, to spot Yamamoto and Okada pieces among collections of local Seattle history.
LINDSAY COSTELLO
More than 155,000 titles are available to rent at SCARECROW VIDEO in the University District.
cohosting a release party for author Amy Daws in May, and Beguiled is throwing a costume party for the release of ACOTAR 6 in October. Swoon City—which used to be the art-forward gift shop and crafting space called Monster—sets itself apart from the others by regularly offering craft classes that teach everything from stained glass to punch needling. MEGAN SELING
Geek Out over Physical Media at Scarecrow Video
UNIVERSITY DISTRICT
Scarecrow Video is fighting the good fight in this nightmare world of streaming, where movies can be erased from the cloud at the touch of a button because some rich executive wanted a tax write-off to further fill their pockets. Since 1988, the beloved video store has been celebrating and preserving physical media so the works we love aren’t lost to time. Their library of movies—the title count at press time was 155,474 (up nearly 4k from last year!)—is truly unlike anywhere else in the world. Just wandering through the many sections, both upstairs and down, is like being taken into a utopia of cinema preservation where you can find just about anything
ever made, and it’s all available to rent or buy. Don’t live nearby? They also have a rent-by-mail service, allowing US residents to borrow up to six discs for 14 days at a time. CHASE HUTCHINSON
Soak in Seattle’s History at the Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center
NORTH DELRIDGE
The history of the Duwamish people is the history of Seattle, and it’s an essential one. Duwamish Tribal Services, which has fought for the Duwamish people to be recognized as a tribe at both federal and state levels for decades, runs the Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center at the mouth of the Duwamish River in South Seattle. The space was a collaboration between the Duwamish and architect Byron Barnes of Montana’s Blackfeet tribe in the style of a traditional Puget Salish longhouse. A gathering space, cultural center, and gallery, the Longhouse serves as a hub for the Indigenous community that does incredible work for its members and for the Duwamish River Valley, where Duwamish Tribal Services leads environmental restoration, education initiatives, and so much more. KATHLEEN TARRANT
Release Your Demons at the Museum of Pop Culture
SEATTLE CENTER
There are several treasures to see at the Museum of Pop Culture (aka MoPOP). The 14,000-square-foot nerd mecca, designed by Frank Gehry, looks like a pile of Kurt Cobain’s dirty laundry sitting under the Space Needle, and is home to some pretty great music and pop-culture memorabilia. Current exhibits include Massive: The Power of Pop Culture, which features more than 80 artifacts from across the pop culture spectrum (Dorothy’s dress from The Wizard of Oz! Darth Vader’s stunt helmet! Kim Kardashian’s fascinatingly ugly Ancuta Sarca X Nike Bugatti sneaker pumps!), and Never Turn Back: Echoes of African American Music, which celebrates the impact and influence Black musicians have had on popular music through multiple genres and generations. But my favorite spot? The scream booth. Just follow the wall of horror-filled faces to step into Scared to Death, the museum’s long-running horror exhibit. It’s packed with iconic movie props like Freddy’s finger blades, Michael Myers’s mask and rusty knife, Candyman’s hook, and a lifesize Xenomorph from Alien. It’s actually very cool! But through the maze of bloody corpses and past the Walking Dead zombie heads sits the perfect opportunity to scream your fucking face off in the privacy of a soundproof booth. It’s free (with museum admission) to scream as much as you’d like for as long as you’d like. Just shut the door, have a seat, and let out that pent-up frustration. MEGAN SELING
Prioritize the Chocolate Popcorn at SIFF Cinema Downtown
DOWNTOWN
Seattle’s Cinerama theater—one of the only Cinerama theaters left in the country—finally reopened its doors in December after abruptly closing in February 2020. Late billionaire Paul Allen famously saved the theater from demolition in the late ’90s and spent millions of bucks restoring it to its mid-century glory. Local film org SIFF bought the theater from Allen’s estate in 2023, and while rights to the Cinerama name were not a part of the sale—hence the new basic bitch moniker— SIFF was at least able to bring back the
famous chocolate popcorn, for which Cinerama was loved. It makes the whole theater smell like hot Cocoa Puffs! Get a 50/50 mix of chocolate and buttered popcorn and swear off seeing movies in any other chocolate-popcorn-less theater again. MEGAN SELING
Catch an Indie Flick at One of Seattle’s Many Art House Theaters
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
Seattle is truly a bounty of riches if you’re wanting to go see a film that you likely wouldn’t be able to find anywhere else.
The Northwest Film Forum (NWFF) has a whole bunch of thoughtful programming, films both old and new, and some lovely little theaters in which to experience these exciting cinematic visions. The historic Grand Illusion is currently between locations—they were forced to move from the space they held for more than 50 years after their lease ended in 2024—but they’re hosting pop-up film nights at theaters all over town as they hunt for a new home. Then there is the Beacon, which also operates with a single screen and boundless imagination, often showing films that fit week- or monthlong themes. You truly can’t go wrong with any of these distinct gems. CHASE HUTCHINSON
Investigate ‘Neukom Vivarium’ with a Magnifying Glass at Olympic Sculpture Park
BELLTOWN
At the corner of Broad Street and Elliott Avenue in Belltown, a low-lit glass greenhouse shelters a living installation.
Mark Dion’s biosystem Neukom Vivarium is built on the foundation of a Western hemlock “nurse log,” a fallen tree from the Green River watershed that now serves as a growing site for young native plants. Sword ferns, deciduous huckleberry, and even spruce trees have sprouted from the log, creating an intricate ecosphere. The entire project emphasizes just how complicated it is to support natural life, and it’s not necessarily meant to evoke warm fuzzies. It’s more of a memento mori work. (Dion told Art21, “This piece is in some way perverse. It shows that, despite all of our technology and money, when we destroy a natural system, it’s virtually impossible to get it back.”)
LINDSAY COSTELLO
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Rush a Show at On the Boards
UPTOWN
Going to the city’s home for all things contemporary performance is basically never a bad idea—forward thinkers like Nia-Amina Minor, Anna Luisa Petrisko, Jaha Koo, Will Rawls, and Takahiro Yamamoto have woven liminal narratives there in recent years, and the performance roster is always stacked. With modest beginnings renting space at Washington Hall from then-owners the Sons of Haiti, OtB has expanded into the Behnke Center for Contemporary Performance, its current Uptown location, with consistently sold-out spectacles of improvisational dance, experimental drag, and more. Is a show sold out? All is not lost! OtB always offers rush tickets—just show up an hour early to get your name on the rush list and they’ll fit in as many folks as they can come showtime. Head there to stretch your perceptions.
LINDSAY COSTELLO
Fly Through the Air with the Greatest of Ease at Emerald City Trapeze Art
SODO
If you’re visiting Seattle with someone you love (or at least trust enough not to let you fall from great heights), find adventure at Emerald City Trapeze Art/ School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts (SANCA), where they offer a Date Night package for $160. You’ll spend half the class learning a few acroyoga moves. By just using your bodies, you’ll lift each other up into the air to do a series of gravity-defying postures. Next, you’ll
After checking your teeth for popcorn, check the box for each completed adventure, and add it to your running total on page 81.
There’s a lot of great grafitti in Seattle, but BLINK’S HAPPY HOT DOG, is a favorite among locals.
learn the basics of flying trapeze. You’ll swing off the high platform while your partner cheers you on below. If you’re like me, you’ll do just fine at these activities, but your partner will be so good at them that the spritely acrobats will ask them if they have a background in gymnastics. This will fuel their ego for months, maybe even years, to come. Maybe the two of you will even debate pursuing a life in the circus. NATHALIE GRAHAM
Find Your Inner Pinball Wizard at the Seattle Pinball Museum
CHINATOWN–INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT
Twenty-three bucks gets you unlimited play at the Seattle Pinball Museum, and its 50-plus pins spread the wealth between historical relics, flashy ’80s tables, and
q Get Bucked off a Giant Nudibranch at Cannonball Arts
q Get Lost in Samantha Yun Wall’s Monochromatic Fairy Tales at the Seattle Art Museum
q Bliss Out (Or Have an Existential Crisis) in the James Turrell Skyspace at the Henry Art Gallery
q Save Your Money for the Slugs at Frye Art Museum
q Don’t Kick the Pigeons at Pioneer Square’s First Thursday Art Walk
q Choose Your Own Seattle Bookstore Adventure
q Skip Straight to the Steamy Stuff at One of Three Romance Bookstores
q Spend a Whole Day Exploring the Central Library
q Geek Out over Physical Media at Scarecrow Video
the modern-day pinball resurgence. I recommend the rock ‘n’ roll table playlist: Guns N’ Roses, KISS, Wizard! (featuring the Who), and not one but two Elton John tables. The membership-based Northwest Pinball Collective also offers all-ages free play nights, so check their calendar for upcoming events. If you’re over 21, you have additional options with arcade bars: Jupiter Bar (Belltown), Shorty’s (Belltown), Corner Pocket (West Seattle), Add-a-Ball (Fremont), and Time Warp (Capitol Hill).
SAM MACHKOVECH
Make Protest Art at Push/Pull
BALLARD
If you are feeling overwhelmed by the state of the world and want to channel your sadness, frustration, and/or rage into something productive, you will find
q Soak in Seattle’s History at the Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center
q Release Your Demons at the Museum of Pop Culture
q Prioritize the Chocolate Popcorn at SIFF Cinema Downtown
q Catch an Indie Flick at One of Seattle’s Many Art House Theaters
q Make Protest Art at Push/Pull
your people at Push/Pull. The punk rock art shop has all the supplies you need to paint, stitch, doodle, sculpt, glue, and stamp it out. During protests, they offer free supplies—posterboard, sticks, and paint markers—so you can make your message heard loud and clear, and every Sunday they host the Riff Raff League, where folks can come together to discuss creative ways to support the community with mutual aid and political action. What I really love about Push/Pull, though, is the variety of near-daily art classes for every experience level. Their schedule includes block printing workshops, intro classes for watercolors, needle felting, and alcohol markers, and a how-to for making adorable little cloche dioramas.
MEGAN SELING
Hunt for Happy Hot Dogs All Over the City
MULTIPLE
LOCATIONS
His name is Yo Dawg. Or Blink-Dawg. Or Hot Dog Man, Graffiti Weenie, Highway Hot Dog, or Welcome Weiner. Whatever you call him, you’ve likely seen the smiling, dancing, waving banger in a bun throughout the Puget Sound region. He pops up on trains, behind abandoned buildings, and in the shadows of freeway overpasses. Everyone loves Blink’s friendly hot dog graffiti, and I know this because when I started mentioning to friends that I was dedicating my summer to seeking out as many hot dogs as I could, they all enthusiastically exclaimed, “I love that guy!” before offering up their favorite spots. So keep your eyes peeled as you traverse Seattle’s terrain—you never know when the Welcome Weiner will wave hello.
MEGAN SELING
q Investigate ‘Neukom Vivarium’ with a Magnifying Glass at Olympic Sculpture Park
q Rush a Show at On the Boards
q Fly Through the Air with the Greatest of Ease at Emerald City Trapeze Art
q Find Your Inner Pinball Wizard at the Seattle Pinball Museum
q Hunt for Happy Hot Dogs All Over the City
MEGAN SELING
FOOD & DRINK
There’s So Much More to Seattle Than Burnt Coffee and Dick-Shaped Clams
It’s true that Seattleites can come off as, at best, shy, and, at worst, emotionally unavailable to a clinical degree. But there is one surefire way to soften our stiff exteriors: food. Something
happens when we convene in the waiting area of a favorite brunch spot or stand in line to buy a hot dog slathered with cream cheese at 2 a.m. We talk to one another. We bond over steaming bowls of phở
and burritos the size of babies and slices of cakes that are so expertly crafted, they’re worth the (rare in this city) 30-plus-minute wait. If you want to see the best version of Seattle, start with really good food.
JORDAN KAY
Flames fly while chefs work the woks at THAI TOM in the University District.
Fill Your Belly with Barbecue at Outsider BBQ
BALLARD
Did you know that Seattle has a burgeoning Turkish district? After popping up around town for years, chef Onur Gulbay moved his Outsider BBQ operation into the old Ballard Pizza Company space on Leary in 2025—next door to his friends at Hamdi, a Michelinesque fine diner serving Turkish classics and cocktails. In a city not exactly known for its barbecue, it may not mean much to say there’s nothing like Outsider BBQ anywhere else in Seattle, but the distinction transcends the barbecue category, honestly. You wouldn’t normally describe brisket as delicate, but Gulbay’s is thinly sliced and melts at the slightest touch, like the beef bacon it is. Gulbay is out here making his own smoked sausage out of the trimmings from the brisket and pork ribs, resulting in a bouncy texture similar to a Danish pølser, before loading it up with molten cheddar and jalapeños. The moist pulled pork needs no sauce, although Outsider’s two sauces, a sweet Texas and a mustardy Carolina, are spectacular. Gulbay’s menu lists some standard sides—mac and cheese, slaw, corn casserole—but it doesn’t mention that they’ve all been subtly Turkified, with surprise flavors like sumac, poppyseed, black pepper, cinnamon, and lemon zest. And it works. Gulbay’s changing the barbecue game in Seattle before it’s even fully started.
MEG VAN HUYGEN
Devour a Burrito as Big as a Baby at Gorditos Healthy Mexican GREENWOOD
I am a lifelong vegetarian, which means that my diet consists primarily of burritos. So, believe me when I say that trying a new burrito place is risky. For one, you never know how big your meal is going to be—I won’t name any names, but I’ve been disappointed by a meek six-inch-tortilla burrito before. That’s why I appreciate the genius marketing that is Gorditos’ “baby burrito.” No, it’s not a burrito made for a baby, but rather a burrito that is the size of an actual infant (see for yourself—the restaurant is plastered in photos of newborns beside their foil-wrapped counterparts). Plus, there are so many vegetarian fillings beyond the standard
for spice, salt from the smoked ham and the grated Grana Padano cheese, and a comforting red sauce that has its own point of view. You can taste the technique, the inspiration, and the refusal to cut corners, even if it means having some of the most intensive prep of any pizza spot in the city.
MICHAEL WONG
Sip a Bit of History at Seattle’s First Espresso Bar, Cafe Allegro
UNIVERSITY DISTRICT
AUDREY VANN
veggies—tofu, fried potatoes, scrambled eggs, avocado, steamed vegetables... the list goes on! There’s also meat—your choice of chicken, steak, and pork—if you’re into that kind of thing.
Wear Your Hoodie While Eating Opulent Food at Cafe Suliman
CAPITOL HILL
One might be a little unsure of how to approach Cafe Suliman’s setup at first. It’s in the wide-open commons of Melrose Market, and feels like a mall food court, but with table service… and wine? But the answer is to just sit down. The menu’s based around dishes from the Arabian Peninsula—owner Ahmed Suliman is a Sudanese national who grew up in Abu Dhabi, and the restaurant is in part a tribute to his late mom, Afaf. Longtime local wine guy Marc Papineau also runs his Cantina Sauvage project out of the same space, providing natural, un-fuckedwith wines to complement the seasonal menu. Although the dishes change all the time, there are truly no misses. If there’s chicken and you eat chicken, order the chicken; right now, it’s served with freekeh, spring vegetables, and a fermented green garlic sauce. If you don’t, you’re in luck, because Suli is SO good at veggies. Some recent hits are the carrots with whipped feta and the luscious grilled halloumi with dukkah, quince, fennel, and
leeks. Cafe Suliman provides what today’s overworked, borderline-broke Seattleite wants: an affordable and customizable menu, a little style and intrigue, and an opportunity to be comfy while eating opulent, gorgeous food in your hoodie.
MEG VAN HUYGEN
Stop Complaining About Pineapple on Pizza at Ananas Pizzeria
FIRST HILL
One of Seattle’s best pizza spots is named after the world’s most divisive pizza topping: Ananas, or “pineapple” in Italian (and over 40 other languages). At the helm is Khampaeng Panyathong, the Laotian chef whose claim to fame isn’t a viral noodle pull or reimagined laap, but instead, a cheeseburger—one so good it landed him on the cover of the New York Times food section. (See: Ox Burger on East Madison Street.) At Ananas, the menu is concise but mighty, with a handful of pies that all use hand-prepped, premium ingredients, plus salads and “pizza sandwiches” (think cold-cut ingredients in a fresh, folded pizza crust) at lunch. The namesake Ananas Pizza—one of only two pies on the menu with pineapple, in case you were nervous— is made with a 72-hour sourdough crust and fired in a 550-degree oven, with pineapple sliced so thin it almost melts, pickled jalapeños that shake hands with togarashi
Don’t you dare wait in line for an hour at the “original” Starbucks for a mediocre cup of coffee! Instead, head to the U-District for a top-tier brew at Seattle’s oldest espresso bar, Cafe Allegro (est. 1975). The charming cafe is tucked away in the alley beside Magus Books (which also happens to be one of the city’s longest-running used book stores) in an ivy-shrouded brick building. Roasting their beans in small batches in-house to make sacred cups of liquid gold, this is the kind of place that, when you order a cappuccino, doesn’t ask “what size?” They know that a traditional cappuccino consists of equal parts espresso, steamed milk, and foam (my go-to sign for a good coffee shop). Take your coffee to-go and stroll around the nearby UW campus, or slowly sip on it inside the cafe, but don’t forget to snag one of their beloved apple fritters.
AUDREY VANN
Pick Your Poison at the Doctor’s Office
CAPITOL HILL
I haven’t met a cocktail I didn’t love at the Doctor’s Office, which is, in my opinion, the best cocktail bar, no, bar, in Seattle. Everything is just right. The bartenders are cool and talkative, but not too chatty. The liquor selection is immense (including whiskey, scotch, and gin from the personal collection of reclusive film producer and aviator Howard Hughes), but the price point is on par with other cocktail bars. It’s quiet and intimate, yet I’ve never felt overheard. Literally any cocktail will do, but I think about two drinks at least once a week: the fizziest Suntory Toki highball conceivable and the celery shrub, a nonalcoholic mix of celery juice, apple cider vinegar, and spices left to marinate in the fridge for two days. Like any doctor’s office, you wouldn’t show up without an appointment. Book on the website, ideally ahead of time. There’s only 12 seats. VIVIAN McCALL
fajita
Save room for dessert at OUTSIDER BBQ Their banana pudding is rich and deluxe.
BILLIE WINTER
Build Your Own Picnic at Maddy’s Bakeshop
LOWER QUEEN ANNE
When you step into Maddy’s Bakeshop, you’re in Maddy O’Donnell’s world, a dramatic, colorful place where sweet pastries are topped with fistfuls of rainbow sprinkles, stunning white sheet cakes are decorated with big, fresh flowers, and savory croissants are finished off with decorative wooden toothpicks skewered with pepperoncini or cornichons. O’Donnell is known for her creative (and delectable!) croissants in flavors like sour cream and onion potato, grilled cheese, French onion soup, strawberry crumble, almond funfetti, and jalapeño popper, but this spring she upped her picnic potential by adding grab-and-go focaccia sandwiches to the menu, all made with local ingredients. Stop by Friday through Sunday to fill up your basket before heading down to the nearby Myrtle Edwards Park to watch for orcas and seals. MEGAN SELING
BILLIE WINTER
The chefs at TACOS COMETA worked at three-Michelin-starred restaurants before opening their taqueria on Capitol Hill.
Feast on Expertly Fried Fish at Emerald City Fish & Chips
RAINIER VALLEY
I want to say straight off the bat that the best people work at Emerald City Fish & Chips, a small joint whose windows view Rainier Avenue and the ghost of Silver Fork, a restaurant and Black cultural institution that was replaced a decade ago by a Safeway gas station. Emerald City Fish & Chips is still here, and their two-piece Alaskan cod and chips are made with the kind of back-home goodness you expect from some of the best people in my town.
CHARLES MUDEDE
Deep-Throat a Seattle Dog at 2 a.m. (or Anytime, Really)
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
One might pause before deep-throating a hot dog slathered in cream cheese and onions at 2 a.m., but if you haven’t had a Seattle Dog, then you’re truly missing out on the best food option for your drunken night out. Concentrated along the curbs of popular nightlife areas
like Capitol Hill, these hot dog stands feed the masses in both vegetarian and carnivorous forms. I can’t guarantee our Northwestern ways won’t upset your stomach, but if we’re all going to die in a giant earthquake, it’s worth checking this delicacy off your bucket list, despite any aftershocks. NICO SWENSON
Meet the Metropolitan Market Cookie
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
Normally, I chafe at things that smugly proclaim themselves “the” definitive version of something (see: Alison Roman’s “The Stew”), but in this case, Metropolitan Market’s signature cookie, “The Cookie,” has earned its moniker because it really is just that good. Served underbaked and warm from the oven, it’s a marvel of engineering and a true chocolate lover’s cookie, featuring a squidgy dough bound together with not one but two types of melty, luxurious Callebaut Belgian chocolate (both bittersweet and semisweet). Toasted walnuts add crunch, dimension, and a whisper of earthy, nutty bitterness, while a sprinkle of fleur de sel balances all the flavors. It’s the highest calling of
a chocolate chip cookie, the apotheosis of Ruth Graves Wakefield’s original Toll House recipe. If I were forced to name a single flaw, it might be that the crinkly paper wrapper suggests it’s suitable for sharing—I disagree. JULIANNE BELL
Gorge on Pastries and Pasta at Bonito Cafe y Mercadito and Donna’s
CAPITOL HILL
Bonito and Donna’s are delicious neighbors. Culinarily, they have nothing to do with each other, but if you’re in the neighborhood, it would be a shame to visit one and skip the other. The queerand Latino-owned Bonito, the friendliest coffee shop in Capitol Hill, makes a mean cup and stocks their pastry case with delectables from Selva Central Goods (get the Puerquito Sandwich, thank me later). They’re also open for cocktails after 6 p.m. Donna’s is an Italian restaurant for East Coasters who miss mom-and-pop joints with red-checked tablecloths. Visually, it’s not that at all, but the food will fool your spirit. The bar will just get you drunk. (Try the Mandarin Hero. It’s like licking a
melting dreamsicle off your hand when you were 5.)
VIVIAN McCALL
Go Ahead and Order the Pad Thai at Thai Tom
UNIVERSITY DISTRICT
Thai Tom is one of those places you might take Anthony Bourdain if he were still with us, and if he thought you were cool enough to eat with. It’s tiny, like hallway tiny, and it’s hot, even when there’s snow outside. That’s because Thai Tom centers its guests around the main event: the chefs working the woks with expert-level finesse. In this way, Thai Tom is a show you get to be part of. Given its limited space, you might wait a short while to get your seat, standing outside in a makeshift queue, rubbing shoulders with kids who are younger than the iPhone. Amplifying the mystique, this spot is famously cash only. But nothing costs more than $15. When you make your order, you’ll choose from Thailand’s greatest hits with your choice of protein. I’m giving you permission: Order the fucking pad thai. Go ahead, nobody’s gonna judge you or question whether you are truly a respecter
CHRISTIAN PARROCO
Happy Hour at TAYLOR SHELLFISH means a $2.25 “shuck of the day.” They have geoduck sashimi, too, if you’re dying to try it.
of Asian culture. Everybody’s ordering the pad thai. And as you try the fool’s errand of attempting to determine which wok is cooking your order, before you know it, a plate of hot noodles arrives at your table with a scoop of rice on the side. You’ll taste it for yourself, but to give you some clues, a wok-cooked pad thai whose flames you witnessed singe the hairs of the person cooking it just hits different— thank the “wok hei” (breath of the wok) that characterizes dishes cooked like this. You’ll get sweet-and-savory textural intrigue backdropped by smoky, charred aroma that you just can’t replicate at your apartment. MICHAEL WONG
Order Literally
Anything at Fuji Bakery
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
Fuji Bakery is the place where any order is right. Their spread is dazzling: sugardusted malasadas overflowing with sweet gobs of matcha or ube cream, crispy chicken katsu or egg salad sandwiches made with fat slices of fresh-baked milk bread, deep golden croissants, custardy canelés, and more. I found Fuji (or Fuji found me) shortly after moving to Seattle years ago, and in that time, I’ve tried nearly everything without disappointment, but the unassuming milk stick, a plain-looking
chewy loaf sliced down the middle and slathered with a pillowy sweet cream filling, has emerged as my favorite. At no fault of Fuji’s, parking at its main bakery in Interbay is unwieldy, but worth braving. If you’re in the Chinatown–International District, check out the walk-up storefront on King Street. VIVIAN McCALL
Taste the Original Teriyaki at Toshi’s Teriyaki Grill
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
Composed of sticky-sweet glazed chicken thighs, mounds of steamed white rice, and that little cup of crunchy iceberg salad in a creamy sesame sauce, Seattle-style teriyaki is the city’s unofficial comfort food. In 2010, the New York Times declared the local dish the Emerald City equivalent of a Chicago dog. We can thank Toshi Kasahara, who founded Seattle’s first teriyaki restaurant in 1976, for that—Kasahara popularized a sweeter, more syrupy style of the Japanese specialty. Find the ubiquitous staple at any of the teriyaki shops dotting the region—a few favorites include Mikou Teriyaki in Georgetown, Choice Deli & Grocery in Ballard, Nasai Teriyaki in the University District, Yasuko’s Teriyaki in Interbay, and Teriyaki Madness, which has multiple locations—or make a pilgrimage
COURTESY OF TAYLOR SHELLFISH
to Toshi’s Teriyaki Grill in Mill Creek to try the original. JULIANNE BELL
Eat Oysters at Taylor Shellfish
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
Our humble city happens to be one of the best places in the world to eat oysters, and it would be a shame not to take advantage of that. The “tide-to-table” retailer Taylor Shellfish has been in the game for five generations and sources the offerings at its oyster bars directly from its own farms daily for maximum freshness. Hit up their weekday happy hour (2–4 p.m. at the Capitol Hill location and 3–5 p.m. at the Queen Anne and Pioneer Square ones) for the $2.25 “shuck of the day.” The resident shuckers are affable and game to explain the finer points of the bivalves of the day to you.
JULIANNE BELL
Sit at Bruce Lee’s Table at Tai Tung Chinese Restaurant
CHINATOWN–INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT
Before he was an internationally renowned martial arts superstar, Bruce Lee was just a college kid in Seattle, and his favorite dish was the beef in oyster sauce from Tai Tung—today the city’s oldest Chinese restaurant, founded in 1935. Reportedly, Lee was such a devoted regular that he didn’t even have to order— he’d just sit down at his favorite corner table, and the servers would bring him his food. Pay a visit to the local treasure to dine like the Little Dragon himself. Charismatic third-generation owner Harry Chan will greet you with a smile, and you’ll see that Lee’s entree of choice is still a banger, swimming in savory-sweet sauce. (He was also a fan of the garlic shrimp, so order that for extra credit.)
JULIANNE BELL
Split a Slice of Cake at Deep Sea Sugar & Salt
GEORGETOWN
Some days, the line for Deep Sea Sugar & Salt cake shop can stretch out the door, but Charlie Dunmire’s cake empire lives up to the hype, with a rotating menu of about a dozen different cakes and cupcakes on any given day, and there’s not a single dud in the bunch. You’d be wise to take a friend and split some slices for maximum menu sampling. The lemon layer cake has a tart citrus bite that will tickle your parotids; the s’mores and key
lime cakes wear caps of puffy, fluffy meringue with peaks reaching out and just begging to be plucked with a finger. One surprising mainstay is the London Fog. With Earl Grey cake, honey and Earl Grey syrup, bergamot mascarpone cream, and tangy cream cheese frosting, it sounds like it would be flowery and herbal, right? Somehow, thanks to Dunmire’s wizardry, the combination of flavors surpasses the expectations of the individual parts, and it tastes like sophisticated Froot Loops. MEGAN SELING
Grab Tacos Prepared by
Michelin-Trained Chefs
at Tacos Cometas
CAPITOL HILL
At Tacos Cometa, brothers Osiel and Reynaldo “Rey” Gastelum serve Sinaloanstyle carne asada tacos that you can’t find anywhere else in the city, heaped with chopped red onion, cabbage, and tomato salsa, and served with a cold wedge of cucumber. The two started their taqueria as an outdoor pop-up in Cal Anderson Park before moving into a storefront in March, where their menu includes tacos, quesadillas, vampiros (a popular Sinaloan street snack with an open-faced, griddle-toasted corn tortilla, layered with melty cheese and taco fillings), and aguas frescas. And if you’re lucky, you might catch them on a day they offer alfajores, melt-in-your-mouth sandwich cookies filled with dulce de leche. Those tacos are the end result of a decades-long journey that started with home cooking in Sinaloa, Mexico, with stops at some of the world’s most exclusive three-Michelin-starred restaurants along the way. “We focus on simplicity. We don’t overcomplicate it,” Rey told The Stranger in an interview. “Our meat, for example, there’s no marinade. What we do is have really good quality meat and the charcoal and the love and the time. This is what makes it a good taco.” JULIANNE BELL
Eat a Bánh Mì While Playing Pool at Billiard Hoang
COLUMBIA CITY
In a tale as old as sapphic time, my first date with my now-girlfriend took place after she flew across the country to meet me. She picked the hallowed Columbia City dive Billiard Hoang as the first place she wanted to go after her seven-hour flight, so off we went. The unique estab-
lishment is a combination Vietnamese restaurant and pool hall, so we flirted while pretending to know how to shoot billiards, watching old men play snooker, and dining on bánh mì and bún măng vt (a duck vermicelli noodle soup with bamboo shoots). Date or not, I highly recommend coming here for some soul-filling comfort fare with a side of people-watching. Who knows—you just might find lasting love!
JULIANNE BELL
Crunch into the Crisp Burrito at Taco Time
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
Breakfast & Lunch: 9am-3pm daily
Dinner: Tue–Thu, 5-9pm; Fri-Sat, 3–9pm
Taco Time isn’t what it used to be. The once crunchy, piping hot “tater fries” are now stale and lukewarm. Their fish tacos, which I used to think were pretty good for fast food, are now a food poisoning hazard (it has happened to me, and it could happen to you, too). That being said, the tried-and-true crisp burrito is still as good as it was in the ’90s, and it lures me back to the drive-thru a few times a year. This burrito, which is really more of a mega taquito, consists of a fried flour tortilla filled with cheese and your choice of protein (I recommend playing it safe and getting pinto beans). There is a Taco Time in nearly every neighborhood of Seattle, so whatever the occasion—lunch break, stoned craving, etc.—the crisp burrito is there for you.
AUDREY VANN
Change Your Mind About Rice Krispies Treats at Little Jaye
SOUTH PARK
One of Seattle’s best bakeries is tucked away in a quiet area of South Park, off the beaten path and easy to overlook. Do not. Little Jaye makes some of the best homestyle baked goods you’ll ever put in your mouth. There are trays of golden biscuits, tender shokupan doughnuts, rows of big-ass cookies dotted with M&Ms, peanut butter chips, and Heath candy bits sitting next to stacks of marshmallowy crispy treats. And we’re not talking about your basic back-of-the-box recipe. These crispy treats are the size of bricks and loaded with a rainbow of cereals and stir-ins—Cocoa Krispies, Fruity Pebbles, Golden Grahams, chocolate chunks, and pretzels. The star of the show is the crispy treat made entirely of crunched-up Ruffles potato chips. The chips are thick enough to hold their own in the marshmallow
bath, making for a decadent salty-sweet, crispy-crunchy marvel. MEGAN SELING
Savor
World-Class Sushi (and Try Geoduck, if You Must)
at Maneki
CHINATOWN–INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT
Newcomers may not know that, although our city is pretty fucking white, Seattle’s Japanese American community has been in town almost as long as any other group of settlers—the first wave of emigrants arrived from Japan in 1880—and is a crucial part of our culinary psyche. Opening in 1904 and named for the maneki-neko, the beckoning cat figurine that apocryphally brings good luck to its owner, Maneki is the oldest sushi restaurant in the nation, and it’s been a paragon of Japanese cuisine in the US for 120 years. The original building mimicked a Japanese castle; It had private tatami rooms, the servers wore kimonos, and the restaurant could seat 500. But during WWII, when its owners were forcibly interned in camps, the building was vandalized and ransacked. Lucky for us, the restaurant reopened half a block away in 1946, with new tatami rooms. Currently owned by former server Jean Nakayama, Maneki’s known by locals as the untouristy spot for world-class sushi (sorry, Shiro). If you ARE a tourist, you can eat geoduck here, a PNW delicacy that’s honestly just a big expensive clam shaped like a dick. But like everything else on the menu, Maneki styles it expertly, sautéing it with mushrooms, butter, and chili. MEG VAN HUYGEN
Slurp Up a Giant Bowl of Phở
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
Every Seattleite has a favorite place to get pho, and where they choose will tell you more about them than any astrology chart ever could. Small local chain Ba Bar is phở for party people. The restaurants are hip and colorful with heated patios and a vast menu of Vietnamese street food–inspired dishes, and the Capitol Hill location is open until midnight daily. Phở Bắc is for the real ones. Their original location on Rainier Avenue has been around since 1982, but they’ve evolved along with Seattle—their more contemporary sister businesses, Phở Bắc Súp Shop, Phởcific Standard Time, and the Boat were
nominated for a James Beard Award in 2024. But my money is on any Phở Than Brothers location. No frills, no aesthetic to speak of. The only thing that has changed on the menu in decades is the prices. The vegetarian broth is light and flavorful, notably spiced with lemongrass and star anise, and they’ll give you extra broccoli if you ask nicely. Plus: free cream puff! New to phở? Not sure what to do with this Vietnamese noodle soup that comes with loads of accoutrements and unspoken instructions? Listen to “Wassup Pham” by local hip-hop hero Sabzi. “We eat a big bowl, gon’ smell like it all day.” MEGAN SELING
Tackle a Tater-TotStuffed Taiyaki at BeanFish
BeanFish’s made-to-order taiyaki is the real deal. After I stood gazing through the kitchen window, watching the workers scoop batter and fillings into the intricate iron molds and smash them together (extremely satisfying), curiosity got the best of me, and I ordered the Elvis taiyaki stuffed with chunky peanut butter and banana. It was served to me piping hot, with a crisp exterior and fluffy interior,
q Fill Your Belly with Barbecue at Outsider BBQ
q Devour a Burrito as Big as a Baby at Gorditos Healthy Mexican
q Wear Your Hoodie While Eating Opulent Food at Cafe Suliman
q Stop Complaining About Pineapple on Pizza at Ananas Pizzeria
q Sip a Bit of History at Seattle’s First Espresso Bar, Cafe Allegro
q Pick Your Poison at the Doctor’s Office
q Feast on Expertly Fried Fish at Emerald City Fish & Chips
and was the perfect rainy afternoon pickme-up. Now I’m on a mission to try them all. So far, I’ve also tried the “Mrs. Smith” (apple pie filling), #19 (honey mustard tuna with melty cheddar and delightfully chewy Japanese rice crackers), and mini “Donkii Kongu” taiyaki (toasted coconut, banana, and vanilla custard). I can’t wait to try the fan favorites “Mmm Bacon” (thick-cut peppered bacon, egg, tater tots, Tillamook cheddar, and scallions) and “Harajuku Chic” (Fruity Pebbles and a jumbo marshmallow waffle, with sweetened condensed milk on the side). JULIANNE BELL
Have you had your fill? Check off every spot where you had a bite, nibble, sip, or slurp and add the number to the running total on page 81!
q Deep-Throat a Seattle Dog at 2 a.m. (or Anytime, Really)
q Meet the Metropolitan Market Cookie
q Gorge on Pastries and Pasta at Bonito Cafe y Mercadito and Donna’s
q Go Ahead and Order the Pad Thai at Thai Tom
q Order Literally Anything at Fuji Bakery
q Taste the Original Teriyaki at Toshi’s Teriyaki Grill
q Build Your Own Picnic at Maddy’s Bakeshop
q Eat Oysters at Taylor Shellfish
q Sit at Bruce Lee’s Table at Tai Tung Chinese Restaurant
q Split a Slice of Cake at Deep Sea Sugar & Salt
q Grab Tacos Prepared by MichelinTrained Chefs at Tacos Cometas
q Eat a Bánh Mì While Playing Pool at Billiard Hoang
q Crunch into the Crisp Burrito at Taco Time
q Change Your Mind About Rice Krispies Treats at Little Jaye
q Savor WorldClass Sushi (and Try Geoduck, if You Must) at Maneki
q Slurp Up a Giant Bowl of Phở
q Tackle a Tater-TotStuffed Taiyaki at BeanFish
NUKOPIC/GETTY IMAGES
SUNSET TAVERN hosts reliably great bookings— with both local and touring bands—almost every night of the week.
MUSIC & NIGHTLIFE
From Punk Shows at Roller Rinks to Trivia Nights Hosted By Jeopardy! Champs
Yes, Seattle has been home to many an inspiring musician who went on to change the course of music as we know it—Jimi Hendrix, Ann and Nancy
Wilson, Kurt Cobain, Sir Mix-aLot, Quincy Jones. But today’s music scene is just as exciting and vibrant. Catch a punk show at a roller rink! Lose your mind (and your hearing) at an experimental noise show in an art gallery! Discover the future of comedy in a pizza restaurant! You’ll only be bored in Seattle if you’re boring.
Hear Your Favorite Record on a WorldClass Sound System at Shibuya HiFi
BALLARD
Shibuya HiFi is one of the coolest places in the city. It’s a vinyl bar and lounge inspired by Tokyo’s legendary jazz kissa (listening cafes). You initially enter through the “Living Room”—a swank, intimate space covered floor-to-ceiling with cedar planks and cozy furniture. Enjoy a highball at the bar, or perhaps a Pink Rabbits (made with Japanese Haku vodka and lychee). When you’re reset, head back to the reservation-only HiFi Room, which feels like the den of the world’s biggest audiophile. You’ll have to remove your shoes and leave your drink behind before settling into the plush sofas or vintage Benaroya Hall seats. Get enveloped in the album that they play from start to finish through their 1976 Klipschorn speakers (built by Paul Wilbur Klipsch himself), and if you get carried away by the ambiance and realization that life doesn’t get better than this, my suggestion is to look over at your date, smile, and just let it happen. They have more than 500 records in their collection and post their schedule monthly.
MICHAEL WONG
Roller-Skate Around a Rock Show at Southgate Roller Rink
WHITE CENTER
Southgate Roller Rink is an underrated Seattle treasure in White Center—a roller rink with Baby Ketten Karaoke for most of the week at the bar, and shows in the middle of the roller rink several times a month, with a focus on the rock, punk, and noise end of the genre spectrum. I haven’t tried doing anything fancier than staying upright while the bands play, but I think bonus points should go to whoever manages to do the first Wall of Death on wheels.
KATHLEEN TARRANT
Discover That Jazz Is Cool Again at the Seattle Jazz Fellowship
PIONEER SQUARE
Jazz Night in Pioneer Square is organized by the Seattle Jazz Fellowship (SJF), a group of local and established jazz musicians that, until 2023, programmed shows at Vermillion Gallery and Bar. In
2024, SJF moved to Pioneer Square, and the results have been nothing short of spectacular. They host jazz shows several nights a week throughout the neighborhood and at their venue on Main Street, and their Monday Night Jazz Jam Sessions are especially popular. Young people start filing in at 6:45 p.m. By 7:15, the house is totally packed. By 7:30, a line runs out the door. Their music is just superb. And the audience is not in any way distracted. The performance has their full attention. This is the moment. This is the music. This is a gathering of focused souls. CHARLES MUDEDE
Rock the Ballard Block at Sunset Tavern and Tractor Tavern BALLARD
Dropping in on a quality live music set is easy in central Ballard, with the Sunset and Tractor down the street from each other. The Sunset is a former Chinese restaurant that’s now a fun, divey rock ’n’ roll bar with live music across all popular genres, a photo booth, and friendly bartenders. The Tractor holds court just two blocks away, with gritty, saloonesque decor, tallboys aplenty, and one of the best selections of live local and national rock, pop, alt-folk, and blues in town. STRANGER STAFF
Don’t be deterred by the line out the door for shows at the SEATTLE JAZZ FELLOWSHIP in Pioneer Square. The music’s worth the wait.
Be Amazed by Xian Zhang at the Seattle Symphony
DOWNTOWN
The Seattle Symphony’s had 17 conductors in its 123 years, and they all looked more or less the same—white and presumed male. So nabbing Xian Zhang to conduct the Seattle Symphony is a monumental win for Seattle, and not only for her enormous talent and fiery vivacity. Music director Thomas Dausgaard suddenly ragequit over email in 2020,
leaving Seattle’s classical music scene as a kind of a musty old ghost ship over the last few years, with nobody at the helm. To watch this woman conduct an orchestra is electric. Armed with her baton, this mini maestra seems 10 feet tall, commanding her musical battalion with real joy and absolute authority. Even from the nosebleed seats, you can feel the crackle in the air. It’s sincerely thrilling to see the fiery, sizzling energy that Zhang brings on board. Spring concerts include Xian Conducts Gershwin in May and Xian Conducts Beethoven 9 in June. MEG VAN HUYGEN
If Xian Zhang is conducting the SEATTLE SYMPHONY while you’re in town, GO.
CHRISTIAN PARROCO
JAMES HOLT/THE SEATTLE SYMPHONY
Attend a Live On-Air Performance at KEXP
SEATTLE CENTER
One of the shiniest gems Seattle has to offer is the radio station 90.3 KEXP. Sure, you can stream KEXP all over the world, but there is something truly special about tuning in to the terrestrial signal. And if you’re not in Seattle, you can’t go see one of KEXP’s in-studio performances. KEXP hosts the most incredible artists about once a week and these four- or five-song sets are FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. This feels like a best-kept secret that no one is actually keeping secret and yet not enough people are capitalizing on. Yes, the room caps out at about 70 people, so you would have to get there early for tickets; yes, I get that most of these performances are midday and some people hAvE jObS tHeY hAvE tO wOrK; but no, I don’t find either of those excuses valid. We’re talking FREE concerts with your favorite artists, which are usually over in a half
hour. These are the best quickies in town.
RACHEL STEVENS
Sweat It Out at Dance Church
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
Dance Church immediately inspires curiosity with its culty name, which was coined when Seattle dancers Kate Wallich and Lavinia Vago started a small Sunday morning dance party in 2010. Today, that humble gathering has blossomed into a full-fledged movement with a presence in six cities and an online streaming platform. A professional dancer leads the group in loose choreography to an upbeat pop soundtrack, and participants are encouraged to move their bodies joyfully. There’s just something ineffably cathartic about being crammed in a room with 200 sweaty strangers, grooving your heart out to “Call Your Girlfriend”—devotees report being moved to tears, especially at the end when the collective clasps hands together
There are dozens of DANCE CHURCH sessions every month at venues like Reverie Ballroom and Whim W’Him Contemporary Dance Center.
MEGHAN JONES
Upcoming Shows!
5/1 – May Day "The Work" A Benefit for OneAmerica sponsored by South Hudson Music Project
5/20, 7/8, 9/16 – Piano Starts Here presented by KNKX & SHMP
206.906.9920
6/3 – Deirdre McCalla & Joe Jencks
6/4, 7/9, 8/6, 9/3 – Great Women of Folk & Country
6/20 – Great Womxn of Disco & Funk
7/21 – Charlie Porter Quintet
7/25 – The Cumbieros
8/8 – Sheila Kay "Dancing Naked" Album Release
8/15 – Peter Mulvey & Katie Dahl
8/30 – Nicole Yvette "Say Yes" Album Release
9/4-9/6 – Staycation Festival presented by SHMP
7/2 – DecaDance "Welcome to the Party" Album Release
7/3 – Alice Howe & Freebo with special guest Jeff Fielder
9/24 – Abby Posner Band with Paula Fong Happiest Hour from 4-6pm every Friday!
9/10 – Gráinne Hunt with Jules Stewart
All ages until 10pm
Smoking Popes, Sir Richard Bishop, and Alice Bag are scheduled to play THE BLACK LODGE this summer.
in a circle. Frankly, I can’t imagine a better endorphin-fueled start to a weekend morning. JULIANNE BELL
Expect the Unexpected at Vermillion
CAPITOL HILL
Vermillion, an art gallery and bar on Capitol Hill, isn’t reinventing art galleries or bars, but it does always have cool shit that draws an unpretentious crowd. It feels good to be in a community space that’s integrated with local artists, which is why I like it. For instance, I’ve seen a sculpture made of cigarettes and a show of photography, painting, sketches, and leatherwork from Seattle’s leather community. At Vermillion, there’s always a band, storyteller, or some cool artist doing some cool thing that makes this city seem more vibrant. VIVIAN McCALL
Let Loose at Babe Night
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
It’s safe to say that no Seattle DJ burns more calories per gig than Wax Witch (aka Isabela Garcia). At any of her dozen-plus events per month, Garcia is in near-perpetual motion behind the decks (and sometimes in front of
them), dancing up a tropical storm. The fun she’s clearly having while spinning records such as Tom Tom Club’s “Genius of Love” or Björk’s “Big Time Sensuality” acts as a contagion on crowds around the city, particularly at Babe Night, the event into which she’s currently putting the most time and energy—with big dividends. The Babe Night concept seems so obvious and ripe for success, but nobody’s really capitalized on it like Garcia has. She and a rotating cast of the area’s savviest women selectors (including La Mala Noche, Kween Kaysh, and Gold Chisme) play female-centric tracks geared to get hands in the air and butts in gear. DAVE SEGAL
Support All-Ages Music at the Vera Project and Black Lodge
LOWER QUEEN ANNE AND SOUTH LAKE UNION
Anyone under the age of 40 probably doesn’t realize this, but Seattle wasn’t always the music mecca it’s known as today. In fact, all-ages concerts were illegal for a spell in the ’80s and ’90s due in part to our surprisingly puritanical liquor laws and overreaching politicians buying into hysterical misinformation fueled by
DESTINATION ROADHOUSE
THE ROADHOUSE IS A COMMUNITY-FOCUSED PERFORMANCE SPACE LOCATED IN SEATAC AT THE ANGLE LAKE LINK LIGHT RAIL STATION.
Featuring Free and All-Ages events that celebrate the musical culture of South King County!
THE ROADHOUSE 19955 28th Ave S, SeaTac, WA 98188 at Angle Lake Link Light Rail Station
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Get six tickets for any regularly priced Festival screenings and save 30% per ticket. Share the SIFF Effect or keep all six for yourself.
ill-informed parents. Your homework: Listen to Let the Kids Dance!, a podcast presented by KUOW. Only after hearing the full story of the Teen Dance Ordinance, the All-Ages Dance Ordinance, and how hard our city’s youth fought for their right to go to shows will you truly appreciate the Vera Project and the Black Lodge, two nonprofit, mostly volunteer-run all-ages venues dedicated to keeping music accessible to everyone. The Vera Project also hosts classes during its off-hours, in which kids can learn everything from how to screen print their own flyers and merch to concert sound and lighting design. (Confidential to the real ones: Fuck Mark Sidran.) MEGAN SELING
Join the Joketellers Union
BEACON HILL
Joketellers Union at the Clock-Out Lounge is one of Seattle’s most popular comedy nights for a reason. Every other week, hosts Emmett Montgomery and Brett Hamil bring together the region’s best performers, usually comedians, but also sometimes magicians, musicians, and PowerPoint devotees attempting to explain the emotional impact the Twilight franchise had on them as a child. (That last one is Bernice Larson, look her up, she’s hilarious.) From there, the night can go anywhere. It can be a comedy show, it
Become a card-carrying comedy fan at JOKETELLERS UNION, which is cohosted by the hilarious Emmett Montgomery (pictured).
can be a party, hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if it wound up inadvertently becoming a cult. Montgomery is charming AF. The best part: Joketellers Union isn’t just a name— you get a membership card when you join! It’s a pretty good litmus test when meeting people in Seattle. Ask to see their Joketellers Union card, and if they don’t have one, keep on walking. MEGAN SELING
Then Laugh Your Face Off at a Comedy Open Mic
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
Okay, so we’re no LA, New York, or Chicago, but Seattle’s comedy scene is bustling. Especially our comedy open mic scene. Maybe you want to try your hand at standup, or you want to see people be brave (and funny!) as they ascend to the stage. Well, good news. There’s a lot to choose from and there’s something for everybody! Joketellers Union cohost Emmett Montgomery also hosts Open Michael: Storytelling, Standup, and Strangeness at the Rabbit Box theater. If you’re into comedy focused on women, trans and queer people, and POC, check out the Comedy Nest every first and last Tuesday at Common Objects. Perhaps you’re partial to Capitol Hill. You can catch open mic performances at Emerald City Comedy Club on Tuesday at 7 p.m. There are so many more, too! Just
name a day of the week. Wednesday? You want Wednesdays? How about the Cheap Laughs Open Mic at Club Comedy Seattle? Good? Great. NATHALIE GRAHAM
Test Your Wits at Head in the Clouds Trivia
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
Allow me to brag for a second: I was a member of my school’s Knowledge Bowl team and made it through multiple rounds of Jeopardy! callbacks in 2020, although
q Hear Your Favorite Record on a WorldClass Sound System at Shibuya HiFi
q Rollerskate Around a Rock Show at Southgate Roller Rink
q Discover That Jazz Is Cool Again at the Seattle Jazz Fellowship
q Rock the Ballard Block at Sunset Tavern and Tractor Tavern
I sadly never got that fateful call from Culver City. (I’m not giving up yet, though!) Are you a fellow freak for seemingly useless knowledge? Can you pick all of the Real Housewives out of a lineup? Do you have an uninterrupted New York Times crossword streak? If so, come to Head in the Clouds to flaunt your impressive command of minutiae. University of Washington grads and Jeopardy! champions Sally Neumann and Leah Caglio host this trivia night at bars throughout Seattle from Sunday through Thursday. You won’t find your typical musty, male-dominated questions here—the duo has made it their mission to incorporate topics that have traditionally gotten less respect, like pop culture, and to approach history from an anti-colonial perspective. JULIANNE BELL
Find hundreds of concert listings on our sister site, EverOut Seattle!
EVEROUT.COM/SEATTLE
Check off every spot where you’ve boogied or laughed your butt off, and add watch your Seattle points climb on page 81.
q Be Amazed by Xian Zhang at the Seattle Symphony
q Attend a Live On-Air Performance at KEXP
q Sweat It Out at Dance Church
q Expect the Unexpected at Vermillion
q Let Loose at Babe Night
q Support All-Ages Music at the Vera Project and Black Lodge
You already know about Seattle’s historic gayborhood, Capitol Hill. It’s got almost as many gay bars as it does street corners. The crosswalks? They’re rainbows. The businesses? All hang pride flags. But Seattle isn’t just gay in Capitol Hill. We’re gay everywhere, and queer shit is in every neighborhood, from TUSH, the drag show we insist you don’t miss in Beacon Hill, to the Lumber Yard in White Center. And it’s also not all nightlife. If you’re underage, prefer to tuck in early, or want to try something different, check out Charlie’s Queer Books for a cozy, friendly space, minus the booze.
QUEER
Where to Find the Drag You Can’t Miss, Gay AF Book Clubs, and Seattle’s Gay Nude Beach
Yes, that is an actual gloryhole. You can find it at PONY, one of the most beloved gay bars in Seattle.
Strip Down to Your Skivvies at Denny Blaine Park
MADISON VALLEY
Like all queer beaches I’ve been to, Denny Blaine Park is loveably ugly. Unlike all queer beaches, you can be completely naked, a feature that attracted the ire of its wealthy neighbors and resulted in the city bisecting it with a butt-ugly-ass fence after a protracted legal fight that I don’t have the time or space to explain here. I’m sick of writing about the beach, its sourpuss neighbors, and the city’s barbed fig leaf of a solution. But I’m not yet sick of Denny Blaine. There’s no better place to stare at a mountain in the nude. (A note to perverts and sticky-fingered groin grabbers: Make the mountain the only thing you stare at, or regulars will chase you off. You’ve been warned.)
VIVIAN McCALL
Catch a Drag Show… Any Drag Show
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
It’s hard not to find a show featuring one of Seattle’s many professional, gender-expansive royalty—they’re overflowing from nearly every restaurant, nightclub, and DIY art space across the city. Capitol Hill alone is home to weekly shows at Queer/ Bar, Unicorn, and Neighbours, just to name a few. If you’re down south, don’t miss the camp-classic Bacon Strip at Jules Mae’s in Georgetown. Up north? There are multiple phenomenal shows at Dreamland in Fremont. I don’t have time nor room on this page to begin listing off the endless brunch options, but if you’re looking for eggs, booze, and hairy ladies in sequinned gowns, let’s just say you’re in the right city.
NICO SWENSON
Specifically, Do Not Miss TUSH at ClockOut Lounge
BEACON HILL
As mentioned above, you really can’t go wrong with drag shows in this town, and one of the favorites among Stranger staffers is Betty Wetter’s TUSH at Clock-Out Lounge. Since 2018, Wetter has cultivated a space where queens are encouraged to experiment, get a little weird, and push their creativity beyond the reliable slick and shiny lip-synching performances that have become the status quo. (No hate, those can be fun, too!) The result is always fresh, surprising,
and fun as hell. Wetter and TUSH always go extra hard for Pride month, too—past shows have featured Seattle superstars like Beau Degas, Pupusa, Amora Namor, and beloved Stranger contributor Miss Texas 1988. Load up on dollar bills and go shower them with love. MEGAN SELING
Play Pool With Gay Guys at Madison Pub
CAPITOL HILL
Two kinds of people go to Madison Pub. Old gay men and young trans women. But also lesbians. And I guess straight girls and the boyfriends they drag through the door. But mostly gay men and trans women. Pull some tabs. Play some pool. Suck in the arctic blast of those cold-ass taps. Slide off the rail-thin, steeply angled bench seating in the smokers’ area. It’s classic. It’s Madison Pub! VIVIAN McCALL
Stock Up on Pup Masks and Wolf Tail Anal Plugs at Doghouse Leathers
CAPITOL HILL
For those who enjoy fucking doggie-style, whatever that may mean to them. On my
last trip I saw: pup masks, leashes, whips, flogs, dildos the size of an arm, dildos the size of a penis, a teddy bear wearing a jockstrap in full restraints, jockstraps for humans, a “slut” hat, a “bimbo” hat, a “suck dick & punch nazis” hat, a nice leather skirt I’m going to buy later, a “grey wolf tail anal plug and ears” set (great value!), and several helpful attendants. VIVIAN McCALL
Have a Sexual Awakening at Pony
CAPITOL HILL
I could name several events in my life that qualify as a sexual awakening, but nothing beats my first time at Capitol Hill queer bar Pony. I wandered in one Halloween night dressed as Truth or Dare–era Madonna (cone bra and dress pants) and was immediately confronted (Pony is small) with a hunky guy in tighty-whities doing a pole dance routine to Björk’s “Army of Me.” I was utterly dumbfounded. My legs turned to jelly. Once I caught my breath, I was pleasantly surprised by the affordable drinks, safe atmosphere, and abundance of vintage pornography adorning the walls. Whether you stop by on Halloween night or any
regular weekday evening, you will always find something delightfully unexpected at Pony. AUDREY VANN
Dodge—or Don’t—the Overflowing Urinal at the Cuff Complex
CAPITOL HILL
Seattle is home to a permanent watersports fixture in the form of pee flowing pretty consistently onto the dance floor of the Cuff Complex (aka the Cuff), a leather-forward gay dance club on Capitol Hill. Blame the aquatics on faulty plumbing. There’s one cursèd urinal on the mezzanine level of this Dante’s Inferno–esque nightlife destination that I’ve never not seen overflowing with poise and grace down the stairs. If it’s your thing, take your shirt off and bring rain boots that match your harness! Or don’t bring boots if that’s your thing, I guess. ADAM WILLEMS
Do a Fruit Loop at Union
CAPITOL HILL
What’s a fruit loop, you ask? No, it’s not a rainbow-colored frozen drink that tastes like breakfast cereal. A fruit loop is a… well,
LARA KAMINOFF
I’ll let my group chat field this one: “A ‘fruit loop’ is when one excuses themself from their present company to travel around the interior of a queer establishment and scan the crowd.” “At Union, most will play this off as a bathroom break, as the bathrooms are located at the midpoint of the loop.” “Union is the perfect place for a fruit loop.” “I’ll go to Union first because that’s where everyone starts the night, and then I’ll do my fruit loop.” “It’s building community!” “It’s an opportunity to make intense eye contact with people you’re going to message on Grindr in an hour.” “It’s also just to say hello to friends: I wouldn’t say it’s always about the prowl.” “This guy does it all the time.” “I am very guilty of this.” “I’m sure everyone does it.”
ADAM WILLEMS
Grab a Drink at Wildrose, the West Coast’s Oldest Lesbian Bar
CAPITOL HILL
There are only 33 lesbian bars left in the country, and Wildrose is one of them. Everyone likes to give it a different superlative: the last remaining lesbian bar in Seattle; the oldest lesbian bar on the West Coast; the longest continually running lesbian bar in the country. All of them are true. (And rumor has it, even before the space became an official lesbian bar, you could walk into the bar and ask for a drink with a twist, and you’d be seated in the balcony with the other sapphics.) Come here for go-go dancers. Come here for Schitt’s Creek trivia. Come here for good local beer or jello shots, depending on your vibe that night. Come here to hear someone talk about the days when Ani DiFranco and Brandi Carlile used to play here. But most importantly, come here because lesbian bars are disappearing, so give them your money!
HANNAH MURPHY WINTER
Go to a Few More Fantastic Gay Bars, While You’re At It
VARIOUS LOCATIONS
We have so many. Go to Kremwerk downtown if you’re into electronica music. White Center’s Lumber Yard is worth the trek for bears and their friends. Massive on Capitol Hill is, well massive. It’s three floors of dance floor, and you’re likely to find them packed. Changes is one of Seattle’s longest-running gay bars, tucked
into Wallingford. (Owner Floyd McIssac still worked at Sears when he opened the bar in 1989, and he figured it’d only make enough to cover his car payment.) And the circus-themed Unicorn on Capitol Hill is hosting some of the best drag in the neighborhood. Make a bingo card and hit ’em all!
HANNAH MURPHY WINTER
Join a Totally Gay Book Club
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
Would you like to indulge in the intellectual pleasures of discussing literature in the company of your fellow queer bibliophiles? Seattle has a book club for that! Check out the Queer Seattle Book Club, which meets every fourth Tuesday at the shop Queertique on Capitol Hill—LGBTQ+ cuties are invited to bring a book, chat about their latest reads, make new friends, and find new acquisitions for their library. If you’re more on the introverted side, try Queer Silent Book Club Seattle, which invites queers and allies to read in companionable silence at venues like Charlie’s Queer Books, with opportunities for introductions and conversation. Charlie’s also has its own groups for various genres, from historical fiction to horror and from sci-fi to romance. Sapphic readers may also want to look into the Seattle Lesbian Literature Meetup Group, which is affiliated with Elliott Bay Book Company and regularly gathers at Gay City. JULIANNE BELL
And Find Your Next Read at Charlie’s Queer Books
FREMONT
When Charlie’s Queer Books opened its bright pink doors for the first time in 2023, the Fremont shop, which exclusively sells books by and about LGBTQ+ people, almost instantly became a staple in Seattle’s queer community and beyond. The shop, founded by Charlie Hunts, is a brightly colored bibliophile’s paradise.
Strip
Your
q Catch a Drag Show… Any Drag Show
q Specifically, Do Not Miss TUSH at Clock-Out Lounge
q Stock Up on Pup Masks and World Tail Anal Plugs at Doghouse Leathers
The exterior looks like a playful children’s drawing of a house with whimsical colors and mismatched window trim. The interior is vibrant pinks and blues, with lots of natural light and banners that say things like “You belong here” and “Being gay is so fun” hanging on the walls. Books are assorted by genre and age demographic, and categorized with little flags so readers know which identities are featured—it feels welcoming and magical. Charlie’s also hosts events, including cookie decorating, shitty craft nights, bisexual comedy showcases, drag performances, and release parties with visiting authors.
LINDSEY ANDERSON
Suck a Dick in Volunteer Park. For History’s Sake!
CAPITOL HILL
Nestled in the gayborhood of Capitol Hill, Volunteer Park features a landmark conservatory, a stunning view from a historic water tower, and a vibrant past of queers getting off in the bushes. The park was founded in 1876, and ever since, gays have been getting a mouthful behind the beautiful dahlias and taking it in from behind amongst the bursting rhododendrons. To be clear, I’m “not” telling you to commit any “acts of public indecency,” I’m just saying that if you’ve met your Grindr hookup in a shadowy shrub along the duck ponds, you’ve successfully contributed to an important oral history.
NICO SWENSON
We’re almost to the end! Check off all the fun and gay shit you’ve completed, and find out how Seattle you are on page 81.
q Play Pool With Gay Guys at Madison Pub
q Have a Sexual Awakening at Pony
q Dodge—or Don’t—the Overflowing Urinal at the Cuff Complex
q Grab a Drink at Wildrose, the West Coast’s Oldest Lesbian Bar
q Do a Fruit Loop at Union
q Go to a Few More Fantastic Gay Bars, While You’re At It
q Join a Totally Gay Book Club
q And Find Your Next Read at Charlie’s Queer Books
q Suck a Dick in Volunteer Park. For History’s Sake!
q
Down to
Skivvies at Denny Blaine Park
BILLIE WINTER
Open since New Years Eve 1984, WILDROSE, is the oldest lesbian bar on the West Coast.
OUTDOORS
Go Touch Grass… and Sand and Trees and Salt Water and Sea Anemones
SOUND.
Expect the water to be around 50 degrees (and look out for sea lions) when you take a COLD PLUGE IN THE PUGET
If you love nature, you’ll love Seattle. No, really! We’re not as rainy as they say—we just tell people that so they’ll leave us alone. We have 6,480 acres of parks, 4,563 miles of trails, more than 4 million trees, and stunning mountain ranges in every direction. We even have a slogan for our view—if you ever hear anyone excitedly exclaim “Mountain’s out!” you know Tahoma (Mount Rainier) is looking especially fine that day. Late spring into early fall is the best stretch of nice weather— once that thermometer hits the mid-50s in April, we flock to the parks, trails, water, and beaches to shake off winter’s cold grasp and replenish our depleting Vitamin D. Well, at least until smoke season hits. Then it’s back into the air-conditioned bars and movie theaters.
Take Your Dog on a Photo Shoot at Kubota Garden
RAINIER BEACH
Dogs are welcome in most Seattle parks (on a leash), but the prettiest pup-friendly nature space in the city is Kubota Garden. The 20-acre park in South Seattle is lush with easy rolling trails and bridges that loop around hundreds of different varieties of plants and trees, and several ponds and waterfalls. There are 140 different kinds of maples, 30 different hydrangea varieties, and several rhododendron bushes that are larger than a small house, and I have, at present, more than 300 pictures of my dog taken at that park, and not one of them is a bad shot. In one, he’s trying to go nose-to-nose with the koi in the pond. In another, he found a stick that he’s very excited to show off. All while surrounded by the kind of well-maintained, colorful gardens that are usually reserved for dogless strolls.
MEGAN SELING
Get on a Boat! Any Boat!
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
It’s not a matter of if you’ll have the opportunity to get on a boat while visiting Seattle, it’s a matter of which kind of boat you’d prefer. We have dozens of different water vessels available to rent, from self-powered paddle boats (Green Lake Boathouse and Coffee Shop) to wooden row boats that will make you feel like Anne of Green Gables (the Center for Wooden Boats) to literal floating hot tubs that you can putter around in on Lake Union for about $450 a pop. Personally, I love the cute little cruisers at the Electric Boat Company. The basic model goes for $139 an hour and seats up to 10 people— that’s just $14 each! It’s outfitted with padded seats and a table with cupholders so you can pack a picnic, and it’s also got a Bluetooth stereo and optional heating for chilly nights. Plus, they’re super easy to drive. Even I, an anxiety-riddled anti-captain, can confidently cruise around at a smooth 6 mph to see a special side of Seattle only visible from the water.
MEGAN SELING
Owl Prowl at Discovery Park
MAGNOLIA
If you need a break from the depressing black hole that can be city living, I recom-
mend prowling for owls like you’re in a Tove Jansson novel. Located just across from Ballard’s Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in the Magnolia neighborhood, Discovery Park is a gigantic wooded oasis with stunning waterside hikes, a historic lighthouse (more on that below), and several breeds of owls lurking amidst the trees. Owls are nocturnal creatures, but it’s not unusual to see one during the daytime. If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, go on the prowl after dark (the park closes at 11:30 p.m.); just don’t forget your binoculars.
AUDREY VANN
Then Search for Sea Stars at West Point Lighthouse Beach
MAGNOLIA
One of my favorite things to do with out-of-towners is tide pooling at Discovery
Park’s West Point Lighthouse Beach. Wear shoes you don’t mind getting wet and check for low tide. You’ll know you’re in the right place when you start seeing clams spitting everywhere. It’s like a mini Fourth of July celebration, but instead of fireworks, it’s tiny streams of water being shot up into the sky by buried clams. In the shallow pools, you’ll likely be able to spotsee sea anemones, which are topped with rings of hairy-looking tentacles and look like something dangerous out of Stranger Things, but they’re harmless. You should be harmless, too—if you gently touch the outside of the sea anemones, they will react and close up. NATURE. But what you’re really there to see are the sea stars (the actual term for what common folk call “starfish”). They will be on the big rocks or boulders on the edge of pools and you will have to get low to see them. I have gotten on my hands and knees to
spot three purple sea stars tucked under a rock and told a group of people nearby, “Hey! Did y’all see the sea stars here?” To which they replied, “NO! We looked all over that rock for one!” Didn’t get low enough. RACHEL STEVENS
Smoke Weed at Our Secret Spot Next to the Cemetery
CAPITOL HILL
Low tide at ALKI BEACH brings out tidepoolers and skimboarders. Don’t squash the sea anemones!
Roll or buy a joint of your choice (for me, it’s walking into Ruckus on 15th and asking for whatever the absolute lowest THC pre-roll is, something one step up from smoking a hemp necklace). Walk north on 15th Avenue East, past Volunteer Park and past the entrance to the Lake View Cemetery. On the other side of the street, there’s the Louisa Boren Lookout, where you can sit on a bench and gaze out onto a truly sick view of Lake Washington and the Cascades. There’s also a giant rusted sculpture (a sort of a funky Stonehenge/ Jenga?), and some weeping willows. The cemetery itself is also nice to stroll—it’s not very goth, but it has pretty trees and is well taken care of. Bruce and Brandon Lee are buried here. For more memento mori further down 15th, bang an immediate left on Howe. You’ll encounter palm trees on the corner, as a treat, and then a few blocks down, a single monument and some headstones: the Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery. I stumbled across this secret second cemetery by accident and was surprised to learn it’s the final resting place of Civil War veterans (Union side). There’s not a lot going on here, and that’s what’s nice. EMILY NOKES
Take the Path Less Traveled at Carkeek Park
BROADVIEW
This city is rich with an embarrassment of outdoor spaces. Discovery Park and Golden Gardens tend to take all the glory, with their showy beach bonfires and sweeping territorial views, but for my money, Carkeek is the best park in city limits. Just a little bit north of Golden Gardens, Carkeek is a breathtaking 220-acre pinch of the Olympics. The 3.5-mile loop that starts an d ends at Piper’s Creek takes you from wetlands, orchards, and mossy little bridges up to big views of the Sound, past the beach (no dogs allowed), and into rolling, hilly forests. KATHLEEN TARRANT
CHAR HARRIS
Freeze Your Ass Off in the Puget Sound
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
If you spend any time at Golden Gardens or Alki Beach, you’re gonna see people in the water and wonder, “Isn’t it cold?” Yes! It is! Quite cold. The average sea surface temperature for Elliott Bay, for example, is 59 degrees Fahrenheit in August. But you should jump in anyway! People pay good money for cold plunge baths at high-end spas, and here in Seattle, we get that shit for free. If you’re new to plunging, I highly recommend starting with one of the local organizations that facilitate group events; I really like Coldwater Collective and Puget Sound Plungers. Both post their weekly schedules on Instagram, along with tips for first-timers, and it’s way more fun yelling and swearing and splashing around with other people feeling your pain. (Wear a warm hat! It really does make a big difference!) Your first time will probably suck. I lasted about 20 seconds before bailing and swearing off of it for good. But 24 hours later, I wanted to try again. I loved the tingly feeling on my skin and the rush of endorphins. Now I go at least once a week, and half the time, I spot some cute sea critter playing out in the water, too.
MEGAN SELING
Witness the Miracle of Life at the Ballard Locks
BALLARD
Are you in Seattle to gawk at leggy birds? Look no further than the Ballard Locks! It’s a concrete mass separating saltwater from freshwater that functions as a boat elevator and fish ladder between Puget Sound and Salmon Bay. This landmark, the busiest boat locks in the United States, harbors a Janus-faced past and present: an artificial scarring of the landscape that displaced Coast Salish people during its construction—as commemorated on some plaques outside the nearby Pagliacci??—but also a hotspot for wildlife. Demure seals, charismatic salmon runs, yappy sea lions, yacht owners in the throes of a midlife crisis, etc., etc. The Janussery continues at the blue heron rookery in Commodore Park (the Magnolia side), a lovely site where loving (leggy) heron parents raise their chicks. The bird colony, though, is also used by local NIMBYists to delay local affordable
With waterfalls, ponds, and more than 140 different maple varieties, KUBOTA GARDEN is the prettiest dog-friendly park in the city.
JULY7TH/GETTY IMAGES
that says “Funkytown.” That was a key element in an Amazing Race scavenger hunt I planned.) Once you’ve made it this far, I suggest you keep going across the maze of floating walkways. Sometimes paddle boarders and kayakers are hitched up here, taking a breather. Soon, you’ll make it to Foster Island, an isthmus that juts into Lake Washington where you can sunbathe, barbecue, and watch all the boats go by. You can access Foster Island through the arboretum, too, but that’s less fun.
NATHALIE GRAHAM
Walk the Whole Olmsted 50K
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
housing construction under the guise of “ecological preservation.” J’accuse! But also tell the heron I said hi. ADAM WILLEMS
Do Shrooms in the Arboretum
MADISON PARK
Here’s the thing: When it’s sunny out, there are a million places in Seattle you can and should take a trip with everyone’s good pal psilocybin. The obvious—and unbeatable—option is the Washington Park Arboretum. Pack a picnic blanket, a water bottle, a few snacks, a towel (who knows if you’ll wander to Foster Point and be called by the lake), a fresh pair of socks, and any sun protection you need, and spend an afternoon wandering in and out of the arboretum. Rhododendron glen will never look better. You could spend a full hour watching the sun cascade through the leaves and through John Grade’s Union, a netted sculpture of transparent blue and green forms hanging from the trees. Find a bench and listen to the wind, feel the sun on your cheeks, breathe. Maybe any shroom-inspired visuals will dazzle,
Check off all the spots where you’ve stripped, tripped, and sunk in the muck, and add them to the running total on page 81! (Cute buns, btw.)
or maybe you’ll just feel more at peace. (Note: While you can do shrooms in the arboretum during any season, a snowy day makes for quite the trip.)
NATHALIE GRAHAM
Sink in the Muck on Foster Island
MONTLAKE
There’s a squelchy, sticky oasis tucked in alongside the 520 bridge and the Montlake Cut aptly named Marsh Island. To reach Marsh Island, you must cross a pedestrian bridge that’s usually sinking a bit. Then, you’ll reach land. Depending on the season, this ground is not solid. I’d suggest taking your shoes off here if you were silly enough to wear shoes. Plod across the squishy mud into the trees that grow dense and impossibly green. Through the branches, you’ll find tunnels to access points. You can find a bench to sit on, or an empty dock to swim from. You can also keep going. You’ll reach another set of pedestrian bridges with concrete docks where you can fish or swim or bask. (If you look under one of the bridges, maybe you’ll see a sticker
q Take Your Dog on a Photo Shoot at Kubota Garden
q Get on a Boat! Any Boat!
q Owl Prowl at Discovery Park
q Then Search for Sea Stars at West Point Lighthouse Beach
q Smoke Weed at Our Secret Spot Next to the Cemetery
q Take the Pat h Less Traveled at Carkeek Park
q Freeze Your Ass Off in the Puget Sound
q Witness the Miracle of Life at the Ballard Locks
q Do Shrooms in the Arboretum
q Sink in the Muck on Foster Island
q Walk the Whole Olmsted 50K
The Olmsteds are well known for designing big splashy East Coast shit like New York’s Central Park and Boston’s string of parks known as the Emerald Necklace, but the brothers also spent more than three decades designing 37 of our (objectively more) gorgeous Seattle parks. Last November, to celebrate 120 years of the Olmsted Parks contract, the Mountaineers’ Seattle Urban Walk Committee and Friends of Seattle’s Olmsted Parks mapped out a 50-kilometer (31-mile) walking route that hits over two dozen of those parks. The route is broken up into five 5-7 mile sections, beginning at the Ballard Locks and ending all the way down at Rainier Beach Playfield in South Seattle. It was specifically designed to be tackled in bite-sized chunks with plenty of scenery, treats, toilets, and Seattle landmarks along the way. The Seattle Urban Walk Committee hosts official walks, which you can find on the website, but it’s encouraged to go with friends on your own time. Personally, I’m trying to wrangle a group for a DIY 50k run of it this summer. KATHLEEN TARRANT
A.
Where in the city am I allowed to smoke?
A.Anywhere the vibes are good.
Where is the only cannabis museum in Seattle?
A.There isn’t one. That’s just a rumor!
B.In your heart, if you close your eyes.
C.At Dockside Cannabis SODO!
B.Private property (public spaces are a no!)
C.Inside the stadium, as long as I make a hot dog pipe.
What’s the closest dispensary to the Stadiums?
A.Rainier Cannabis Co.
B.Dockside Cannabis SODO (just a few blocks away)
C.Puget Sound Buds
I’m walking around Green Lake, where’s the weed?
A.Ask the group of stoners sitting in the grass (and goose poop) for a puff.
B.Dockside Cannabis Green Lake is right there!
C.Hidden at the bottom in a metal box. Hope you like magnet fishing.
Still waiting on that edible to kick in?
A. It’s broken.
B. Give it at least 90 minutes. (seriously)
C. Immediately double-down.
A.Oat milk
B.Pre-rolls
C.Both (this is a
space, be honest.) I’m checking out Ballard. What’s the move?
A.Find a cozy, design-forward weed shop at Dockside Cannabis Ballard.
B.Grab coffee, a pastry, & start wandering.
C.All of the above. In that exact order.
SPORTS
Our Hockey Stars Are Women, and Our Sports Bars Are Meathead-Free
Hope for Some Good Hockey Fights at Climate Pledge Arena
SEATTLE CENTER
Now, before anyone can start to regurgitate some brand of “ThEy DoN’t GeT pHySiCaL iN wOmEn’S hOcKeY” nonsense you read on a message board in 2017, let me say this: Yes, they fucking do. Professional Women’s Hockey League players crunch one another into the boards at full speed to force a turnover, they get scrappy in the crease if someone gets too close to their goalie, and they can deliver a hip check that would make Dan Hamhuis blush. The Torrent, Seattle’s new-this-season PWHL team, are no different. They may have been last in the standings
at press time, but their games are so fun and full of energy that fans are often breaking their own attendance records game after game, despite the final score. Plus, their goal song is by Paramore! How cool is that? Oh, and you can see the Kraken at Climate Pledge, too. MEGAN SELING
Realize That Seattle’s Still a Basketball City (Even Without the Sonics) at a Storm Game
SEATTLE CENTER
The Seattle SuperSonics left Seattle for Oklahoma City in 2008, and longtime Seattleites are still pissed about it. Rightfully so, if you ask me—it was a dirty, sneaky deal! But
real basketball fans know Seattle is still a basketball city. The WNBA founded the Seattle Storm in 2000, and the team has qualified for the playoffs 19 times in its 25 seasons. They’ve won four WNBA championships, the most recent being in 2020. When Storm star Sue Bird retired in 2023, they retired her number (10) and hung her jersey in the rafters of Climate Pledge. And now, these players are finally getting paid their worth. In March, the WNBA and the league’s Players Association avoided a 2026 season strike by agreeing to an impressive new contract. Not only did they increase each team’s salary cap from $1.5 million to $7 million, but the average player’s salary will now be around $600,000, compared to last year’s $120,000. MEGAN SELING
You’ve heard of the 2026 Super Bowl Champions, the Seattle Seahawks. You’ve heard of the infamously never-World-Series-champions, the Seattle Mariners. And you may even have some strong feelings about the Seattle SuperSonics, a team that hasn’t been in the Pacific Northwest for nearly 20 years. But did you know that Seattle is actually one of the best cities in the country for women’s sports? We have the Seattle Storm, our WNBA team, which is tied for winning the most championships in the league. We have the Seattle Reign FC, our NWSL team, the team Megan Rapinoe called home for 11 seasons before retiring in 2023. And, new this season, we also have the Seattle Torrent, one of eight teams in the Professional Women’s Hockey League, captained by Team USA leader and living hockey legend Hilary Knight. So, sure, you can go to an Ms game or a Seahawks game or a Sounders game while you’re here. They’re great! And so are our not-quite-professional leagues like the Fish Sticks baseball team and the Salmon Bay Football Club. But let’s be real: if you want to be a real Seattleite, it’s time to root for women’s sports.
Catch a SALMON BAY FC game at Interbay Stadium May through June.
ROUGH & TUMBLE
YOUR HOME FOR WOMEN’S SPORTS
From the moment you walk in ‘til long after the game ends, you’ll feel it. We’re on her team. And yours and everyone’s. We’re cheering for women, athletes, and fans everywhere who sweat for and swear by what they believe in. Playing women’s and men’s sports e ually is how we level the playing field. Come on over, the games are on!
TWO LOCATIONS!
BALLARD + COLUMBIA CITY
ALL AGES
WOMAN & QUEER OWNED AND RUN
If you’re lucky, you’ll caatch a HOT DOG FROM HEAVEN at a Mariners game. Ketchup and mustard are included!
Catch a Flying Hot Dog at the Mariners Game
SODO
There are currently 30 baseball teams in the MLB, and 29 of them have made it to the World Series at least once. The one holdout? The Seattle fucking Mariners. And yet, every summer, dedicated fans flock to T-Mobile Park to see if this year will be our year. Last season, we got close! Closer than ever before, in fact. And yet… Thankfully, the Mariners know their baseball shenanigans won’t always be enough to keep the people entertained, so they’ve taken to hyping up the crowd with especially goofy park promotions, including Bark at the Park (bring your dogs!) and Hot Dogs from Heaven, when hot dogs tied to parachutes rain down on the crowd. They even come with ketchup! You’ll know the wieners are about to fly when Belinda Carlisle’s “Heaven Is a Place on Earth” starts blasting from the speakers. MEGAN SELING
Or Root for the Real Home Team, the DubSea Fish Sticks
WHITE CENTER
Forget the Mariners. This summer you should go to a DubSea Fish Sticks game. Get your ass out to White Center to Mel Olson Stadium inside King County’s Steve Cox Memorial Park and watch the Fish Sticks, a team of collegiate ballplayers staying in shape in their off-season. For the purposes of the Fish Sticks, the stadium is dubbed “The Fryer.” These games are full of kitsch and whimsy. Instead of the first pitch, there’s a first fish (yes, someone throws a fish). In between innings, the Fish Sticks put on weird activities like inflatable mascot races, singalongs, and something called “Fish Sticks on the Face.” You better believe team mascot Fin Crispy Jr. is heavily involved. It’s a good, goofy time. And it’s cheap. Tickets cost $14. On certain Thursdays, all concessions are $3. Yes, even the fish sticks. Who needs the Savannah Bananas when we’ve got the DubSea Fish Sticks?
Catch them in the Fryer June through the first week of August. NATHALIE GRAHAM
See Future Soccer Stars at Ballard FC and Salmon Bay Soccer Games
INTERBAY
You already know about the Seattle Reign (or at least their now-retired star player, Megan Rapinoe), but that’s not the only soccer happening in Seattle. Salmon Bay FC is one of 27 brand-new teams playing in USL W, a burgeoning pre-professional women’s soccer league now featuring 93 clubs spanning the continental US. Partially owned by Rough & Tumble’s Jen Barnes, as well as Seattle Reign players Lu Barnes, Jess Fishlock, and Olivia Van der Jagt. Salmon Bay is the sibling team to Ballard FC, the men’s club that’s enjoyed a die-hard following since its kickoff in 2022. Both teams are buoyed by fierce neighborhood-level pride, top-tier talent, and silly rituals. The spirits are high and flowing: There’s a tequila zone. You can order a hot dog with lingonberry jam on it. How Svensk. Witness the next generation of hometown stars in wholesome environs before they enter the Lumen Field limelight in a few years. ADAM WILLEMS
Watch Sports Without Being Surrounded by Meatheads at Our Queer AF Sports Bars
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
Rough & Tumble in Ballard is my favorite place in Seattle to watch sports. And I’m not just saying that because of the cheese curds named after hockey legend Hilary Knight! Their spacious, family-friendly dining area is full of TVs at every angle,
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You’ve reached the final section of our How to Seattle guide. How Seattle are you? Count up all your adventures and flip to page 81!
and they prioritize women’s sports. Snack on an Abby Wambroccolini while watching the Storm game! Get a plate of Billie Jean King chicken wings before the Reign match! There’s never a meathead in sight! R&T’s Ballard location was so successful that they opened a second location last fall in Columbia City. And last year, another women’s-sports-focused queer-friendly bar opened on Capitol Hill, from the folks at La Dive and Rich Rich. At Pitch the Baby, they also prioritize all the women’s leagues, including the WNBA, PWHL, and NWSL, and serve up a full Mexico City–inspired menu (mmm, queso fundido). Welcome to Seattle, where even our sports bars are totally gay. Trump would hate it here.
MEGAN SELING
Get in the Ring with DEFY and SOS Pro Wrestling
VARIOUS LOCATIONS
There are two wrestling leagues in Seattle, DEFY Wrestling and SOS Pro Wrestling. Both host matches throughout the year, and they also pop up at local festivals. DEFY has an annual Pride championship match during White Center Pride—they set the ring up right there in the middle of the street!—and SOS has brought their brand of mania to Bumbershoot for the past three years. If you’re looking to get in the ring, check out SOS’s Grit City Wrestling School—they offer classes for beginners and advanced athletes, covering everything from basic wrestling moves to character building. If you’d rather just watch, head to Lariat Bar in White Center, Seattle’s only wrestling-themed bar. Events include Monday Knit Raw (knit while watching wrestling!) and karaoke… IN A WRESTLING RING. MEGAN SELING
q Hope for Some Good Hockey Fights at Climate Pledge Arena
q Realize That Seattle’s Still a Basketball City (Even Without the Sonics) at a Storm Game
q Catch a Flying Hot Dog at the Mariners Game
q Or Root for the Real Home Team, the DubSea Fish Sticks
q See Future Soccer Stars at Ballard FC and Salmon Bay Soccer Games
q Watch Sports Without Being Surrounded by Meatheads at Our Queer AF Sports Bars
q Get in the Ring with DEFY and SOS Pro Wrestling
JACK ELLIS/SEATTLE MARINERS/GETTY IMAGES
The Pacific Northwest is home to two of the top three retailers in the country, Amazon and Costco. But don’t get it twisted. Our city is also packed with literally hundreds of independently owned shops, boutiques, and businesses that sell everything from limited-edition strains of weed to blankets designed by Native artists to that one rare used record that has eluded you for decades. Aside from these brick-and-mortar stores, also be on the lookout for pop-up markets from Urban Craft Uprising, Seattle Restored, and Punk Rock Flea Market.
SHOPPING
Because You Can’t Buy Weed on Amazon SECTION
Give in to Your Rockstar Fantasies at Reanimated
Music
ROOSEVELT
When beloved music store Trading Musician closed in 2024 after more than 30 years in business, some of the shop’s most loyal employees weren’t ready to say goodbye. They banded together and, with help from a successful GoFundMe campaign, opened Reanimated Music, a used music shop focused on providing affordable instruments, recording equipment, and other
The owners of REANIMATED MUSIC are cultivating a fun, community-forward music shop where everyone’s welcome.
gear. Reanimated is where musicians of all experience levels can buy a badass guitar, but also hang out, exchange ideas, and support one another. (Unlike some more corporate music stores—cough cough Guitar Center cough cough.) In an interview ahead of their opening in October 2025, co-owner Geoff Joynes told The Stranger, “We want to give that knowledge freely to anybody who wants it, and give someone the same treatment regardless of who they are, and not make knowledge and instruments and parts any more scarce than they already are.” MEGAN SELING
Cover
Your Walls
in 3D Art from Psychedelic Lens
SOUTH LAKE UNION
I first clocked Erin Fox’s neon-soaked risograph prints at the Magnuson Park night market. They were bright. They were deeply Pacific Northwest (think the old Rainier brewery, neon raccoons and pinecones). And they were even more fun to look at with 3D glasses. Now, her new(ish) brick-and-mortar space does not disappoint. This artist-owned gallery and
At PSYCHEDELIC LENS, visitors are welcome to work on their own art projects while sipping coffee in their coloful seating area.
store has a neon, hand-painted exterior that can probably be seen from space (or at least the Space Needle), and though the shop is small, you can browse for hours—just remember to bring your own mug for the espresso machine. HANNAH MURPHY WINTER
Buy Some Weed! It’s Legal Here!
MULTIPLE LOCATIONS
Dockside Cannabis SoDo is a great place for folks buying legal weed for the first time. It’s emblematic of the new direction in pot retailing brought on by legalization: big, open floor plans, lots of light, and classy decor. Dockside’s got all that, and a cannabis museum to boot. That’s right: An entire corner of their store is devoted to the history and science of cannabis, including selections from the Wirtshafter collection, Ohio cannabis activist Don Wirtshafter’s hoard of vintage cannabis medicine bottles. It sounds bland when I put it that way, but it’s awesome, a fascinating physical reminder that pot used to be both legal and benign. TOBIAS COUGHLIN-BOGUE
Sample Every Flavor of KitKat at Uwajimaya
CHINATOWN–INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT
Located in the center of the Chinatown–International District is Uwajimaya, one
of North America’s largest Asian retailers. (They also have locations in Bellevue, Renton, and Beaverton, Oregon.) Seattle’s store is more than 35,000 square feet, filled with all the usual grocery delights, as well as a full-service seafood counter, a deli section with mouthwatering graband-go options, and a candy department stocked with every imported KitKat flavor you can imagine. Flavors rotate, but Melon, Salt Lemon, Pistachio, and Chocolate Daifuku have been spotted. Go buy as many as you can, and host your own KitKat tasting. STRANGER STAFF
Replace Your Pendleton Blanket at Eighth Generation DOWNTOWN
Eighth Generation, the lifestyle brand and retail space owned by the Snoqualmie Tribe, was the country’s first Nativeowned company to sell wool blankets, and their store on First Avenue is a must-visit if you’re anywhere near Pike Place Market. There, you’ll find the most gorgeous wool blankets you’ve ever seen (suck it, Pendleton), as well as jewelry, kitchenware, art, home decor, even dog leashes and matching collars, all designed by Native artists. Look for pieces from their Gold Label line—a collection of blankets and scarves that are designed, knit, and finished by hand in their Seattle studio. MEGAN SELING
Parlor
BILLIE WINTER
SEATTLE
The delightfully strange ARCHIE MCPHEE joke shop has been selling gross candy and giant underpants since 1983.
Lurk Through the Labyrinth That Is Lander Street Vintage
SODO
My idea of a good time is wandering around a warehouse full of antiques until my legs fall off, and Lander Street is the only mall remaining in the city limits that is large enough to satisfy me. The 32,000-square-foot building is filled to the brim with over 130 vendors peddling vintage and antique clothing, furniture, housewares, records, books, art, and so much more. Last time I got lost in the labyrinth of Lander Street, I walked out of there with an armload of treasures, including a 1940s beaded beret, a gorgeous linen circle skirt, and a porcelain Christmas ornament of Tom Kitten. AUDREY VANN
Gross Out Friends with Salmon-Flavored Candy at Archie McPhee
WALLINGFORD
A Seattle staple since 1983, Archie McPhee is the local joke shop that keeps our city strange. It started out as a little
hole-in-the-wall in Fremont that sold vintage (unused) medical supplies, rubber snakes, and Whoopee Cushions. The store, now in a large, colorful storefront in Wallingford, is world-renowned for its own line of toys, candy, and knickknacks. Think squirrel-sized underpants, wind-up sloth racers, and salmon-flavored candy canes. While there, stroll through the Rubber Chicken Museum, which proudly displays both the world’s largest and smallest rubber chickens. STRANGER STAFF
Hunt for Treasures— and Maybe Get
Married???—at
Georgetown Trailer Park Mall
GEORGETOWN
If you peek behind Star Brass Works Lounge in Georgetown, you’ll notice something odd—a bunch of Airstreams parked in a line, some with awnings, some with auxiliary wood structures, and a shotgun wedding chapel with a 6-by-6-foot AstroTurfed square. It’s confusing if you don’t know what it is—the bones of Seattle’s cutest little weekend market. Every
Lake Forest Park
Ravenna
Seward Park
BILLIE WINTER
Find Your Perfect Dildo at Wild at Heart
BALLARD
Wild at Heart is a great sex shop that shares a name with a great film. Like Nicolas Cage found his symbol of individuality and belief in personal freedom in a snakeskin jacket, you can do the same with this Ballard shop’s selection of dildos, lubes, whips, crops, and puppy masks. Browsing for straps is awkward for the best of us, but Wild at Heart’s friendly, judgment-free atmosphere is pleasant even for shy types. Where a lot of sex shops in Seattle feel stuffy and corporate for their lascivious merchandise, Wild at Heart sparkles with a genuine quality.
VIVIAN McCALL
stores in the city, famous for its free in-store performances, and Husky Deli has great sandwiches, housemade ice cream, and an old-school candy counter. There are bookstores (Paper Boat Booksellers, Pegasus Book Exchange), gift and home goods shops (Northwest Art & Frame), and a fun selection of vintage everything at Doll Parts Collective. Like Ballard, their Sunday farmers’ market is year-round and full of fresh produce and locally made goods. STRANGER STAFF
Are you a full-blown Seattleite yet? When you’re done with your shopping spree, check off every shop you hit and add it to your running total on page 81.
q Give in to Your Rockstar Fantasies at Reanimated Music
q Cover Your Walls in 3D Art from Psychedelic Lens
q Buy Some Weed! It’s Legal Here!
q Hunt for Treasures—and Maybe Get Married???—at Georgetown Trailer Park Mall
q Build a Booze-Free Bar at Cheeky & Dry
q Get Witchy at Ghost Gallery
Star in an Episode of ‘Gilmore Girls’ on Ballard Avenue
KATHLEEN TARRANT
Saturday and Sunday, small businesses sell skincare products, vintage clothes, marriage, and more out of the RVs, adding a fun stop on the bustling Georgetown retail and bar corridor.
Build a Booze-Free Bar at Cheeky & Dry
PHINNEY RIDGE
Cheeky & Dry is a darling booze-free bottle shop where owners Kirstin and Yura Vracko sell dozens of different nonalcoholic spirits and amari and syrups and canned cocktails and sodas and tinctures and bitterses. This place looks like a wine shop from France and carries all kinds of curious elixirs I never knew existed, like yuzu or vanilla-rooibos tea or rose cordial syrup (Portland Syrups), cherry/ginger/maple NA cider (Nowhere), and all four of the Casamara Club botanical sodas, which are nearly impossible to find. There must be a hundred thousand individual items within this store, and the staff let you taste everything in a little cuppity cup. MEG VAN HUYGEN
Get Witchy at Ghost Gallery
DOWNTOWN
It’s true that Pacific Place Mall is a shell of its former self. Most malls in America are. While building management sorts out how to adapt to a new mall-less world, Pacific Place has filled their storefronts with local businesses. My favorite is Ghost Gallery, which is full of affordable art, tarot, candles that smell like magic, and little glass containers full of ink made from melted guns. Shopping there will make you feel like you’re in a Stevie Nicks song. MEGAN SELING
BALLARD
Downtown Ballard is so sweet and quaint, it will make you feel like you just stepped onto the set of Amy Sherman-Palladino’s latest project. The historic streets are lined with trees and brick buildings that house bars and restaurants, independently owned stores and boutiques, and art galleries. LUCCA Great Finds has a dizzying array of gifts and home accessories as well as a selection of stationery, pens, and pencils that will inspire you to take up letter writing. Sweet Mickey’s is an old-fashioned candy store that carries bulk candy and fudge by the pound, but they’ve got modern favorites, too, including the highly coveted Dubai chocolate bars and BUBS gummies. On Market Street, you’ll find one of Seattle’s most iconic record stores, Sonic Boom. The year-round Sunday farmers market is also great for dog-watching. STRANGER STAFF
Waste the Day Away in Alaska Junction
WEST SEATTLE
A lot of people joke about West Seattle being impossible to get to, but the trip across the Duwamish Waterway really isn’t bad, especially if you hop on the West Seattle Water Taxi. From there, you can grab a shuttle that takes you up to the Alaska Junction, a buzzing neighborhood core of indie stores, art spaces, restaurants, bars, and coffee shops. Easy Street Records is one of the best record
q Sample Every Flavor of KitKat at Uwajimaya
q Replace Your Pendleton Blanket at Eighth Generation
q Lurk Through the Labyrinth That Is Lander Street Vintage
q Gross Out Friends with ClamFlavored Candy at Archie McPhee
q Find Your Perfect Dildo at Wild at Heart
q Star in an Episode of ‘Gilmore Girls’ on Ballard Avenue
q Waste the Day Away in Alaska Junction
ARTICO / GETTY IMAGES
The previous 72 pages of this magazine are filled with 117 very great recommendations of all the cool shit to do in Seattle. You’re welcome! But now that we’re friends, we have to get real, and deliver some tough love about the things you should not do while you’re here. We see people making these mistakes all the time. And we hate it. Ignore our advice at your own peril!
Don’t Depend on Public Restrooms, They Don’t Exist
HOW NOT TO SEATTLE
Follow These Few Basic Rules and You’ll Stay on Our Good Side
Shit happens, but not in Seattle. Our city is actually notorious for having very few (and very inadequate) public restrooms. Last year, KUOW reported on an audit of public restrooms and found that of the 129 bathrooms the city is supposed to maintain, a surprising number of them were closed or locked, and many of the bathrooms that were open were not cleaned “at a consistent level of quality.” The City is aware of the problems, but
admits that there are budget and staffing issues. There is finally a little good news in this department: At press time, the City was moving ahead with plans to install some freestanding public toilets in Pioneer Square ahead of the World Cup games in June. That does little for anyone looking for relief elsewhere in the city, but I guess it’s a start. MEGAN SELING
Don’t Clog up the Escalators
There is a right way to use the escalator. This is important because we have so
This is the historic PIKE PLACE MARKET. Not “Pike’s Place Market.” Not “Pike’s Market.” Not “Pike’s Place.” Just Pike Place Market.
many escalators. And they are so long. The holes we dug for light rail are so deep. If you are in Seattle, you will find yourself on an escalator. If you do not want to walk up the escalator and would rather be whisked to your destination by the magic of the moving stairs, please stand to the right. This means putting all luggage to the right as well. Then, the people in a hurry, or in pursuit of their daily step goals, can speed by on the left. Standing on the left impedes this. Leaving your bag on the left does, too. We get these thick, clogged bottlenecks. Are we not used to living among other people, Seattle? Over
800,000 people live here now. We must shake our small city-itis. I’m sorry to tell you, but there is hustle and bustle around you now, and it’s not going away. Many of us like that about this growing city. Leave the left lane open. NATHALIE
GRAHAM
Don’t Skimp on the Tip
Seattle currently has one of the highest minimum wages in the entire country, and tourists often use that as an excuse not to have to tip well or at all. Don’t be that jerk. Service industry workers still very much rely on tips to make ends meet. In 2024, CNBC declared Seattle the eighth
The World Table District is hiding in plain sight. Right across from SEA Airport, you’ll find a stretch of locally owned restaurants and cafes serving cuisines from around the globe. So head to SeaTac to savor Somali stews, rich birria tacos, Indian pizza, and plenty more. It’s a celebration of culture, and everyone is invited!
WORLD TABLE DISTRICT SEATAC CITY
MANGO THAI CUISINE & BAR
THE PANCAKE CHEF
LAS DELICIAS BAKERY
LAS PALMAS
ZAIN RESTAURANT BAKERY & CAFE
SAN FERNANDO ROASTED CHICKEN
URBAN TAPRI
TACQUERIA JACARANDAS MEXICAN FOOD
Don’t Use an Umbrella
It’s not that we’re against umbrellas. Some locals love them! We have an annual music and arts festival named after them! But umbrella use in Seattle is a privilege, not a right. Every day, we’re subject to bumbling bumbershoot-carriers strolling through crowded spots like Pike Place and weekend farmers markets with their umbrellas at full mast, with little to no regard for who’s standing nearby. Hundreds of Seattleites lose an eye every rainy season due to tourists’ umbrella negligence (probably), and even more umbrella carriers lose a tooth after getting punched in the face by a disgruntled local (we assume). Best not to risk it, just brave the rain. MEGAN SELING
This product has intoxicating effects and may be habit forming. Marijuana can impair concentration, coordination, and judgment. Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product. For use only by adults twenty-one and older. Keep out of the reach of children.
most expensive city in the world based on factors such as cost of living, rent, and groceries. Even the highest minimum wage isn’t a living wage in this city. (Blame our local billionaire-ass-sucking politicians.) When visiting bars and restaurants, don’t skimp on the tip and, more importantly, don’t throw a fit about how Seattle’s tIp CuLtUrE iS oUt Of CoNtRoL on social media. Nothing will get you publicly shamed faster than making inaccurate, sweeping comments about our city after visiting for 24 hours.
MEGAN SELING
Don’t Say “Pike’s Place”
The quickest way to out yourself as a newcomer or tourist is to refer to Pike Place Market as “Pike’s Place.” In fact, famous Seattleite Ken Jennings once corrected a contestant who lost points by making the familiar faux pas on Jeopardy!, adding, “We’re sticklers in Seattle.” In 2021, Ballard High School grad and Hacks actress (and queen of my heart) Jean Smart also told the Seattle Times that the misplaced possessive “s” was also a pet peeve of hers. Mispronouncing Puyallup, Sequim, Tukwila, Mukilteo, or Spokane is also a dead giveaway, so try to brush up on your local vocab to avoid embarrassing yourself.
JULIANNE BELL
Don’t You Dare Speak One Word on the Bus
When you step onto a King County Metro Bus, you will notice no one is talking. We like to keep it this way. If anyone takes a phone call, or—god forbid—strikes up a conversation with their seat partner, everyone on the bus will listen, and we will judge. We want to hear every pin drop and every inhale and exhale so we know we are alive. But don’t mistake our interest in life for an actual interest in life on the bus. If there is conversation, people might get the wrong idea that we’re a big, bustling metropolis instead of a sleepy fishing village—an identity we still cling to. We cannot have that. If you see something, do not fucking say something. Keep it quiet.
NATHALIE GRAHAM
Stay the Fuck Away From Bike Lanes
Unless you’re a local, stay far away from our bike lanes. We see bike lane abuse all day, every day—people drive in them, park in them, and leave their rented scooters or e-bikes blocking the
paths. Things have gotten so bad, in fact, Seattleites have started several social media accounts dedicated to shaming bad bike lane behavior. Don’t become a viral post on Bluesky. Stay the fuck away from bike lanes if you don’t know what you’re doing. MEGAN SELING
Don’t Be an Asshole at Concerts
Now, as someone who’s been going to gigs, indoor and outdoor concerts, DJ events, house parties, raves, and recordshop in-stores for 45 years, I’ve picked up some hard-earned wisdom that may benefit the public. Much of what I’m going to say here should go without saying. Y’all should’ve learned most of this stuff before puberty. But each generation yields a high percentage of doofuses who need certain guidelines repeatedly drilled into their thick crania. Let’s go over some basic rules of attending music shows in an allegedly civilized society. 1) STFU when musicians are performing. 2) Do your damnedest not to obscure the views of others when taking pics/video with your phone. 3) Don’t sing along with the music… unless you have good pipes. 4) If you jostle somebody or step on their toes by mistake, apologize. 5) This edict applies mainly to jazz audiences: For the love of
Coltrane, please do not applaud until songs are finished. DAVE SEGAL
Don’t Be a Jerk for No Reason
Look, there’s a lot to be bummed about, we get it. We all have stuff going on in our personal lives. It costs $290 to leave the house. No one here understands how a roundabout works. We’re not even going to
mention the news. And yeah, sometimes the idea of other people is downright annoying. That said, it’s time to get over ourselves a little, no? Seattle might be dark and soggy eight months out of the year, but if we all put a little effort into being a little friendlier (or, bare minimum, not glaring at people you pass on the sidewalk), we might be onto something.
EMILY NOKES
BIKE LANES are for bikes and scooters only. Do not drive in them. Do not park in them.
Alice
JORGE CHA
RYAN J LANE/GETTY IMAGES
Muna and Wet Leg will headline the 2026
CAPITOL HILL BLOCK PARTY.
SUMMER FESTIVALS
Our Favorite Art, Food, and Music
Events of the Season
Northwest Folklife Festival
MAY 22–25
Folklife started in the ’70s and it shows, in large part because it has somehow escaped the jaws of capitalism to remain a free community festival that’s open and welcoming to all. It’s also full of buskers, drum circles, impromptu jam seshes, barefoot dancing, and faded tie-dye. You can explore dozens of stalls selling foods and crafts from around the world, check out workshops and lectures, or just hang out and soak up the atmosphere. It’s a very
PNW granola vibe, and I love it. (Seattle Center, free, all ages) SHANNON LUBETICH
Marymoor Live 2026
MULTIPLE DATES, MAY 23–AUG 30
Now that Sound Transit has opened the 2 Line connection, it’s easier than ever to cross Lake Washington and visit Marymoor Park in Redmond. No traffic! No messy parking! What a world! That said, I’m not personally invested in their 2026 summer concert lineup. But someone out there probably wants to see bands including Les Claypool’s Frog Brigade,
Blues Traveler, Slightly Stoopid, NEEDTOBREATHE, and the Beach Boys (but, like, the 2026 version), right? (Marymoor Park, all ages) MEGAN SELING
Chateau Ste. Michelle Summer Concert Series 2026
MULTIPLE DATES, MAY 24–SEPT 27
Every year, Chateau Ste. Michelle lays out a full summer season of musical guests to grace their beautiful landscape of flowing wine. The 2026 lineup is a list of acts who last appeared together on my iPod Nano in
2004: Metric, Broken Social Scene, Stars, the Fray, and Yellowcard, among others. So far, Tori Amos and Bob Dylan (with Lucinda Williams) are the only announced acts enticing enough for the trek to Woodinville. (Chateau St. Michelle Winery, Woodinville, all ages) AUDREY VANN
ZooTunes
MULTIPLE DATES, JUNE 4–AUG 20
ZooTunes is a 40-plus-year summer tradition that brings big-name artists to the Woodland Park Zoo’s bucolic North Meadow to raise money for the zoo’s
Seattle PrideFest
JUNE 27–28
Claiming the title of “largest free pride festival in the country,” Seattle PrideFest takes over Capitol Hill with a street fair and performers on Saturday, and then organizes the parade on Sunday, in which hundreds of floats and local groups traverse down Fourth Avenue, from Westlake Park to Seattle Center.
(If you go, look for The Stranger we’ll be there throwing out candy and free copies of our Queer Issue!) Our favorite moment is when everyone from the parade inevitably ends up in the International Fountain for a sparkly, wet dance party.
(Various locations, free, all ages) SHANNON LUBETICH
animal care, conservation programs, and education. Highlights this season include Pavement, the Breeders (with Team Dresch!), and Belle and Sebastian, celebrating the 30th anniversary of If You’re Feeling Sinister with Quasi. Plus, this is a kid-friendly event! One of my earliest memories is gnawing on a licorice rope while watching Aimee Mann perform at ZooTunes. If you’re attending without kids, lucky you—there will be two beer gardens and plenty of kettle corn. (Woodland Park Zoo, all ages) AUDREY VANN
Queer/Pride Festival 2026
JUNE 26–28
This event is sort of like if Seattle PrideFest got tangled up in the Capitol Hill Block Party. Outside of Queer/Bar, gaggles of queer icons will take the outdoor stage with music, drag, and burlesque performances. This year’s lineup features Keke Palmer, Honey Dijon, DJ Pretty Mess (aka Erika Jayne of The Real Housewives of
Beverly Hills), JT, and Junglepussy, along with RuPaul’s Drag Race stars Jane Don’t, Irene the Alien, Onya Nurve, Sasha Colby, and Willow Pill. And if that lineup doesn’t entice you, all you have to do is go around the corner to Wildrose’s multi-day lineup. Or the Unicorn’s! Take your pick. (11th Ave between E Pike St and Pine St on Capitol Hill, 21+) AUDREY VANN
Gobble Up
JUNE 27
The indie craft show Urban Craft Uprising first launched their annual specialty food show Gobble Up during the winter holiday season, but there’s no reason that an array of tasty small-batch products should be relegated to the wintertime, so they’ve added this summer edition with more than 75 small businesses and food trucks. This year’s participants weren’t announced by press time, but previous fairs have included everything from New Zealand–style “real fruit” soft serve to Argentinian empanadas. (Lake Union Park, free, all ages) JULIANNE BELL
Ballard Music & SeafoodFest
JULY 10–12
Originally started as a celebration of the neighborhood’s fishing industry in 1974, the Ballard SeafoodFest has expanded over the years to include an alder-smoked salmon barbecue, art exhibits, a craft beer garden, artisan craft vendors, a skateboarding showcase, kids’ activities, and live music. Performers this year include Built to Spill, Nite Wave, Low Cut Connie, and Coral Grief. Masochists can enroll in the lutefisk-eating contest, an annual competition to see who can scarf down the most of the salty, gelatinous fish. (Ballard Ave NW and NW Market St, free, all ages) JULIANNE BELL
Seattle Festival of Dance + Improvisation
MULTIPLE DATES, JULY 12–AUG 9
This immersive, monthlong foray into Seattle’s dance community offers unique opportunities to watch, study, and learn
alongside other movement artists. The Seattle Festival of Dance + Improvisation has helped dancers build community in the Pacific Northwest for nearly 30 years—this time around, they’ll offer cohort-based intensives, plus drop-in classes and workshops for novices and experienced practitioners alike. (Velocity Dance Center, all ages) LINDSAY COSTELLO
Tacoma Porchfest
JULY 18–19
Tacoma’s Porchfest is the kind of clever, DIY arts event I wish we had in Seattle. For one weekend in July, dozens of Tacoma folks open their porches, yards, and driveways to artists and musicians who perform throughout the afternoon. Folks can stroll from house to house, enjoying whatever it is that catches their eye along the way. Some people carry foldable chairs, others have wagons packed with snacks for picnics. There is always a lot of music, but also costumes, wrestling, and… a fire-breathing dragon? Indeed, anything
CHRISTIAN PARROCO
can happen at Porchfest. (Downtown Tacoma, free, all ages) MEGAN SELING
Timber! Outdoor Music Festival 2026
JULY 23–25
Popular outdoor music festival Timber! is back for a very full weekend of crowdfriendly folk, rock, and pop performances, as well as all-ages activities like camping, kayaking, and stargazing. This year’s lineup includes Reyna Tropical, Frankie and the Witch Fingers, Lady Wray, and local favorites like Terror/Cactus, DJ Riz, and Weep Wave. Performances will be split between the main stage, the more intimate Campfire stage, and Camp Timber for kids’ and group activities. (Tolt-MacDonald Park, all ages) AUDREY VANN
Seattle Art Fair
JULY 23–26
now billing itself as the largest indie craft event in the Pacific Northwest. (Judging by the market’s consistently strong turnouts, it ain’t lying.) This year, they’ll bring a two-day summer show back to Magnuson Park Hangar 30, where you can hide from the sun for a couple of hours while snatching up crafty wares by indie artists and bites from on-site food trucks. Serving up a thoughtful alternative to mass-marketed trinkets and big box stores, the show promises all the resin earrings and chunky ceramics my heart desires—and I have a gut feeling you’ll find something nifty, too. (Magnuson Park Hangar 30, free, all ages) LINDSAY COSTELLO
Capitol Hill Block Party 2026
AUG 7–9
Returning to Lumen Field for the 10th year, Seattle Art Fair will continue to offer Seattleites the opportunity to see cool, cutting-edge contemporary artwork from all over the world without leaving town. Plenty of local institutions and artists get involved as well, making for a jam-packed weekend of incredible art-viewing opportunities. The fair promises to be a bit like recent years—a hectic four days of avant-garde, artsy goodness that rivals its pre-pandemic days—with to-be-announced public projects and gallerists visiting from near and far. (Lumen Field, all ages) LINDSAY COSTELLO
Bite of Seattle
JULY 24–26
Seattle boasts plenty of food and drink festivals year-round, but Bite of Seattle— billed as “Seattle’s original and largest food and beverage showcase” and claiming to draw 355,000 guests each year—is the most well-known gluttonous gathering by far, having been in business since 1982. Look forward to upwards of 300 food vendors, as well as beer and wine gardens, retail vendors, cider tastings, kids’ activities, live cooking demos, and dozens of musical performers. (Seattle Center, 305 Harrison St, free, all ages) JULIANNE BELL
Urban Craft Uprising Summer Show
JULY 25–26
Urban Craft Uprising has blossomed from its humble, 50-booth beginnings in 2005,
This isn’t your typical lounge-in-thegrass-type music festival, but rather, a bustling dance party that involves several stages—both indoors and outdoors—that are all crammed into the city streets on Capitol Hill. This year’s lineup dives back into the pop sphere with gems like MUNA, Magdalena Bay, Wet Leg, and Parcels, plus DJ sets from Trixie Mattel and Tinashe. The festival will once again be 21+ in an effort, according to Daydream State, to “[optimize] the footprint across the Pike/ Pine corridor to deliver an elevated fan experience while supporting neighborhood flow and local businesses,” aka hopefully avoid Chappell Roan–sized crowds. (I was there, and I was afraid for my life—can someone please make commemorative shirts that say “I Survived Chappell Roan at CHBP 2024?”) (E Pike St between Broadway and 12th Ave on Capitol Hill, 21+) AUDREY VANN
Seattle Tattoo Expo
AUG 14–16
Peep impressive tattoo displays, shop counterculture vendors, and engage in a little lighthearted flesh adornment at this three-day celebration of permanently decorated bodies. The Seattle Tattoo Expo has brought enthusiasts and professional ink-givers together for over 20 years; attendees can thrill their eyeballs at a tattooed burlesque revue or enter contests for best color tats, black-andwhite designs, and more. (There’ll be a competition for the worst tattoo, too, so roll up your sleeves and whip out your blurry anchors and tributes to Mom.)
(Seattle Center, all ages) LINDSAY COSTELLO
Find art and gifts by hundreds of makers from around the Pacific Northwest at the annual URBAN CRAFT UPRISING SUMMER SHOW.
South Sound Block Party
AUG 28–29
It takes a little more than an hour drive from Seattle to Olympia, and that’s without traffic. But trust me when I say the southbound journey is worth it for this year’s South Sound Block Party. Just look at this dreamy list of headliners: Sleater-Kinney, Sleigh Bells, and Shannon & the Clams. Fellow Olympia superstars Bikini Kill headlined last year’s festival, and the city officially proclaimed August 23 as Bikini Kill Day. I wonder if they have any historical declarations in store for Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker? (Port of Olympia, all ages) MEGAN SELING
PAX West 2026
SEPT 4–7
Unsurprisingly, PAX (originally the “Penny Arcade Expo”) was started right here in our neck of the woods back in 2004. Now, with PAX holding multiple annual meet-ups across the globe, Seattle is home to PAX West every Labor Day weekend. This massive video game convention and celebration of all things geek boasts panels with yet-to-beannounced special guests, new game demonstrations, hands-on activities, and an exhibit hall with booths spanning every fandom. Tickets can be on the pricey side, but there are always lots of fun (and cheaper) affiliated parties going on around town. (Seattle Convention Center, all ages) SHANNON LUBETICH
Bumbershoot 2026
SEPT 5–6
As a Seattle native, I grew up attending Bumbershoot before I knew what the
word itself meant (it’s a synonym for umbrella, if you still aren’t in the know). That’s why I am so glad to see that the long-running music and arts fest is back for good after taking a hiatus from 2019 to 2023. Headliners include homegrown indie-rock staple Death Cab for Cutie, Michelle Zauner’s dreamy indie-pop project Japanese Breakfast, Grammy-winning punk band Turnstile, R&B synth wizard Blood Orange, and beloved East Coast hip-hop group De La Soul. Personally, I’m most excited to see Chicago-based rapper Noname, who is celebrating the 10th anniversary of her jazz-infused debut mixtape, Telefone. (If you are in shock that this was released a decade ago, you are not alone!) I am also looking forward to seeing the Zamrock band W.I.T.C.H., whose 1974 album In the Past kind of sounds like if the Kinks played with untuned instruments (in the best way)—free-flowing, joyful, and completely one of a kind. (Seattle Center, all ages) AUDREY VANN
Art + Culture Week
SEPT 19–27
Seattle Art + Culture Week is the one week each September when a bunch of galleries and venues plan special events and performances. You can’t possibly see everything on the calendar, and that’s kind of the point: Seattle has a lot of art. Think of this week as an arts tasting menu where you can discover things not on your radar. (Various locations, all ages unless noted otherwise) AMANDA MANITACH
Find hundreds of concert listings on our sister site, EverOut Seattle!
EVEROUT.COM/SEATTLE
LYDIA BREWER
Photo by Danny Ngan
CHOW SEATTLE ARE YOU?
ongratulations! You made it to the end of our workbook. Now that you’ve had a chance to explore the real Seattle—the Seattle that’s run by beloved weirdoes who just want
to share the things that make them happy with anyone willing to listen—it’s time to find out how Seattle you really are. Write in your totals from the eight scorable sections of this guide in
the circles below, and add them up to get your final score. Then, use the corresponding chart to see if you’re a bona fide Rainierchugging jojo-muncher or just another poser.
0–25
ARE YOU SURE YOU VISITED SEATTLE? Did you get turned around on I-5 and end up in Vancouver? It happens. It’s always playing us in the movies, after all. Check your map and try again.
26–50
OKAY, NOT BAD. Not great, either, but you’re doing better than most of the conservative fuckos who fly in for a weekend, drive straight to Bellevue, eat at a Panera, and consider it the same thing since they saw some graffiti along the highway. But that bar is in Hell.
51–80
LOOK AT YOU! You’re really giving this whole Seattle thing a go! Before you know it, you’ll have a vitamin D deficiency and a seasonal preference for every Death Cab for Cutie record.
81–101
HOT DAMN! Or, as we in Seattle like to say, hot clam! Just kidding, of course, but you already knew that. You are as Seattle as they come. You know how to use democracy vouchers, you’ve got strong feelings about whether or not the Sonics should return, and you discovered your own favorite teriyaki spot without any help from J. Kenji LópezAlt. One of us, one of us! We accept you, we accept you!
The Strangers Among Us
ACROSS
1. Rooftop wind-measuring device
5. Carne ___ tacos
10. Pickle flavoring
14. Tablet for an Apple Pencil
15. Go halfsies on
16. Continent home to about 60% of the world’s population
17. “A Star is Born” actor who featured as “The Stranger” in the 1998 comedy “The Big Lebowski”
19. Glacial
20. Seattle’s Climate Pledge
21. TiVo remote button
22. In those days
23. Pike and Pine: Abbr.
24. Underwire undergarment
26. “We’re ___, we’re queer, get used to it!”
28. “Loving” and “The Great Gatsby” actor who starred in the 2022 crime thriller “The Stranger”
33. Be able to pay for
36. Identifies on Instagram
37. Metallic “Settlers of Catan” resource
38. Spade’s deckmate
39. “Love ___ neighbor”
40. Track competition
41. Golf peg
42. Antioxidant-rich (and vowel-rich) berry
44. Shoulders-to-hips areas
46. Literature Nobel laureate who wrote the 1942 novella “The Stranger”
49. Adjective for a Charli XCX summer
50. “Good Will Hunting” univ. near Harvard
51. Pulls a Halloween prank on with rolls of Charmin
54. To-do list item
57. Heredity unit
59. Synagogue scroll
61. No later than
63. Local sex advice columnist
65. Publicity-grabbing move
66. High hairstyle
67. Got a 100% on
68. Dating app that’s “designed to be deleted”
69. Not fail
70. It’s more, paradoxically DOWN
1. Passport endorsements
2. Not together
3. When repeated, snitches
4. Biblical garden
5. Communication system in the film “CODA”
6. Form of a perfectly thrown football
7. Soothing succulent
BY NATE CARDIN
8. High school tradition of collectively missing school
9. Verizon competitor
10. Certain food delivery app worker
11. Archipelago bit
12. Simba or Nala, for example
13. What an executive order is not
18. The L in AFL-CIO
22. Word meaning “three” in Spanish and “very” in French
25. Belltown sculpture by Catherine Mayer “The ___ Popsicle” (aka “Giant ___ Twin Popscile”)
