Parker Dean 8/6/26 Parker Dean 8/6/26

Parker’s Pages: Hollow Kingdom

There’s one thing you should know about me: I LOVE birds. Can’t get enough of ‘em. Which you can tell by my many articles that I’ve written and shared here at the Echo. So when I found this lovely little gem, narrated by a self-assured little crow named Shit Turd (S.T. for short), I was all in.

Maxwell Meier 8/5/26 Maxwell Meier 8/5/26

Carkeek Park: The Psychic

The captain called her to the parking lot of Carkeek Park Beach around noon. An open field, cradled by a crescent of evergreens, had people sprinkled throughout. The grass quivered in the summer breeze as the sun bore down on everyone bobbing through the barricades and the towering trees.

“Missing child,” Captain Long stated.

Parker Dean 8/4/26 Parker Dean 8/4/26

Genesee Park: Wasp Nest

Buzzing around an unattended bottle of soda, Wasp #134—a.k.a Zippy—plotted for the domination of one such place known by the Humans as “S Bradford St Trl.” Though Zippy was not well versed in the ways of the Humans, he assumed these strange words to have a hidden message.

Zach Youngs 8/4/26 Zach Youngs 8/4/26

Volunteer Park: “Oh, it’s you.”

Colin always does this. He always arrives too early and even though he's on the outskirts of Volunteer Park, staring up at the monolith that is the old water tower, he's got over a half an hour until he's meant to meet Julian.

Calista Robbins 8/3/26 Calista Robbins 8/3/26

Discovery Park: Sisyphus

The ceiling leaked. Drops, thick and rhythmic, plummeting into the metal pail he had set beneath it. Outside, the waves pulsed and raged against the sandy spit like the heaving breaths of an ailing god.

Here, at the cusp of Neptune’s domain, Alfred kept watch, kept time.

Gray Harrison 8/2/26 Gray Harrison 8/2/26

Woodland Park: Sunrise

In the green space adjacent to the playground, someone was walking a lab whose tail was set to autowag. I crossed through the playground and entered the deserted parking lot of the Woodland Park Zoo, big pine boughs above me. Past the parking lot was a narrow dirt trail that skirted the northern perimeter of the zoo down to I-99 and then turned up the eastern perimeter before crossing a cement bridge. This bridge always felt like the entrance into Narnia, with two lampposts glowing at the far end.

JeLisa Marshall 7/6/26 JeLisa Marshall 7/6/26

Evergreen Style: Rossario George at Queer NW’s PRIMAVERA

Before the show, I sat down with one of the featured designers, Tony Vicente, to hear his perspective. Eight years after founding the award-winning luxury label Rossario George, Tony was preparing to debut a new haute couture collection, La Maison de Rossario George. His work has earned recognition for designs that blend timeless elegance with bold storytelling while celebrating individuality through artistry. Our conversation explored the role fashion plays in fostering self-expression, visibility, and community during Pride Month, and why those values hold true long after June.

Raegan Ballard-Gennrich 6/27/26 Raegan Ballard-Gennrich 6/27/26

Perennial Conventions: The AI Grift

As the next generation exits schooling and begins their foray into the career space, the moment of their celebrated end to matriculation is being overshadowed by speakers shoehorning AI inevitability into their faces. The boos, turned backs, and walkouts have made it clear that a solid portion of the debuting generation are already fed up.

Gray Harrison 6/26/26 Gray Harrison 6/26/26

Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate Weaves Musical Stories at Seattle Symphony

On June 12, Octave 9 hosted an evening of music at Benaroya Hall from Chickasaw composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate. The chamber pieces were performed by a string quartet composed of Emerson Millar and Jacqueline Audas on violin, Ursula Steele on viola, and Katherine Audas on cello. One of the pieces, entitled “MoonStrike,” also featured live narration from Washington local musician, actor, and storytelling legend Swil Kanim.

Raegan Ballard-Gennrich 5/25/26 Raegan Ballard-Gennrich 5/25/26

Perennial Conventions: My Year Without a Smartphone

I had dispersed the grip my phone had on my reality and rendered it less powerful. But it wasn’t all birdsong and silence. Outside of getting lost frequently, and the amount of time it took to send a text—which was both a skill and will issue—there were other cons. Without social media or a smartphone, the lack of ease in communication left me out of the loop. That was my goal, of course, but feelings in reality are often different from expectations.

Parker Dean 5/13/26 Parker Dean 5/13/26

Waterfront Gems Worth Showing Off

Seattle is a city of hidden gems, with little mysteries and curiosities littered all over. Although my days of being a tourist are behind me, I still find myself wandering around the usual haunts—Pike Place, the Space Needle, and every stop along the Light Rail. But, today, I’ll be sharing ten of my favorite secret(ish) spots along the waterfront, in no particular order.

Gray Harrison 4/27/26 Gray Harrison 4/27/26

Cadence Video Poetry Fest Inspires Interdependence with Blended Media

It was a warm and springlike day in Capitol Hill, but not even the good weather could deter the creative community from showing up for the Cadence Video Poetry Festival, which has been running yearly in Seattle during National Poetry Month since 2018. This was Day 3 of in-person screenings, and the event, titled proof that we were here, was about to begin.

JeLisa Marshall 4/23/26 JeLisa Marshall 4/23/26

Evergreen Style: Prairie Underground

While Earth Month has been celebrated worldwide in April for more than 50 years, the fashion industry’s responsibility to the planet extends far beyond a single month. At Prairie Underground, a fashion label designed and manufactured in Seattle for over 20 years, sustainability is not a momentary focus but an everyday practice. Camilla Eckersley, one of its co-founders, is committed to creating an industry that is fair, fun, and environmentally responsible.

Raegan Ballard-Gennrich 4/17/26 Raegan Ballard-Gennrich 4/17/26

Perennial Conventions: Spring Awakening

Welcome to Spring! The season featuring wet earth, chatty birds, wardrobe uncertainty, and soon…babies, babies, babies. Both a season on its own as well as a transitionary period. Winter fitfully thawing into Summer as the frigid rot fertilizes the new growth.

Raegan Ballard-Gennrich 12/22/25 Raegan Ballard-Gennrich 12/22/25

Perennial Conventions: An Invitation

As we approach the Winter Solstice, it is an appropriate time to remember the cyclical rhythms that guide our world. These rhythms are constant and the effects they have on us are evident, but in the pursuit of capital and perfect efficiency, we humans have lost the familiarity with the world around us…and I truly believe it is destroying our ability to cope.

Kristel Chua 11/13/25 Kristel Chua 11/13/25

Protect Our Pitch 206 Encourages Neighborhoods to Discuss World Cup Impacts

As the FIFA World Cup looms on the horizon, Seattleites are proactively bracing their communities and neighborhoods for impact. Organizations such as the CID Coalition, Stop the Sweeps, the Seattle Solidarity Budget, and more launched the Protect Our Pitch 206 Campaign, a collective movement aiming to intercept the harm that accompanies mega sporting events.

Parker Dean 11/13/25 Parker Dean 11/13/25

Greening the Dark Season: P-Patches Provide Plant Power Near You

Now that we have finally left behind a dreadfully hot summer, gardeners all over the Puget Sound will be adding a layer of mulch to their soil and taking delicate plants indoors, while others, like me, will be keeping a careful eye on their indoor plants and making sure the heater is set low. Although we are about to move out of the ripening season for many of our beloved local Washington fruit (sweet Honeycrisp apple, how I will miss you!), that doesn’t mean that the Evergreen State’s farms and gardens will be empty or that there won’t be any gardening opportunities ahead for all of you green thumbs! If you’re hoping to keep your head in the gardening game, you need not look further than your own neighborhood.

Emily Pinckney 11/4/25 Emily Pinckney 11/4/25

Food Security is Food Justice (and a Climate Solution)

“People on food stamps are lazy!” A phrase I and many others have heard too often. In the summer of 2019, I was in my 2nd year at the Seattle Aquarium, managing a little over 400 community partnerships, serving on several boards and committees, and I had just become the newest member of the Washington State Environmental Justice Task Force.

I was also on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits. Food stamps.

JeLisa Marshall 10/18/25 JeLisa Marshall 10/18/25

Evergreen Style: The FXRY

Nowadays, people are buying twice as many clothes as twenty years ago and disposing of them just as much. This phenomenon exacerbates the presence of worldwide. It is often attributed to fast fashion, which promotes excessive buying.

The FXRY (pronounced “fix-ery”) is offering a sustainable alternative.

Parker Dean 9/15/25 Parker Dean 9/15/25

Fossil & Stone Spotlights Natural Worlds in the Heart of Downtown

Just a quick walk from the Westlake Lightrail Station, and a few blocks inland from the bustling Pike Place Market, Fossil & Stone Fine Art Gallery stands still and quiet amongst the normal chaos of downtown Seattle. It is a gallery that one might walk past day in and day out, never quite noticing the inspiring and beautiful art within.

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I was also on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits. Food stamps.

Nowadays, people are buying twice as many clothes as twenty years ago and disposing of them just as much. This phenomenon exacerbates the presence of worldwide. It is often attributed to fast fashion, which promotes excessive buying.

The FXRY (pronounced “fix-ery”) is offering a sustainable alternative.