Beyond Protests, Humanize MENA Lives with Intentional Arts + Culture
Across the street from the (in)famous Rickshaw Lounge lies the unassuming 1 Million Cafe. I’ve lived in the area for over a decade and never knew it was Yemeni and that their chai is homebrewed with love; my iced version with oat milk presented a homey, unadulterated flavor unlike any chai I’ve had in Seattle.
How many of us walk by establishments owned by Middle Eastern people and never try them? Is it fear? Racism? Flavors unknown?
To Seattle, With Autistic Love
Growing up in the South, stigmas can run wild, branding you. Queer? Hide that shit. Autistic? Mask it at all costs. I learned to let people perceive me like a shadow. I showed enough of myself to let people get a sense of me without letting anyone in too deep.
SIFF 2026: Bigger, Queerer, Wilder, and More Inclusive Than Ever
The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) is here at last! The 10-day celebration of cinema starts May 7 and closes on May 17. This year, the festival's physical locations feel like they will keep us in the heart of everything—all four venues are within a reasonable walking distance of each other. There are the three remaining SIFF theaters: the Uptown, Downtown, Film Center, and PACCAR IMAX Theater at Pacific Science Center serves as the fourth. The festival brings together film lovers and filmmakers in a raucous cavalcade of films from around the world and right here at home.
Parker’s Pages: Schrader’s Chord
Author Scott Leeds lives in the Pacific Northwest, and just like many of the other authors I have covered before, his work perfectly encapsulated what it feels like to live and be in Seattle and its neighboring cities. There’s a certain way that writers from the PNW write about the rain, the fog, and the dark. Leeds is no different, and effortlessly brings Seattle to life.
Steven Marcus Releford’s Popup Comedy Injects Levity into Vegan Scene
Vegan. Black. Comedy.
Those aren’t words that come up in the same sentence—let alone the same event—ever, if at all. But Steven Marcus Releford is changing the landscape of how we perceive standup comedy at the intersections of Blackness, veganism, and West Coast vibes.
Seattle Film Society Nurtures Local Filmmaking Scene
On the last Thursday of every month, SFS screens thematic groupings of Washington-made short films at Northwest Film Forum. Submissions for Locals Only are open year-round. These screenings are followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers and aftershow drinks and discussion at a nearby bar. Introvert that I am, the thought of mingling at a networking event was enough to make me feel nauseous. But I wanted to give it a shot, and it sounded intriguing.
ECCC Wrapped: Mixed Bag of Community Joy, Grumbles, Nerdisms
There were still plenty of comics professionals signing, sketching, chatting, and being cornered by fans who did not realize that their 20-minute theory on Aquaman's ability to communicate with sea life as part of a broader metaphor for climate change was not appropriate when other people waited patiently behind them. Yet, Artist Alley felt like a small piece rather than the centerpiece it had been in years prior.
Trans* Talk: SweeThe4rTs Art Show
On February 13, Common Objects opened its doors for SweeThe4rts, a T4T art show and market, created by the Trans community, for the Trans community to share art centered on the relationships between Trans folks.
Teatro ZinZanni Lowers Final Curtain in Seattle
A spiegeltent crafted of wood, canvas, and velvet, adorned with stained glass, vast mirrors, and regal chandeliers overtook an empty lot on Mercer Street. An arching sign marked the threshold of the new world of Teatro ZinZanni, welcoming guests to their first show, Love Chaos and Dinner, which featured a unique cast of acrobats, clowns, and various other talents. What was meant to be an 11-week run sprouted roots and secured ZinZanni as Seattle’s staple circus destination for nearly three decades.
Haunted Burrow Books Cultivates Local Creative Literary Community
The inside of the shop is tranquil, and yes: there are a lot of horror books! And not just from big-name authors— Haunted Burrow Books makes an effort to lift up voices from smaller presses and places special emphasis on local authors and artists. But don’t worry: If horror isn’t your jam, there are other offerings as well, especially in mystery, sci-fi, and fantasy.
Solidarity Power: Strikes Gain Momentum as Leaders Fail Us
Over the past decade, the means of resistance and the analysis and knowledge behind it has visibly shifted. Instead of posting a black box on social media to project discontent, US-ians have learned to hit their targets where it hurts—in their wallets. We are riding the tailwinds of 2023’s Hot Labor Summer, advancing in the momentum of the BDS movement, and recalling the effectiveness of the Tesla Takedown. We are witnessing the rebirth of a generalized United States labor movement.
COVID-Cautious? Safely Enjoy Community with These Events
While it may often seem like the entire world has moved on from the threat of COVID-19, there are always pockets of community support and care to be found! Seattle is home to not only long-standing masked events like Queer Fight Night and Disabled List Comedy Festival, but also to brave one-offs; businesses are reaching out and asking, “Is there any interest in this?” Let’s let them know that the answer is a resounding yes! Even as the world grows more and more perilous, we must endeavor to continue to make safe spaces for all.
‘Lear Alone’ and ‘Walking on a Paper Moon’ Lead Baker Theater Workshop’s Winter Lineup
Last month, I was fortunate to attend the Pacific Northwest premiere of Anna Tatelman’s play Life on the Moon, produced by Baker Theater Workshop and performed at ReAct Theatre. The play examined the challenges a family experiences when trying to authentically communicate their feelings with each other over the holidays. Furthering on the theme of familial complexity, Baker Theater Workshop will present two plays together from January 10-19 which dig into family dynamics: Lear (alone), and Walking on a Paper Moon.
Sound Cinema: The Beacon
As the youngest theater to be featured in Sound Cinema, The Beacon emerged as a wonderful, ethereal being from beyond known space and onto our plane of existence in 2019. This space is a movie palace. Unlike the other spaces I’ve covered, The Beacon is not a movie palace in the sense of the grandiosity of its auditorium or the ornate fixtures that adorn the walls. This is a palace to the strangeness, brilliance, and beauty that the medium of cinema can offer. It is a cinephile's paradise in the heart of Seattle's Columbia City neighborhood.
An Ode to the Occidental Square Ice Rink
There was one person doing laps around the rink with speed and grace and not falling on her back every three steps like the rest of us. I jealously wondered if she had brought her own skates, and if the blades had been sharpened, unlike our dull footwear. Someone told me that this is what professional figure skaters train on, which confused me even more. Because HOW??
What Does Accountability Really Mean?
The word “accountability” seems impossible to avoid for anyone paying attention. Repeatedly, people with power abuse their position. Repeatedly, communities clamor for accountability, a just outcome for all affected persons, and satisfying solutions that will excise the rot from which harm festers and breeds. It is difficult not to feel disillusioned by the usual wishy-washy or dismissive responses, feigned ignorance, and lack of material progress in terms of repairing harm and promoting safety. How are we supposed to hold people accountable, so to speak, if they won’t take accountability?
Life on the Moon Powerfully Illuminates Familial, Autistic Expression
On December 14, I was lucky enough to attend the PNW premiere of Life on the Moon, a play written by Anna Tatelman, directed by Jeremy Radick, and produced by Baker Theater Workshop. Hosted at ReAct Theatre, Life on the Moon is a family drama that centers on the relationship between siblings Piper, an 18-year-old with autism, and her older brother Spencer, who has just returned home from the army for the holidays.
Communion Restaurant & Bar: Homecoming on a Plate
Communion Restaurant & Bar sits inside the historic Liberty Bank Building in the heart of Seattle’s Central District. For me, this wasn’t just dinner; it was a return to my roots. I grew up on 20th & Union, and this exact spot used to be Thompson’s Point of View, a restaurant I frequented all through elementary school. Eating here felt like stepping into a memory with a modern twist.
Sound Cinema: Central Cinema
Central Cinema looks incredibly industrial from the outside, but once inside, it's a single screen of terrific movie magic.
The building that houses Central Cinema in Seattle's Central District was erected in the late 1920s and has housed both a car dealership and a milk bottling plant. The idea to turn a piece of the space into a combination movie theater and pub came to Kevin Spitzer, a metal artist, when he was renting it as his studio. In summer 2005, Kevin and his wife Kate opened the theater and have been operating it in the 20 years since.
Nebula’s Portals to Immersive Experiences Rise from Cafe Nordo’s Remnants
In the winter of 2022, Cafe Nordo, a company who created beloved immersive theater and dining experiences within Pioneer Square’s Nord Alley, closed its doors and set its gaze to a dream of the future. After thirty original productions hosted in its two venues, the Culinarium and the Knife Room, the company decided to seek out a larger, more accessible home to produce and sustain boundless creativity. As they searched for real estate with sufficient accommodations, the dream world began to take shape. A rift, so to say, opened beneath Cafe Nordo, and out emerged Nebula.
