WEDNESDAY 7/24
(CIVIC DUTY) The 2024 election season is well underway. We know the captains of chaos at the top of the ticket suck up all the media attention, but our city and state is witnessing the biggest political shake-up in recent memory, including one pivotal Seattle City Council election and state races that will have a major impact in the Legislature. This year, the Washington Bus Education Fund and The Stranger have teamed up to host a seafaring extravaganza to let YOU shape that future. Watch candidates sweat through salty inquisitions, sing sea shanties, and lip-synch for their land-lubbin’ lives—all hosted by Seattle drag icon Miss Texas 1988! Your voice will determine the winner, so come ready to scream your head off. Bring your own towels. (Madame Lou's, 2505 First Ave, 7:30 pm, free, 18+) STRANGER PROMO TEAM
THURSDAY 7/25
Ann Powers with Claire Dederer—Traveling: On the Path of Joni Mitchell
(BOOKS/MUSIC) Ann Powers's new book Traveling: On the Path of Joni Mitchell is not the definitive life story Mitchell fans might assume it to be at first glance. In the book's introduction, Powers writes, "I'm not a biographer ... something in me instinctively opposes the idea that one person can sort through all the facts of another life and come up with anything close to that stranger's true story." Instead, Powers, NPR's long-respected music critic, trusted her instincts to do something different, to, as she writes, be "a kind of mapmaker" to Mitchell's sprawling career. From the good to the bad to the blackface. On Thursday, Powers will discuss the book with Seattle-based author Claire Dederer. As the author of Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma, Dederer will no doubt bring her own intriguing expertise about legacy and fandom to the conversation. (Third Place Books Lake Forest Park, 17171 Bothell Way NE, Lake Forest Park, 7 pm, free) MEGAN SELING
FRIDAY 7/26
(VISUAL ART) Returning to Lumen Field for the eighth year, the 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 last year's—a hectic four days of avant-garde, artsy goodness that rivals its pre-pandemic days—and will include the second edition of the New Artists / New Collectors initiative, a new partnership with the Corning Museum of Glass, and installations by Ralph Ziman, Ruy Campos, and Michael Rakowitz. Key regional galleries like Traver Gallery, Greg Kucera Gallery, AMcE Creative Arts, Foster/White Gallery, studio e, PDX CONTEMPORARY ART, and Russo Lee Gallery will be joined by Tokyo's A Lighthouse called Kanata, Paris's Sobering Galerie, and many other national and international art galleries. (Lumen Field Event Center, 800 Occidental Ave S, $35-$65) LINDSAY COSTELLO
SATURDAY 7/27
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(BOOKS) When independent book distributor Small Press Distribution suddenly closed up shop in March, hundreds of small and indie publishers were left scrambling... until Seattle's own Asterism Books came to the rescue. Asterism's marketing director, Laura Paul, told Stranger contributor Josh Fomon in May, “We’re trying to get people on a lifeboat. Within three days, Asterism had more than 100 publisher applications. We’ve been taking meetings nonstop, building new bookshelves, and trying to expedite approvals for over 30 publishers." Now, Asterism's catalog is bigger than ever, with more than 80,000 titles from over 130 publishers, with a special focus on "books that aren't found on Amazon." I can't wait to see their ever-growing collection of treasures with my own eyes this weekend when they open their SoDo showroom for a big old-fashioned book sale. Imagine the Scholastic Book Fair but with much more fascinating titles. (And save a copy of Rocks: What Are They Doing? for me!) (Asterism Books, 569 Occidental Ave, Sat-Sun 10 am-6 pm, free, all ages) MEGAN SELING
SUNDAY 7/28
"Signs of Vanishing Seattle" Book Launch
(BOOKS) If you're one of the 84,000 people who follow Vanishing Seattle on Instagram, then you already know Cynthia Brothers is a Seattle treasure. For years, she's used social media to maintain a detailed record of businesses that have come and gone from Seattle's ever-evolving landscape. In her new art book, Vanishing Seattle: Places Loved & Lost, Brothers has compiled more than 100 photographs of signs from some of the city's most beloved spots, and she's boosted the blast of nostalgia with historical context and memories from the people who loved them most. There's RKCNDY, the all-ages punk venue where I earned many battle scars, from bruises to concussions to broken hearts! There's Cellophane Square, where I spent thousands of dollars on CDs because the clerks at Tower always made me feel uncool for listening to pop punk! There's even Mama's Mexican Kitchen, where I went on what I thought was a date but wasn't a date at all, so I ended the evening crying in my car over veggie nolasco burrito leftovers! Wow, this is getting emo. ANYWAY! The book launch will be fun! And I'd bet there's a sign for a long-gone location that brings back a fuzzy rush of nostalgia for you, too. (Common Area Maintenance 2, 2601 First Ave, 4-6 pm, free with RSVP) MEGAN SELING
MONDAY 7/29
Amanda Montell with Katherine Cross
(BOOKS) You've probably spotted the swirly, psychedelic cover of Amanda Montell's Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism on bookstore shelves over the last few years, but Montell's latest, The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality, proves that she's not done reading society for filth. Pulling the receipts on our collective cognitive dissonance, the book blends cultural criticism with personal narratives to reflect on "cognitive biases and the power, disadvantages, and highlights of magical thinking." Show up to this talk to burst your mental bubbles. (Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave, 7 pm, free, all ages) LINDSAY COSTELLO
TUESDAY 7/30
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(FOOD) As the mercury continues to leap up the thermostat this summer, it's definitely way too hot for warm food. One surefire way to cool down: a refreshing repast of chilled noodles. We've compiled this list of cold, craveable dishes for your consideration, including chewy udon, dipping-style ramen, handmade soba, and icy naengmyeon. For example, at Kamonegi in Fremont, chef Mutsuko Soma makes her soba noodles from scratch using Washington buckwheat. And at Ba Bar (with three locations around town), you can get the bún chả giò, a noodle bowl with fried Imperial rolls, which soak up the tangy nuoc cham, creating a delightful crispy-gone-soggy effect. See the full list of recommendations here. JULIANNE BELL
