Although Washington’s statewide mask mandate has been lifted, venues may have their own health guidelines in place. We advise directly checking the specific protocols for an event before heading out.

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Jump to: Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Multi-Day

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FRIDAY

FESTIVALS

Fall Lantern Festival Past Event Like List
No way around it—summer's over. But charming autumnal events like this one make the shift in seasons a little easier to embrace. Head to the Fall Lantern Festival under the changing leaves of Freeway Park for yummy bites, live music, and a launch of hand-painted lanterns created by community members.
(Freeway Park, Downtown, free)

FOOD & DRINK

Oktoberfest at Ounces Past Event Like List
Ounces' three-day autumn celebration involves local brews, tasty Bavarian food, a stein-raising contest, a cornhole tournament, and live oompah music from Bonnie Birch Trio, Oompah Machine, and Smilin' Scandinavians.
(Ounces, North Delridge, free)

LIVE MUSIC

Obscenely Obscure
Past Event Like List Obscenely Obscure DJs Dad, Veins, and Average Rooms will unearth some of their favorite vintage production tunes (recorded by session musicians for movies, TV shows, ads, and other media) at this "library music spectacular." Local artist Aubrey Nehring will complete the experience with some mind-blowing visuals.
(Bar House, Fremont, free)

Tomo Nakayama, Lisa Prank, and Flying Fish Cove
Past Event Like List Tomo Nakayama makes emotionally compelling folk-inspired pop songs that have been praised by journalists from NPR, The New York Times, and KEXP in recent years. He will be joined by one-woman pop-punk band Lisa Prank and local indie-pop duo Flying Fish Cove; they’ll take turns playing in the middle of the rink while you skate, dance, and hopefully don’t crash into them.
(Southgate Roller Rink, White Center, $15 cover/$5 skate)

Wild Powwers, SAVAK, and Strugglers Past Event Like List
Former Stranger writer Amber Cortes wrote of Wild Powwers, "Fans of guitar-driven rock will dig this trio's wily, grungy ways. Each member contributes to the band's immense sound: Jordan Gomes builds full and heavy bass lines, Lupe Flores wails on the drums like there's no tomorrow, and guitarist and vocalist Lara Hilgeman's forceful voice will rip you apart (in a good way)." Catch them with Brooklyn-based indie rockers SAVAK and German garage rock outfit Strugglers.
(Sunset Tavern, Ballard, $12)

PARTIES & NIGHTLIFE

Ladies Night: Twerkout Past Event Like List
Practice your twerking skills with your girls at this high-energy hip-hop, Afrobeat, and Top 40 dance party, courtesy of DJ Phresh Pharaoh.
(Cafe Racer, Capitol Hill, $10)

SATURDAY

ACTIVISM & SOCIAL JUSTICE

Seattle for Abortion Rights Past Event Like List
SCOTUS and the Republican party are once again after human rights—what else is new?—and if you're furious about it, you should be. Make your voice heard at this rally in support of the Women’s Health Protection Act, the end of the Senate filibuster, Medicare for All, living wages, affordable housing, and an expansion of the Supreme Court with pro-choice judges.
(Cal Anderson Park, Capitol Hill, free)

COMEDY

The Reader: A Tarot Comedy Show
Past Event Like List You might get "read" in more ways than one at this night of improv with a mystical twist. The mysterious Reader will pull tarot cards for you, then a team of improvisers will interpret their meanings. Hang on to your crystals.
(Rendezvous, Belltown, $15)

FILM

Earshot Jazz Double Feature: No Maps On My Taps and About Tap
Past Event Like List As part of the Earshot Jazz Festival Past Event Like List , the longstanding creative nonprofit will co-present this toe-tapping double feature of documentaries by NYC filmmaker George T. Nierenberg. No Maps On My Taps (1979) is widely regarded as having ushered in a tap dance renaissance; About Tap, released six years later, focuses on the stories of legendary tappers Sandman Sims, Chuck Green, and Bunny Briggs, and shares the significant role of tap dancing within Black cultural heritage.
(Northwest Film Forum, Capitol Hill, $7-$13)

HALLOWEEN

Halloween Pet Parade and Costume Contest Past Event Like List
The beloved Halloween Pet Parade and Costume Contest return to Volunteer Park this weekend after a COVID hiatus. Show off your pup or other pet's best costume and they could win a prize in one of these categories: best celebrity pet, best pet/owner combo, most creative, spookiest pet, and best personality. Once finished fawning over all the cute costumed pets (if that's even possible), owners might learn a thing or two via vendor booths and talks from Old Dog Haven and Ask the Vet.
(Volunteer Park Amphitheater, Capitol Hill, free)

Monster Mash Market
Past Event Like List This devilish flea market in a hip pocket of town boasts 40 vintage and handmade vendors offering a spooky trove of clothing, furniture, antiques, art, plants, and more, plus tarot and astrology booths and live music. For this monstrous edition of the market, poke around retail trailers and pop-ups for Halloween duds.
(Georgetown Trailer Park Mall, Georgetown, free)

LIVE MUSIC

James Falzone & Omar Willey
Past Event Like List Experimental jazz player James Falzone will celebrate his new release, So Far Still, with a one-man band performance utilizing clarinet, piano, penny whistles, shruti box, and bells. Spoken word artist Omar Willey will open.
(Chapel Performance Space, Wallingford, $5–$15 donation at the door)

The Mrs Bill Larsens, Stonepony, and The Maywood Mailmen
Past Event Like List Dance to hits by The Supremes, The Shangri-Las, and other '60s girl groups as interpreted by the local cover band The Mrs. Bill Larsens. They'll be joined by Linda Ronstadt tribute group Stonepony and The Maywood Mailmen, who will perform the songs of dearly departed folk icon John Prine.
(The Royal Room, Columbia City, $15)

PARTIES & NIGHTLIFE

Club Blush Past Event Like List
Get down to a euphoric mix of ethereal tunes from Flume, Bonobo, Purity Ring, Kaytranada, and other indie-electronic favorites.
(Neumos, Capitol Hill, $10-$15)

Jak with Aivilo and Tek Jones
Past Event Like List Veteran Portland DJ Jak, known for his renowned SubSensory event series, will ignite the dance floor with a blend of techno and electro beats alongside underground dance duo Aivilo and Tek Jones.
(Kremwerk, Downtown, $11.33)

T4T: All Trans Drag Show - One Year Anniversary
Past Event Like List This by-trans, for-trans drag show, which spotlights the best trans drag artists around, celebrates its one-year anniversary this month. Bee’Uh BombChelle will host the glam evening of drag delicacies, with performers including crowd faves like Siren St. James, Solana Solstice, and more.
(Kremwerk, Downtown, $12-$15)

VISUAL ART

Stephanie Simek: tied to the moon, tide to the moon
Past Event Like List Multifaceted maker Stephanie Simek (she's previously created a room-sized crystal radio, self-assembling keys, and an observatory tower in Corinth, Vermont) will present new three-dimensional works in this solo exhibition. Tied to the moon, tide to the moon is derived from an "unenacted" play that the artist penned in 2020; a text by artist Charles Stobbs III accompanies the exhibition.
(Veronica, Mount Baker, free)

SUNDAY

FOOD & DRINK

Depressed Cake Shop Past Event Like List
Take a bite out of mental health awareness at this one-day bakery pop-up which aims to fight the stigma around mental illness. Local bakers will have treats for sale that are gray and sad looking on the outside, but bursting with color on the inside to symbolize hope. One-hundred percent of proceeds will go towards NAMI Seattle, a nonprofit that provides free mental health education, peer-support programming, and mental health advocacy. We don't think we need to say much else about this win-win situation, except that cake makes everything better.
(Centilia Cultural Center, North Beacon Hill, free)

LIVE MUSIC

Greek Night with Dromeno Past Event Like List
Opa! Seattle-based Balkan family band Dromeno, led by multi-instrumentalists Christos Govetas and Ruth Hunter, will bring their traditional Greek tunes out for an all-ages night of dancing.
(Cafe Racer, Capitol Hill, Donation)

MULTI-DAY

COMEDY

Poe Unexpected Past Event Like List
Say nevermore to weekend boredom at this evening of wicked and macabre humor based on Edgar Allan Poe's dreary oeuvre. A team of improv experts will channel Poe's tell-tale heart to have you laughing or quivering in fear—whichever comes first. (We dare those comedy rascals to find a way to make The Pit and The Pendulum funny.)
(Unexpected Productions' Market Theater, Pike Place Market, $15, Friday-Saturday)

COMMUNITY

The Human Library
Past Event Like List Established in Copenhagen in 2000, The Human Library has since expanded worldwide to challenge prejudices and stereotypes through a dialogue-based practice. To take part in the free "unjudging" experiment, you'll have a conversation with one of the library's "books," AKA a human volunteer who helps participants question their biases by sharing their personal experiences.
(Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum, Pike Place Market, free, Friday-Sunday)

FILM

Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives
Past Event Like List When lesbian pulp fiction emerged in the '50s, it had its fair share of problems—these "taboo" stories were often sensationalized and seen as immoral. Even so, this literature helped develop a burgeoning underground lesbian movement that was as vibrant as it was dangerous. In the 1992 documentary Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives, women at the center of the mid-century lesbian bar culture share their stories. The film's eye-opening accounts are set to a sweet soundtrack of '50s and '60s hits. 
(Northwest Film Forum, Capitol Hill, $7-$13, Friday-Sunday)

The Night of the Hunter in 35mm Past Event Like List
With the simmering horror of an old fairy tale and a strange sense of humor, Charles Laughton's The Night of The Hunter is a psychological masterwork that follows a sinister traveling preacher who unleashes hell on a sensitive widow and her children. The moody film stars film noir actor Robert Mitchum and iconic Hollywood mainstay Lillian Gish.
(Grand Illusion, University District, $5-$11, Friday-Sunday)

Seattle Latino Film Festival Past Event Like List
This year's Seattle Latino Film Festival coincides with National Hispanic Heritage Month to bring vital cross-cultural perspectives to venues city-wide. Standouts include It Runs In The Family, a Dominican documentary about a queer filmmaker, and Gaspar, a Bolivian drama following the relationship between a musician and his son.
(Various locations, Pricing varies, Friday-Sunday)

Unstreamable
Past Event Like List Who on Earth is The Garbage Pail Kids Movie for? Freaks and weirdos, obviously, and deliciously so. Unstreamable’s screening series continues with an exhibition of one of history’s most bonkers movies—though it’s not so much a film that was made as it is an act that was committed. Whatever it is, it’s based on a series of grotesque trading cards from the '80s (which were a parody of Cabbage Patch Kids, which in turn were appropriated from dolls created by independent folk artist Martha Nelson Thomas) and it is absolutely revolting. The plot is, as the name suggests, garbage: A group of baby-looking aliens with disgusting personal habits and physical characteristics befriend a group of human kids and engage in baffling hijinks. Nothing about it makes sense, from the narrative (if you can call it that) to the fact of its existence. Like a hypnotic spiral, you know you shouldn’t look, but once you do you cannot look away. When it came out in 1987, the film was deemed "too repulsive for children or adults of any age" (The New York Times), and that is exactly the point. What could be more tempting than a film that refined tastemakers have decided you shouldn’t be allowed to see? STRANGER STAFF WRITER MATT BAUME
(Northwest Film Forum, Capitol Hill, $7-$13, Friday-Sunday)

FOOD & DRINK

21st Annual Dungeness Crab and Seafood Festival Past Event Like List
Port Angeles's nationally recognized crab extravaganza, whose claim to fame is apparently having been featured in a question on Jeopardy!, offers copious crustaceans, as well as a chowder cook-off, a "grab-a-crab" derby, local beer and wine, craft vendors, live music, art, chances to learn about Native American heritage in the Pacific Northwest, and more.
(Port Angeles Waterfront, free, Friday-Sunday)

PERFORMANCE

Emerald City Slasher
Past Event Like List When the drizzly streets of Emerald City are besieged by a violent serial killer, a rambunctious crew of shady characters must catch the culprit before they get slashed themselves. This improvised experience lets audiences make key decisions about the cast, and the killer will change with each show, so you never know who might be lurking around the corner.
(Theatre Off Jackson, Chinatown-International District, $5-$18, Friday-Saturday)

a white haunting by Brian Dang: a MAP Theatre show
Past Event Like List When Darren invites Tchai to hang out for the first time, the pair's pizza date takes a dark turn, and they find themselves battling it out against a masked axe murderer! Vietnamese/Chinese playwright Brian Dang's a white haunting blends a meet-cute with classic horror elements while reflecting on the intersections of queer, AAPI, and Black identities. 
(18th & Union: An Arts Space, Capitol Hill, Pay-what-you-can, Friday-Sunday)

SHOPPING

The Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair
Past Event Like List If collectible books, maps, autographs, posters, and manuscripts get your heart pumping, you won't wanna miss The Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair, a veritable who's who of ephemera lovers hawking everything from broadsides to fine bindings. The fair attracts dealers from all over the world, so you're bound to find something rare and unusual.
(Seattle Center Exhibition Hall, Uptown, $10 cash only, Saturday-Sunday)

VISUAL ART

Chihuly Past Event Like List
Dale Chihuly, the blown glass master who needs no introduction, is the focus of this solo exhibition, which curates his experimentations in contemporary and traditional glass techniques over his illustrious five-decade career.
(Traver Gallery, Downtown, free, Friday-Saturday)

Fluid In Nature
Past Event Like List Lummi artist Dan Friday and Tlingit artists Preston Singletary and Raven Skyriver come together in Fluid in Nature, a contemporary glass exhibition that merges modern approaches with traditional Native imagery and techniques for a potent celebration of the three glass masters. 
(Stonington Gallery, Pioneer Square, free, Friday-Saturday)

Kelly Björk: Swimming Naked Past Event Like List
During Pioneer Square Art Walk on Thursday, make sure to swing through J. Rinehart Gallery for the opening reception of Kelly Björk's incredible solo show, Swimming Naked. The Seattle-based artist and illustrator's vibrant, playful works explore the knobby and sensual parts of being queer and in constant, joyful flux with yourself, your environment, and those around you. So it makes sense that many of Björk's compositions are situated within intimate spaces like steamy bathrooms or messy beds. But even more than that, Björk positions their figures in an emotional place, one where the subjects imagine the various versions of themselves or gaze directly into the eyes of someone they love. There is a tenderness that undergirds their paintings, a thrumming current of care that makes their portraits refreshing and revealing. I always manage to notice something new upon repeat viewings of their compositions. Don't miss this! STRANGER STAFF WRITER JAS KEIMIG
(J. Rinehart Gallery, Pioneer Square, free, Friday-Saturday)

Kiki Elice Turner, Rik'isha Taylor, Rontherin Ratliff, and Darryl DeAngelo Terrell Past Event Like List
Wa Na Wari's dynamic new exhibition features multimedia works by artists Rik’isha Taylor and Kiki Elice Turner, queer femme photographer and videographer Darryl DeAngelo Terrell, and New Orleans-based artist Rontherin Ratliff. An opening reception for the exhibition on October 8 will include complimentary libations and a vibey set by DJ Jusmoni.
(Wa Na Wari, Central District, free, Saturday-Sunday; opening)

Makers of A New World: The American and European Avant Garde, 1915-1965
Past Event Like List This carefully curated show of 16 avant-garde artists is all about Art with a capital A—think huge names like Picasso, Calder, Miro, and Dalí alongside Rudolf Bauer, Rolph Scarlett, and Jimmy Ernst. It's an art history lesson disguised as an exhibition; Makers of A New World deftly illustrates the progression of modernist art in the first half of the 20th century, including key works from non-objective, surrealist, cubist, futurist, expressionist, and post-war movements. 
(Frederick Holmes and Company, Pioneer Square, free, Friday-Saturday)

Robin Arnitz: Just Enjoy It and Lynda Harwood-Swenson: Les Femmes Past Event Like List
This thoughtful pair of exhibitions looks closely at some of the most pressing issues of the present moment—abortion rights, Ukraine's displacement crisis, and the difficulties of modern parenting. In Lynda Harwood-Swenson's Les Femmes, small paper and sculptural works offer a stylized perspective on abortion justice and the Ukrainian refugee experience. Robin Arnitz's acrylic works in Just Enjoy It aim to connect with mothers through frank depictions of motherhood in all its bizarre, challenging, and sometimes funny complexity.
(Shift Gallery, Pioneer Square, free, Friday-Saturday)

Wuon-Gean Ho: Right Here, Right Now—Stories from These Times Past Event Like List
Wuon-Gean Ho's narrative-driven prints contain hidden clues hinting at the Cambridge-educated artist's personal stories. Observing the works featured in Ho's solo exhibition, Right Here, Right Now—Stories from These Times, is a little like a treasure hunt—her linocut prints are stylized and dreamy, yet relatable and surprisingly funny.
(Davidson Galleries, Pioneer Square, free, Friday-Saturday; opening)