Valentine's Day is this Sunday, but that's not the only thing happening this week. Read on for our latest roundup of picks for ways to stay entertained at home, from the Northwest Film Forum's Solar Utopias Past Event Like List to a Hugo Literary Series kickoff with Ottessa Moshfegh, Leni Zumas, and Laura Da’ Past Event Like List , and from Jinkx Monsoon's Leave Loathe Lie Past Event Like List to Dael Orlandersmith's one-act solo show Until the Flood. Plus, check out our StreamLocal events hub, and stay tuned for a roundup of the best socially distanced things to do this weekend. 

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Jump to: Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Multi-Day

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MONDAY

FILM

Collide-O-Scope: Cheap Thrills Past Event Like List
The trippy video series Collide-O-Scope will provide a much-needed jolt to your Monday routine with a trove of recently unearthed treasures. 

Thin Skin: Conversations in Isolation Past Event Like List
In anticipation of the release of Thin Skin, the latest feature film directed by The Stranger's own Charles Mudede and co-written by Lindy West and Ahamefule J. Oluo (which had its premiere at the Bentonville Film Festival last August), catch this online conversation about it between Ijeoma Oluo (So You Want to Talk About Race, Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America) and Insecure writer Dayna Lynne North.

See Also: Multi-day events

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TUESDAY

COMEDY

The Mads: The Choppers - Live riffing with MST3K's The Mads! Past Event Like List
Join Mystery Science Theater 3000 stars Trace Beaulieu and Frank Conniff (aka Dr. Clayton Forrester and TV’s Frank) as they riff on the 1961 film The Choppers (about a gang of teenagers who steal and resell car parts) live on the internet. A post-show Q&A will bring on comedian and podcaster Carolina Hidalgo.

COMMUNITY

Heart Bomb Keep Music Live Past Event Like List
Channel your public display of Valentine's Day affection toward Seattle's beloved music venues that are suffering from COVID-19 setbacks at this heart bomb event in partnership with Keep Music Live Washington, inspired by a national call celebrating historic sites both safe and threatened. This year's virtual event will feature a live performance by Tomo Nakayama Like List , and you're invited to share your handmade valentines on social media with the hashtags #heartbombSEA and #IHeartSavingPlaces.

FILM

The Hunt for Dr. Lecter - Virtual Class Past Event Like List
Dive deep into the many film and television portrayals of the cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter (from Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs to Mads Mikkelsen in Hannibal), a character created by novelist Thomas Harris, in this virtual SIFF class. 

READINGS & TALKS

Clarion West Pocket Workshop Release Past Event Like List
Always wanted to attend a Clarion West workshop? Order a new collection of advice from decades of instructors from the lauded speculative fiction and fantasy program, from Octavia Butler to Nisi Shawl. 

Forest Fires in Cascadia: Past, Present, and Future Past Event Like List
After a devastating fire season in the Pacific Northwest, this talk with UW's Dr. Brian J. Harvey will clue you in on how forests across the Cascades are doing and what the future holds. 

Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: Real Lessons from Women in National Leadership Past Event Like List
Julia Gillard (the former prime minister of Australia) and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (who sits on the boards of Standard Chartered Bank, Twitter, Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, and the African Risk Capacity) explore gender bias through their own experiences as women in politics in their book Women and Leadership: Real Lives, Real Lessons. Join them for a talk with Town Hall.

Seattle Arts & Lectures Journalism Series presents Lawrence Wright Past Event Like List
New Yorker staff writer, playwright, and screenwriter Lawrence Wright, whose reporting on al-Qaeda shaped his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Looming Tower, will share excerpts from his pandemic-set thriller, The End of October, which imparts some little-known facts about the history of viruses. 

See Also: Multi-day events

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WEDNESDAY

COMMUNITY

Virtual Silent Reading Party Remind Like List
After years of prompting out-the-door lines at the lovely Hotel Sorrento, the simple pleasure Christopher Frizzelle's Silent Reading Party, which invites people to read a book in a comfy chair while pianist Paul Matthew Moore plays soothing lounge music, endures on the internet, at least until the global pandemic subsides. 

READINGS & TALKS

Author Talk: How Wild Things Are by Chef Analiese Gregory Past Event Like List

Chef Analiese Gregory, who relocated to rural Tasmania after years of working in high-end kitchens, will chat with local food blogger Ashley Rodriguez of Not Without Salt about her new book How Wild Things Are: Cooking, Fishing, and Hunting at the Bottom of the World, which contains stories and recipes inspired by her new lifestyle.

Brandon Hobson with David Heska Wanbli Weiden Past Event Like List
Brandon Hobson (Cherokee Nation), a 2018 National Book Award finalist, will read from his recent novel The Removed, which Tommy Orange (There There) calls "spirited, droll, and as quietly devastating as rain lifting from earth to sky." He'll be joined in conversation by fellow author David Heska Wanbli Weiden (Sicangu Lakota nation), whose debut novel Winter Counts is nominated for this year's Edgar Award for Best First Novel.

See Also: Multi-day events

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THURSDAY

FOOD & DRINK

Dim Sum At Home Past Event Like List
If you miss bustling dim sum dining rooms on weekend mornings, learn how to make your own Chinese staples at home with food writer and Vegetarian Chinese Soul Food author Hsiao-Ching Chou. She'll demonstrate how to make crystal dumplings, sticky rice in lotus leaf, and gai lan (Chinese broccoli) stir-fry with oyster mushrooms.

How to Appreciate Sushi at a Deeper Level Past Event Like List
Have you been eating sushi wrong? It's very possible. Luckily, this virtual talk with Sushi Kappo Tamura's Chef Taichi, co-presented by the Consulate General of Japan, will set the record straight. You're encouraged to order takeout from your favorite local sushi spot to enjoy while you watch. 

GEEK

Astronomy at Home: Catching Rainbows Past Event Like List
Dr. Ian Sullivan will explain how new telescopes like the one at the Vera Rubin Observatory show the faintest of objects and create high-resolution images of the night sky, as well as the atmospheric challenges that need to be addressed for this sort of technology to really thrive. 

For the Love of Cats: Online Trivia w/ Flying Bike! Past Event Like List
Make the kitty cats of Seattle Area Feline Rescue your valentines by raising money for their wellbeing with a night of trivia and beer.

READINGS & TALKS

Book Club with Margaret Atwood Past Event Like List
Acclaimed author Margaret Atwood will join the Guardian Live Book Club to talk about her 2003 novel Oryx and Crake, which is set during a man-made plague and which she describes as a "fun-packed, joke-filled, rollicking adventure tale about the end of the human race."

Books in Common NW: Annalee Newitz Past Event Like List
Journalist Annalee Newitz introduces ancient metropolises in their new book Four Lost Cities, the subject of tonight's online conversation with Books in Common NW. 

Civic Literacy Book Club: Why We're Polarized Past Event Like List
Seattle CityClub's Civic Literacy Book Club second read, Ezra Klein's Why We're Polarized, covers the role of the media in politics and how Democrats and Republicans got their liberal and conservative labels. Hear a breakdown from authors and journalists Florangela Davila, Mónica Guzmán, Stephen Hawkins, and David Roberts, then break into small-group discussions. 

Elsye "Chardonnay" Walker | Finding a Path to The Triple Crown Past Event Like List
Elsye "Chardonnay" Walker, the first Black American woman to complete the 7,900-mile Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide National Scenic Trails (aka the "Triple Crown" of hiking), will join Mountaineers for an online talk. 

Fort from Home Nightcap: 19th Century Birth Control Past Event Like List
What did contraception look like before condoms and the pill? A Fort Nisqually History Museum interpreter will share her research on 19th-century birth control. 

Peter Mendelsund Past Event Like List
A young man seeks refuge in a new country and attempts to make ends meet by delivering goods for a big company in The Delivery, the latest novel from Peter Mendelsund, who also serves as The Atlantic's Creative Director and has contributed to a number of books on design. 

Winter Launch Party Livestream: Shapero, Dimitrov, & Belieu Past Event Like List
Join Port Townsend's Copper Canyon Press for the online unveiling of their winter poetry lineup, where Natalie Shapero, Alex Dimitrov (who you may also know as one-half of the Twitter-famous astrologers Astro Poets), and Erin Belieu will read from their new collections. 

See Also: Multi-day events

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FRIDAY

COMEDY

Dateprov Online Past Event Like List
Local improviser Kate Drummond of Jet City Improv will lead an online workshop for couples and trios that "uses the structure and techniques of improv to strengthen your romantic partnerships," just in time for Valentine's Day. 

COMMUNITY

Through the Eyes of Art: Mental & Physical Health Conversation Past Event Like List
In this entertaining annual Black History Month tribute to black excellence, community members, political leaders, artists, and others will celebrate Black soul food and the role of Black-owned restaurants, chefs, and wellness experts in raising awareness of health and wellness, food justice, and access. Guest panelists will include Andrew "Bull" Stewart of Columbia City Fitness, LaTaunya Witherspoon of Spooned Training, Elijah Baker with Always Winning Fitness, Toni Bailey of Zumba Fitness, and Gabrielle Oglesby with SunEarth Healing. 

A Virtual Lunar New Year Event w/ The Evergrey + International Examiner Past Event Like List
The Evergrey will celebrate the Lunar New Year with an online discussion focusing on the intersections of identity, culture, and food, followed by a cooking demo from panelist Hsiao-Ching Chou's new cookbook Vegetarian Chinese Soul Food.

FILM

Solar Utopias Past Event Like List
In NWFF and Seattle Office of Arts & Culture's collaborative program, 12 local film and video artists answer the question, "What is a solar utopia?" I'm certainly curious! Each artist—Brent Watanabe, C. Davida Ingram, Clyde Petersen, coley mixan, D.K. Pan, Inye Wokoma, Satpreet Kahlon, Stefan Gruber, Susan Robb, Tracy Rector, Webster Crowell, and wynne greenwood—used available gear and resources to create their art films, working on a small scale in light of the pandemic. Solar Utopias' opening and closing videos will feature the work of project curator Britta Johnson. JASMYNE KEIMIG

FOOD & DRINK

Live Panel with Black Culinary Leaders Past Event Like List
At this event in the Soul of Seattle Past Event Like List series, chef and restaurateur Marcus Samuelsson will lead a livestreamed panel discussion with Black culinary leaders from across the nation, including James Beard Award-winning chef Mashama Bailey Past Event Like List of The Grey, Top Chef star Eric Adjepong, San Francisco Office of Racial Equity director Shakirah Simley, chef and Notes from a Young Black Chef author Kwame Onwuachi, and chef Edouardo Jordan of JuneBaby and Salare. Enjoy an optional three-course meal from Salare or Cafe Campagne while you watch.

MUSIC

Bob Marley Birthday Celebration: Junior Marvin with Jah People LIVE at Ardmore Music Hall Past Event Like List
Tune in to a live birthday tribute to the late reggae singer Bob Marley, featuring Junior Marvin with Jah People on the Ardmore Music Hall stage.

It All Starts with Art - Live from the Glasshouse with LeRoy Bell Past Event Like List
Chihuly Garden and Glass will continue their live(streamed) music series with a night of tunes from local singer-songwriter LeRoy Bell, who has risen through the ranks of the Seattle music scene with his smoky voice and command of rock, blues, and soul. 

Seattle Chantey Sing Past Event Like List
Sea chanties are trending on TikTok, so this virtual Chantey Sing on Zoom couldn't come at a better time. Think fondly of the Northwest Seaport as you intone maritime folk songs from your home.

Spektral Quartet: Something to Write Home About Past Event Like List
Seeking a bridge between the traditional and the contemporary, the Grammy-nominated Spektral Quartet pursues the development of interactive and collaborative musical experiences for classical listeners of every level. Tonight, they'll perform pieces that span decades, starting with Tomeka Reid's "Prospective Dwellers" and ending with Arthur Russell's "I’m Hiding Your Present From You."

READINGS & TALKS

E. Lily Yu, in conversation with Ted Chiang - On Fragile Waves Past Event Like List
E. Lily Yu's lyrical magical realist debut follows siblings born in war-torn Afghanistan whose family travels from Pakistan to Indonesia to Nauru in search of permanent shelter. The author will be joined in conversation by acclaimed local science-fiction writer Ted Chiang (who's getting a Bushwick Book Club tribute Past Event Like List later this week). 

Hugo Literary Series: Ottessa Moshfegh, Leni Zumas, and Laura Da’ Past Event Like List
Hugo House's 2021 Literary Series, which is appropriately split into four parts to represent the four horsemen of the apocalypse in light of these hellish times, will kick off with a literary manifestation of the Black Horse, who represents famine. Imagining hungers of all kinds, authors Ottessa Moshfegh, Leni Zumas, Laura Da’, and Sadie Dupuis will fill out the bill with new work and new perspectives on living in the pandemic.

SEX & DATING

Pitch Your Single Friend for a Date Past Event Like List
In this live dating show hosted by the Seattle Times' "Dating Scene squad," locals "pitch" their eligible single friends to the crowd via three-minute virtual presentations followed by two-minute Q&As.

See Also: Multi-day events

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SATURDAY

FILM

Movies at MoPOP - Con Air Past Event Like List
As part of their "So Bad It’s Good" series, MoPOP will host an online watch party of Con Air, the 1997 Simon West thriller that features many Nicolas-Cage-running-away-from-an-explosion-in-slow-motion scenes. 

Scarecrow Academy presents The Art in Noir: Double Indemnity Past Event Like List
Billy Wilder's classic noir Double Indemnity will kick off this Scarecrow series that takes a deep look at the different approaches to the post-WWII genre. 

MUSIC

Bushwick Book Club: Exhalation Past Event Like List
Hugo House's resident music-makers, the Bushwick Book Club, will play original songs inspired by Ted Chiang's Obama-approved sci-fi story collection Exhalation. 

Selections from Romeo and Juliet Past Event Like List
Enjoy excerpts of Romeo and Juliet (the ballet) from Prokofiev’s score, alongside visuals curated by Maestra Sarah, Gabe McPherson, and Timothy Little. 

TEARS DRY ON THEIR OWN: Amy Winehouse Valentine's LIVESTREAM Past Event Like List
The Chicago-based Amy Winehouse tribute Tears Dry on Their Own, which is dedicated to mental health, addiction, and substance abuse awareness, will host a Valentine's Day livestream. 

READINGS & TALKS

Bruce Lee: Sifu, Friend and Big Brother with Doug Palmer Past Event Like List
Bruce Lee's youngest martial arts student, Doug Palmer, will share stories of the Seattle legend's life, as outlined in his book Bruce Lee: Sifu, Friend and Big Brother. 

Victor L. Wooten Past Event Like List
Five-time Grammy-winning bassist Victor L. Wooten (Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, Nitro) will talk about his new memoir, The Music Lesson: A Spiritual Search for Growth Through Music, and maybe even play some live songs. 

Virtual Book Talk: Meet the Author w/ Kristín Eiríksdóttir Past Event Like List
Icelandic author Kristín Eiríksdóttir will discuss her book A Fist or a Heart alongside translator Larissa Kyzer. 

See Also: Multi-day events

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SUNDAY

COMEDY

Stella Artois Presents: Saving Our Jobs Virtual Comedy Festival Past Event Like List
Adam Yenser, Alex Elkin, Justin Rupple, Ralph Porter, Ron Josol, and Tashona Smith fill out the bill of this virtual comedy festival.

MUSIC

Love Gangsters Valentine's Day Concert from Candela Avenue Studios Past Event Like List
See if local jazz mainstays Leif Totusek and Eric Fridich live up to their self-proclaimed title (the "Love Gangsters") at this virtual Valentine's Day show. 

PERFORMANCE

Jinkx Monsoon: Leave Loathe Lie Past Event Like List
Not in the mood to throw heart-shaped confetti on Valentine's Day? Neither is Seattle drag legend Jinkx Monsoon. Her virtual Live Laugh Love Leave Loathe Lie performance will cater to happily single or otherwise V-Day-averse people, and will also include a virtual meet-and-greet.

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MULTI-DAY

COMMUNITY

Douglass Day Past Event Like List
Raise a glass to the famous abolitionist Frederick Douglass on his birthday (which, having no records of an exact date, he chose to celebrate on Valentine's Day) with an educational virtual affair that will include transcribing the papers of Mary Church Terrell, a Black activist who helped to create Douglass Day back in 1897.
(Friday-Sunday)

Mardi Gras for All Y'all Past Event Like List
Pregame Mardi Gras with three days of celebrity-packed online events, like appearances from Emeril Lagasse and Ashton Ramsay and a special guest performance from Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Leo Nocentelli and George Porter, Jr.
(Friday-Sunday)

FILM

2021 HUMP! Film Festival Past Event Like List
Every year, The Stranger puts out the call to sex-havers everywhere to submit a homegrown amateur porn film depicting whatever they're into (barring poop, kids, and animals, of course). The result is an incredibly diverse representation of human sexuality in all its straight, gay, trans, queer, kinky, funny, pissy, painful, and pretty forms. Let's see what wild spins people put on their submissions that were created during the lockdown, shall we?
(Thursday-Friday & Sunday)

Indigenous Peoples' Film Festival Past Event Like List
Spend Indigenous Peoples' Week watching on-demand documentaries, shorts, and feature films (and sitting in on virtual discussions) that focus on the value of Indigenous food systems and resilience in the face of COVID-19 in this online event hosted by the International Fund For Agricultural Development. It's free!
(Monday-Friday)

Reel Love Film Festival Past Event Like List
Twelve feature film premieres, three shorts blocks, live events, and a collection of "lovecasts" will explore love in its many forms, opening with the punk-rock love story Dinner in America and centering on Tim Sutton's Funny Face.
(Wednesday-Sunday)

MUSIC

Cuarteto Latinoamericano: A Search for Musical Language Past Event Like List
Learn the history that shaped the renowned Latinx string quartet Cuarteto Latinoamericano from Gabriela Ortiz, first violinist Saúl Bitrán, UW professor Anthony Geist, and Meany Center Executive and Artistic Director Michelle Witt.
(Monday-Friday)

Jazz In The City's 2021 Seattle Jazz As Culture Festival Past Event Like List
From interviews with Grammy-nominated artists Tia Fuller and Dan Kuramoto to a live performance from Philadelphia band Piece Of A Dream, this online mini-festival presented in partnership with Seattle Channel will celebrate Black history through jazz.
(Friday-Sunday)

MUSIC

Pearl Jam Past Event Like List
Seattle-bred grunge staple Pearl Jam will stream the second night of their 2018 concert at T-Mobile Park, which comprises 37 songs, on nugs.tv.
(Friday-Sunday)

PERFORMANCE

The Atomic Bombshells: J’adore Past Event Like List
Some of Seattle's most beloved burlesque dancers—like Kitten N’ Lou, Indigo Blue, INGA, Cherdonna Shinatra, spICE!, J Von Stratton, Ruby Mimosa, Tova de Luna, Markeith Wiley, the Purple Lemonade Collective, and Woody Shticks—make up the boisterous Atomic Bombshells troupe, which has been sexing up international stages ever since Kitten LaRue founded it in 2003. For lovers of feathery, busty, glitzy fun, this is a great virtual spectacle to attend with your friends or sweetie(s) on the most romantic day of the year.
(Wednesday & Sunday)

CHOP SHOP: Bodies of Work Dance Film Festival Past Event Like List
This contemporary dance festival has presented performances from troupes and artists around the world, with the goal of reaching diverse audiences and connecting people of all abilities with dance instruction. This year's festival can be enjoyed from home, featuring online dance films from Daniel Costa Dance, Eva Stone and Simone Elliott of Root Collective, Mark Haim, NYC's Omar Román De Jesús, and others from near and far. Films will be presented in installments on Thursdays, with Q&As with each week's featured artists to follow on Sundays.
(Thursday & Sunday)

The Elixir of Love Past Event Like List
This modern operatic comedy tells the story of a country bumpkin in love who is about to lose the company of a rich and independent landowner. "Wine, a windfall, and a fateful furtive tear eventually reveal happy truths as sincerity triumphs amid much rejoicing," reads press materials. This Seattle Opera production, re-screening online and designed specifically for the digital stage, stars Madison Leonard, Michael Adams, Patrick Carfizzi, and Tess Altiveros.
(Friday-Sunday)

Moisture Festival Online Past Event Like List
Moisture Festival is devoted to the variety of performers Seattle has fostered over the years, from circus acts to comedians, burlesque dancers to musicians, and jugglers to tap dancers. This year's Valentine's Day-themed iteration will take place online. 
(Friday & Sunday)

Pacific Northwest Ballet: Roméo et Juliette Past Event Like List
Romeo et Juliette is a PNB classic, featuring music by Prokofiev and choreography by Jean-Christophe Maillot. Back in 2009, when Pacific Northwest Ballet first performed this version, Jen Graves wrote that artistic director Peter Boal "has beefed up PNB's short, experimental repertory, but his updating of [Kent Stowell's] Romeo and Juliet with Roméo et Juliette is proof that he's undermining convention on all fronts, refusing to ghettoize experimentalism. His unified vision can reach even the big-story ballets. And the audience is eating it up. It's understandable: Roméo et Juliette is hot. It seduces the audience with everything the dancers have, not just some of it—their command and their release; their Olympian ability not just to spin bolt upright but also to ache; their fingers, eyes, mouths; their acting. Feels are copped. Making out is not symbolized: It occurs." This pre-recorded performance includes bonus content that includes a site-specific work created by PNB Company member Amanda Morgan. 
(Thursday-Sunday)

Three Screams (a play in three parts) Past Event Like List
Vincent Delaney's three-part play, an online production commissioned by 18th and Union, revolves around the theft of Edvard Munch's famous painting "The Scream of Nature" through the perspective of Munch's family.
(Wednesday-Saturday)

Until the Flood
To create this one-act solo show about the shooting of Michael Brown, theater-maker Dael Orlandersmith conducted hours of interviews with 60 to 80 citizens of Ferguson, Missouri. "I let them talk, I let them talk," Orlandersmith said in an interview. What emerged from those conversations is this collection of powerful recollections, one that ultimately demands the end of the slaughter of black men in the streets of Saint Louis and everywhere else, and one that offers some practical solutions for how we might best accomplish that goal. If you've never seen Orlandersmith perform, you should know she wields a no-nonsense delivery that pins you to your chair and forces you to listen. Get ready. RICH SMITH
(All week)