When you need a break from refreshing your various news feeds in anticipation of Joe Biden's inauguration, turn to our picks for online events happening this week (plus an extra day for MLK Day!), from a reading with Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar Past Event Like List to the start of Nikkita Oliver's 15-week course on abolition Past Event Like List , and from Major Biden’s Virtual Indoguration Party Past Event Like List to the Seattle MLK Jr. Coalition's week of MLK Day workshops Past Event Like List . Plus, check out our StreamLocal events hub and stay tuned for a roundup of the best socially distanced things to do this weekend.
Jump to: Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | MLK Day | Multi-Day
MONDAY
FILM
Collide-O-Scope: 11th Anniversary Spectacular!
Past Event
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This special 11th-anniversary edition of your favorite trippy video mashup series will bring an extra dose of lunacy to your Monday night.
READINGS & TALKS
Peter Ho Davies with Bich Minh Nguyen
Past Event
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To have kids, or to not have kids. That is the question behind Peter Ho Davies' (The Welsh Girl) new novel, A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself, which "enacts the dark shames, fears, and absurdities that are an inescapable part of family life," according to press materials. He'll join Elliott Bay and Bich Minh Nguyen (Short Girls) for a virtual conversation.
See Also: Multi-Day Events
TUESDAY
COMMUNITY
Curator Tour: Witt Winter Garden
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You might think mid-January is a sad season for PNW flora and fauna, but it's not—you just have to know where to look. Join Curator of Living Collections Ray Larson virtually as he points out bright blossoms, foliage, and bark in the winter gardens of the Washington Park Arboretum.
FILM
Cinema DNA: Parasite - Virtual Class
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Are you obsessed with Bong Joon-ho's Parasite but you've seen it one too many times? This SIFF class will delve into the movies that inspired it to give you some adjacent viewing material, from Charlie Chaplin's City Lights to mid-century South Korean films.
MUSIC
Jessie Thoreson
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Breaking off from her trio with first-name-sharers Jesse Gallaway and Jesse Blake Hay, Jessie Thoreson will perform a night of solo originals, including tracks from her upcoming instrumental EP. All proceeds from the show will benefit Creative Justice, a local organization that provides art instruction to youth who are "caught up in the criminal justice system."
READINGS & TALKS
Anders Morley with Barney Scout Mann
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With a long-held passion for mountain sports, Anders Morley spent an entire winter in his early thirties cross-country skiing across Canada. Hear him recount parts of his journey outlined in his book This Land of Snow: A Journey Across the North in Winter in this talk with Elliott Bay and Barney Scout Mann (Journey's North: The Pacific Crest Trail).
Melinda Gates: The Moment of Lift
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Melinda Gates will present the paperback edition of her bestselling book The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World (which Brené Brown calls "an urgent call to courage") with Elliott Bay.
See Also: Multi-Day Events
WEDNESDAY
COMMUNITY
Virtual Silent Reading Party
Remind
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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.
FILM
The Illuminated Space: Book Launch with Screenings, Readings & Conversation
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Queer filmmaker Marilyn Freeman will share a selection of their short films, as well as brief readings from their new book, The Illuminated Space.
FOOD & DRINK
Virtual Author Talk: World Food: Mexico City by James Oseland
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Follow along with James Oseland, Saveur editor and Top Chef Masters judge, as he demos a delicious salsa and a refreshing Michelada from his new cookbook World Food: Mexico City during a virtual conversation with professor and home cook James Zarsadiaz.
MUSIC
Civilians Live from GG's Speakeasy Stage
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Get your fix of rock, psychedelic jamming, and twang from Seattle's the Civilians, who will be performing with a stripped-down version of their lineup on the Growler Guys' virtual "speakeasy stage."
Talk With A Friend #13
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Jamaica-born, Seattle-based reggae legend Clinton Fearon (of the Boogie Brown Band) will perform songs live on Facebook (on his birthday!). He'll also be performing on Sunday
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in the same virtual place.
READINGS & TALKS
Local Voices: Online
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Seattle Arts & Lectures Writers in the Schools residents Daemond Arrindell, Matt Gano, Evelin Garcia, Rachel Kessler, Gary Lilley, and Ann Teplick will share new work on the digital stage.
Nicole Tsong and Irie Love: 24 Ways to Move More
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Yoga instructor and fitness expert Nicole Tsong shares what she considers to be the most fun, accessible, and beneficial ways to get your blood flowing in her book 24 Ways to Move More. Join her for an online talk with Elliott Bay.
See Also: Multi-Day Events
THURSDAY
COMMUNITY
Art History Lecture Series with Rebecca Albiani
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Hear art historian Rebecca Albiani talk about masterpieces of world art, from Wayne Thiebaud
to Medieval marginalia
, in this Frye Art Museum online lecture series.
Julia Butler Hansen: A Trailblazing Washington Politician
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Undefeated in 41 consecutive elections, the late PNW congresswoman Julia Butler Hansen made transportation, rights for Native Americans and women, and public education her top priorities during her time in Cathlamet, Olympia, and Washington, D.C. Historian John Hughes (not to be confused with the '80s teen-scene filmmaker) will give an online presentation on his new biography about the politician with the Mercer Island and King County libraries.
Online Class: Birding 101
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Want to start identifying the winged creatures in your neighborhood with the quick confidence of an ornithologist? This intro-to-birding workshop with Seattle Audubon Society will put you on the right track.
FOOD & DRINK
Virtual Author Talk: A Good Bake by Melissa Weller
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The acclaimed James Beard-nominated baker and former chemical engineer Melissa Weller will discuss her new cookbook A Good Bake, which uses science to achieve impeccable baked goods, including croissants, chocolate babkas, and salted caramel sticky buns.
MUSIC
NVCS Presents Brett Benton
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Southern-bred country-blues artist Brett "Bad Blood" Benton will bring a taste of Alabama to Seattle for an online show.
READINGS & TALKS
Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar: You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey
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You may have seen Amber Ruffin on Late Night with Seth Meyers or on her own show on Peacock, and now you'll see her on Elliott Bay's virtual stage talking with her sister, Lacey Lamar, about their new co-authored book, You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism. The pair will appear in conversation with Naomi Ishisaka, The Seattle Times’ assistant managing editor for diversity, inclusion, and staff development.
Bernadette McDonald | Climbing The World's Highest Mountains In The Winter
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Bernadette McDonald will introduce you to Ice Warriors, professional climbers who brave the world's highest peaks in the dead of winter.
Jeffrey Jackson: The Artists Who Risked Their Lives Using Art to Defy the Nazis
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When Nazis occupied the island of Jersey in the British Channel, two French women with a network of avant-garde Parisian artists at their disposal distributed clever propaganda meant to demoralize Nazi troops. Jeffrey Jackson gets into their story in his book Paper Bullets: Two Artists Who Risked Their Lives to Defy the Nazis, which he'll draw from tonight with Town Hall.
Strange Storytelling Hour – Dumpster Fire
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Storytellers recount peculiar tales and bizarre happenings based on their own experiences in this multi-episode series co-presented by the North Bend Film Festival. For this round, local comic and wizardly ex-Mormon Emmett Montgomery will host an evening of tales about overcoming the dumpster fire of 2020 (and coping with the ongoing dumpster fire in 2021).
VISUAL ART
Behind the Seams: Fabulous Footwear
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Attention, footwear fanatics: MoHAI Curator of Collections, Clara Berg, will give a behind-the-scenes look at the museum's history-spanning collection of shoes.
Virtual Lecture: Head to Head—Edvard Munch, August Strindberg, and Photographic Self-Representation
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Learn about the relationship between modernist photographers Edvard Munch
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and August Strindberg and their dream of a "Scandinavian Renaissance" in the art world from UC Berkeley's Linda Rugg.
See Also: Multi-Day Events
FRIDAY
FILM
A Conversation with Actors from The West Wing, Scandal, and Designated Survivor
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Start celebration Biden and Harris's inauguration early with an online panel moderated by Designated Survivor actor and Obama Administration alum Kal Penn and featuring The West Wing and Scandal stars Dulé Hill, Janel Moloney, Richard Schiff, Bradley Whitford, and Bellamy Young.
Shades of Mindfulness: Documentary Premiere and Panel Discussion
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This 10-minute "stereoscopic virtual reality documentary" follows a mindfulness group for women of color that's been meeting since Trump was elected in 2016, and walks through the group's breathing, walking, and eating meditations.
MLK DAY
2021 Rally for Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Past Event
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Join the 5th Avenue Theatre for a livestreamed broadcast of a Kent MLK Day rally.
MUSIC
NVCS Presents Glen Cannon & the Damage Done
Past Event
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Northwest rock guitar-shredder Glenn Cannon (Windowpane) and his latest project the Damage Done will go live on Nectar's YouTube channel.
READINGS & TALKS
2021 Critical Issues Lecture Series
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University of Washington's School of Art + Art History + Design presents its online lecture series in collaboration with the Henry Art Gallery, kicking off with Mohawk multimedia artist Skawennati.
Dan Lieberman: Exercised
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Dan Lieberman, a professor of human evolutionary biology, will debunk some myths about exercising via insights from his book, Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding, which argues that working out should be enjoyable and not shame-based.
See Also: Multi-Day Events
SATURDAY
FILM
Scarecrow Movie Club
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Join free Zoom discussions of films like Nashville (this week), Alien, and Green Room every Saturday in January with the movie fiends at Scarecrow.
FOOD & DRINK
2021 Virtual Winterhop Brewfest
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The Winterhop Brewfest, an annual gathering of hundreds of beer lovers in Ellensburg, is going virtual this year. Attendees will get access to digital craft brewery tours, behind-the-scenes video content, exclusive interviews with craft beer industry veterans, and more. An optional 2021 Winterhop Brewfest BeerBox is also available to enhance your experience with seven signature drinks from the featured breweries and distillery.
MUSIC
Bushwick Book Club: The Beautiful Ones
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The posthumous Prince memoir/scrapbook The Beautiful Ones will get the Bushwick Book Club treatment, aka a live original music interpretation.
See Also: Multi-Day Events
SUNDAY
COMMUNITY
Major Biden’s Virtual Indoguration Party
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Soothe your anxiety over the possibility of right-wing riots on the day of Joe Biden's inauguration at the Capitol next week with this no-stress "indoguration" hosted by the Delaware Humane Association and Pumpkin Pet Insurance, which invites you and your pup to celebrate the shelter's first-ever First Dog, Major Biden, and to raise money for other doggos in need of homes.
MLK DAY
Greater Everett Community MLK Drive-By Parade
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Get in your car or put on some walking shoes and a mask and make your way from the Snohomish County Courthouse to Everett Community College celebrating Martin Luther King's civil rights legacy with NAACP Snohomish County. If you can't make it in person, tune in tonight for live music and performances on Facebook Live.
See Also: Multi-Day Events
MONDAY
MLK DAY
Becoming Brave - A Tribute to Rev. D. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Join the Communities of Color Coalition for an online music, spoken-word, and dance tribute to Martin Luther King.
MULTI-DAY
COMMUNITY
Mochi Tsuki
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Bainbridge Island's annual celebration of Japanese American culture will move online and last throughout the first month of 2021, offering online classes in at-home origami and mochi making (including a video of expert mochi pounder Shoichi Sugiyama), kids' activities, and performances from Seattle Kokon Taiko.
(All week)
FILM
Cinematters: NY Social Justice Film Festival
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Films, conversations, and special events that inspire social change when it comes to broad themes of inequality, injustice, and accountability drive this New York-based film festival, which opens with Sam Pollard's MLK/FBI, an "archival tapestry" that follows Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as he is investigated and harassed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(Thursday-Monday)
MLK DAY
Seattle MLK Jr. Organizing Coalition 2021 Workshops
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The Seattle Martin Luther King, Jr. Organizing Coalition will host a week of online workshops that address white supremacy, racism, anti-racism, and police brutality, with titles like "White Supremacy Through Violence: Lynching in America, Then and Now" (Jan 12) and "14 Demands for Healing Washington" (Jan 14). Those will culminate in the annual IRL rally and march at Garfield High School
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on January 18, which you can also stream on Facebook.
(Tuesday-Saturday)
MUSIC
Tiny Desk Meets GlobalFEST
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The coveted NPR live music series Tiny Desk is teaming up with the long-running New York music festival globalFEST for a country-spanning showcase hosted by African superstar Angélique Kidjo and featuring Canada's Elisapie, Japan's Minyo Crusaders, Haiti's Vox Sambou, the United States' Dedicated Men of Zion, and other exciting guests.
(Monday-Thursday)
PERFORMANCE
Black is the Light: So You Wanna Be A Superhero
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Seattle Rep teaching artists Melany Bell and Alex Lee Leed will helm a three-day online workshop to help BIPOC students explore "the many facets of wellness" through storytelling, music-making, mediation, and self-reflection.
(Monday, Wednesday & Friday)
PROTESTS & RESISTANCE
Abolition? (15 Week Course)
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Local activist, attorney, and former Seattle mayoral candidate Nikkita Oliver will teach a 15-week online course on abolition at Seattle University School of Law, open to the public.
(Sunday-Monday)
