The first week of the new year may not seem very ~new~ since our lives are still restricted by the global pandemic 2020 left behind, but we can still shake up our routines in a small way by tuning in to virtual concerts, panel discussions, and other events from our homes. We've rounded up our picks for this week below, from Bainbridge Island's Japanese American cultural festival Mochi Tsuki Past Event Like List to a new Scarecrow Movie Club Past Event Like List , and from a reading with National Book Award finalist Jenn Shapland Past Event Like List to A Bowie Celebration: Just for One Day! 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.

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

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MONDAY

PERFORMANCE

Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical Past Event Like List
This crowd-sourced, community-written musical adaptation of the Pixar film about a tiny rat chef is made possible by the plethora of Broadway stans on TikTok. Proceeds from this one-time online premiere will benefit out-of-work performs through the Actors Fund.
Access to this event ends at 4 pm PST; tickets must be purchased by 2 pm

READINGS & TALKS

Derek Sheffield and Ellen Bass: Not For Luck / Indigo Past Event Like List
Derek Sheffield, a contributor to the recent anthology Dear America: Letters of Hope, Habitat, Defiance, and Democracy, will join Elliott Bay with his new poetry collection Not for Luck. He'll be joined by fellow poet Ellen Bass, whose collection Indigo was published last spring. 

See Also: Multi-Day Events

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TUESDAY

COMMUNITY

A Forager's Year in Washington Past Event Like List
Natalie Hammerquist of the local Adiantum School of Plant Medicine will walk you through the year she spent foraging for plants for food and medicine in Western Washington. You might even get inspired to go on your own foraging journey afterward. 

READINGS & TALKS

Jenn Shapland with Jeannie Vanasco Past Event Like List
A National Book Award finalist for her wonderful biography/personal memoir My Autobiography of Carson McCullers: a Memoir, Jenn Shapland will sit down virtually with memoirist Jeannie Vanasco (Things We Didn't Talk About When I Was a Girl).

Pandemic Perspectives: Stories Through Collections Past Event Like List
The Smithsonian National Museum of American History is bringing on curators and historians for a series of online panel discussions exploring the ongoing pandemic using historical archives. The first installment, featuring Princeton's Keith Wailoo, U Penn's Paul Offit, National Museum of American History's Diane Wendt, and Vaccine Dynamics' Col John Grabenstein, will focus on the COVID-19 topic du jour: vaccine distribution. 

Three Roads - How One Family Embodied The Sweep of 20th Century Jewish History Past Event Like List
Join Seattle author David Laskin as he draws on his book The Family to break down the three branches of his mother's Russian Jewish family, one of which immigrated to the United States and another of which perished in the Holocaust. 

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 once a week on the internet, at least until the global pandemic subsides. 

FOOD & DRINK

Virtual Author Talk: The Nutritionist's Kitchen by Carly Knowles Past Event Like List
Registered dietitian and nutritionist Carly Knowles will chat with local food writer Rebekah Denn about her new book The Nutritionist's Kitchen, which aims to promote "culinary medicine" with vibrant, nutrient-dense meals like whole wheat apple galettes and spicy sriracha mung bean bowls with pickled daikon and carrots.

READINGS & TALKS

Rebecca Walker and Lily Diamond, in conversation with LaTonya Yvette Past Event Like List
Rebecca Walker and Lily Diamond, the authors of What's Your Story?: A Journal for Everyday Evolution, invite you to "excavate the narratives that have shaped your life and write a new, fulfilling story for the future" in this online talk with lifestyle blogger LaTonya Yvette. 

Tara Moss with Gertie Hirsch: The War Widow Past Event Like List
After the second world war officially ends, a journalist's search for a young missing immigrant man in Sydney rekindles the distress she left behind in Europe. Join author Tara Moss for a virtual chat on her new book, War Widow, alongside Gertie Hirsch (the author of Gertie Sews Jiffy Dresses: A Modern Guide to Stitch-and-Wear Vintage Patterns You Can Make in a Day).

See Also: Multi-Day Events

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THURSDAY

COMMUNITY

Fort from Home: Moving Fort Nisqually Past Event Like List
Learn everything you've ever wanted to know about Fort Nisqually's historic move from what is now the town of DuPont to Point Defiance Park. Bring your questions! Discussion leader Jerry Eckrom will do his best to answer them. 

FOOD & DRINK

Barrel Thief Academy - Whiskey 101 Series Past Event Like List
If your New Year's resolution is to become a whiskey connoisseur, this three-part online tasting series is for you. You'll learn all about the history of whiskey, how it's made, how it varies in different countries, how to buy it, and how to best enjoy it. Each class includes five tastes of whiskey in half-ounce bottles, which you can pick up at the Barrel Thief anytime the week before the series begins. Your ticket also includes a gift bag with "special treats." 

Virtual Author Talk: Salt & Time by Alissa Timoshkina Past Event Like List
Chef and supper club host Alissa Timoshkina will chat about her new cookbook Salt & Time, a "collection of delicious modern recipes from Siberia and beyond" with recipes like solyanka fish soup, chicken with prunes, and Napoleon cake.

MUSIC

Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 2 Past Event Like List
Lauded by the New York Times for her "take-no-prisoners emotional investment...in every bar," Alisa Weilerstein will perform Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 2 under the baton of Conductor Emeritus Ludovic Morlot. The evening will warm up with Caroline Shaw’s Entr’acte and will conclude with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8.

READINGS & TALKS

Global Ethnobotany: Plants and People Past Event Like List
Fayla Schwartz, who taught for many years at Everett Community College, will talk about the relationship between plants and human cultures around the world. 

Robert Jones, Jr. with Maisy Card: The Prophets Past Event Like List
Robert Jones, Jr. will discuss his debut novel The Prophets, which centers a romantic relationship between two enslaved men on a plantation in the Deep South. He'll be joined in conversation by Maisy Card (These Ghosts are Family). 

See Also: Multi-Day Events

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FRIDAY

COMMUNITY

2021 Legislative Preview Past Event Like List
It's that time of year again to hear from Washington State Representatives from both sides of the aisle as they unpack local 2021 legislation that affects both individuals and communities nearby. This year's lineup of panelists includes Sen. Andy Billig (3rd LD), Sen. John Braun (20th LD) Rep. Laurie Jinkins (27th LD), and Rep. J.T. Wilcox (2nd LD).

MUSIC

A Bowie Celebration: Just For One Day! Past Event Like List
This week marks five years since the death of glam-rock king David Bowie, which calls for a big ol' online concert hosted by Studio City's Rolling Live Studios. This global stream will bring tribute performances by nearly 50 artists, including Zach Alford, Duran Duran, Yungblud, and Adam Lambert. VIP tickets even include a shoutout and/or digital hang sesh with pianist Mike Garson, who often accompanied Bowie onstage.

PERFORMANCE

Into the Unknown — 17 Minute Stories Past Event Like List
In addition to working within a time constraint, Macha Theatre Works' series of quick-bite solo shows also explores the very concept of time, or more specifically, how we end up where we do, and how we fumble through human existence in our own ways. The series kicks off with Claribel Gross's Gasp, which revolves around a young woman’s connection to her Nicaraguan roots and "the importance of making a proper rum drink."

READINGS & TALKS

Maryna Ajaja with Ileana Marin & Otilia Vieru-Baraboi In Deep Past Event Like List
Seattle poet and Seattle International Film Festival curator Maryna Ajaja will read from her debut collection, In Deep. She'll be joined by Ileana Marin, who reviewed the collection for the online journal Entropy, as well as Otilia Vieru-Baraboi, president of Seattle's American Romanian Cultural Society. 

See Also: Multi-Day Events

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SATURDAY

COMMUNITY

Democracy Dialogues: Understanding the Election Past Event Like List
Fresh on the heels of the Georgia runoff election and Joe Biden's clear win in the midst of a global pandemic, this online talk will get into the strengths and major weaknesses of our democracy, as highlighted in this past election season. Political scientists Lance Bennett and Christopher Sebastian Parker will take the lead. 

FILM

Scarecrow Movie Club Past Event Like List
Join free Zoom discussions of films like Meek's Cutoff (this week), Yojimbo, and Nashville every Saturday in January with the movie fiends at Scarecrow. 

MUSIC

Safe in Sound Stream # 4 ft. Chloe Moriondo. Girlpool, Penelope Scott Past Event Like List
The Vera Project's COVID-19 prevention campaign continues with an online concert with Detroit bedroom popper Chloe Moriondo, LA standby pop twee duo Girlpool, and singer-songwriter Penelope Scott.

READINGS & TALKS

Quarantine Book Club: 'To the Lighthouse' Past Event Like List
After parsing through works by authors like Joan Didion, Toni Morrison, and James Baldwin, Christopher Frizzelle's remote six-week book club continues with Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse—a symbolic choice for the darkest time of the year.

Michelle Gallen: Big Girl Small Town Past Event Like List
Irish writer Michelle Gallen will join Elliott Bay virtually to read passages from her new novel (which was shortlisted for the 2020 Irish Book Awards Newcomer of the Year award) about a girl in post-Troubles Northern Ireland who discovers life outside her small community. 

See Also: Multi-Day Events

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SUNDAY

FILM

Virtual Moving History – The Video Artwork of Doris Chase Past Event Like List
Discover a compilation of kaleidoscopic work by the late Northwest School video-art pioneer Doris Chase in this edition of the Moving Image Preservation of Puget Sound's digital series.

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MULTI-DAY

COMMUNITY

Mochi Tsuki Past Event Like List
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

French Cinema Now Past Event Like List
This festival of French and Francophone cinema culture that's usually crammed (effectively) into a single week will get over three months of attention at SIFF. Nine of this year's feature films, presented on TV5MONDE, are directed by women, including emerging filmmakers like Manele Labidi, whose Arab Blues follows a woman who, after years of studying abroad in Paris, returns home to Tunis to pursue her dream of opening up her own psychotherapy practice.
(Monday-Thursday)

MUSIC

FERUS Festival Past Event Like List
The Williamsburg music institution National Sawdust presents its sixth annual contemporary music festival FERUS for all to enjoy at home. Tune in for online events with Ash Koosha and the futuristic AI project YONA (Jan 7) and a re-imagining of Mozart’s Requiem in D Minor by the electronic composer Jlin, in collaboration with Kyle Abraham's contemporary dance company A.I.M. (Jan 9).
(Thursday-Saturday)

PERFORMANCE

Scott Shoemaker's War on Christmas! Past Event Like List
Scott Shoemaker (Ms. Pak-Man) and illustrious friends like Ade, Waxie Moon, Mandy Price, and Fageddy Randy will lead a fearless investigation into the War on Christmas. Their weapons: "ALL NEW hilarious comedy, songs, dance numbers, amazing videos and partial nudity!"
(Monday-Tuesday)

VISUAL ART

Bridget Sexauer: Dirty Hands Past Event Like List
Former Stranger Arts Calendar Editor Joule Zelman called local artist Bridget Sexauer "a painstaking painter with a knack for capturing the feeling of frozen personalities we attribute to lifeless things." Her latest series of paintings are inspired by her time working as a marine electrician on board the M/V Golden Alaska.
(Thursday-Sunday; opening Thursday)