Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on February 4, 2020

Our music critics have already chosen the 46 best music shows this week, but now it's our arts & culture critics' turn to recommend the best events in their areas of expertise. Here are their picks in every genrefrom a reading with Garth Greenwell to the grand reopening of the Asian Art Museum, and from Disney's Frozen to Trixie Mattel: Grown Up 2020. See them all below, and find even more events on our complete EverOut Things To Do calendar. Jump to: Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday MONDAY FOOD & DRINK

Cocktails and Conversations with Leaders of ColorJames Beard Award-winning chef Edouardo Jordan's Black History Month events series kicks off with a conversation with leaders of color, including chef Nina Compton, police chief Carmen Best, fire chief Harold Scoggins, The Bush School head Percy Abram, and Jordan himself. Urban League president Michelle Merriweather will host the event.

Bon Apptit: The Julia Child ShowStrolling through the Smithsonian Museum one afternoon, I stumbled upon a full replica of Julia Child's kitchen. I walked in because I had recently finished watching some classic episodes ofThe French Chef, including her infamous lobster show. "You have to cut him right here," Child says as she sticks her knife into the lobster's neck, "where all of his brains and hearts and feelings are." Genius. Anyway, in the Smithsonian exhibit, I saw a picture of Child bent over a counter in a small French kitchen. On the placard next to the photo was a quote from the famously tall chef: "When I get my own kitchen, I'm going to build the counters up to my waist. I'm through with this French pygmy bullshit!" If you haven't figured it out yet, Child is one of the greatest and funniest people ever to wield an eight-inch knife. In this light opera, a shade of the chef will crack you up while also making a chocolate cake. A serving of cake is included in the ticket price. RICH SMITH

Dance NationWashington Ensemble Theatre's press materials promise "intense feminine energy" from Dance Nation, a Pulitzer Prizenominated play by Clare Barron about a preteen dance troupe gunning for nationals under the guidance of their frazzled coach. In an interview, Barron, a Yale grad who hails from Wenatchee (!), says the show was inspired by the complex portrait of ambition presented in Lifetime's reality television seriesDance Moms, which means there's no way this isn't going to be good. Extra insurance for this prediction comes from the fact that Bobbin Ramsey, who has a gift for organizing chaos onstage,is codirecting the performance with Alyza DelPan-Monley. RICH SMITH

Natalie Dupille Art Show and Book Release Party: In Spite of OurselvesAt one point inIn Spite of Ourselves, Seattle cartoonist and illustrator Natalie Dupille's character is struggling to maneuver around roadkill while riding her bike on a busy Oregon highway, watching her partner, Allie, get farther and farther ahead. Through the sweat and struggle, Dupille internally berates herself for not being able to keep up, angry about the bike trip she's on. It all finally explodes out when she catches up with her partner. They hash out the conflict, apologize, and come to an understanding with one anotherstronger in both a physical and emotional way, facing the rest of their journey together. It's a slender and intimate glimpse in the dynamics of a relationship, but also on the author's inner reflections on her body, nature, and self. It's a ruminative, funny, and touching read. JASMYNE KEIMIGClosing Wednesday

Golden Lady: A Retrospective into the Life & Loves of Catherine Harris-White to DateKnown best under her music-making moniker SassyBlack, Catherine Harris-White has many identities across disciplines. In conjunction with the release of her latest album,Ancient Mahogany Gold, the artist will present a multimedia exhibition that explores her complexitiesand the complexities of humans in generalwriting, "Now it is time for me to let you in a step closer to my being and to reveal another layer." Closing Friday

Our Country's GoodTimberlake Wertenbaker's play, staged here by Strawberry Theatre Workshop, depicts a group of convicts in 18th-century New South Wales who are encouraged by British Navy officers to put on George Farquhar's restoration comedy The Recruiting Officer.In the words ofthe Workshop, the play is especially relevant to the current day, because "The United States incarcerates more people than any country in the world; the US constitutes 4% of the world population, but keeps 22% of the world's prisoners behind bars. Many prison inmates haven't been convicted of anythingthey are jailed awaiting trial or a hearing on their immigration status."

Diane Ravitch: The Fight to Save America's Public SchoolsThis nationally respected NYU professor of education will present her book Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save Americas Public Schools. Get informed about the struggle to keep corporate interests out of schools to prevent the creation of "a gig economy in which students are treated like customers or products and teachers are incentivized with threats and bonuses."

Sarah Abrevaya Stein: Family PapersSarah Abrevaya Stein's ninth book tracks multiple generations of a Sephardic Jewish family through their personal correspondence. It starts inthe Ottoman Empire and moves through the Holocaust, which eviscerated whole branches of the family tree. Join the author for a discussion withDevin E. Naar, Sephardic Studies Chair at UW.

Spotlight Poetry: Unsun : f/11 by Andrew ZawackiJoin Andrew Zawacki as he continues to examine the "global pastoral" with a reading of his fifth collection of poetry.

NT Live: 'Fleabag'This stage show by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, about a mad and sexually hungry young woman trying to make sense of life, inspired the Emmy-nominated TV show of the same name. See it broadcast live from London.

'ScapesThe Totally Legit techno-art collective, joined by some friends, uses virtual and analog art to play with reality, color, and volume, with aspecial virtual reality painting installation by Nathan DiPietro called Bouquet Symmetry.Magic and biology meld to transform ordinary objects into glowing objets d'art. Closing Saturday

Li'l Woody's Burger MonthAs part of their yearly Burger Month collaboration, Li'l Woody's has assembled a crack lineup of four local chefs to each create their weekly burger specials for February. This year starts out strong with the "Good Old Burger"with fry sauce, American cheese, and yubeshi onions from chef Brady Williams ofCanlis.

The Best of Everything2014 Stranger Theater GeniusValerie Curtis-Newton directs UW graduate actors in Julie Kramer's adaptation of Rona Jaffe's novel about an ambitious woman in a 1950s typing pool who's determined to make her way to the top.

Trixie Mattel: Grown Up 2020Trixie Mattel once said that all her jokes are cries for help. If that's true, the poor girl needs an intervention. The drag queen and winner ofRuPaul's Drag Race: All Starshas built an empire on morbid and strange drag humor, racking up impressive accolades inside and outside the cult of RuPaul, like a TV show on Viceland, a top-selling country album, and a sell-out tour with music from said country album. Mattel, a small-town clown from Wisconsin, has become the gay world's popular girl. Get your tickets now if they're still available. CHASE BURNS

Donna Rifkin: The Sun and Her StarsYou may know the legendary screenwriter Salka Viertel for her work on such classic film as 1933'sQueen Christina, but she also provided housing, jobs, and financial support to Jewish artists fleeing Europe during the Holocaust. Film scholarDonna Rifkin will visit Seattle with the first complete biography of the writer.

Lidia Yuknavitch: VergeLidia Yuknavitch was lauded for her bookThe Misfit's Manifesto, the author's "love letter" to anyone who has ever struggled to find their place in the world. She'll return to Seattle with her new book of stories that press materials call "A fiercely empathetic group portrait of the marginalized and outcast in moments of crisis, from one of the most galvanizing voices in American fiction."

Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunnJournalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn dont just share a home (theyve been married for over 30 years); they also share a Pulitzer. The couple, who won the most coveted award in journalism for their coverage of the Tiananmen Square protests in 1990, is out with a new book, Tightrope, about economic devastation ravaging American communities. In Yamhill, Oregon, where Kristof grew up, a quarter of the kids who rode his school bus eventually died from drugs, alcohol, suicide, or some kind of accidents. This book is about what happened in Yamhill, and other oft-neglected places in this country. KATIE HERZOG

Silent Reading PartyThe Silent Reading Party is one of the weirdest, most wonderful parties youll ever go to, because no one talks to you and you can get some reading done. You curl up on a couch or in a wingback chair with a book or magazine or whatever you feel like reading, while Paul Moore plays piano and waiters bring you things. Whenever Paul starts playing Erik Satie, I find myself staring into the fireplace or closing my eyes and melting into the couch. The reading party, which is now 10 years old, is so popular that there is often a line out the door just to get a seat. The people who know what theyre doing get there an hour before it starts. CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE

PeacockAn ambitious young man in 1920s Paris works his way up in a ritzy nightclub in Can Can's latest kitschy-glam, flesh-baring, plot-driven revue.

She Loves MeYou know the story: two people who hate each other in real life are unwittingly in love with each other in a different realm. It's based on the same 1937 play,Parfumerie, that Nora Ephron'sYou've Got Mailwas based on. InShe Loves Me, which is set in the 1930s, the romantic leads are Amalia Balash (Allison Standley) and Georg Nowack (Eric Ankrim). They spar in the perfume shop where they both work and while corresponding anonymously as pen pals connected through a Lonely Hearts Club. No one is as happy as they seem inShe Loves Meand everyone seems to be hiding something. Maybe love could fix all this. Through the constant hum of music that serves as the heartbeat toShe Loves Me, each character gets a breath of individuality. There are no showstoppers here. Some of the characters shine, and others fade into the background, all while telling us what they yearn for, or what they think they yearn for. Mostly, that's love. NATHALIE GRAHAM

True WestAmericas favorite masc4masc playwright Sam Shepard is dead. He passed away in 2017, but the swaggering cowboy, called the greatest American playwright of his generation by New York magazine, is continuing to get a retrospective on stages across the country. Now the celebration comes to the Seattle Rep, with the theater putting on True West, a gritty and funny play about two brothers and some identity theft. Expect brawls and belly laughs. CHASE BURNS

Marisa Williamson: 'The Angel of History' and 'The Runaway'The Jacob Lawrence Gallery and SOIL are coming together again to honor and exhibit the work of a resident Black artist. This year, the resident is Marisa Williamson, a New York-based artist who examines history, race, feminism, and technology through video, performance, and sculpture. Some of her most fascinating pieces involve Sally Hemings, an enslaved woman and mistress owned by Thomas Jefferson, and the connections she makes between Hemings experience and present-day conversations around race. Williamson will bring two different shows that will explore the past, not as it was, but, to quote Walter Benjamin as it flashes up in a moment of danger to the JLG and SOIL, respectively. JASMYNE KEIMIG Opening Wednesday

Norm MacdonaldMacdonald is simultaneously somewhat curmudgeonly and also, strangely, an avant-garde master of anti-humor. His delivery is something to beholdwatch his moth joke onConanfor a primer.

Free Screening: 'Ask Dr. Ruth"This documentary isn't about Dr. Ruth's advice, it's about Dr. Ruth. And damn, her story is long overdue for a good documentary. She is a pioneerand a very funny one. CHASE BURNS

Taylor Shellfish Oysters & Bubbles NightYour Thursdays just got classier thanks to fresh Shigoku oysters from Taylor Shellfish Farms and bubbly drink specials.

The Greatest Love of All: A Dedication to Whitney HoustonThe late, great superstar singer Whitney Houston will be honored by local drag artists Skarlet Dior Black and Londyn Bradshaw, with additional performances from Ladie Chabli, Gaysha Star, Alessandra Hunt, and Issa Man.

KUOW's 'Meet the Newsmakers'Tackling subjects from homelessness to the arts to education, KUOW's reporters will deliver free talks on their areas of expertise. This week, Bill Radke, host of KUOW's The Record and Week In Review, will talk about the process of putting together a daily news show.

Paisley RekdalIn 2017, Rich Smith wrote, "The best essay I read this year was called 'Nightingale: A Gloss,' and it was written by Seattle writer (but current University of Utah prof) Paisley Rekdal and published in theAmerican Poetry Review. In a straightforward, no-bullshit tone, and with her characteristically sharp eye for scholarly associations, Rekdal weaves the story of a sexual assault she experienced while hiking alone in Loch Ness with Ovids story of Philomela, other rapes of antiquity, and also with the story of her writing a poem called 'Philomela.' Her reckoning of the assault, and her reckoning of her own reckoning, reveals sexual violence for what it is: a pillar, not an aberration, of Western civilization. She has two new books coming out: a book of poems from Copper Canyon calledImaginary Vesselsand a book-length essay calledThe Broken Country: On Trauma, a Crime, and the Continuing Legacy of Vietnam. So if she doesnt read 'Nightingale' at this event, seek it out."

Kijiji NightThe Seattle Art Museum and One Vibe Africa (a local nonprofit that aims to educate the general public about African culture and promote social welfare and economic empowerment) present this free art, music, poetry, and performance festival whose name means "village" in Swahili. This year's edition will include a fashion show curated by African firm KOELES, dance by Etienne Cakpo, and music by Jemere Morgan, Alana Bell, King Khazm, Kama, Nje, the Ancient Robotz, and DJ Topspin aka Blendiana Jones.

Pioneer Square Art WalkOnce a month, Seattleites flock to the streets in Pioneer Square for a chance to stroll, sip on booze, and attend as many art openings as possible at First Thursday. It's the city's central and oldest art walk, and takes place in a historic neighborhood known for its abundance of galleries. Wine and hobnobbing steal the scene for some, but at its core, it's an impressive communal unveiling of new artwork. Check out our list of suggested art openings here.

The Bridge ProjectLocal choreographers Alyssa Boone, Lucille Jun, and Peter Kohrin have each created a brand-newwork that tacklescollective liberation from exclusionary societal expectations.

CinderellaThe quintessential fairy tale, performed here by the dancers of Pacific Northwest Ballet, gets the Kent Stowell choreography treatment with music by Sergei Prokofiev performed by the great Pacific Northwest Ballet orchestra, a set by Tony Straiges, and fancy costumes by Martin Pakledinaz.

The RevolutionistsProlific director Kelly Kitchens will stageLauren Gunderson's comedy about four strong women in perilous revolutionary France: the feminist playwright Olympe de Gouges, the assassin Charlotte Corday, the prisoner Marie Antoinette, and the Haitian freedom fighter Marianne Angelle.

Snow WhiteTwo actors will portray Snow White, the evil queen, seven dwarfs, the talking mirror, and the huntsman in this ambitious children's theater production written by Greg Banks and directed by Desdemona Chiang.

Solo Fest 2020Rich Smith has written that solo performances "hold the attention of a room like nothing else in the world of performance," and this is true in theater as well as in dance. These four playsOver 140 Lbs. by Susan Lieu, Dare to Claim the Sky by Sharon Nyree Williams, Left on Yellow Brick Road by Sherif Amin, and Bread Crumbs by Jasmine Joshuaallow a single actor/playwright to delve into deeply personal experiences. From deadly beauty standards to non-binary identities, from Oz-ian fantasy to Black American trials and joys, the Solo Fest will invite you into others' realities.

The Undergraduate Theater Society Presents: 'Vietgone'So often we hear stories about the end of the American war in Vietnam that focus on the experiences of shell-shocked American soldiers returning to a country they don't quite understand anymore. But this ain't your typical play about the legacy of that war. Qui Nguyen's geeky, formally adventurous, and energetic love story centers on the lives of two Vietnamese immigrants as they travel around the US learning the language and navigating the complexities of refugee camps. RICH SMITH

Meaningful Movies: 'Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins'Join Meaningful Movies for their 17th anniversary with a screening of Raise Hell:The Life and Times of Molly Ivins. Here's what The Stranger's Nathalie Graham has to say about the film: "Did you know one of George W. Bushs most ardent critics was a journalist from his own state? Molly Ivins was the loudest liberal voice covering the Texas legislature. She eventually followed the Bush clan from the state house to the White House. But that was hardly the height of her career. Ivins had long made a name for herself as a journalist. Her sometimes abrasive style was unique and boisterous. In Raise Hell, Ivinss story clips along breezily, punctuated by her dry wit. Its an easy watch, but itll leave you wondering: What would the late Ivins have thought of the White Houses current tenant?"

Soul of SeattleBy now, youve probably heard of chef Edouardo Jordan, the James Beard Awardwinning mind behind acclaimed Ravenna restaurants Salare and JuneBaby, and newer venture Lucinda Grain Bar. For this cultural and culinary event, hell be teaming up with the Urban League of Seattle to showcase the tasty talents of 10 Seattle-area chefs of color who embody the diverse fabric of Seattles food scene. Among them are Makini Howell ofPlum Bistro,Trey Lamont of Jerk Shack, and Kristi Brown of That Brown Girl Cooks. Also on tap: a multicourse VIP dinner by Jordan, a reading by James Beard Award winner Toni Tipton-Martin from her new book,Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking, and a silent auction. All proceeds go to organizations that support youth of color. LEILANI POLK

Vietti DinnerThe historic Vietti Winery, located in Piedmont in the northwest corner of Italy, dates back to the late 1800s, and the Vietti family has been making wine there for four generations, achieving such notable accomplishments as producing one of the first-ever Barolo crus in 1965. Today, the winery is run by married couple Luca and Elena Currado Vietti. Elena is paying a visit to Cuoco for a dinner showcasing some of the winery's most outstanding wines, and Cuoco chef Ron Anderson will concoct a swoon-worthy supper to match, inspired by the flavors of northern Italy. JULIANNE BELL

Eoin Colfer: HighfireMeet the progenitor of the kid super-criminal Artemis Fowl as he presents his new book Highfire, his first fantasy for adults.

A Future WesternInterdisciplinary performance art companyClub Shamoun (C-LS) explores how our instincts are influenced by western themes of "power, love, redemption, and good versus evil."

The ChildrenIn this Tony Award-nominated play by Lucy Kirkwood, two retired nuclear scientists on the coast of an environmentally devastated England receive a disruptive visit from an old friend.

Disney's 'Frozen'Ive written in the past that I have a warm spot in my heart forFrozen,Disney's second-highest-grossing animated film, about a princess who sets out on a quest (with a group of helpful sidekicks, of course) to find her estranged older sister after said sister's icy magical powers accidentally bring eternal winter to their kingdom. Now the Tony-nominated Broadway show from Disney Theatrical Productions, directed by Michael Grandage, is coming to Seattle for an engagement that promises "sensational special effects, stunning sets and costumes, and powerhouse performances." Expect all those earwormy songs (including the relentlessly triumphant, hard-not-to-sing-along-and-make-dramatic-hand-gestures-to Let It Go), plus an expanded score that features a dozen new numbers by the films songwriters,Kristen Anderson-Lopezand EGOT winnerRobert Lopez. LEILANI POLK

The Tuba ThievesSee five film sequences directed by In Plain Sight artistAlison ODaniel in conjunction with her Tuba Thieves performance.

Warren Pope: Red Lines, Blood LinesThe artist continues to explore African heritage and systemic inequities in the West through minimalist lines, shapes, and color. Opening Friday

Gary Gulman: Peace of MindLocal rising comic Nikita Oster recently singled out Gary Gulman as one of the worlds greatest comedians, especially for his 2019 specialThe Great Depresh. The show earned a rare 100 rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It depicts how Gulman overcame clinical depressions daunting effects, and proves he can wring poignant humor from some of lifes darkest sources. On other topics, hes the poet laureate of mundane details and laziness, and a scintillating storyteller whose parenthetical thoughts and tangents are as hilarious as his punch lines. Hear him go off on grapefruit: The only reason grapefruits were invented was because god wanted us to have something to compare the size of a tumor to. DAVE SEGAL

Shot ProvWell, this sounds a little dangerous: Improvisers violate secret rules (secret from them, that is) as they play and must take a shot every time they do so. Poor things! After they reach their limit, they're booted off the stage, presumably for their own safety.

Chinatown-International District Lunar New YearRing in the Year of the Rat at this massive Lunar New Year celebration that showcases the diversity, richness, and culture of the Asian community. See traditional dragon and lion dances, Japanese Taiko drumming, martial arts, and other cultural performances on the Main Stage, plus arts and crafts and family activitiesand don't miss the $3 food walk.

The Art in Horror: Horror and the Director"Prestige horror" isn't new; great directors have worked in the genre since the existence of the motion picture. Esteemed local critic Robert Horton will head this screening series of horror masterpieces, from F.W. Murnau'sNosferatu(1922, screening tonight) to John Carpenter'sThe Thing(1982). Discover or revisit these classics and discuss them with your fellow movie nerds.

Big Fat Champagne TastingEnter the "Champagne Cave" to help Fatcork pop off 20 years of bubbly-pouring with three tasting sessions of grower champagne.

Jacks BBQs First Anniversary in SLUThe glorious Central Texasstyle smoked-meat mecca that is Jack's BBQ, started by former Microsoft employee and bona fide barbecue nerd Jack Timmons, is celebrating the first anniversary of its South Lake Union location. To mark the occasion, they're tossing an entire alligator into their smokertruly a strange sight to beholdand distributing free samples all day, along with house-made sauces for dipping. All beverages will be half-off throughout, including two special cocktails: the "Swamp Cooler" and the "Bog Marsh." Sounds refreshing. JULIANNE BELL

Temple Pastries Pop-UpScore some delicious pastries from baker Christina Wood's pop-up bakery Temple Pastries, which slings exquisite sourdough pastries (including croissants, croissant pretzels, and "cruffins") made with locally milled buckwheat, rye, and whole wheat.

Garth Greenwell: CleannessIntensity is the novelist Garth Greenwell's subject. The word itself appears twice on the first page of his second novel,Cleanness, a subtly ironic title for the dirtiest novel theNew Yorkerhas excerpted in ages.The narrator is an English teacher from the United States living in Bulgaria. The novel is full of beautiful writing about the pitfalls of teaching, the violence of politics, and the purpose of poetry, but the sex scenes are the most memorable. Few writers write about sex so well and with so much sensitivity. The brilliance and animal warmth of Greenwell's style, the depth of insight, and the range of empathy, confer on even gloomy subjects a kind of radiance. "Sex had never been joyful for me, or almost never, it had always been fraught with shame or anxiety or fear, all of which vanished at the sight of his smile, simply vanished, it poured a kind of cleanness over everything we did," the narrator says. CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE

Poems from Girlhood with Heidi Seaborn, Jane Wong, Michelle Pealoza & Veronica GolosPoetsHeidi Seaborn, Jane Wong, Michelle Pealoza, and Veronica Golos will read poems about girlhood.

Daniel ClowesDaniel Clowes, the author of Ghost World and Patience and a living legend in the realm of graphic novels, will sign the new Fantagraphics Studio collection of his work calledOriginal Art: Daniel Clowes. Get a copy of this compendium of pieces from the past 30 or so years, complete with a freshly scrawled signature from the man himself!

Georgetown Art AttackOnce a month, the art scene of the tiny airport hamlet of Georgetown ATTACKS all passersby. In more literal terms, it's the day of art openings and street wonderment. If the westerly locations are too far, there's a free Art Ride! Check out our critics' picks for this month here.

The Angel in the HouseDuring the Victorian era, Coventry Patmore wrote a poem describing the ideal wife as an "angel in the house" who lives to please her man, as it were. Nobody liked the poem at the time, but it became popular around the turn of the century, and its ideology was pervasive enough to spur Virginia Woolf to write a whole essay collection critiquing it. "Killing the Angel in the House was part of the occupation of a woman writer," she wrote. Quadruple-threat Sara Porkalob, who has built her career on a biographical trilogy about her cool family, said her love of Victorian-era literature and her passionate agreement with Woolf's takedown inspired her riff on this cursed character. Like her Dragon Cycle, The Angel in the House will serve as the first installment of a new play cycle based on "magic, the occult, revenge, blood, and sacrifice." Unlike the Dragon Cycle, the show is a thriller that looks like a murder mystery at first but ends up being something else entirely. Major reasons to be excited include local stars Ray Tagavilla and Ayo Tushinde, plus the joy of watching a writer/director exploring completely new territory. RICH SMITH

Asian Art Museum ReopeningThe Seattle Asian Art Museum will finally reopen to the public, after a $56 million, almost three-year renovation. The refurbished museumwhich had not been significantly overhauled since its building's construction in 1933features a new gallery, education studio, conservation center, and community room; a climate-control system so things don't rot on the walls; a new glass-enclosed park lobby; and the restoration of one interior and two exterior fountains. Another major change: The permanent collection will not be organized by country or time period, but by theme. Curator of Chinese art Ping Foong and curator of Japanese and Korean art Xiaojin Wu (both from Seattle Art Museum), along with consulting curator of South Asian art Darielle Mason, collaborated on refiguring SAAM's permanent collection into 13 different themes. They grouped the objects according to their relationship to concepts like spirituality, fashion, divinity, material, text, and storytellingmixing contemporary work with the ancient across cultures and regions. JASMYNE KEIMIGThis Saturday marks the openings of ongoing exhibitions Be/longing: Contemporary Asian Art and Boundless: Stories of Asian Art.

Bing Wright: Blow-upNew York-based artist Bing Wright's fifth solo exhibition, Blow-Up, inspired by Michelangelo Antonioni's 1967 movie of the same title, marks the artist's return to color photography.Opening Saturday

'Black Power Mixtape' Film ScreeningBlack Power Mixtape 19671975bears the pros and cons of its titular format: It never dwells overlong on any one subject, but it also sacrifices depth and cohesion. This mishmash of vintage footage of speeches, interviews, rallies, and rioting culled from various Swedish news organizations and recent interviews with black musicians like Erykah Badu, Talib Kweli, and Ahmir Questlove Thompson chronologicallyand sympatheticallyexamines the movements triumphs, defeats, and tenets. Director/writer Gran Olsson admits his film isnt comprehensive, but his outsiders perspective lendsBPMa piquant slant unavailable to American filmmakers. He devotes almost as much time to ordinary black citizens dealing with injustice, drugs, and poverty as he does to leaders like Martin Luther King, Angela Davis, Stokely Carmichael, and Eldridge Cleaver. And given the current Occupy Wall Street protests, Olsson makes us realize that black peoples grievances resonate as urgently today for all downtrodden Americans as they did 40 years ago. DAVE SEGAL

Chocofest 2020Dive headfirst into chocoholic bacchanalia with 10count em 10drink tickets in tow at this annual pre-Valentines Day bash. Indulge in libations from local breweries, cidermakers, wineries, and distilleries, and sate your sweet tooth with confections from Frans Chocolates, Theo Chocolate, Joe Chocolate Company, indi chocolate, and more. When you need to cut your sugar rush with something savory, there will also be bites from local restaurants like Honest Biscuits and Tankard & Tun. And know that all your hedonism supports a good causeproceeds go to Long Live the Kings, a local nonprofit working to restoring wild salmon and support sustainable fishing practices in the Pacific Northwest. JULIANNE BELL

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The 61 Best Things To Do in Seattle This Week: February 3-9, 2020 - TheStranger.com

Category: Jewish American Heritage Month
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