Specials & Shorts

The mesmerizing new exhibit “Winter Brilliance” uses light, color, music, and glass to create a tranquil, immersive experience. Video is projected onto glass ice-like sculptures, creating refracted light that makes them appear to glow from within. The new interactive installation, created by Dale Chihuly, is inspired by the glass artist’s fascination with ice and icicles. The artwork was originally created as a holiday window display for Barneys New York, but the interactive elements are brand new. Chihuly Garden and Glass plans to run “Winter Brilliance” every winter. See it now through Feb. 28, 2023.

Photos of Chihuly Artworks republished with permission: © 2022 Chihuly Studio. All Rights Reserved

Tribes in our region originally spoke a form of the Salish language, and here in the Seattle area, that language is Southern Lushootseed. Today, there are no people left who speak Lushootseed as a first language, but there are local efforts to keep the language and the culture it represents, alive. University of Washington Assistant Teaching Professor Tami Hohn explains why preserving the language – and sharing it with students – has been a fulfilling personal journey.

Photo Information:
MOHAI, PEMCO Webster & Stevens Collection, 1983.10.9458
MOHAI, Seattle Post-Intelligencer Photograph Collection, 2000.107.095.28.04

Día de los Muertos is a two-day holiday celebrating and honoring the dead. Originating in Mexico, many celebrate the holiday using a home altar adorned in pictures of loved ones who’ve passed. Their images are often surrounded in flowers, skulls, and the departed’s favorite foods.

These traditions are celebrated in our region, too, including at Seattle Center’s recent Festál series and El Centro de la Raza’s six-day Día de los Muertos that ends in an all-day event Saturday, Nov. 5.

The family-run Viet-Wah supermarket has anchored Seattle’s Little Saigon neighborhood for more than four decades, providing Vietnamese cuisine staples like fish and oyster sauce, rice vermicelli, pickled vegetables, seasoning, spices, and more. To many of the store’s longtime customers, Viet-Wah was not only a grocer, but a destination and a reminder of home.  Late last month, Viet-Wah’s owners and staff said goodbye to longtime customers and closed their doors, citing a looming redevelopment of the property, pandemic-related woes, and ongoing public safety issues. The Tran family, who started Viet-Wah, plans to focus on the store’s Renton location.

The Rainier Beach neighborhood celebrated the opening of Detective Cookie Chess Park over the weekend. Named in honor of 35-year Seattle Police Department detective veteran Denise "Cookie" Bouldin, the park pays homage to the detective's passion for chess and features a large chess board and built-in chess tables. Back in 2006, Bouldin brought chess to Rainier Beach Community Center and Rainier Beach Library, and years later, the Detective Cookie’s Urban Youth Chess Club has taught thousands of youth chess skills and the art of strategy and patience. More information. 

The Seattle Youth Employment Program (SYEP) supports young people (ages 16 to 24) from qualifying-income households and communities that experience racial, social, and economic disparities. The goal is to increase youth and young adults' ability to pursue careers that pay well and are meaningful to them.

SYEP has three components: a stipend-based school year exploration and learning experience, summer internships with local nonprofits and Seattle city departments, and private internship opportunities for Seattle Promise students.

Pike Place Market opened on Aug. 17, 1907, with just a few farmers’ carts. It quickly became a hit and by 1909, it boasted about 64 farmers per day and 300,000 visitors per month. Today it attracts about ten million visitors annually, making it Seattle’s most popular tourist attraction and one of its most historic. From buskers to florists to fishmongers, take a stroll through Seattle’s iconic market.

Capitol Hill artists, musicians, performers, and small business owners have come together to create a new monthly marketplace. Coined “On The Block Second Saturdays,” the free community-run event transforms part of 11^th Avenue in the Pike/Pine corridor with live music, art, and more. Aimed at boosting neighborhood artists and businesses, the event takes place every second Saturday from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. and runs through October.

Sunday, August 7, 2022, was Recovery Day at the Seattle Mariners. It was a day for the mental health and substance abuse recovery community to come together, loud and proud, to root for recovery. Supporters met at Occidental Square for a recovery rally and then marched to T-Mobile Park to cheer on the Mariners.

Learn more about ways to support mental health and substance use recovery at washingtonrecoveryalliance.org

Every August 6, on the anniversary of the atomic bombing of the Japanese city of Hiroshima, "From Hiroshima to Hope" floats candle-lit lanterns at dusk from the shores of Green Lake to honor victims of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and other victims of war and violence. The annual ceremony brings messages of non-violence and hope and promotes peace through education.

The spherical shell of a Lewis' moon snail can have a diameter of nearly six inches, but despite their size they can be hard to spot in the Puget Sound. Urban naturalist and author Kelly Brenner shares tips on how to track down these shelled gastropods.

Dance enthusiasts flock to Seattle’s Alki Beach Park each summer to move and groove to salsa and bachata music. Started back in 2009 by Belltown Dance Studio, “Salsa & Bachata On Alki” draws hundreds each summer, with participants dancing to Latin music beats under the shadow of the Olympic Mountains and setting sun. For dates and more information, visit: https://sazondanceevents.com/

Since 2016, the Refugee Artisan Initiative (RAI) has provided artisan skills training and micro business development education for refugee and immigrant women who’ve left countries like Afghanistan, Burma, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Bhutan, Morocco, and China. But in January, the transformational organization had a setback when its temporary makerspace was damaged from a flood. With grants from the city, county, and state, RAI recently opened its doors to a new 7,500-square-foot space in Lake City that includes a makerspace and cultural center.

Naturalist and author Kelly Brenner is on a mission to shed light on some of the lesser-known species that cohabitate with us in our urban ecosystem. The tiny three-spined stickleback is one of those creatures. Lake Washington's sticklebacks are famous in scientific circles for a unique evolutionary quirk. Before the lake was cleaned up, the murky water protected the stickleback from predators so well, they let down their spikey defenses. But in one of the first documented cases of reverse evolution, following clean-up efforts that began in the 1960s, they were forced to evolve again to survive. Produced by David Albright.

More info about Be'er Sheva Park and Mapes Creek: https://www.seattle.gov/parks/find/parks/beer-sheva-park

The City of Seattle and King County celebrates essential workers and thanks them for their service. We honor and celebrate the public employees working to build a brighter future for the people of our region.

For those returning and those who never left, City and County government employees are celebrated and welcomed to a reopened downtown Seattle. The City Hall Plaza event, held on the first day of summer, featured food trucks, the sounds of King Youngblood and The Black Tones, and remarks by Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell. Watch the full concert here.

The Seattle City Hall flag-raising tradition dates back to June 1, 2013, just months after same-sex marriage was formally recognized in Washington state. In this year’s pride flag event, Mayor Bruce Harrell and other community leaders reflected on LGBTQ+ history and looked to the future work that remains.

A giant 85-foot-high roller coaster once poked through the tree line of Seattle’s Bitter Lake neighborhood. Opened on May 24, 1930, just months after the great stock market crash, Playland debuted as the largest amusement park of its kind in the Pacific Northwest. The 12-acre “million-dollar pleasure resort” enticed thrillseekers with rides, entertainment, and concessions. Here’s the story of the rise and fall of the once-popular destination.

Nearly 4,000 volunteers participated in over 125 events across the city in the One Seattle Day of Service. Community-based organizations, neighborhood groups, business improvement area organizations, and neighbors have embraced Mayor Bruce Harrell’s commitment to civic engagement by organizing over 100 sites for volunteers to get involved.

Mayor Harrell joined Garfield students, their families, and Seattle Public Schools leadership at his alma mater to help pick up litter, garden, and beautify the area. He also joined Build Lake City Together with six former Seattle Sonics players to lead street beautification projects and a litter pick up in the Lake City neighborhood.

“It's just so great to be back together again.” No one could remember exactly how long it had been since Seattle Center employees had gotten together for an all-staff photo. This year marks the Seattle Center's 60th anniversary and what better way to kick off a season of celebration than with a group photo!

“I think herons are cool because they look like dinosaurs.” Go ahead, get out your binoculars and crane your neck for epic Great Blue Heron watching at Commodore Park, just alongside the Ballard Locks. Every spring, the popular tourist spot becomes a noisy spectacle, with dozens of Great Blue Heron nesting in the treetops above the canal. Members of Heron Habitat Helpers explain why the birds are so special and why they single out Ballard. Video by David Albright

Governor Jay Inslee and Mayor Bruce Harrell join a celebration of the completion of the Miller Community Center Microgrid. This project was a collaboration between Seattle City Light and Seattle Parks and Recreation. It was funded in part by a $1.5 million Clean Energy Fund grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce.

The project included the installation of 132 solar panels on the Miller Community Center’s roof, which send energy to a battery storage system. This system provides backup power storage for the community center during emergency events, such as a windstorm or unplanned power outage. During such an event, the microgrid generates and supplies power allowing the center to continue providing valuable services to the community. It also helps to meet the City of Seattle’s goals by reducing greenhouse gas emissions through renewable (solar) energy and enhances the resiliency of Seattle’s electricity grid. 

“We all have to come together to do something.” -Quynh Pham, Friends of Little Sài Gòn

From the Little Saigon neighborhood, Mayor Bruce Harrell announced Monday the first-ever “One Seattle Day of Service,” a citywide volunteer event that will take place on Saturday, May 21, 2022.

Hoping to inspire a sense of Seattle comradery, Mayor Harrell and the City of Seattle aim to have about 2,200 volunteer opportunities across more than 80 different activities throughout the city. Volunteer efforts have been organized with community groups, business associations, Seattle Parks and Recreation, and Seattle Public Utilities, and are supported by local businesses, civic organizations, and Seattle’s sports teams.

The “One Seattle Day of Service” will have opportunities for everyone, across ages, abilities, and interests from cleanup and beautification to gardening and restoration to helping neighbors in need. Interested people can visit seattle.gov/dayofservice to learn more and register to volunteer.

Built in just eight months for the 1962 Seattle World's Fair, the Seattle Monorail has stood the test of time. Fast forward to today, and the workhorse continues to zip passengers from Westlake to Seattle Center. On Tuesday, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, city leaders, and others celebrated the Monorail’s 60th anniversary, and pledged to invest in the iconic rail system’s future.

"Our hopes are just to come back together as a community again." On the first Saturday of each month, organizers and volunteers from Friends of Little Sài Gòn work to remove trash from Seattle's historic Vietnamese neighborhood. In March, Mayor Bruce Harrell and Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison joined the cleanup to help bring attention to Little Saigon, which had been struggling with public safety issues.