All week long, we've been posting lists of Seattle events to keep you busy (including the best arts & culture events, quirky things to do, and cheap & easy things to do), but we realize there's a lot to sort through. To help you out, we've plucked the biggest events you need to know about in every genre, whether you want to see local indie films, dance to house and techno at the undisputed monarch of Seattle nightlife, visit museums for free, or hoist steins at one of Seattle's biggest beer festivals. See them all below, and find even more things to do this weekend on our complete EverOut Things To Do calendar.

Heading to Portland or Tacoma? Check out EverOut to find things to do there and in Seattle, all in one place.


Jump to: Arts & Music Festivals | Comedy, Performances & Visual Art | Community Events | Cultural Festivals | Environmental Events | Fall Events | Film | Food & Drink Events | Major Concerts | Oktoberfests

ARTS & MUSIC FESTIVALS

Bellwether 2019: Taking Root
This year's festival of arts and performance spreads from the Bellevue Arts Museum to various downtown Bellevue venues, including the Meydenbauer Center and City Hall. This weekend brings a pop-up market, a guided tour with Ben Beres of the SuttonBeresCuller artistic trio, a conversation about Bellevue with John Boylan, and more. See the full schedule here.
Friday-Sunday, Various locations

DjangoFest NW
DjangoFest bills itself as the "premier showcase of gypsy jazz music in North America." Join with other "Djangophiles" in Langley for five days of performances, workshops, and informal "djam" sessions (their parlance) around Whidbey Island.
Friday-Sunday, Various locations

Kremfest 2019
Last year I described Kremfest as proof that the nightclub complex Kremwerk/Timbre Room is the “undisputed monarch of Seattle nightlife.” The Denny Triangle compound is going to defend its crown with a third edition of its namesake festival. I will proceed with the customary practice of enumerating exciting acts, but if you like house and especially techno, I'll just cut to the chase: Go. If you're pickier and choosier? Well, there are coast-to-coast dance-floor slayers like Dee Diggs and Jasmine Infiniti, overseas talents like Japanese producer Gonno and UK bass champion Fracture, and New York princeling Anthony Naples. Oh, and some guy named Derrick May... one of the Belleville Three who invented techno. Look it up. GREGORY SCRUGGS
Friday-Sunday, Kremwerk (Downtown)

Town Hall Homecoming Festival
Town Hall, a wonderful organization that hosts inexpensive, accessible talks by eminent scholars, writers, politicians, musicians, scientists, and others, is thrilled to be back in its home after a couple of years of renovation. To celebrate, they'll host a bonanza of lectures and events including Gina Rippon: The Myth of the Gendered Brain (Fri), Brad Smith (Fri), a TUF Art Collective Takeover (Sat), Clyde W. Ford (Sun), and Leta Hong Fincher (Sun). Expand your mind without expending (much) money!
Friday-Sunday, Town Hall (First Hill)

Plus, check out our festivals calendar.

COMEDY, PERFORMANCES & VISUAL ART

Eric Andre: Legalize Everything Tour
The creator of The Eric Andre Show has described his Adult Swim series as "like poop and pee mixed together." While that undersells the program—a hyperbolic and absurdist parody of public-access talk shows—it underscores Andre's scatological sensibilities and knack for shocking and mocking decorum. Since 2012, Andre has hosted and cowritten The Eric Andre Show with fellow stand-up comedian Hannibal Buress. It's a mélange of pranks, physical humor, and celebrity interviews that veers 180 degrees from talk shows' ho-hum formulas. In his stand-up performances, Andre delivers similarly skewed observations with a gravel-voiced hysteria. Some subjects include his biracial status, the mentality behind homophobia, Wendy's Baconator, and the show MANswers, whose hyper-macho approach to television he hilariously dissects. DAVE SEGAL
Saturday, Moore Theatre (Belltown)

Free Museum Day
Get cultured for free at one of the museums participating in Smithsonian's Museum Day. All you need to do is download the ticket from the Smithsonian's website, grab a companion, and show your pass at the Museum of Pop Culture, the MOHAI, the Wing Luke, the Bellevue Arts Museum, the National Nordic Museum, the Museum of Flight, or other institutions out of town. Choose carefully, though, because you only get one.
Saturday, Various locations

Frye Art Museum Fall Exhibitions Opening
Fill your eyeballs with art in three new exhibitions—Dress Codes: Ellen Lesperance and Diane Simpson, Pierre Leguillon: Arbus Bonus, and Unsettling Femininity: Selections from the Frye Art Museum Collection. The opening reception on Friday will have a cash bar.
Opening Friday, Frye Art Museum (First Hill)

Indecent
When Sholem Asch's searing critique of Orthodox Judaism, God of Vengeance, debuted on Broadway in 1923, the entire cast was arrested and tried for obscenity. They were tried not only because of the play's lesbian kiss—which for some reason didn't disturb the delicate sensibilities of Europeans, who praised the piece for years before it was translated into English—but also because of the rising anti-Semitic and anti-immigrant sentiment in America. Though it was the "roaring twenties," it was also a time when conspiracy theories about Jews controlling the world through theater and banking were peaking. Paula Vogel's Tony Award–winning play dramatizes the history of this show. In a recent interview, the playwright called it "a love letter to theater, a love letter to Yiddish culture, and a plea to every audience member who sees it: Please, please partake in the arts. The arts will see us through to our last days on earth." RICH SMITH
Friday-Sunday, Seattle Repertory Theatre (Seattle Center)

Ligia Lewis: Water Will (in Melody)
Witness the final act of a triptych from Ligia Lewis, a Dominican American choreographer based in Germany who earlier this year impressed the hell out of Seattle with the first two parts of that triptych, Sorrow Swag and minor matter. A reviewer for Bachtrack called Water Will (in Melody) "a gory fairy tale on human behaviors gone wild," and that's what all the press videos look like. Dancers, covered in black or clear vinyl, strewn across the floor like broken puppets and talking like records played backward, all while lighting tricks make them disappear and reappear. This is about as goth as contemporary dance gets. RICH SMITH
Friday-Sunday, On the Boards (Queen Anne)

Plus, check out our arts & culture critics' picks for this week.

COMMUNITY FAIRS & FESTIVALS

Fishermen's Fall Festival
The North Pacific fishing fleet's annual return to their home terminal gives occasion to this waterfront fundraiser for the Seattle Fishermen’s Memorial Foundation to assist families of fishermen lost at sea. You can learn about where your seafood comes from, make fishing-themed art projects (like a wooden boat, for instance), and cast a line into a pond for some catch-and-release practice.
Saturday, Fishermen's Terminal (Ballard)

Park(ing) Day
Parking spaces throughout the city will turn into actual parks with interactive activities for one blessed day as Seattle frees itself from the tyranny of the car.
Friday, Various locations

Seattle Children’s Festival
I want to go somewhere where, instead of getting head-turns and raised eyebrows, no one even blinks when my daughter issues her piercing pterodactyl shriek—where it simply blends into the background of thousands of other tiny voices all raised to the sky in a chorus of noise. Seattle Children’s Fest seems like the place. Plus, there’s plenty to keep her entertained, including five stages worth of performances (dance from around the world included), interactive music-driven workshops, arts and crafts, and “tactile learning activities.” I’m sold. LEILANI POLK
Saturday-Sunday, Seattle Center

Second Use Fall Fest
Second Use is turning a quarter-century old! To celebrate, they'll offer free food, all-ages games, local beer, and sustainable goods from over 35 local vendors.
Saturday, Second Use Building Materials (Beacon Hill)

Wag Love Life
Dogs are the stars at this fundraiser for canine cancer research. You can go on a walk or run with your pup, dance to live music, eat free bagels, make a flower garland inspired by an ancient Nepalese festival where dogs are thanked for their loyalty and friendship, and more.
Sunday, Marymoor Park (Redmond)

Washington State Fair
The first days of autumn coincide with the latter portion of the annual Washington State Fair in Puyallup, which brings family-friendly activities like rides and games, carnival food, free music and performances, baby animals, cultural events, produce contests, a rodeo, live concerts, and much more.
Friday-Sunday, Washington State Fair Events Center (Puyallup)

CULTURAL FESTIVALS

Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival
Take part in UW's version of the Mid-Autumn festival, a Chinese and Vietnamese tradition that welcomes the new season and honors departed loved ones. This year, they promise a lantern-filled quad, carnival games, mooncakes, and much more.
Saturday, UW Quad (University District)

NW Indigenous Peoples: Sharing Powwow Ways
Celebrate the natural resources of the Pacific Northwest with local Indigenous communities through social dances, traditional songs, artist demos, raffle prizes, and more.
Saturday, Victor Steinbrueck Park (Downtown)

Saint Demetrios Greek Festival
This hallmark early-fall tradition is your chance to get a taste of Greek food, music, and tradition. Stop by the tent to feast on classic fare like gyros, loukoumathes (sticky-sweet deep-fried pastries), and baklava, enjoy live music with Taki and the Mad Greeks, and see dancing from St. Demetrios dance groups. Plus, you can take a guided church tour, taste wine, and more.
Friday-Sunday, St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church (Capitol Hill)

Tacoma Moon Festival
Celebrate the diverse communities in Tacoma—and the turning of the season—by enjoying Chinese, South American, Caribbean, Spanish, Japanese, and Cambodian performances and traditions. The day includes lion dances, Cambodian folk dances, flamenco performances, moon stories, and more, culminating in the arrival of the moon princess.
Saturday, Tacoma Chinese Reconciliation Park

ENVIRONMENTAL EVENTS

Fall Native Plant Sale
Find a large selection of native trees, shrubs, perennials, ground covers, bulbs, and seeds ideal for Washington gardens (and beneficial for local birds and pollinators). 
Saturday, The Mountaineers (Sand Point)

Seattle Climate Strike
In these dire times for the planet, show your support for the Green New Deal and other efforts to combat climate change with WA and US Youth Climate Strike.
Friday, Cal Anderson Park (Capitol Hill)

South Seattle Plant and Art Swap
Bring plants, cuttings, and seeds to swap with ones that better suit your gardening needs. Or, just show up empty-handed to purchase plants and art (including paintings, prints, and handmade plant hangers) from a handful of vendors.
Sunday, Fresh Flours (West Seattle)

FALL EVENTS

Festival at Stocker Farms
It's officially fall when Stocker Farms opens its U-Pick pumpkin patch. From this Saturday through Halloween, you'll find gourds in all shapes and sizes, a corn maze, and more family-friendly attractions.
Saturday-Sunday, Stocker Farms (Snohomish)

Luminata
The Fremont Arts Council will hop over to Green Lake for their annual autumnal equinox celebration filled with bright paper lanterns to help ease you into the less-sunny season. You're invited to bring any other luminary you have on hand (they suggest light-up umbrellas and costumes) to help make the post-ceremony parade even brighter.
Saturday, Green Lake Park

Pooches in the Patch
For one day only, you can take your dog along to the farm so they, too, can enjoy the fun of bounding through a pumpkin patch.
Sunday, Craven Farm (Snohomish)

Schack-toberfest
Immortalize your fall spirit by choosing from over 900 glass pumpkins and gourds, handcrafted in the Schack glassblowing studio, to "pick" and purchase.
Friday-Sunday, Schack Art Center (Everett)

U-Pick Apple Festival
Biting into a Honeycrisp is all the more satisfying when you pluck it from the tree yourself. Fill a basket with autumnal bounties and enjoy some food specials at this two-day festival.
Saturday-Sunday, the Farm at Swan's Trail (Snohomish)

Plus, check out our list of ways to celebrate the beginning of fall and our list of places to watch football in Seattle.

FILM

'Ad Astra' Opening
Writer/director James Grey's follow-up to 2016's excellent, underrated The Lost City of Z is a clunkier affair, with sad-sack Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) embarking on an almost-certainly doomed voyage through the solar system to track down his MIA astronaut father (Tommy Lee Jones). Along the way, he fights battles both external (space pirates!) and internal (daddy issues!), and he also spends a whole lot of time monologuing, thanks to an unnecessary, on-the-nose voiceover that rivals Harrison Ford's awkward ramble in Blade Runner. But it's when the movie shuts up—when Gray's camera skims the plains of the Moon, when an antenna towering into Earth's atmosphere begins to shudder, when the screen is filled by the shadow-blue rings of Neptune or the churning storms of Jupiter—that Ad Astra hits the profundity and scope that all McBride's monologuing fails to get at. ERIK HENRIKSEN
Opening Friday, wide release

Local Sightings Film Festival 2019
This year, the regional film festival will get even more local, partnering with homegrown nonprofits and media production companies like Indigenous Showcase, Sustainable Seattle, Langston, Pr0n 4 Freakz, NFFTY, and more. Once again, the city will become a hub for indie filmmakers who eschew New York or LA for the earnest and eccentric Northwest. Local Sightings acts as a showcase and watering hole for regional filmmakers, VR artists, and others who range from emotional storytellers to nature documentarists to political essayists. Many of them will attend, which makes for an opportunity for local professional and aspiring moviemakers to meet at the screenings, workshops, and parties. JOULE ZELMAN
Friday-Sunday, Northwest Film Forum (Capitol Hill)

Plus, check out our film critics' picks for the weekend.

FOOD & DRINK EVENTS

Ice Cream Social Pop-Up
You scream, I scream, we all scream for this curbside festival showcasing frozen treats from a variety of vendors.
Sunday, Fremont Sunday Market

An Incredible Feast - Farmers Market Fundraiser Party
At this fundraiser feast put on by Seattle Neighborhood Farmers Markets and benefiting the Good Farmer Fund (a grant and loan program that has granted over $255,000 of emergency relief funds to farmers since 2008), more than 15 acclaimed Seattle chefs will be matched up with local farms to create a locally sourced spread. This year’s batch of culinary luminaries includes Shota Nakajima of Adana, Tamara Murphy of Terra Plata, Thomas Litrenta of Agrodolce, and more, and they’ll be whipping up dishes using fresh ingredients from Alvarez Organic Farm, Collins Family Orchards, and Hayton Farms, among others. Plus, there’s local beer and wine, live music, carnival games, and a silent auction. JULIANNE BELL
Sunday, UW Center For Urban Horticulture (University District)

Seattle Nourished Festival
For all you gluten-free, allergy-prone food lovers, this festival brings tons of tasty samples to suit your dietary needs.
Saturday-Sunday, Seattle Center Exhibition Hall

Smoke Farm Symposium
Every year since 2009, thinkers from across all disciplines, including scientists, scholars, artists, writers, activists, philosophers, and more, have come together for the Smoke Symposium, a day of lectures at Arlington-based Smoke Farm—affectionately described as “TED talks in a barn.” The day of intellectual stimulation culminates in a communal feast prepared by local chef Monica Dimas of Little Neon Taco, Sunset Fried Chicken, and Westman’s Bagel and Coffee, paired with plenty of lively discussion. This year’s lineup of speakers includes Adrienne Fairhall, codirector of UW's Institute of Neuroengineering and Computational Neuroscience Center; author, editor, and Evergreen State College teacher Miranda Mellis; Fulbright fellow Mary Weir; retired clinical psychologist Clark Martin; and The Stranger’s own Charles Mudede. Guests have the option to camp out overnight and take a dip in the Stillaguamish River. JULIANNE BELL
Saturday, Smoke Farm (Arlington)

Plus, check out our weekend food news roundup.

MAJOR CONCERTS

Alice in Chains
Seattle grunge/heavy metal legends Alice in Chains will tear up their home turf like it's 1987.
Friday, WaMu Theatre (Sodo)

Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
Like Kraftwerk, Bob Seger largely ignores and underrates his early work. However, last year saw the rerelease of those brutal, soulful garage-rock singles he cut with the Last Heard circa 1966–67 on the Heavy Music comp. So maybe the Motor City icon is realizing the serious hunger for music from his wild, youthful phase? Does this mean Seger and the Silver Bullet Band will rekindle that flame, or will they play it safe with the heartland stadium-rock and sentimental balladry that scored some of your least-favorite TV ads? With a fan base consisting mainly of folks who’ve probably written their wills, the latter seems more likely—although recent sets have included early barn burner “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man” and the haunting troubadour move “Turn the Page.” DAVE SEGAL
Saturday, Tacoma Dome

Brad Paisley, Riley Green
Top 40 country hunk Brad Paisley will take over the state fair for a night of Americana hits and opening support from Riley Green.
Sunday, Washington State Fair Events Center (Puyallup)

Breaking Benjamin, Chevelle, Three Days Grace, Dorothy, Diamante
Nineties hard rockers Breaking Benjamin will bring their angsty lyrics and crunching guitars to the Enumclaw arena. 
Sunday, White River Amphitheatre (Enumclaw)

Chris Isaak
Chris Isaak is not quite Roy Orbison, but he is now over a decade older than Orbison ever was, which shocks me, anyway. Isaak's rockabilly growl resembles Orbison's more playful teddy-bear style—but again like Orbison, he sails high notes across shimmering backings, creating a virtual beachscape so smooth and so eerie, you have to get in your car and drive, just to give it some rubber-tire roughage. Easy to say Isaak's style never escapes stylization, but I disagree. Maybe it's because I spent so much time on those lamentations in my MTV days. And I never learned to drive. ANDREW HAMLIN
Sunday, Chateau Ste. Michelle (Woodinville)

Earth, Wind, and Fire
Earth, Wind, and Fire, the true soul of the funk revolution, will lasso all of the elements at this Woodinville show.
Friday-Saturday, Chateau Ste. Michelle (Woodinville)

John Prine, Kelsey Waldon
Herman Melville once wrote “there is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast.” You cannot savor warmth without knowing the cold. And you can’t really fathom happiness unless you’ve known the full depth of sadness. Folk legend John Prine appears to understand this principle. His charmingly sweet songs like “In Spite of Ourselves” set you up for heart-rending ballads like “Sam Stone” and “Hello in There.” It can be such a roller coaster that even the lyrically light “Long Monday” seems like a heavy-duty painkiller. You can keep your young sad-sucker minstrels with their endless string of minor chords. I’ll take the old guy whose upbeat demeanor belies a lifetime of genuine heartache. BRIAN COOK
Sunday, Woodland Park Zoo North Meadow (Phinney)

Mahler's Symphony No. 1
Thomas Dausgaard officially takes the reins as music director of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra with this interpretation of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 1. Critics judge symphonies on their ability to handle Mahler's subtleties, grandiosities, and complexities, and Dausgaard knows his Mahler, so this program will be a good indicator of how well the orchestra and their (sort of) new conductor are jelling. Johannes Brahms’s Second Piano Concerto and Flounce by Finnish composer Lotta Wennäkoski will share the bill with Mahler. Flounce is full of jagged melodies and surprising bursts of brightness, which will start the season off on a lively, optimistic note. RICH SMITH
Friday-Saturday, Benaroya Hall (Downtown)

Social Distortion, Flogging Molly, The Devil Makes Three, Le Butcherettes
Thrash to '80s-formed California punk-rock band Social Distortion on their Summer Tour with Flogging Molly, the Devil Makes Three, and Le Butcherettes.
Saturday, WaMu Theatre (Sodo)

Travis Thompson, Adé, Nyles Davis
Some say Seattle hip-hop doesn't have a sound, which absolutely isn't true—more often than not, it sounds something like Travis Thompson. The 21-year-old Burien rapper comes across as humble and good-natured, homing in on everyday struggles and self-doubt over laid-back, soul-inflected instrumentals. Even so, Thompson has a distinctive presence, a half-sung, half-rapped delivery that's slurred but verbose. It's necessary, of course, to bring up Macklemore, who featured Thompson on his "Corner Store" single and brought him along on a national tour. It remains to be seen if Thompson ascends to Macklemore levels of national fame, but he already has the makings of a hometown hero. ANDREW GOSPE
Friday, the Showbox (Downtown)

Plus, check out our music critics' picks for this week.

OKTOBERFESTS

Edmonds Oktoberfest
Edmonds will offer its own twist on the Bavarian-style festival with offerings from tons of local breweries, food trucks, an Urban Craft Uprising pop-up market, and all-ages activities. 
Friday-Saturday, Frances Anderson Center (Edmonds)

Fremont Oktoberfest
Hoist your heftiest steins in celebration of "Seattle's largest beer festival," where you can taste over 100 German and domestic craft beers (excuse us, "biers") and feast on Bavarian-style food like Bratwurst and soft pretzels.
Friday–Sunday, Fremont

Kirkland Oktoberfest
Grab a bier and celebrate Oktoberfest with live oompah music, DJ dance parties, keg rolling, stein hoisting, and even weiner dog racing. Proceeds from the event benefit multiple Eastside charities, such as Imagine Housing, the American Cancer Society, Sibling House, and more.
Friday-Sunday, Marina Park (Kirkland)

Plus, check out our Oktoberfest roundup.