Starting today, you’ll find our complete list of suggested events for the week in the new Things To Do section of the paper. As always, find all events happening in the city on our online Things To Do Calendar.
FILM
The Wanted 18
This excellent little film mixes animation and real interviews to form a documentary about an attempt by Palestinians in Beit Sahour to achieve independence from the Israeli milk industry by starting a dairy. It really happened during the First Intifada. The doc has a great sense of humor about the whole bizarre business. The cows even talk and don't like Palestinians. (Aug 7-13, Grand Illusion Cinema) CHARLES MUDEDE
ART
Duwamish Revealed Boat Trip
The most important part of the months-long public art project Duwamish Revealed this week is a silent boating trip on August 8 down the river itself. It will be led by City Meditation Crew, "a group of 'city workers' who call attention to sites and actions simply by paying attention." You can join in by bringing your own boat or wait at the Herring House Park T107 boat launch (next to the "Rotary Club of West Seattle" bench—very cute) for pickups on the hour and half-hour. (Sat Aug 8, 10 am-4 pm, Terminal 107 Park. To sign up, e-mail info@citymeditationcrew.org. Rain date: Sun Aug 9) JEN GRAVES
READINGS & TALKS
The Least Boring Poetry Event of the Year
The event name don't lie. Monica McClure's latest book of poems, Tender Data, mixes webspeak and fashionspeak and traditional lyrical flights in a way that creates a too-cool and yet kinda vulnerable persona who subtly critiques the mainstream power structures in which she participates. Ben Fama (Fantasy, Cool Memories) does basically the same thing but sometimes he writes prose. They're coming in all the way from New York City, so it's rare to see them. Sarah Galvin reads a lot around town, but she's been reading some new work that's worth second and third hearings. By her own admission, Mary Anne Carter is a professional artist with "professional and sexual ties to the poetry community" who is best known for "wearing a shit-ton of capes." She'll present flashy and hilarious broadsides, patches, and one-of-a-kind pieces inspired by the readers. (Tues Aug 11, The Factory, free, 7 pm) RICH SMITH
See all suggested readings and talks
PERFORMANCE
Is She Dead Yet?
In the past few years, the Seattle theater community has had an unusually (for here, anyway) public and vigorous debate with itself about diversity (or the lack thereof) on the city's most visible stages. In the middle of this conversation, Brandon J. Simmons wrote Is She Dead Yet?, an "absurd" exploration of American whiteness set in the town of Mini-Salt-Lake-in-the-North-Woods: a place where the local industry includes cloud manufacture, Death is running for office, and white people are immortal. It's also home to the last black person on earth. (Annex Theatre, $5-$18, Thurs-Sat at 8 pm, through Aug 22) BRENDAN KILEY
See all suggested theater, dance, and comedy events
FOOD & DRINK
Smart Catch Dining Out
To celebrate national Sustainable Seafood Week (and billionaire Paul Allen’s new Smart Catch Program), restaurants around Seattle are offering specials featuring fish and shellfish that are responsibly raised and harvested from their ecosystems. In Seattle, the list of participating restaurants includes all Tom Douglas and Ethan Stowell restaurants, as well as restaurants such as Cafe Barjot, Hitchcock, Salted Sea: Seafood & Raw Bar, and Single Shot. While it would be nice to see the Smart Catch program reach a more diverse array of businesses and include labor standards as part of its sustainability requirements, you gotta start somewhere. (Through Aug 8. Complete list of locations on the event page) ANGELA GARBES
See all suggested food and drink events
FESTIVALS
Seaprog 2015
The third annual edition of the only local festival dedicated to progressive rock will feature Nik Turner & Flame Tree, Magick Pagoda, Upwell, Debora Petrina, MoeTar, and eight other acts. Seattle's entrenched antipathy toward prog has lent a quixotic tenor to this ambitious, musician-run, nonprofit event, which makes me love it all the more. Greeted by indifference and scorn from media and public alike, the form has produced profound creativity and beauty. At its best, prog is rock with a PhD, infatuated with avant-garde and classical composition, high on magic mushrooms, and inspired by the literature of Tolkien and Lovecraft. In other words: Don’t miss. (Fri-Sun Aug 7-9, Columbia City Theater, $40) DAVE SEGAL
QUEER
I Hate Karaoke
Oh sure, you've done karaoke before, but have you ever done it in a gay bar with wheat-pasted penises on every surface? What the hell are you waiting for? Last summer, the touring cast of Book of Mormon showed up, opened their golden-throated voices, and blew everyone's minds. (Tues Aug 11, Pony, Free, 9 pm) CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE
