Opening Day – Seattle Style

Everywhere else in God’s green America, Opening Day is synonymous with the start of baseball season. Not here. Not in Seattle. In Seattle, Opening Day, always the first Saturday in May, marks the official start of boating season. It is a long-standing tradition, dating back to 1913. The Seattle Yacht Club, which has hosted the event from its inception, has a great history of this big party on the water, which now includes crew races and huge parade of boats, yachts and ships of all kinds.

Above: Opening Day Parade passing through the hoglines of boats. Image from the Seattle Yacht Club website.

The races and parade pass through the “Montlake Cut”, a narrow canal that connects Lake Washington with Lake Union. Spectators-on-foot line both sides of the Cut, and spectators-on-boat create long hoglines that extend the canal up to ¼ mile or more into Lake Washington.

Left: Crew teams recovering at the end of a race. Image from the Husky Crew website.

Opening day is Seattle’s May Day, celebrating the return of warming weather, waxing days, and how we spend them… namely, on the water. Yachts, kayaks, dragon boats, row boats, canoes, sail boats, ski boats, fishing boats, skiffs, and inner tubes with beer holders will all be in attendance on Saturday to watch the races, tag along the end of the parade, and generally make merry.

Here is the schedule of events. Arrive early along the Cut with a picnic blanket and basket to claim a vantage point to cheer on the Husky crew teams.

“The Cirque” Seattle Style

There is a new spring ritual in Seattle: The Moisture Festival. This is an amazing two-week-long celebration of local cabaret, circus, burlesque, and vaudeville talent including acrobatics, juggling, comedy, dance, interactive performances and more. Over 130 artists perform across two venues in the city (Hale’s Palladium in Fremont and the ACT downtown). It is quickly becoming the Spring equinox equivalent to the Summer Solstice parade and festival (also held in Fremont). Per the website, the Festival has become an annual reunion of sorts for local vaudeville-style artists.

Proceeds are donated to two local charities: the BF Day School Foundation and the New Old Time Chautauqua. Tickets to the Palladium show start at $5 and tickets to the ACT’s burlesque show are $20. The Festival runs from March 15 to April 1.

This is just the tip of the psychedelic iceberg when it comes to neo-burlesque and Cirque du Soleil style cabaret performances. Teatro Zinzanni takes you to Liza Minelli's Cabaret and beyond. Can Can’s neo-burlesque cabaret is new and supposed to be cheeky and fun.

The Seattle Times recently did a great write-up on the mushrooming new-burlesque scene in Seattle, and included a list of venues.

This Seattle zeitgeist should not be missed…. Enjoy!

Finding Events in Seattle and Surrounding Towns

Here is a great search site that seems to have just about every little and big community event in the area: Seattle City! Encore. You can search by dates, and the greatest thing is that it shows all the little events happening in the little towns in the area! For instance, it shows the New Year's dance on Orcas Island, the "Ski for Health" event in Leavenworth, and the "Kids n Critters Naturefest" in Eatonville. A great resource for finding truly local events.

Winter Solstice

For a true taste of the local Seattle culture in the holiday season, try to secure a seat at the Fremont Arts Council's Feast of the Winter Solstice. It shows a very intimate and locally-flavored side of Seattle's arts and activist community. It is a potluck dinner for all the volunteers of the FAC that includes amazing art installations, drumming and dancing, and a sun effigy to which you tie notes of what you wish to let go of in the coming year. At the end of the evening, it is burned. This is a wild, druidic affair that is also a great time to meet some of the most community-oriented Seattlites in the city.

You bring your favorite food and whatever you wish to imbibe. They are also now asking that if you are not a FAC member, that you join ($25) and contribute a donation to cover costs ($10). This is voluntary, however. If you are strapped on cash you can always, in the spirit of community, volunteer to help with the set up or clean up... another great way to meet the locals!

If you are coming in the summer, then the MUST SEE is the Summer Solstice Festival Parade, on the weekend closest to June 21st.... costumes galore, belly dancers, men in kilts, and naked bicyclists (and that's just the AUDIENCE!!) But, more on that later.

For the Literati

Seattle is a town of readers. Bookstores run rampant, as do all kinds of book events, from book fairs, to reading groups, to author readings, to literary lecture series. And because they are so well attended, great folks grace Seattle's literati scene. Often times these events are either free, or very inexpensive. Here are a few good sources

The Seattle Public Library has an ongoing schedule of events. Many are free. Here is my pick of the week:

Isabel Allende

Thursday, November 30 , 7:30 PM
From the SPL website: "Isabel Allende returns to Seattle to read from her new novel, Ines of My Soul. Allende is the celebrated author of such international bestsellers as The House of the Spirits, Eva Luna, and Paula. Her works were featured in the Library’s 2004 series, Seattle Reads Isabel Allende. Presented with Elliott Bay Book Company."

Free, no tickets required. Visit www.spl.org or call 206/386-4636 for more information.

Other ongoing sources for literary events include:

University of Washington Bookstore

Elliott Bay Book Company

Seattle Arts and Lectures

The Richard Hugo House

Nextbook

Third Place Books

Poetswest

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A Very Seattle Christmas

Like most towns, Seattle has some holiday traditions that are unique and/or flavored heavily by its culture. A few of my low-cost (most are free) favorites are listed below. Visiting the Emerald City during the season of lights? Check a few of these out!

The Figgy Pudding Caroling Contest is a fabulous happening on the streets of downtown Seattle. A fundraiser for the Pike Place Market Senior Center, caroling groups pay a fee to claim a street corner and sing their hearts out. Funny or sublime, mild or raucous, talented or no, they compete for prizes based on your votes. This year it happens on December 1st.

Visiting Pike Place Market all dressed up in lights and trees. The lighting ceremony is on November 25th.

The Christmas Ships are an everchanging flotilla of private and commercial boats that dress up in lights and parade through the waters around Seattle after dark. Led by one of the Argosy ships that each night has a choir on board, they make a few stops in different areas (usually lake- or sound-side parks) for a brief concert. I recommend one of the locations that has a bonfire or other special lighting, such as Madrona Park or Seward Park (get schedule info on the link).

The Caroling Kayakers. These guys are hardy! Another fabulous fundraiser, the carolers pay for the privelege of paddling around Lake Union with Santa in decorated kayaks to carol at houseboats and other shoreline spots.

Greenlake "Pathway of Lights" is a lovely luminaria event at one of the most popular city parks.

The Jinglebell Run. Yet another fabulous, brave-the-cold-and-rain fundraisers (we are a city of do-gooders!), thousands of runners tie bells to their shoes, many dress in costume, and prance a 5k route through downtown, including a tunnel (imagine the acoustics!)

The Volunteer Park Conservatory on Capitol Hill is a great place to shake of the winter chills. This year, on a few choice afternoons (December 10, 17 and 24, 1pm - 2pm) there will be a free harp recital.

Saturday, December 2 , 1:00 PM
Each year, Town Hall sponsors a free holiday concert. This year it celebrates those people who live and work by the sea and will be held on December 2nd.

A few other more generic but noteworthy activities:

Westlake Center - tree & carousel & minorah The tree lighting celebration is November 24th.

The Holiday Parade, also on November 24th.

Winterfest at Seattle Center on lower Queen Anne Hill (where the Space Needle is)

Candy Cane Lane in the Ravenna neighborhood starting December 9th.

Happy Wasseling!