Weekend Festivals and Gay Ballroom Dancing
I'm leaving for the Blogher Conference tonight and I'll be there all weekend. That's right, there is such a thing as a women's blogging conference. I'm pretty excited about the conference and I hope to gain lots of new knowledge about blogging this weekend.
In the meantime, if you're looking for something fun to do in Seattle this weekend:
- Shoreline Solarfest
- Bite of Seattle (not my favorite festival, but if you're in the neighborhood it might be fun to check out. Free admission.)
- SeaFair Indian Days Pow Wow
Century Ballroom has all sorts of different dance nights for straight people, too. I randomly stumbled in there a couple of Thursdays ago for salsa night. My friends and I were walking around Capitol Hill one night and we passed by Century Ballroom. We heard the lively music and we just had to check it out. That night I attempted to salsa dance with a very patient stranger who probably had very bruised toes the next day from me stepping on them repeatedly. The best part of salsa night at Century Ballroom was there were a lot of available dance partners. I have gone to swing dance events in the past where they claimed "no partner needed" but everyone else came with a partner and I did, in fact, need a partner. I was pleased to discover there was no need to bring a dance partner to Century Ballroom for their salsa night.
Best Way to Travel from Seattle
Seattle is a great city, but sometimes it's good to get out of town. Outrageous gas prices have encouraged me to look at other ways of traveling this summer, so I have decided to take the train on a couple of trips. Amtrak prices have gone up with gas prices, but traveling by train is not only cheaper but also much more enjoyable than driving or flying, in my opinion.
A couple of weeks ago I took the train to Portland, OR, for $54 round trip (including tax). The ride is about 3.5 hours each way which is about the same amount of time it takes to drive to Portland from Seattle, and it's less expensive than driving.
This weekend I'm going to Whitefish, MT, for a little vacation to visit friends and enjoy the mountains. Yes, this liberal California native has friends in Montana, if you can believe it. They tolerate me as long as I don't live there. My train ticket is $195 round trip, and the ride is 14 hours each way. That's the same amount of time it takes me to drive, and it's cheaper than driving. Plus, the train has amenities like food and movies in the lounge car.
Traveling longer distances by train takes a long time and is more costly, but it's a great way to travel short distances for weekend getaways. Check the Amtrak website for discounts on tickets. I got a 10% discount on my tickets because of my AAA membership.
First Thursday Afternoon Plans
Here is a quick post to let you know about my afternoon plans today:
It's the first Thursday of the month so S.A.M. and E.M.P. are free. E.M.P. free hours are from 5pm - 8pm. S.A.M. is free all day.
Ride Green Build Green Bicycle Trip
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Planning is fully underway for this summer's Ride Green Build Green (RGBG) bicycle trip. From July 25th to August 25th, 20 bicyclists will make the 1,000+ mile journey from Seattle to San Francisco to raise funds and awareness for affordable green housing.
Prior to the ride, each participant is raising a minimum of $2000 each to support LEED certification for a home built by Habitat for Humanity of East King County. Fundraising will include benefit concerts, T-shirt sales, and donation solicitations. All donations will be tax deductible through Habitat for Humanity. Riders also plan every aspect of the trip, including the route, nightly stop locations, work days at affordable housing sites, community forums, and bicycle and gear procurement.
Along the way, riders will also have opportunities to visit sites and organizations devoted to affordable and green housing and thus gain a greater understanding of the different methods, techniques, and plans for making both affordable and sustainable buildings and housing. Stops might include housing for the homeless, green affordable-housing projects, self-built green homes, and meetings with advocacy organizations to learn about their work.
Among scheduled stops: Olympia Habitat for Humanity (7/26), Cowlitz County Habitat for Humanity (7/28), and Olson Woods Community Partners for Affordable Housing (7/30).
RGBG believes that some of the biggest impacts we have on the environment lie within the structures we build to accommodate our lives. Buildings in the US account for:
- 40% of total annual US energy
- 25% of water use
- 20-30% of municipal solid waste stream
- 30-40% of wood and materials use
- 25% of greenhouse gas emissions
RGBG is seeking financial and volunteer assistance and additional riders. Please visit the RGBG website for more information.
Fremont Solstice Parade
The annual Fremont Solstice Parade is happening tomorrow in the Center of the Universe. Organized by the Fremont Arts Council, the parade celebrates the first day of summer with floats, dancers, music, and art. Oh, and naked bicyclists. I can only describe this event as a cross between Carnival and Burning Man. Visitors come to see the floats and dancers and art, but they stay for the naked bicyclists.
Warning: There are images of naked bicyclists in the below video.
I warned you, but you watched the video anyway, didn't you? If you want to be a naked bicyclist in the parade tomorrow, get details at the Painted Cyclists website.
If you want to keep your clothes on and just check out the parade, it starts at noon, but I suggest getting there a lot earlier than that so you can get a good spot to watch the parade. Tips and parade route from Seattle Times:
Here's a tip from parade veterans. People tend to cluster at the front and middle of the parade route. The best viewing is often found along the second half of the route, around North 34th Street near Stone Way and along Northlake Avenue North, near Gas Works Park.The parade begins at noon Saturday just west of Fremont at Northwest 36th Street and Third Avenue Northwest, heading east along Northwest 36th, then it turns down Fremont Avenue and continues east on North 34th before taking a jog onto Northlake Way, ending at Gas Works Park with the Gateway.
The parade is quite popular and gets very crowded. If you're driving, please note that parking will be impossible. If you can, take the bus or ride your bike. I promise if you ride your bike they won't make you get naked.
After the parade, be sure to check out the Fremont Fair, which continues through Sunday. There are many craft booths and lots of food. Bring cash because not all booths take cards.
Location: Fremont District
Date and Time: Saturday, July 21, 12pm
Price: Free
Georgetown Music Festival
Georgetown Music Festival this Friday and Saturday. Be there or be square.
Double-Dutch Class for Adult Women
Wow. Not bad for white girls. The video, performed by SF double dutch troupe Double Dutchess, has totally inspired me to want to double dutch jump rope. I was on a double dutch team briefly as a kid, and now I'm curious to see if I still have any skills.
There is a double dutch class for adult women 18+ this Friday, June 6, at 7:30pm at Community Fitness in Ravenna. I know nothing about the class other than the fact that it exists and the instructor is from Northwest Double Dutch, so I'll check it out and give details of what the class entails after I take the class.
Come out on Friday and take the class with me, if you are brave enough to risk potentially tangling yourself in ropes. Sorry boys and underagers, I guess this class is not for you, but you can find plenty of other classes on the Northwest Double Dutch class schedule.
Location: Community Fitness (map)
Date and Time: June 6, 7:30pm
Price: $5.95 drop-in
Big Wheel Bingo: Not Your Grandmother's Bingo
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Big Wheel Bingo is the coolest thing ever. I went there on a whim a few years ago when it was at The Rendezvous on a second date with a guy I was still getting to know. I figured if we went to bingo, the experience would at least be amusing, for me at least. And, generally speaking, if a guy goes to bingo with me then he MUST be into me. We went, and we were both thoroughly surprised and entertained by the whole experience. It turned out to be a great event to attend on an awkward still-getting-to-know-each-other date. I had no idea Big Wheel Bingo would be a full show, with singing and dancing and comedy. And the bingo game prizes are quirky and fun; most of the prizes were from Archie McPhees, thrift stores, or garage sales.
Mere words cannot describe the wonderment of Big Wheel Bingo. It is bingo, so if you have your own bingo dobber, bring it. Otherwise, they sell them for a buck or two at the show.
The next show is at the end of next month, on June 28, so you have plenty of time to clear your calendar. Everyone should go to Big Wheel Bingo at least once. Yes, it's that entertaining.
Location: Can Can Kitchen and Cabaret 94 Pike Street in Pike Place Market
Date and Time: June 28, 9:30pm
Price: $10
Kickball Season
There are many adults in Seattle who get excited about kicking a rubber ball around a baseball field in the springtime. My friend Noelle turned me onto kickball a few years ago, but, unfortunately, I couldn't commit to a whole season of games. For those of you who do not have commitment issues like me, get some friends together and create a kickball team and join the league.
For those of you who are like me and can't commit to more than a day, you have the option for a single day of kickball: The Red Rubber Showdown on July 12. It's an all day event, but the event managers to make sure there is a proper "bar break" so people can get much needed bar food and beer to fuel up. There are two divisions you can enter:
Midcore Division
"Hey, did we win or lose just now? Where's that bar shuttle at... there it is! woohoo."
Hardcore Division
"We're going to win this thing, yo! Where's the trophy at? That thing is gonna be OURS! Oh yeah, we're going to the bar, too..."
Better start practicing now, because kickball is more difficult than you think.
Red Rubber Showdown
Location: Lower Woodland Ball Fields - Greenlake
Price: Team $350, individual $30
Date and Time: July 12 10am - 8pm
Hurray for Hedonism
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One of the cool things about living in a town like Seattle is sometimes there are some pretty interesting things you can do around here. Like, how about going to a reading of a new book about food and sex by a former sex worker this Saturday evening at 7:30pm at Eliot Bay Book Company? There is no way that can be boring.
From the press release:
In Sex and Bacon: Why I Love Things That Are Very, Very Bad for Me (Seal Press / May 2008 / $14.95) Sarah Katherine Lewis tears down boundaries in a tribute to her lust for larder and lovemaking. In her uninhibited vignettes, Lewis exposes all that is deliciously nasty and delectably uncouth when it comes to her bountiful appetite. A follow-up to her first book, Indecent, which chronicles her time in the sex industry, Sex and Bacon is her homage to the culinary and the carnal.
Sex and Bacon is full of Lewis' snippets of wisdom accrued from her life, her reflections on pop culture icons, lots of talk about sex and her experiences as a sex worker, thoughts on female body image, Seattle weather (Lewis is a Seattle resident), Lewis' recipes, and more. Almost every paragraph is a little statement of Lewis' philosophy, or a naughty tidbit of her career in the sex industry.
I have a bag of fun size Reece's peanut butter cups in my cupboard. It's nearly Halloween so I'm allowed. I'm also allowed every other day of the year because I'm a grown-up, and if I want to have ten fun size pieces of candy for dinner I can.
Ah yes, we do indeed have the freedom to do stuff that is bad for us as adults like eat candy for dinner, but how far should we take it? Lewis took it pretty far, and I enjoyed reading about her thoughts on her life experiences. Sex and Bacon doesn't hold back when it prominently proves that Lewis is "an authority on the sins of the flesh, both culinary and carnal." Definitely adult reading material.
Location: Elliot Bay Book Company (map)
Date and Time: Saturday, May 10, 7:30pm
