Happy (almost) May, blog readers! As the sun continues to grace us with its mercurial presence, it’s time to get out and take full advantage of some of the incredible events coming up this month! Catch some movies, play some games, go to some talks…this month, the world is your oyster!
The Grinning Yogi 345 15th Ave E, # 102, Seattle, Washington 98112
Each year Eating Recovery Center celebrates Eating Recovery Day–a day dedicated to removing stigma, raising awareness and inspiring hope for recovery. The Eating Recovery Day theme for 2018 is #MyRecoveryLetter. Join us in Seattle at The Grinning Yogi. This complimentary evening of activities will include yoga, mindfulness, letter-writing, conversation and celebration. First, Jamie Silverstein E-RYT 500, Owner and Director of The Grinning Yogi, will be leading a heartfelt yoga practice. Following yoga, the group will participate in a creative letter-writing exercise to practice accessing love and gratitude in recovery. Letter-writing will be led by Nica Stepien, LMHC, NCC, Alumni Family Liaison at ERC, Washington.
8:00pm – 11:30pm The Showbox 1426 First Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 Tickets: $27 – $77
SuicideGirls is bringing back a revamped version of the sexiest show on the planet for 2018! Blackheart Burlesque is unlike any other burlesque act you’ve seen filled with pop-culture references, a high energy indie soundtrack and the sexiest choreographed strip tease to make your inner nerd explode with glee. Choreographed by one of their very own – you can see Star Wars, Stranger Things, Game of Thrones, Star Trek and West World numbers in a insanely sexy reimagined way!
Spring has officially sprung, dear blog readers! And that means flowers popping up, bursts of sun to up those depleted vitamin D levels, and, most importantly, plenty of amazing events coming up! Here’s a look at what’s happening this month. Get ready to mark your calendars for movies, meetups, and talks galore!
Image Description: A gif of Alice from the animated movie “Alice in Wonderland” lying in a field of grass as daisies blow in the breeze above her. Source: Giphy.
Join us on March 31st for an inspiring afternoon with students from Shanti Bhavan and Director of Operations, Ajit George. Shanti Bhavan, a school in Southern India, caters exclusively to children from India’s lowest socioeconomic class and is the subject of the recent documentary Daughters of Destiny. The event kicks off at 12:00 p.m. with a light lunch. Shree and Visali, Glamour Woman of the Year in 2014, will share their stories and the impact that Shanti Bhavan has had on their lives. Guests are invited to stay for a special screening of Daughters of Destiny, which tells how the unique educational model of Shanti Bhavan equips its students to break out of the cycle of poverty. The only educational program of its kind, Shanti Bhavan offers 17 years of rigorous academics, leadership development and professional guidance completely free of charge. The school’s graduates have a 100% university acceptance rate, work at Fortune 500 companies and contribute 20-50% of their salaries to their families and communities – helping end the poverty that has trapped India’s poorest communities for generations. This is a free event but donations are welcome. Visit shantibhavanchildren.org to learn more about the school and ways you can get involved.
(*Note: okay, so this is obviously not quite April, but WHAT a great event!)
We’ve made it (almost) through the winter, my fellow geeks! We’re moving from the cold and gray and rainy and to the…slightly less cold and gray and rainy. And as the temperature outside starts to creep slowly upwards, we’ve got a wide variety of incredibly, cheering, 100% certified nerdy events to help you celebrate the coming of spring!
Image Description: A gif of a person basking in the rain as a flower blossoms. Source: Giphy
Welcome to February, my fellow geeks! Cliché or not, this month is all about celebrating love in all its forms, whether it be for friends, family, partners, pets, books, movies, games, songs, foods, or, you know, even particularly great gifs.
Here’s looking at you, every image of Gina Rodriguez ever (Image Description: The actress Gina Rodriguez as the character Jane Villanueva from the television show “Jane the Virgin,” looking happy. Source: Giphy)
So, whoever or whatever you find yourself loving this month, consider checking out some of the amazing events coming up, and celebrate your interests, enthusiasms, and passions to their fullest!
The New Year is (almost) upon us, which means that we can finally bid goodbye to the unfortunate, terrifying mess that characterized most of 2017. The good news is that there is SO MANY incredible and exciting events coming up in January to help beckon in a better and brighter new year!
Source: Giphy. Image Description: The character Rachel Berry from “Glee” wearing a Happy New Year Crown. The image text reads “The countdown begins.”
Living Computers: Museum + Labs 2245 First Ave S, Seattle, WA 98134
$68
Kill two ravens with one stone and learn how to solder while you create your newest costume headpiece – a wicked pair of Adafruit LED Goggles – in this 2-hour entry level workshop. Space is limited for this take-home activity.
Third Place Books Seward Park 5041 Wilson Ave S, Seattle, WA 98118
Free event!
The Seattle Review of Books and Seattle Weekly aim to help you cope with the next three years thanks to Reading Through It, a “monthly book club exploring who we are as Americans, where we’re going, and how to fix it.” Weapons of Math Destruction is a former Wall Street analyst’s warning against “the mathematical models that pervade modern life—and threaten to rip apart our social fabric.”
Source: Giphy. Image Description: The characters Bones and Kirk from Star Trek: The Original Series nod at each other.
Center for Architecture & Design 1010 Western Ave, Seattle, WA 98104
Free event!
All-ages event!
We’re bored with Earth. What about Mars? Participants will learn about the very different problems architects would face if building for the surface of other planets….and moons…and asteroids? The sky is not even the limit…
Source: Giphy. Image Description: The characters Steve and Nancy from “Stranger Things” dance at a party.
Follow our Laser artists into The Upside Down with this laser show tribute to the music of Stranger Things. A synth-heavy score and dark 80s soundtrack contribute to the spooky nostalgia of this popular Netflix Original hit. Performed, as always, by our talented laser artists, don’t miss this limited run in January of Laser Stranger Things.
Elliott Bay Book Company 1521 10th Ave, Seattle, Washington 98122
Free event!
Join us for this fun hour of readings from picture and storybooks with one of Elliott Bay’s bookfolk. Go to the castle in the children’s section … and the stories begin!
What would Marsha P Johnson, Leslie Feinberg and our sick and disabled queer grandparents have to say about fighting to survive and win? Sick and disabled queer/ trans people have always resisted, from the first colonial invasions to nursing homes to freak shows to street based queer and trans activism. We are heroes, fighters and survivors and we have the medicine we need to survive Trump. In this star-studded sick and disabled QT/POC show, curated by billie rain and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, come witness Seattle based disabled queer/ of color artists performing new work reflecting on the resistance wisdom of our disabled queer ancestors.This performance is also part of a star studded ALL SICK AND DISABLED QTBIPOC ALL THE TIME DOUBLE WEEKEND! Come see us, and then check out Neve Andromeda Bianco Mazique’s one femme show, Betcha Ungodly Things! Support all of us! Come for this living altar of disabled QTBIPOC testimony, genius and love.
Society Of Illustrators 128 E 63rd St, New York, New York 10065
Non-Member and Member tickets $15, Students and Seniors $7
Join us for an evening with comics art giant Art Spiegelman and acclaimed illustrator Anita Kunz as they discuss the lasting influence of 20th century political cartoonist Art Young, with master caricaturist Steve Brodner moderating the discussion. The three will examine the historical significance of Young’s work, and its relevance in today’s artistic and political landscape. Images for discussion will be drawn from the 2017 retrospective To Laugh That We May Not Weep: The Life & Times of Art Young (Fantagraphics) by Glenn Bray and Frank M. Young. Copies will be available for purchase after the event.
Source: Giphy. Image Description: Characters from the movie “Jumanji” sit down to play the game “Jumanji” together.
Do you love board games and enjoy teaching others how to play? Explore the board/card game hobby and meet folks happy to teach you their favorite board games! Come and play with folks who love playing games. And the best part about the GeekGirlCon (http://www.geekgirlcon.com/) game nights with our friends at Wayward (http://www.waywardcoffee.com/)? They are absolutely FREE with no cover charge!
Westlake Park 401 Pine St, Seattle, Washington 98101
Free event!
We strive for #BlackLiberation – we strive for freedom to not be treated like animals and for our justice system to treat us equally or be abolished – we strive for fair and equal taxation so that people of color can not only survive but thrive – we strive for a day were we are not discriminated against for our skin color or our culture but treated equally for content of our character – we strive to not be shot and killed by police and then our image be slandered on the news. We ask you join us and say Racism and police brutality and unfair and unequal treatment of Black people has to stop and freedom has to begin because until Black people are free no one is free.
Naked City Brewery & Taphouse 8564 Greenwood Avenue North, Seattle, Washington 98103
$8 in advance, $10 at the door
Cine-City is Seattle’s only consistent film night with bi-monthly (every other month) screenings of local short films. We will fill up a block of films 45 minutes to an 1 hour, at the end of the night the films will be voted on and the most voted film will be announced the next day and will move on to the Best Of in November. All proceeds help the Film Non Profit Ardor Creative Media. http://ardorcreativemedia.com/cine_city/
Garfield High School 400 23rd Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98122
Free event!
Educate yourself at workshops from 9:30-10:50am, then at 11:00am, join the pre-march rally in the Garfield Gym to become inspired and informed with speakers, performers, and more. View the full schedule at www.mlkseattle.org/index.php Following the rally (12:00-12:20), the march line-up starts in the Garfield parking lot (across the street from Ezell’s chicken). The march will begin at 12:30, heading to the Federal Building at 2nd & Madison. The Downtown Program is estimated to start at 1:30 p.m. Marchers are welcome to return to Garfield for a late lunch or to join employers and more at the Opportunity & Information Fair at Garfield (1:30-4:00pm).
Benaroya Hall 200 University St, Seattle, Washington 98101
Tickets between $10 and $80
Jesmyn Ward has been called “fearless and toughly lyrical” by the Library Journal. Her novel Salvage the Bones, the story of four motherless children trying to protect their home in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, won the 2011 National Book Award for Fiction. Her unflinching portrayals of young black men and women struggling to thrive in a South ravaged by poverty and natural disaster have been praised for their “graphic clarity” by the Boston Globe, and for their “hugeness of heart” by O, The Oprah Magazine. Ward’s follow-up to Salvage was Men We Reaped, a memoir that confronts the five years of Ward’s life in which she lost five young men—to drugs, accidents, suicide, and the bad luck that follows people who live in poverty, particularly black men. Lauded by Kirkus as a “modern rejoinder to Black Like Me [and] Beloved,” Men We Reaped is a homage to Ward’s past, her ghosts, and the haunted yet hopeful place she still calls home. A finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography, it was named one of the Best Books of 2013 by Publishers Weekly, the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, NPR, Kirkus, New York Magazine, and TIME magazine. Ward is also the editor of the critically acclaimed anthology The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks about Race, which NPR listed as one of the Best Books of 2016. Taking James Baldwin’s 1963 pivotal examination of race in America, The Fire Next Time, is a jumping-off point. The groundbreaking collection features essays and poems about race from the most important voices of Ward’s generation and our time—from Edwidge Danticat, Natasha Trethewey, and Isabel Wilkerson, to Mitchell S. Jackson, Kiese Laymon, and Claudia Rankine. In the forthcoming Sing, Unburied, Sing, Ward will return to Mississippi and the themes of her earlier work. Confronting the realities of life in the rural South, Ward gives us a road map through Mississippi’s past and present that explores the bonds of family as tested by racism and poverty. Her work is all set on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi where Ward grew up, and each new publication makes her a fitting heir to the rich literary tradition of the American South.
Source: Giphy. Image Description: Beyoncé and Lady Gaga dance together in a music video.
Four of music’s finest divas join you for what’s sure to be one of the best nights of your life. The Queen of R&B, The Queen of Pop, the Princess of Pop, the , and the Mother of Monsters team up to get you singing, dancing, and so much more. Telephone on the big screen is worth the price of admission alone.
Bring out those pantsuits ladies (& gents, kids, dogs ok too). Fun run/walk around Greenlake. The primary purpose of the event is for the unification of the Pantsuit community and to continue to strive for change. Last year we had over 700 attend, let’s make this event bigger & better. Event is not timed. It is a fun run/walk. No refunds or transfers. Rain or shine. This is a no frills run/walk. 30% of the proceeds go to Planned Parenthood!
Northwest Film Forum 1515 12th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122
$12 tickets
This event will be a forum for men who work in the tech industry in Seattle to discuss ways that we can show up for women, trans folks, and other non-cis-male-identified folks who often experience harassment and discrimination in our industry. More details will be posted at this URL as we get closer to the event.
$12 General Admission, $9 Students, Seniors, and Children
Over the past 13 years, Children’s Film Festival Seattle has become the largest and most respected film festival on the West Coast dedicated to children and their families. Each year, Northwest Film Forum selects more than 170 children’s films from 50+ countries, reaching more than 10,000 people during festival screenings in Seattle and a subsequent festival tour of 15-20 U.S. cities. What we stand for: Racial equity and diversity, inclusivity, social justice, global awareness, and the best in age-appropriate, visual storytelling for young people. Produced by Northwest Film Forum, Children’s Film Festival Seattle includes live performances, features, shorts and hands-on workshops, all crafted with care for the next generation of movie lovers.
Moore Theatre 1932 2nd Ave, Seattle, Washington 98101
Ticket prices vary, starting at $47
STG Presents & AEG welcomes Lovett or Leave It to The Moore Theatre on Friday, January 26, 2018. The Lovett or Leave It podcast, as part of Pod Tours America, has announced additional tour dates and will be live on stage January 26, 2018 at 8:00 pm at The Moore Theatre. Former speechwriter for Hillary Clinton and the Obama White House and co-host of the wildly popular podcast Pod Save America, Jon Lovett brings his Lovett or Leave It podcast live to Seattle. Get ready for a night of lively and humorous discussion of politics and top news stories with special guests along with other popular Lovett or Leave It segments.
Do you love board games and enjoy teaching others how to play? Explore the board/card game hobby and meet folks happy to teach you their favorite board games! Come and play with folks who love playing games. And the best part about the GeekGirlCon (http://www.geekgirlcon.com/) game nights with our friends at Wayward (http://www.waywardcoffee.com/)? They are absolutely FREE with no cover charge!
Source: Giphy. Image Description: Ryan Gosling works on on an exercise bike while wearing a onesie on the Ellen DeGeneres Show.
It’s almost December, beloved GeekGirlCon blog readers, and you know what that means! Another round of Geek About Town, where we highlight some of the amazing events coming up to help keep your spirits high and your enthusiasm stoked as we enter a time during which I, for one, can usually be found mumbling “always winter, never Christmas” to myself like a C.S. Lewis character. Happy Holidays!
Image Description: a gif featuring the character Lucy Pevensie in Narnia in the film “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.” Source: Giphy
It’s craft markets galore this month as we approach the holidays! Check out this month’s Geek About Town for where to find those events — plus other geeky and interesting things happening throughout November.
11 a.m. to 6 p.m. — Fisher Pavilion at Seattle Center
Free to enter
The 7th annual festival will feature over 270 exhibitor artists. Panel talks include Leela Corman, Emil Ferris, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Jesús Cossio, Joe Sacco, Sarah Glidden, and much more. Read more here.
exhibitor artists from around the world including artists from France, Peru, Taiwan, Argentina, Canada, and the UK.
This year our theme is Geeky Anniversaries! 2017 is a big year in geekdom—Harry Potter is turning 20, Sailor Moon is turning 25, and Star Wars is turning 40. To celebrate, we’ll be hosting a contest to determine which of the three is the ultimate fandom. Guests can pick their favorite fandom and complete activities to earn points for their team. Read about how to earn points here.
Saturday, Sept. 30 – Oct. 1: GeekGirlCon
Starts at 9 a.m. Saturday morning — Washington State Convention Center
At our two-day convention on September 30 and October 1, 2017, GeekGirlCon sets up an inclusive environment in the heart of downtown Seattle to celebrate every geek and honor the legacy of women contributing to science and technology; comics, arts, and literature; gameplay and game design; and beyond. If you’ve never been to GeekGirlCon—or perhaps you’re still reveling from last year’s fun and curious about what’s to come—click here to read what you can expect.
Can you believe summer is almost over?! But don’t fret, September has plenty of fun geeky things to do — plus GeekGirlCon is the last weekend of the month! Here’s some events to check out in the meantime.
Starts at 1 p.m. — Living Computer Museum in Seattle’s SODO neighborhood
Free event
In Living Computer Museum Scratch Retro-Gaming Workshop series, you recreate the 8-bit classics. Boys and girls use MIT’s popular free programming platform, Scratch, to write and debug scripts, learn basic coding rules and jargon, and use simple game theory to create one of the most famous arcade games of all time: Pac-Man.
Friday, Sept. 1 – Monday, Sept. 4: PAX West (Visit GeekGirlCon in the diversity lounge!)
PAX West is sold out, but if you already have your tickets, make sure to come visit us at our table!
GeekGirlCon has been a proud participant at the PAX Diversity Lounge since it started in 2014. (This is year #4!) We’ll also be selling passes to our convention and GeekGirlCon merch! Learn more here.
This is an open learn and discover laboratory where you can work with some of the creative, technological, and building-centered tools offered through ideaX programming. Some of the tools available for exploring are: Play-Doh, stop motion animation kits, Blackmagic Cinema Cameras, Ableton Live 9 + Push, crafting supplies, Squishy Circuits, and more.
