Geek About Town: May
May The Fourth be with you as you start to schedule events this month—because it’s action-packed with geeky and interesting things to do in Seattle. Check out our list of events below.
Monday, May 1: Geekaraoke
- Starts at 7 p.m. — Club Contour in Pioneer Square
- No cover charge, ages 21+
- Geekaraoke is back at Club Contour! Cosplay, while not required, is HIGHLY encouraged. Baby Ketten is one of Seattle’s favorite KJs, bringing an amazing book full of rock, metal and alternative music.
Tuesday, May 2: Women in Tech Regatta
- Starts at 5 p.m. — Various locations in downtown Seattle, see list here
- Tickets: $35
- Seattle’s own Women In Tech (WIT) — an organization dedicated to educating, empowering and connecting women working in or aspiring to work in technology — will host its inaugural Women in Tech Regatta. Connect with over 30 different organizations, elite mentors, and co-storming opportunities that will help you re-energize your career, provide you with valuable networking, and powerful insight to push your career to the next level. Read the itinerary here.
Thursday, May 4: Opening night of Seattle Transgender Film Festival
- Starts at 7 p.m. — Egyptian Theatre in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood
Tickets start at $8 - Opening Night of the largest transgender film festival in the world starts with Free CeCe. This powerful documentary told by CeCe McDonald and Laverne Cox chronicles CeCe’s unjust incarceration in a men’s prison and her role as the movement’s icon confronting violence against and incarceration of transwomen of color.
Geek About Town break-out: Free Comic Book Day!
Free Comic Book Day is an international event that celebrates comic books and the local comic shops that provide them to their communities. Each year, a selection of free comics are given away (see the catalog here). This year it’s Saturday, May 6.
GeekGirlCon explored several Seattle-area comic book shops to learn about their events for Free Comic Book Day. Read about them in this section, or continue to scroll down to read about other events throughout the month.
- Arcane Comics: This store, recently moved to Shoreline, plans to have a storewide sale and special guests on Free Comic Book Day. Details are still to come, but you can stay updated with their Facebook event page here. The store is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays.
- Comics Dungeon: In addition to giving away Free Comic Book Day comics, multiple special guests will be at Comics Dungeon, including Kevin Hanna, artist and creator of The Clockwork Girl; Dev Madan, artist of Zombie Camp; and Heather Nuhfer, writer of My Little Pony and Monster High. Read the schedule here. Their store is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays.
- Fantasium Comics & Games: This Federal Way comic shop is participating in Free Comic Book Day. Find their Facebook event page here. The store is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays.
- Gabi’s Olympic Cards and Comics: Anyone came come into this Lacey comic shop and pick up to three Comic Book Day comics. To celebrate, everything in the store is on sale from 10% to 90% off starting Friday. Their store is open from 10 a.m. to midnight on Saturdays.
- Phoenix Comics and Games: This Capitol Hill comic book shop will feature sales, signings, and free comics for the day. They plan to announce which creators will be signing on their Facebook page soon. Their store is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays.
- Outsider Comics and Geek Boutique: This inclusive space for comic and geek insiders and outsiders in Fremont lists it is participating in Free Comic Day. The store is open from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturdays.
Pro-tip: Many comic book enthusiasts plan to get to their store, or stores, of choice early in searching for comics and sales.
If you didn’t see your local store on this list, you can see if they are participating by using this store locator here.
Saturday, May 6: PuliCon 2017: Puyallup’s Mini-Comic Con
- From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. — Puyallup Public Library
- Free event
- Meet local writers and artists at PuliCon, the Library’s mini-comic convention. They’ll be hosting a variety of panels, an artist alley, crafts, a scavenger hunt, and a Free Comic Book Day table.
Tuesday, May 9: Seattle reading of anthology Good Girls Marry Doctors
- Starts at 7 p.m. — Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood
- Free event
- Good Girls Marry Doctors: South Asian-American Daughters on Obedience and Rebellion’s narratives combine to expose struggles that are too often hidden from the public eye, while reminding those going through similar experiences that they are heard and they are not alone. Join Piyali Bhattacharya, editor of the award-winning new anthology, as she talks with Dr. Anu Taranath, faculty at the University of Washington and a consultant on race.
Wednesday, May 10: Speed Mentoring / Future is Feminist
- Starts at 5 p.m. — Pyramid Alehouse in Seattle’s SODO neighborhood
- Tickets between $5 and $15, see registration information here.
- Reel Grrls has taught female identifying young people media skills to reinforce their inner power – how to access and use their unique voice to awaken and activate our community. This is an event geared towards young feminists that are wanting to meet their peers and older mentors who will continue to build a future that is feminist. See the event’s schedule and register here.
Following the speed mentoring Reel Grrls will host a panel for young people to talk about their reactions to the election and specifically how it has galvanized their commitment to progressive feminist values through civic engagement, arts and digital storytelling.
Wednesday, May 10: Science, Fact Checking, and the News
- Starts at 7:30 p.m. — Town Hall in Seattle’s First Hill neighborhood
- Tickets: $5
- With the birth of “alternative facts” and the recent surge of interest in fact-checking the news, the pressure is high for the media and communicators to get their stories straight. Join the Society of Professional Journalists Western Washington and the Northwest Science Writers Association for a series of talks by leading science journalists about getting the facts right in modern news.
Friday, May 12: GeekGirlCon Board Game Night at Wayward Coffeehouse!
- Starts at 7 p.m. — Wayward Coffeehouse in Seattle’s Roosevelt neighborhood
- Free event
- 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 game nights with our friends at Wayward, it’s free!
Saturday, May 13: Jim Henson Con
Starts at 10 a.m. — Downtown Seattle Public Library, Level 1
Free event
GeekGirlCon and Seattle Public Library are collaborating to put on the Jim Henson Con. Join us for a free, all-ages event to celebrate Henson’s legacy in a fun, participatory way. Costumes and puppets encouraged! Check out the full schedule here.
Jim Henson Con is a convention for all ages. Costumes and puppets encouraged!
Saturday, May 13: Seattle Humane Society’s Tuxes and Tails
- Starts at 5 p.m. — Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue
- Tickets start at $125
- Join fellow animal lovers for an evening of fabulous food and a pet runway show. This spectacular fundraising gala benefits the animals in Seattle Humane’s care.
Sunday, May 16: Sheryl Sandberg discusses Option B
- Starts at 7:30 p.m. — The Moore Theater in downtown Seattle
- Tickets start at $34
- After the sudden death of her husband, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook Sheryl Sandberg felt certain that she and her children would never feel pure joy again. Her friend Adam, a psychologist at Wharton, told her there are steps people can take to recover and even rebound. The book Option B combines Sandberg’s emotional insights and Grant’s eye-opening research on finding strength in the face of adversity.
Wednesday, May 17: Biomedical applications of 3-D printing
- Starts at 5:30 p.m. — Town Hall in Seattle’s First Hill neighborhood
- Tickets start at $15
- Sitting at the intersection of materials science, chemistry, bio-, and mechanical engineering, biomedical 3-D printing has the potential to revolutionize medicine. This event features a networking reception and multiple presentations. See the schedule here.
Thursday, May 18 to June 11: First day of the 43rd Annual Seattle International Film Festival
- Schedule, locations, and tickets vary; take a look at the schedule here.
- Seattle International Film Festival is one of the most highly attended film festivals in the United States. It shows more than 400 films from 80 countries in 25 days.
SIFF’s poster for the 2017 season.
Friday, May 19: Seattle Womxn’s Marching Forward presents Community Convergence
- Starts at 7 p.m. — Town Hall in Seattle’s First Hill neighborhood
- Free Event
- In solidarity with over five million participants worldwide, 175,000 Seattleites gathered on January 21 to march in defense of our rights to safety, health, and families—recognizing that vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of our country. Organizers of the Womxn’s March on Seattle, now called Seattle Womxn Marching Forward, invite you to a night of community building and action planning to continue the momentum of resistance and self-determination.
Thursday, May 20 and Friday, May 21: Seattle Mineral Market
- From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. — Lake City Community Center
- Free event
- Wherever your interests in the mineral world, you’ll find plenty to keep you busy here. The Seattle Mineral Market has a full range of minerals: from beginner’s collection pieces, to many higher end, rare minerals, and from decorative pieces to potent metaphysical crystals.
Sunday, May 21: Campout Cinema: The Muppet Movie
- Starts at 6 p.m. — Museum of Pop Culture in the Seattle Center
- Tickets start at $11
- Bring the outdoor movie experience indoors with MoPOP’s Campout Cinema series. At Campout Cinema, MoPOP invites you to get comfy and relax under LED stars on blankets, pillows, cushions, and sleeping bags from home (no chairs please). On May 21, they will screen The Muppet Movie.
Friday, May 26: GeekGirlCon Board Game Night at Wayward Coffeehouse!
- Starts at 7 p.m. — Wayward Coffeehouse in Seattle’s Roosevelt neighborhood
- Free event
- 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 game nights with our friends at Wayward, it’s free!
