16We can ice-skate outdoors—even when it’s raining—at the covered Capitol Hill Ice Rink in Cal Anderson Park. capitolhillicerink.com
17 Forget neighborhood competitions—our best holiday light displays are in the mobile, month-long Christmas Ship Festival. argosycruises.com
18Seattle U Launched a New City Fandom
LAST SEASON’S SUBPAR RECORD NOTWITHSTANDING (11-20, ouch), the Seattle University men’s basketball team is, dollar for Cameron Dollar, the best sports ticket in town this winter. Here’s why.
THE COACH The aforementioned Dollar (a protege of UW’s vaunted court marshal, Lorenzo Romar, and a crafty recruiter) is in his third season of leading the Redhawks. The wins haven’t started rolling in yet, but as the Seattle Times’s Jerry Brewer says, “Progress is being made, slowly, certainly.”
THE TICKETS Even after moving from Capitol Hill’s tiny Connolly Center to the comparatively more posh KeyArena in 2009, Seattle U kept the price of admission dirt cheap. A smidge more than $30 will score you two tickets (goseattleu.com); one person can’t even get into Alaska Airlines Arena—the Huskies’ home—for less than $38.
THE NEIGHBORHOOD The Sonics didn’t just break basketball fans’ hearts by leaving Queen Anne in 2008, they all but killed the local bar scene. But now that SU is drawing crowds—smaller crowds, admittedly—to the Key, nearby pubs like T. S. McHugh’s (tsmchughs.com) are embracing Redhawks boosters. This winter McHugh’s will offer drink and appetizer specials to season ticket holders, and owner Don Tremblay puts Scuttlebutt Chieftain Amber ale (a nod to the school’s former, less politically correct mascot) back on tap.
THE FUTURE The team has returned to Division I basketball after a nearly three-decade hiatus, and next season the Redhawks will join the Western Athletic Conference, making them eligible for the NCAA Tournament again. Start going to games now so you can say you knew them when. No one likes a bandwagon jumper.—Matthew Halverson
19 Skates and elbows and ripped fishnets fly when the Rat City Rollergirls derby season begins January 21 at KeyArena. ratcityrollergirls.com
Whim W’Him
Since leaving PNB stardom in 2010, Olivier Wevers has focused on his sparkling dance company, bringing life to the Intiman during a dark theater season. Jan 20–22, Intiman Playhouse, whimwhim.org
Don Quixote
The story and music are classics, but the Dutch choreography is new and the costumes pop in Day-Glo colors. Feb 3–12, Pacific Northwest Ballet, pnb.org
Oklahoma!
The old tunes are still there (even that catchy “Surrey with the Fringe” one), but Spectrum Dance’s Donald Byrd updates the dance numbers with his gritty, emotionally rich choreography. Feb 3–Mar 4, 5th Avenue Theatre, 5thavenue.org
Chop Shop: Bodies of Work
The best of Northwest contemporary footwork gets a showcase in the fifth-annual Bellevuefest. Feb 11 & 12, Meydenbauer Theatre, chopshopdance.org
Teeth
Using video and live-generated music, the Portland troupe takes contemporary dance to a technological level in Make/Believe. Mar 1–3, On the Boards, ontheboards.org
21 It’s At Least 70 Degrees Somewhere
Volunteer Park Conservatory
75 degrees
At the greenhouse modeled on London’s Crystal Palace, display plans include illegal orchids seized by U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials. volunteerparkconservatory.org
Tropical Butterfly House
80 degrees
It takes 500 new butterflies per week, shipped from around the world, to keep the Pacific Science Center’s leafy enclosure fully populated. pacificsciencecenter.org
Tropical Rain Forest Dome
80 degrees
Ocelots, pygmy marmosets, and poison dart frogs live in the glass-walled indoor rain forest at the Woodland Park Zoo. zoo.org
Queen Anne Pool
85 degrees (in the water)
The city’s neatest public swim spot boasts a rope swing and a water basketball hoop, and there’s a sauna in the locker room. seattle.gov
Seattle Glassblowing Studio’s Hotshop
70 degrees
The Italian-made furnace burns at 2,000 degrees and holds 1,000 pounds of molten glass for students and artisans. seattleglassblowing.com
Published: December 2011
The Varsity doesn’t actually show the full lineup of short Oscar nominees; they only screen the narratives, not the documentaries, which are also distributed by Shorts International.
Hi Allison; Great tips and I appreciate your coverage of these events. I live in Seattle and I love it here. I am wondering of you would be interested in covering a novel travel resource? We are social flights – a ride sharing service for private jets. We have “Travel Circles” in cities all over the US. A travel circle is where communities can get together to share a private charter airplane somewhere – the cost goes down on a per seat basis when the costs are shared in both directions. We are an FAA approved (public charter) operator so we can advertise limited scheduled service on a “per-seat” basis. As we all know, the airlines are pulling out of many small markets leaving millions stranded without service or driving hours to a big hub. Social Flights is a viable option for communities. I’d love to speak with you or any one of your colleagues since there are many aspects to our story. Private Jet travel, as a topic, generally get a lot of attention so we both have much to share. Thanks – looking forward to hearing from you – Dan http://socialflights.com Thanks again.