Hands-on learning, with drinks on hand at the Pacific Science Center’s Brewology.Jump to Your Genre:
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Seattleites are spoiled for choice when it comes to spending our leisure time. Just take a look at the sheer variety of options: We have an exceptional array of museums, independent bookstores, restaurants, bars (and bar trivia), record stores, nightlife options, local shops, and a rich music landscape.
And the actual landscape? Outdoor recreation opportunities abound. From abundant hikes, swimming holes, state parks, and campgrounds just beyond city limits to a voluminous urban trail system, there’s something for the outdoorsperson of every skill and stoke level. Those with little ones (human or furred) can rejoice at a bevy of great playgrounds, spray parks, and zoos.
But if you just want a guide already, we’ve got plenty for food, outdoors, shopping, and entertainment. Plus, a shortlist of what to do in Washington this month. Or find below the best things to do in Seattle, updated weekly.
Food and Drink
Gobble Up
November 13–14, various | Magnuson Park Hangar 30, $2–8
Over 100 craft food and beverage vendors descend upon Magnusson Park’s airy Hangar 30 for a pre-Thanksgiving food fest. Sauces, shrubs, baked goods, and whole meals are served up by indie makers, and local authors sign cookbooks in between bites.
Bristol Bay Salmon Week
November 14–25, various | various, menu
Taste Alaskan waters here in Seattle with the annual collaboration between sockeye fishers and local restaurants. Each outpost, from Local Tide to Homer, will craft their own bespoke dish starring the fish; with upwards of 40 participating restaurants, that’s a lot of salmon to taste test.
Julefest
November 20–22, various | National Nordic Museum, $12–25
An annual winter takeover that transforms Ballard’s National Nordic Museum into a Scandinavian wonderland, Julefest adds glögg and mead to your usual beer garden and whips up copious amounts of the pancake-donut-hole crossover æbleskiver. Meanwhile, a vendor market evokes European Christmas markets with over 45 local vendors outside the museum’s galleries.
Visual Arts
Social Contract
Through November 17, various | Actualize Air, free
Curated by Actualize residents Tommy Gregory and Rachael Comer, the Pioneer Square space’s fall show collects works from 16 artists around the country. Through various mediums, the works critique and question the social contract binding the United States government and its constituents.
Image: Courtesy Scott Mitchell Leen
Monochrome: Calder and Tara Donovan
Through January 17, various | Seattle Art Museum, $29.99
Almost as large as the exhibition hall tasked with containing it, Tara Donovan’s Calder-inspired sculpture is an imposing yet curiosity-inspiring presence. Crafted from mylar, the black bubble-like structure shares the space with two Calder works—stabile Mountains and matte black mobile Jacaranda—and a handful of Donovan’s single-material works.
Ten Thousand Things
Through Spring 2027, 10am–5pm | Wing Luke Museum, $24.95
A Tatung rice cooker, an abacus many generations old, a take-out plate wrapped in tin foil—all ordinary items with deeper stories, if you dig past the surface. Podcaster and exhibition curator Shin Yu Pai did just that: in her podcast by the same name, she’s spent five seasons exploring what our stuff means to us. Now through the spring, a handful of those items and stories, many with Seattle ties, reside in the Chinatown-International District museum.
Live Music
BoyNextDoor
November 15, 7:30pm | Showbox Sodo
Kpop boy group BoyNextDoor heads to Seattle on their first North American tour. High-energy songs and playful vibes come to Showbox SODO before the group takes the KNOCK ON Vol.2 tour to Southeast Asia.
Julien Baker
November 19–21, 7pm | Neumos, Resale
Julien Baker—one third of indie rock band boygenius—crafts music that exists in a stark, soulful, and cathartic realm. Prepare to feel all the feels at a three-night Neumos run before she heads south to Kilby Block Party.
Jamila Woods: 10 Years of HEAVN
November 20, 6pm | The Crocodile, $48.95
Straddling the line between poet and singer, Jamila Woods brings a beautiful lyricism to her tracks. Woods’ debut album HEAVN—an ode to Blackness, girlhood, and home—turns 10 with a celebratory show underneath The Crocodile’s suspended skeleton.
Performance
Eureka Day
Through November 15, various | Leo K. Theater, $50–109
Chaos turns to comedy in Seattle Rep’s rendition of Eureka Day. When a bumbling committee of higher-ups at a progressive Berkeley private school must navigate a mumps case on campus, satire and community shine bright—bright enough to have won the 2025 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play.
Ghost Stories
November 6–15, various | McCaw Hall, $36–270
The goosebumps don’t end at Halloween this year, thanks to a set of haunting ballets in the Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Ghost Stories program. Two pieces from contemporary choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo, a world premiere work inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven,” and George Balanchine’s La Sonnambula fill the evening. Stick around after each performance for a Q&A with artists behind the show.
The Flight Before Christmas
November 20–29, various | Seattle Public Theater, $42
More realistic about adulting than a storybook version of the holiday, a cast of characters stranded at the airport on Christmas Eve turns travel mishap into heartwarming comedy. The show will return for a handful of days around Christmas Day for those lucky enough to avoid braving SEA Airport this time of year.
The Wizard of Oz
November 27–December 27, various | $50–150
The yellow brick road leads to the impossibly ornate 5th Avenue Theatre for a feel-good classic this season. Dorothy’s journey to the Emerald City promises flying monkeys, lovable friends, and sing-along songs.
Film
Nouvelles Femmes
Through November 17, various | SIFF Cinema Uptown, $18–160
Euro summer comes to SIFF by way of a series that centers the women of the 1960s’ French New Wave cinematic era: actresses like Jeanne Moreau, Anna Karina, Brigitte Bardot, and Delphine Seyrig; writer-director Agnès Varda. Screenings at SIFF include remarks from film curators and professors for an introspective, deep-thinking series.
You Can See Everything
Through November 19, various | SIFF Cinema Uptown, $15–18
In a twist on no one’s 2026 bingo card, Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim move a documentary crew into the home of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes just weeks before her prison sentence begins. SIFF screens the curious, true crime-esque documentary through the end of the month.
Retro Night: Star Trek
November 11, 18, AND 25, 7pm | Majestic Bay, $13.50
Ballard’s independent theater is a master of the throwback; a weekly series brings nostalgic favorites back to the big screen. Next up, four weeks of Star Trek return to the big screen with an otherworldly sense of adventure.
Romanian Film Festival
November 13–15, various | SIFF Cinema Uptown, $17–100
Cozy SIFF Cinema Uptown plays host to the 13th iteration of this fest. The program, themed “Beyond Borders” this year, brings nine dramas, comedies, and documentaries that explore both physical and invisible divisions.
Special Events
Courtesy Green Seattle Partnership
Seattle Forest Week
November 7–15 | Various
Get muddy and fully embrace fall during a week-long work party aimed at making Seattle a little greener, literally. Family-friendly volunteer planting sessions pop up at Kubota Gardens, Seward Park, the Burke Gilman Trail, Camp Long, and dozens of other greenspaces where fresh air and community mingle.
Opening Day: Puget Sound Stories and West Coast Seattle Boy
November 21, 10am–5pm | MOPOP, $39.95
MOPOP celebrates the arrival of two new exhibits—Puget Sound Stories: Seattle Music and Beyond and Jimi Hendrix: West Coast Seattle Boy—with a wall-to-wall culture party. Films (Jimi Hendrix at Berkeley, Songs of Black Folk, and more) screen throughout the day, Q & A sessions with Janie Hendrix and The Gits illuminate, and performances from Stas THEE Boss, Lucia Flores-Wiseman, and Setting Sun Circle fill the Sky Church stage.
Columbia City Night Market
November 21, 6–10pm | 37th Ave S and S Edmunds
The monthly Columbia City Night Market isn’t scared of early sunsets and the seasonal drizzle: the four-block-long party continues rain or shine with live music, food trucks, local artisans, and a beer garden. While you’re in the neighborhood, check out some of our go-to spots.
Readings and Lectures
Tapas España with Catherine Alioto
November 18, 6:30pm | Book Larder, $130
In honor of her debut cookbook, chef and newly minted author Catherine Alioto leads a cooking class at Fremont’s culinary watering hole. The five-course demo kitchen menu includes hands-on instruction in crafting champi rellenos con albarino y jamon, Basque-style cod, crema Catalana, and more. After everything comes out of the oven, ticketholders dive in to taste their creations.
Up Close with Conservators: Conserving Schubert Sonata
November 19, 6pm | Seattle Asian Art Museum, $10–15
SAM’s ever-popular behind-the-scenes conversation series brings Assistant Objects Conservator Erin Fitterer in November. Before walking through how the team conserved Mark di Suvero’s “Schubert Sonata” sculpture—and made discoveries in the process—attendees get a peek inside the conservation center where the conservation magic happens.
Brewology
November 21, 7–10pm | Pacific Science Center, $30–65
The Pacific Science Center gets nerdy about beer, cider, and kombucha after hours. Expert talks dive into the science behind brewing processes, and the center’s 70-plus exhibits work overtime for after-hours perusing. Plus, dozens of tasting stations make a good argument for hands-on learning.
On Sale Now
Guest Chef Night at FareStart
Through December 3, 5–9pm | FareStart Restaurant, $60
Seattle’s renowned chefs rotate through guest spots at nonprofit FareStart, each bringing a tailored three-course menu. The dinners, from cooked by folks like Rachel Yang and the Nguyen siblings behind Ba Sa and Ramie, routinely sell out weeks before the tasting menus make it to the table.
National Geographic Live Speaker Series
January 10–12 and February 14–16 | Benaroya Hall, $46.10–63.40
Get a leg up on trivia knowledge with Benaroya Hall’s National Geographic series. Experts in their field lend enlightening lectures alongside stunning imagery and behind-the-scenes stories. Next up, January brings two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning war photographer Muhammed Muheisen, and February boasts acoustic biologist Ben Mirin as a “wildlife DJ.”
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