Blue neon and a triple-stacked marquee stand guard over Ballard’s independent Majestic Bay Theatres, but the real secret is the Tuesday price: All seats go for six dollars. The cinema was rebuilt on the site of the West Coast’s longest-running movie theater and is decked out in handcrafted fused-glass fixtures. Management keeps count of how many popcorn buckets it has sold in the quarter century since opening: 283,000 and counting. 

The National Nordic Museum is too big to miss, but events beyond the usual gallery openings require a closer look. The museum’s culture house, accentuated by one whole wall made of glass, hosts regular concerts starring touring Nordic artists. Occasional silent discos encourage communal dancing, and workshops teach traditional crafts, like paper flower making and needle felting. 

Gourmet grocer and gift shop Scandinavian Specialties fills its freezer with lingonberries and prinskorv sausage, while outside the store there’s a mural of the elf-like bearded nisse. Like a tiny version of Ikea’s cafeteria, a two-table café serves fyrstekake almond torte and seafood-heavy open-faced sandwiches. T-shirts with the Norwegian expression “uff da” denote a very specific kind of neighborhood pride.

Ballard’s signature attraction isn’t just for megayachts. While the Ballard Locks’ small boat chamber is closed for maintenance this spring, in general kayakers can pass through it, provided they’re willing to brave a three-story wall between them and Lake Union. Guiding outfit Ballard Kayak and Paddleboard leads kayakers through the process, departing from Shilshole. The fish ladder, however, remains off-limits.

The stuff on the shelves is weird enough at Ballyhoo Curiosity Shop, located in a subterranean level of a Ballard Avenue building. There are real human bones and bracelets made of scorpions tucked among antiques and artwork. But things gets even odder among the shop’s mystery boxes; they run up to $100 each and almost always contain some kind of taxidermy.

The dining section of butcher shop Beast and Cleaver makes the list of the city’s best restaurants, and the counter sells a variety of meats. But there’s another way to get meaty: Monthly whole-animal butchery classes demystify the processing operation and offer an in-depth demo on prep and cooking. Other classes get more detailed, like ones on making savory sauces or stuffing sausage. 

The sapphire blue Plenty of Clouds Dump Truck tucked into Cloudburst Brewing’s beer garden slings Sichuan and Yunnan dumplings, chrysanthemum salad, and mala noodle soup on its wide-ranging menu. It’s taken up permanent residence with the brewers since Cloudburst opened its Ballard location in 2020, linked by overcast-themed names.

Since it’s privately owned, Point Shilshole Beach has earned the location tag “Secret Beach” on Instagram. But despite its ownership status, the small stretch of sand is open to the public, and helpfully located right across from appropriately named Secret Congee. Dock pilings out in Shilshole Bay make for added interest in a sunset photo.