We also feel the urge to just lay in bed all night and weekend surviving the dark and the cold. But, look, the shortest day is past us, and we NEED to get out there and live our lives. So, the team has some recs for how to not only survive, but thrive, in the cold, wet dark of Seattle in January. We’ve got a mending night, (Pacific North) western films, junk journaling, repair clubs, (in the monster truck voice) MONSTER JAM!, udon noodles, jazz bars, and a lot more.
Learn a New Skill and Meet Your Neighbors
Mending night at Prairie Underground. (Seattle Mending / City Cast Seattle)
Jane recommends a mending night at Prairie Underground. She says, “It’s a monthly event where you bring whatever it is you need to mend and there are some folks on hand to help you figure out how to go about your journey. And then you get to hang out and mend.”
Here’s Jane, mending her heart out. (Jane C. Hu / City Cast Seattle)
Sam wants to check out their local repair cafe in Lower Queen Anne, hosted at Nielsens Pastries. They say, “It feels like a great way to meet neighbors and to finally get my kitchen lamp fixed.” There are repair cafes all over Seattle and the greater Sound, so find the one closest to you! Ashley is going to drop in on a monthly junk journal club that happens at Olympia Coffee downtown. She says, “ I just love anything that lets me be creative and gets me off my phone. It looks very cute and cozy.”
Look at how pretty junk can be, you guys! (Ashley Smith / City Cast Seattle)
Indulge in Soup Season
Okay, so our team doesn’t only recommend soup, but any kind of warm meal is very much on the menu this month. Liam is going to learn to make pho, Jane is going to learn to make tamales. Sam wants to try Azuki’s udon in Madrona and Sake Noire’s jazz nights (soup for the soul?) in Hillman City. Ashley recommends getting on the pre-order list for A.K. Pizza, checking out the khao soi at Ginger & Scallion. She also thinks you should either join her cookbook club or start your own.
Looks like I have plenty of cooking to do this year, (Ashley Smith / City Cast Seattle)
Head to the Theater
Liam is excited to see Here There Are Blueberries at Seattle Rep. He says “it's directed by Moisés Kaufman, who's probably best known for creating The Laramie Project, the play about Matthew Shephard. He's just an intriguing director, so I'm hoping I can go see that.” Sam recommends seeing the short-run performance of this show called Imaginary Observable by the artists Leah Crosby and Alyza DelPan-Monley at the Mini Mart City Park in Georgetown. Both incorporate the artists’ dancer backgrounds to use movement in asking questions about our relationships to our bodies across time.
I’m going to see as many of these as I possibly can. (Liam Billingham/ City Cast Seattle)
Book Talks, Westerns, Big Trucks
This month has a real grab bag of delightful events. Ashley is excited for the return of Monster Jam later in the month. Her excitement is contagious and the whole City Cast Seattle team may be in attendance together. Meet us there! Jane is also doing a book talk with author Emma Pattee. The event will celebrate the paperback edition of Tilt, Pattee’s novel about a Portland woman who is nine months pregnant when the big one hits. Jane and Emma will be at the Barnes and Noble in Northgate on January 16, so come on by!
Liam is particularly stoked about SIFF doing a series called the Pacific Northwestern, featuring westerns that take place in the Pacific Northwest. He says “they're showing some really good newer films like First Cow, and classic films that I love like McCabe & Mrs. Miller, which features a very young Warren Beatty.” Finally, Sam recommends a listening night for an album of your choosing at Shibuya Hifi in Ballard.
