Photo by Davros, Seattle, WA
It’s the time of year for the The Seattle Times Annual Peeps Contest. It’s too late for new entries this year, but you can enjoy looking at all of the creative uses of peeps for the sake of art this year. The Seattle Times will publish an array of entries in an April edition of NW Arts & Life.
What does a person do after they spend years studying biology and eventually get a Ph.D in ecology and evolution? You probably are not going to guess such a person would become a stand-up comedian, but that is the case for Tim Lee. In fact, he claims his career path makes perfect sense. Lee explains:
I used to give talks in front of smart people who’d try to pick apart my logic. Now I give talks in front of drunk people who try to pick apart my jokes. The drunken audience is easier to please but more violent when disappointed.
Lee’s style of comedy is accessible to both nerds and non-nerds, so anyone can enjoy his show. Meaning, you do not have to have a Ph.D. in ecology to understand his jokes. You can find a couple of videos of portions of his show on Tim Lee’s YouTube channel.
Tim Lee is playing at the Jewelbox Theater April 2 and 3 at 8pm. Tickets are $20. More info and buy advanced tickets online.
I spent much of last weekend watching the Olympics, and the event that I spent the most time watching was curling. It was not the most exciting sport to me, but it was like a logic problem that I felt I needed to solve but I just couldn’t figure out. Every time I thought I knew what was happening, I was wrong. I even went so far as to look up curling rules online, but I still just didn’t get it. Today, Seattlest posted an informative post about curling, but I think if I’m going to attempt to learn this mysterious sport I need to actually do it. I need to put on one slippery shoe and one shoe that is not slippery, grab a hunk of granite and a funky broom and get out on the ice and go for it.
There is a place here in Seattle that offers an introduction to curling for a mere $15 ($40 max per family). The Granite Curling Club has several open houses throughout the year when an instructor will give us curling novices an introduction to curling. There will be open houses coming up this weekend:
More details about the open houses from the Granite Curling Club website:
The Open House process goes something like this:
- You arrive, sign a waiver and pay $15 ($40 family max).
- Depending on how busy we are, you may have to go upstairs and wait for your group to be called.
- We clean your shoes and fit rubber grippers on them to protect our ice surface.
- Your instructors lead you through some stretches, safety guidelines, and information about the game.
- A group of 8 – 20 people goes out on the ice for some curling instruction and play.
- Once your lesson is done, you can visit us upstairs for snacks and to learn more about curling and our club.
We have 5 sheets of ice, so we can optimally accommodate around 40 people at any given time. If we are very busy, we may have larger groups and/or less time on the ice.
Generally you will be on the ice for 1-2 hours which includes instruction and a small game. If we are very busy, you may have to wait up to 2 hours to get on the ice.
The Granite Curling Club is located east of Aurora Ave. N on 130th St in Seattle.
And now, curling and heavy metal:
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, The Stranger’s Valentine’s Day Bash is the most entertaining thing to do on Valentine’s Day, whether you are single or in a relationship.
This year marks the 13th Valentine’s Day that Dan Savage will destroy tokens of the people of Seattle’s failed relationships in front of a crowd. This year I am not bitter and I do not currently have anything I would like destroyed on stage in front of a large crowd of strangers, but I have been up on that stage in the past and I encourage you to bring something to be destroyed if you are still licking the wounds of a recent break-up. It’s really really fun.
The 13th Annual Stranger’s Valentine’s Day Bash takes place at Neumo’s in Capitol Hill on Saturday, February 13. Door’s open at 8pm, show starts at 9:30pm, tickets are $6 advanced, $8 at the door. 21+
NW Double Dutch and Fringe Fitness have joined forces to bring a fun day of jump rope, double dutch, and hula hoop for adults. Saturday at the Century Ball Room on Capitol Hill will be a morning of mini workshops for only $5! These are one time workshops that will give you the opportunity to try classes in a quick, fun and pressure free environment. No experience required.
10:00-10:30am Beginning Jump Rope
10:30-11:00am Beginning Hula Hoop
11:00-11:30am Beginning Double Dutch
11:30-12:00om Beg/int Hula Hoop
Register online and get all 4 workshops for $5, come on the day of and they are $5 each.
Also, the new 5 week series of Fringe Fitness and NW Double Dutch classes start on February 6th. Register online (see below for links) or in person on Saturday.
Feb 6 – Mar 6, Saturdays 10am Hula Hoop Fitness (info and online registration)
Feb 6 – Mar 6, Saturdays 9am Beginning Double Dutch (info and online registration)
Feb 6 – Mar 6, Saturdays 11am Intermediate Double Dutch (info and online registration)
Stacey Merrick created Seattle on the Fringe because she wishes there had been a similar guide to Seattle when she moved here almost a decade ago and did not know a soul in town.
Seattle is a city rich with great things to do, but a lot of it is just word-of-mouth or not publicized by other publications. This blog is meant to be a resource for anyone who wants to do fun and interesting activities in the Seattle area, but may not otherwise hear about it.
Prior to living in Seattle, Stacey grew up in Oakland, CA, and then spent several years living in the mountains as a ski bum. She currently lives in Seattle where she might as well be glued to her bicycle, jumps double dutch for the Seattle team On The Double (Dutch), and in the winter you can always find her snowboarding on the slopes of Crystal Mountain. She teaches hula hoop and double dutch fitness classes.
Some of Stacey's other published work can be found in the archives of Might Magazine, and Project Censored; The News That Didn't Make the News.
