Of Sugar And Architects - Gingerbread Village

Every year a special kind of magic happens downtown Seattle around the holidays.  For the last 24 years the Seattle Sheraton bakers and local architects have teamed up to create amazing creations and sculptures in sugar. The level of detail and thought that goes into each structure is amazing. Past themes have included Star Wars, super heroes, video games and many others.  This years theme will take you into the world of Harry Potter!  You can visit these incredible gingerbread designs 7 days a week, 24 hours a day at the Seattle Sheraton from November 22nd 2016 through January 1st 2017.  

The Last Tee Off - Smash Putt

Update:  Smash Putt will be open until April!

If you are a fan of putt-putt, drinking, art and/or laughter Smash Putt is for you.  Smash Putt is an one-of-a-kind golf course created by artists.  In past iterations it has contained an infinite green, a hydraulically controlled impala, 

a Mission Impossible themed hole complete with motion sensors and alarms, 

a skeeball hole 

and a hole that aerates your golf ball with a drill press.

The experience of is like nothing else.  Plan on an evening of golf and fun, but plan on it soon.... Smash Putt is having its End Of Days Finale, closing down after this run.  You can get your tickets here, but get them soon!  Smash Putt's final day is January 1st.  
www.smashputt.com 

Beautifully Strange And Unusual - Nevertold Casket Co.

With the weather slowly turning and Halloween around the corner, we thought we would highlight one of our haunts.  The Nevertold Casket Co. is a purveyor of the weird, obscure and unique. 

The space is packed with incredible finds from a wide variety of taxidermy 

to vintage medical specimens and beyond. 

The owners are passionate about their collection and love to discuss the items, as well as talk about oddities in general.  So whether you are in the market for 

a vintage Ouija board, 

a Tibetan Goat Kapala, 

or a T-rex claw, Nevertold Casket Co. has something to add a certain je ne sais quoi to any home or gift.  

Nevertold Casket Co. is open Thursday-Sunday from 12-7 pm. 

Side Trips - Market Theater Gum Wall

Each region has its locations and events that are common knowledge, but some of the more interesting locales fall off the beaten path with only the local population reveling in their quirky, uniqueness.  The Market Theater Gum Wall is one of Seattle's hidden, albeit slightly gross, gems.  The wall, located mere footsteps from Pike Place Market,  began around 1993 when Seattle theater goers began to stick gum to the wall and press coins into it.  The wall was initially seen as a problem and scraped clean twice only to have the city change gears in 1999 and declare it an official tourist attraction. The wall continues to grow as new visitors add their slightly masticated mark on one of Seattle's walls. Pike Place Gum Wall

Shamble With The Undead – Red, White, and Dead Zombie Walk

There are some things that you have to experience in person.  The Red, White and Dead Zombie Walk in the Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood falls squarely in that category.  Every year around the Fourth of July holiday thousands of people channel their inner undead and shamble together for a record breaking zombie horde that George A. Romero would be proud of.  The event features live music (ironic), food, and free make-up tents for the cosmetically challenged living dead.  The festivities lead to a massive Thriller dance, including a quick tutorial, and culminates in the actual walk itself, which winds throughout Fremont.   The crowds start to thin out after the walk, but feel free to stick around for the evening happenings which have included music and outdoor movies in the past. Just know that if you hang around for the entire event, you may have trouble shaking the Zombie mentality the following day. http://www.zombcon.com/ 

Become A Bibliophile – Friends of the Library Book Sale

There is something about a book that an “e”version can’t replace.  The tactile feel of the pages, the slightly musty smell of old books aged like a fine wine.  If you have a visceral connection with books and you like them cheap, the Friends of the Library Book Sale at Magnuson Park is the place to go.  The sale is a biannual event, generally occurring in Mid-April and Mid-September, with over 100,000 books for sale at around the $1 range and an entire section of “Better” books at a slightly higher price for the more discerning palette.  The shear volume of literature available for purchase is nearly overwhelming and you can easily spend hours poring over titles in every genre from the classics to textbooks.  The event is well attended so be prepared to rub elbows with other bibliophiles (and book sellers) but it’s all worth it in the end.  The rewards far outweigh the effort. http://friendsofspl.org/booksale

Get Inked – artCore Studios

What better way to enjoy a city than to permanently mark yourself while there. On a night when we had just planned to have a nice dinner, we found ourselves sitting down in a parlor and letting a fantastic artist permanently mark us. Georgetown, once a largely industrial fueled area, has metamorphed into a burgeoning artist community complete with a Vegan Bar and Tattoo/Art Gallery.  When we visited the former only to be told their stove died, we found ourselves at the latter talking to Chris about possible artwork.  Chris is an easy-to-talk-to, laidback professional who eschews the standard "too cool" attitude so prevalent among most tattoo artists.  He listened to our semi-vague ideas about what we wanted and came back with great art that we’ll be proud to show off.  The shop also doubles as an art gallery with the current artist, Sullivan Giles, displaying her amazingly detailed hand-cut stencil spray paint artwork.  All in all, artCore delivers more than your average parlor, both in personnel and personality.  http://www.artcoreseattle.com/