Wednesday 10/5
Get Your Flu Shot
(PUBLIC HEALTH) Get your flu shot. The CDC estimates that 7.5 million people got the flu during the 2019-20 flu season, prior to COVID-19. There were 6,300 flu-related deaths. Flu cases have decreased since COVID-19, possibly because people wore masks, avoided indoor gatherings, and distanced themselves whenever possible, but the world is reopening. Masks are coming off and indoor events have returned. So get your flu shot. It's free at most pharmacies with insurance, and Costco has them for $20 if you're uncovered. Need a reward for your good deed? When you get your flu shot at Safeway youâll get 10 percent off up to $200 worth of groceries. At CVS you get a $5 off coupon for a $20 purchase, and Walgreens and QFC each give you $5 off your next purchases, too. (Visit the Washington State Department of Health for more vaccination information.) MEGAN SELING
Thursday 10/6
(VISUAL ART) During Pioneer Square Art Walk on Thursday, make sure to swing through J. Rinehart Gallery for the opening reception of Kelly Björk's incredible solo show, Swimming Naked. The Seattle-based artist and illustrator's vibrant, playful works explore the knobby and sensual parts of being queer and in constant, joyful flux with yourself, your environment, and those around you. So it makes sense that many of Björk's compositions are situated within intimate spaces like steamy bathrooms or messy beds. But even more than that, Björk positions their figures in an emotional place, one where the subjects imagine the various versions of themselves or gaze directly into the eyes of someone they love. There is a tenderness that undergirds their paintings, a thrumming current of care that makes their portraits refreshing and revealing. I always manage to notice something new upon repeat viewings of their compositions. Don't miss this! (J. Rinehart Gallery, 319 Third Ave S, 5-8 pm, free; Swimming Naked hangs through Nov. 5) JAS KEIMIG
Friday 10/7
Unstreamable: The Garbage Pail Kids Movie
(FILM) Who on Earth is The Garbage Pail Kids Movie for? Freaks and weirdos, obviously, and deliciously so. Unstreamableâs screening series continues with an exhibition of one of historyâs most bonkers moviesâthough itâs not so much a film that was made as it is an act that was committed. Whatever it is, itâs based on a series of grotesque trading cards from the '80s (which were a parody of Cabbage Patch Kids, which in turn were appropriated from dolls created by independent folk artist Martha Nelson Thomas) and it is absolutely revolting. The plot is, as the name suggests, garbage: A group of baby-looking aliens with disgusting personal habits and physical characteristics befriend a group of human kids and engage in baffling hijinks. Nothing about it makes sense, from the narrative (if you can call it that) to the fact of its existence. Like a hypnotic spiral, you know you shouldnât look, but once you do you cannot look away. When it came out in 1987, the film was deemed "too repulsive for children or adults of any age" (The New York Times), and that is exactly the point. What could be more tempting than a film that refined tastemakers have decided you shouldnât be allowed to see? (Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave, 7 pm, $7-$13, through Oct. 9) MATT BAUME
Saturday 10/8
(VISUAL ART) Read our interview with Humaira Abid here.
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Sunday 10/9
(DRAG SHOW) Old Witch puts the âherâ in âleatherâ with almost-weekly Sunday night performances at Southgate Roller Rink! Roll on over to the back bar for a free drag show featuring everyoneâs favorite local swamp crone and her colleague Tinashea MonĂ©t. This weekâs guests include Sid Seedy, Jolene Granby, and Victoria Amore, with music from DJ Redline. If you havenât been to a drag show since the start of the pandemic, thereâs a whole new crop of local talent thatâs sprouted over the last three years. This is a great opportunity to acquaint yourself with the hottest new baby dragsâkings, queens, and beyond. I havenât seen this many fresh faces since UPNâs Dramatically Different Tuesdays. (Southgate Roller Rink, 9646 17th Ave SW, 7 pm, free) MATT BAUME
(DANCE PARTY) Show Hog is probably the most unhinged thing you can do on a Sunday (outside of, you know, going to church). The monthly show hosted by Seattle party girl Michete at Timbre Room is both a dance party and drag competition, pitting local queens against one another for the title of Prize-Winning Hog. For the uninitiated, it goes a little something like this: First, Michete comes onstage to perform a song and introduce the four competing hogs. After a dance break, the hogs come back, and each do their own lip-synch to impress the anonymous judges spread throughout the crowd. After another dance break, all four hogs come back, and Michete announces the top two queens who will showdown in a Ham Off for the title of Prize-Winning Hog, lip-synching for their lives as that one TV drag queen would say. And this month's competitors are divineâSeattle showgirls Rowan Ruthless, LĂŒk Lupe, Miss Texas 1988, and RubĂ Venus are all lined up to roll around in the muck in front of the crowd while guest DJ Novel Natura spins tracks from behind the decks. It'll be a honking good time! (Kremwerk Timbre Room, 1809 Minor Ave #10, 8 pm, $13.60) JAS KEIMIG
Monday 10/10
(LOVE) On Monday, October 10 friends and family of Nick Garrison invite everyone who knew and loved him to gather at Seattle Repertory Theater for an evening of celebration and stories. Garrison unexpectedly passed away on July 26. He was a magnetic and passionate performer, and a mainstay in The Stranger over the yearsâwe loved just about everything he did. Here, in 2000, he talked with David Schmader about Fleetwood Mac, the Velvet Underground, and musical theater's bad reputation. That was after he moved to New York and scored some TV gigs (including an appearance in Strangers with Candy) but before his brilliant performances in Hedwig and the Angry Inch in both Seattle and Chicago. And here, years later, Adrian Ryan praised Garrison's performance in a production of Valley of the Dolls at the Empty Space. Above you can watch his installment of The Stranger's "Message to the City" series. Several of Garrison's friendsâSarah Rudinoff, Bhama Roget, Angie Louise, Chris Jeffries, Branden Romans, and John Hollisâwill be speaking and performing throughout the evening, and there will be an open microphone available for anyone else who'd like to share a memory or a song. Visit rememberingnick.com for more information. (Seattle Repertory Theatre, 155 Mercer St, 6 pm, free) MEGAN SELING
Tuesday 10/11
(FOOD) Edd Kimber won The Great British Bake Off years before America became infatuated with The Great British Bake Off. It was back in 2010, the very first season of the show, which never aired in the US. Since then, Kimber has gone from debt collector to baking icon and author of half a dozen cookbooks. His latest is a game-changer. While most baking and dessert cookbooks are full of recipes to feed a crowdâtwo dozen cupcakes, five dozen cookies, a three-layer 9-inch cake that a family of four couldnât conquer in under a week without experiencing some serious sugar shakesâKimberâs latest, Small Batch Bakes, was inspired by his time at home with his partner during lockdown. Kimber wanted to bake, but he didnât want a whole bakeryâs worth of treats taking over their kitchen with nowhere to go, so he got to work developing sweet and savory recipes to feed fewer people. Four strawberries and creme Ă©clairs, six pistachio and raspberry meringue cookies, and a single âemergencyâ chocolate chip cookie. Amazing. At Book Larder heâll sign copies of Small Batch Bakes and, if weâre lucky, share a few more small baking secrets. (Book Larder, 4252 Fremont Ave N, 6:30 pm, $22.99 ticket price includes a copy of Kimber's new cookbook) MEGAN SELING
