A grizzly bear is treated to an evergreen tree decorated with real-fruit ornaments and pasta as icicles at Woodland Park Zoo’s Winter Celebration. Photo credit: Ryan Hawk
Wednesday, December 29th
- Your last chance to see the animals get Winter Celebration treats of food @ Woodland Park Zoo
- The final few days of Winterfest and the ice rink fun @ Seattle Center
- Drink bubbly and eat cupcakes while raising money for the Capitol Hill Cupcake Royale manager who lost her home in a fire @ 12th and Olive Wine Company
- “Oh, friends, not these tones! Let us raise our voices in more pleasing and more joyful sounds!” The Seattle Symphony takes on Beethoven’s Ninth (also Dec. 30, Jan. 2) @ Benaroya Hall
- “Jose & Kat Sing Nancy & Nat” @ Tula’s
Thursday, December 30th
- Thanks to mean old Mr. Potter, it’s the last night for It’s a Wonderful Life @ the Grand Illusion
- Tiny Furniture closes its tiny mumblecore run @ Central Cinema
- Or make your own movie (as an extra, at least) @ 12th Ave Stumptown
- The first of two sold-out Neurosis shows, this one with support from Wolves in the Throne Room and Black Breath @ Neumo’s
- Attention Vince Mira fans! He’s @ the Can Can
“Space Needle New Year” by SunBreak Flickr contributor Paul Swortz.
Friday, December 31st
- Take in a Columbia City New Year’s with a 21+ show, starring Dyme Def, Hounds of the Wild Hunt, Night Train, and more @ Columbia City Theater
- Or head out to see up-and-coming singer-songwriter Lissie, along with Tyrone Wells and Kristen Ward @ Snoqualmie Casino
- What about a New Year’s Eve Bash with Three Dog Night @ Emerald Queen Casino
- And while Neurosis is all sold out @ Neumo’s, don’t forget about the Reverend Horton Heat @ El Corazon and X @ the Moore
- Fresh Espresso and Head Like A Kite ring in the new year with a “big ball drop” @ the Crocodile
- It’s Seattle Symphony’s New Year’s Eve concert, countdown, and celebration @ Benaroya Hall
- Comeback’s “xtraordinary nite of Glamour, Fierceness, Realness, and Shade!” (what?) emceed by Ade with music from Colby B, Porq, and Freddy King of Pants at XTRAVAGANZA @ Chop Suey
- The Dusty 45s will kick New Year’s skinny ass @ the Triple Door
- Speaking of asses, dance yours off at the Footloose dance party @ Central Cinema
- Looking for a crowd? 3,000 are expected at Indulgence 2011 @ EMP
- Over in Bellevue, the Seattle Choral Co. rocks out with Carmina Burana @ the Meydenbauer Center
- If you want a good view, there’s also a New Year’s Eve Bash @ the Columbia Tower
- “Bling in the New Year” with the burlesque hits of the Can Can Castaways and the Heavenly Spies @ the Can Can
- Teatro Zinzanni has a special night all lined up @ their tent
Saturday, January 1st
- Cover your eyes or wear sunglasses: It’s the Ninth Annual Polar Bear Plunge @ Matthews Beach
- Noah “You heard my song on One Tree Hill“? Gundersen and the Courage play @ the Triple Door
- The first of two days of the Sound of Music sing-a-long @ the 5th Avenue Theater
Sunday, January 2nd
- The Seattle Baroque Orchestra and Early Music Guild celebrate the new year with an afternoon of Vivaldi @ Town Hall
- Last day to catch the Implied Violence and “Seance” exhibits @ the Frye Art Museum
- Salt of the Sea, starring Brooklyn-raised, third-generation Palestinian refugee and Tony Award-winning slam poet Suheir Hammad, screens (through Jan. 6) @ Grand Illusion
Monday, January 3rd
- Monday…meh. How’s about seeing the Picasso exhibit before it closes on the 17th @ SAM
Tuesday, January 4th
- It’s the first of six nights of gypsy jazz with Pearl Django @ Jazz Alley
- The Jay Thomas Big Band knows all the chords @ Tula’s
