So long, summer. It’s Monday morning, drizzly, and fall is most definitely here.
This weekend, Seattleites were tugging at their jackets for what may have been the first real time since spring. The Autumnal Equinox rolled around again on Sunday and gave the cue for us to shed our summer skin. But whether or not you were at Golden Gardens with the white-clad dancers welcoming the harvest season around the fire, (it would be rude to have taken photos, I was told), the city as a whole seemed to be out and about the past few days—despite occasional bouts of complete downpour—listening to music, drinking good beer, walking tall after having jaguar for dinner, and soaking up the last few bits of sunshine.
Wherever you were during the first few days of autumn, here are some of the things Seattle was up to this weekend:
Music floods Seattle in the very best way.
Despite the risk of rain, The Lumineers played a sold-out show at Marymoor Park over the weekend, bringing the “Ho Hey” to Seattle along with them. And speaking of good music, sad and utterly lovely The National came to the Paramount over the weekend, too. The Paramount crowd swooned with the gentle crooning of Matt Berninger, a guy who makes songs like “Trouble Will Find Me” and “I’m Afraid of Everyone” sound oddly hopeful. Even R&B great Aaron Neville came to the Triple Door on the 20 and 21st, bringing to ready ears his latest album My True Story.
Seattle’s bittiest park is born.
We can all stop holding our breaths now, the parklet is here. It arrived on Wednesday, 2 parking spots and 2 ounces, and we totally have proof now. The sign says it plainly: no alcohol, which makes perfect sense as it’s a 24-hour public park, just like any other where you’d have to hide your drink. Except this one is two parking spaces long. Be sure to check out the simple, sleek, and straight-forward mini park on East Olive, and say hi the people who put it there at Montana Bar.
Three-day-long beer party overtakes Fremont this Oktoberfest. Yah, das ist gud.
A favorite Fremont tradition kicked off this weekend in the form of dirndls, lederhosen, and biersteins—lots and lots of frothy, cheers-ing biersteins. In addition to the annual Buxom Royalty Contest, which is exactly what it sounds like, Fremont Oktoberfest welcomed the whole family (Fido, too) in The Village, and even sponsored a 5K on Sunday to work off a bit of that beer gut. Komonews.com has the photos of the hordes of Bavarian barmaids and the rest of the kooky, Oktoberfest crowd that comes out in the thousands every September. Need another drink? Head to Von Trapp’s or Schultzy’s. Festivities last until Oct. 6.
Gates Foundation on the cusp of making this a mosquito bite-free world.
Yesterday the Seattle TImes reported new developments on mosquito repellent, as scientists at the Gates Foundation are working with the intelligence of the insect in mind—or at least that mosquito nose that’s uncanny at detecting fresh human blood. The Times discusses the merits of the Kite Patch, a little sticker of sorts for your T-shirt that repels mosquitos through chemical disorientation, but also brings up that it may not be sufficient for the “missile-like” blood-finding abilities of female mosquitos. (It’s also only good for 48 hours.) They have something they claim is 100,000 times more powerful than DEET, which is the active ingredient in most of our bug repellents. Cheers, Melinda and Bill. Looking forward to camping already.
Are we having fun yet? Hang out with us in the lands of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Don’t forget to tag your Seattle snapshots with #SeattleSunBreak. We like seeing what you see.