Welcome to $15 or Less, our eclectic, weekly events calendar for cash-strapped devotees of arts and culture.
Nikky Finney
Benaroya Hall, Thursday 4/25 at 7:30 p.m., $15 general, $5 students (FREE day of with student ID)
Poet Nikky Finney will be the latest guest in the Seattle Arts and Lectures Series. Finney has been a force in the civil rights and arts communities since the 1980s and in 2011 her book, Head Off & Split, won the National Book Award for poetry.
Blancanieves
SIFF Cinema at the Uptown, Thursday 4/25 at 4:45, 7:15, and 9:45, $10
Last night to catch this Spanish retelling of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, which is filmed in black and white and reminiscent of European silent cinema. Visually stunning and inventive, this film was wildly popular at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Canoeing on Lake Union
Waterfront Activities Center at UW, $11 per hour on weekends ($7 for UW students)
From 10 a.m to 6 p.m. every day the WAC rents canoes and rowboats (by the hour) tot UW students and the general public. On your next free sunny day, pack a picnic and paddle under the eerily lovely 520 bridge to the Arboretum, where you will appreciate the beauty of our city by completely forgetting you’re in a city at all.
Labyrinth
Central Cinema, 4/26- 5/1 at 7 p.m., $6
Jim Henson + George Lucas + David Bowie (as a goblin king). I couldn’t have dreamed up this collaboration. Relive the cult classic (with the option of buying alcohol and snacks!) at Central Cinema for six mystical nights.
Amy Frykholm
Elliott Bay Book Company, Saturday 4/27 at 5 p.m., FREE
Frykholm's most recent book, See Me Naked: Stories of Sexual Exile in American Christianity, is a collection of non-fiction personal histories exploring the relationship between spirituality and sexuality in modern-day America. On this evening, Frykholm will share the real-life stories that inspired this redemptive, infinitely complex book.
Palma Violets
Barboza, Saturday 4/27 at 7 p.m., $12 advanced
As former recommendations have probably betrayed, my musical tastes lie solidly (placidly) in the indie folk realm. However, there are some truly awesome rock bands out there, bands whose music I crank way up without realizing it and then wonder “Who IS this?” The London band Palma Violets is one of those, powered by Alexander “Chilli” Jesson’s deep, gravelly vocals.
Geo and David Mitsuo Nixon: Residents' World Premieres/Finale
Town Hall, Sunday 4/28 from 7:30-9:30 p.m., $5
This showcase for Town Hall’s second, three-month in-residency programs features Artist in Residence Geo and Scholar in Residence David Mitsuo Nixon. After Nixon delivers a talk entitiled “Thoughts About the Meaning of Life (and Death) from a Philosopher Who Just Became a Dad,” Geo (half of the hip hop duo Blue Scholars!) will hold a listening session, which features brand-new music and audience participation.
Benefit for Country Doctor: Crypts, Eternal Bad, Into Violence
Cha Cha Lounge, Sunday 4/28 at 8:30 p.m.
The Country Doctor Community Clinic has been a vital part of Seattle since 1971. We’re unbelievably lucky to have this institution so help support it! Electronic trio Crypts will be playing, along with Eternal Bad and Into Violence, and it’s happy hour all night at the Cha Cha.
What are you doing this weekend? Let us know in the comments area below. And if you hear of any interesting – under $15 - events in or around our grand city, please email editor@crosscut.com.
