🌷 What to do in April

Our Monthly Guide to April in Seattle

April is National Pickleball month, National Brussels and Cabbage month, and my favorite: Emotional Overeating Awareness month! It’s also got a lot of random holidays like Hostess Twinkie Day (April 6), Dog Farting Awareness Day (April 8), and of course 4/20, which is National Cheddar Fries Day. Lots to celebrate, and lots of fun activities we’ve got recommended for you here and on the podcast. [City Cast Seattle 🎧]

Jane:

• Nonfiction for No Reason will feature readings from five local writers at Antipode on Sunday, April 5. We’re having NFNR’s founder, Katie Ellison, on the show on Friday, so tune in then to hear more about the series!
• Infinity Box Theater Project’s show Centrifuge brings together science writers, playwrights, actors, directors, and designers to put together 10-minute science-themed plays over the course of five days. Shows are at Theater Off Jackson on April 24 and 25!

Sam:

• Plate of Nations is a celebration of South Seattle restaurants, with more than 50 businesses participating. Each restaurant builds a sample plate for people to try, ranging from $15 to $40. It runs through April 12.
• On April 18, Charlie’s Queer Books is hosting a Professional Portrait Day where you can get a free headshot along with a suggested donation for the Lavender Rights Project.
• For the lovers of gossip among us, Lindy West’s book event at Town Hall on April 3 should keep you well fed.
• And finally, on April 4, I gotta recommend Glory Hole presents Glowy Hole: a fully blackout event where performers generate their own illumination however they see fit. It’ll be drag and burlesque mixed with shadow puppetry and silhouette projection.

Liam:

• The cherry blossoms are out, and there are lots of Japanese cultural events going on this month. Check out the Seattle Cherry Blossom and Japanese Cultural Festival, April 10 - 12. Bring your kids to Origami and the Tea Ceremony at the Seattle Japanese Garden.
• Check out some Japanese cinema! My main pick is Chime/The Serpent’s Path at SIFF on April 7. Chime is a 45-minute film that will never stream, so this is your chance to see it. Northwest Film Forum is also screening Yasujiro Ozu’s Early Spring, which is beautiful.

Lex Vaughn, founder of The Needling:

• Seattle Restaurant Week is an affordable way to try lots of different foods in the city. I always try to pick the weirdest thing.
• I also really love the cherry blossom mochi from Tokara in Phinney Ridge. It's so beautiful that it's been like my desktop picture for years. So I love that mochi.

5️⃣ We’re number five on the list of most expensive states in the country, according to a report from Washington Roundtable, a group of senior executives at major state employers like Nordstrom and the Seahawks. The report also says we’ve had the highest cost of living increase in the past decade. Housing and utilities are up 62%, healthcare 44%, and food up 50%. Yikes. [Washington Roundtable]

🌭 Costco wants you out in 10 seconds or fewer: The wholesale giant is piloting a new checkout method, where a Costco employee scans your stuff while in the checkout line, and then you pay at an automated pay station. They’re currently testing it locally at the Issaquah location. If you’ve been, let us know how it works! [The U.S. Sun]

💧 This summer could be very dry: Washington has about half its normal snowpack level, which powers our water supply. That means we’re headed for a dry summer, which could increase wildfire risks as well as electricity and power rates (our state relies primarily on hydroelectric power). It could even make it harder for farmers to grow food, which will impact prices at the store. [Seattle Times]