On my way back from my short hiatus, I ran into our next Iconic Convos interviewees, Hat n’ Boots at Oxbow Park in Georgetown. At 22-feet high (Boots) and 44-feet wide (Hat), these two are hard to ignore.

It began slowly—the plague, the greed, the riots. Revolutionaries rose up behind symbols, murals, and songs, while the masses were fed machinery and religion. In the wake of the destruction, politicians deemed art a dangerous thing—a worthless thing—and the masses agreed. They took away the paint, the books, and the instruments. But they could not wholly silence the artists. These are the stories they left behind.

The Varsity Theater in the heart of the U District has been in operation since 1940. In 1985 the theater added two screens to make it a triplex that shows a mix of independent, blockbuster, and special engagement showings. It is operated by Far and Away Entertainment, a local company that owns and operates several movie theaters across Seattle and the Puget Sound.

The Seattle Jewish Film Festival (SJFF) wrapped another exciting series of films this year for their Pearl Anniversary (30 years).  Here are some select highlights that screened in-person and streamed virtually and how you can see some of them:

Director John Helde hosted the Marcie’s world premiere in a packed, sold out crowd at Northwest Film Forum. Marcie’s follows a scrappy bartender, played by Jenn Ruzumna, who is a few payments away from fully owning the good ol’ local Ed’s Tavern—a long-held dream reached by one struggling payment at a time. But a rich, ambitious man enters and tries to persuade Ed into selling the restaurant before Marcie can finish her payments.

Birdwatching used to be the go-to hobby for outdoorsy folks with a lot of free time, usually in addition to hiking or backpacking, but now the birdwatching phenomenon seems to have spread far and wide. People who aren’t usually big nature fans are heading outside to join in on the hunt for Virginia Rails and Great Horned Owls, even with little experience or interest in other nature hobbies. So what is it about birds that seems to have drawn in so many people? And why now? And how do you escape the dreaded birdwatching FOMO?

Many of the sandwiches on these “best of” Seattle lists were one or two cities removed. Going to Lynnwood for a good sandwich is fine for some people, but it is not feasible or practical for the majority of us in the city. So, when coming up with my own roundup, I stuck to a few rules. The first was that this was a list of terrific Seattle banh mi, and so should stay within city boundaries. 

Windfall takes us on an incredible journey, from Oregon to the North Dakota prairie, and from the present all the way back to the early 1900s. But even with these leaps through place and time, Bolstad keeps us rooted. She delivers both fact and imagination in her distinct journalistic style, helping us follow her line of inquiry into her family’s past.

Nitroy launched Fancy Plants in fall of 2022. Located on the Ave at the intersection between the University and Ravenna neighborhoods, Fancy Plants is a multipurpose shop where Nitroy hopes to create a welcoming environment for plant carers of all experience levels. Acknowledging that “plants are living things, so they can be really overwhelming emotionally,” Nitroy says that her goal with the store is “trying to make growing plants less stressful and more joyful.” 

A Millennium Reflection, which was foraged from a multitude of Seattle poets and photographers, brings people together for a common cause and common love. Published in 1999, it is a love letter from its residents to their city. The collection, a celestial tribute, deeply reflects on the beauty and resilience of Seattle alongside where it started, how far it has come, and where it still plans to go. Through poems and photographs, the city of Seattle is brought to life again.

Digital matchmaking algorithms grow exhausting and disheartening, so it’s no wonder many hopeless romantics flock to tales of the ‘Ton with their lavish balls, promenades through the parks, and swoon-worthy, witty banter. 

The matriarch of such tales, Jane Austen, turns 250 years old this year. In celebration, Dacha Theatre is hosting a theatrical bash with a presentation of Emma, a contemporary, feminist take on Austen’s novel, written by Kate Hamill. 

There's nothing more titillating than the forbidden. Tacoma Cabaret, partnered with YouWen Production Company, knows this and flawlessly executed a Prohibition-themed show called “Velvet Rope.”

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Seattle Jewish Film Festival—the Pearl Anniversary. SJFF uses the metaphor of the pearl to describe this year’s cinematic offerings:Like a pearl formed through resilience and transformation, the Seattle Jewish Film Festival has spent 30 years illuminating powerful stories that shine through history’s darkest moments and celebrate the triumphs of Jewish life, culture and cinema. 

This year marks the 30^th Anniversary of the Seattle Jewish Film Festival (SJFF), and the organizers and programmers are taking full advantage of the opportunity to celebrate Jewish history, culture, and ideas.

A symbol of love, unity and growth, pearls are the traditional gift for the 30th wedding anniversary celebrations and the organizers have decided to intertwine the theme of the pearl with this milestone year. SJFF is offering 30 films for 30 years, calling them “pearls of wisdom,” and you can find a wide variety of narrative, documentary, animated, and short films at this year’s festival.

Northwest Film Forum will premiere Seattle filmmaker John Helde's new film, Marcie's, on April 4 and 5, 2025. Marcie's is about a small Washington town on the outskirts of the suburbs of Seattle that is feeling the encroachment of the city and developers who want to demolish the beloved community hub of Ed's Tavern in order to bring big business to the area. I sat down with John to talk about Marcie's and his unique style of filmmaking.

The setting sun outside steeped the city in gold, and a pleasant breeze carried the scent of budding flowers. He remembered the open fields of Anna’s family home, breaths of summer wind rustling the curtains as Anna painted by the window. 

He never should have brought her to the city.

Christine Deavel’s Blue to Blue follows Beryl, a grieving daughter (played by Cecelia Frye) who can’t seem to stop getting packages of her recently deceased mother’s things delivered to her door. Beryl is accompanied by a pair of ghostly psychopomps who help her evaluate what to do when it feels like there’s no way forward.

April 2025 marks the 55th anniversary of Earth Month. What initially started as an environmental awareness day in the United States is now an annual celebration across the world. Over the years, billions of people have joined forces to continue educating while advocating for policies that better protect communities, habitats, and wildlife. This year, the theme—Our Power, Our Planet—calls for an increase in renewable energy generation.

In February, I was an instructor at an arts-infusion workshop for a group of Seattle Public School elementary teachers. The workshop was held at an amazing multi-arts space that I had no idea existed in Seattle: PublicDisplay.ART. Arts Impact, the organization I teach with, acquired the use of the multipurpose space at no cost—an arts space that can be reserved and used for FREE! “How is that possible?” I asked myself. I connected with Marty Griswold, the Publisher of PublicDisplay.Art (they also publish a hard-copy magazine) and he filled me in on all the details. 

The Tesla Takedown protests began in February 2025, shortly after the inauguration of Donald Trump, who was flanked by tech billionaires Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerburg, Jeff Bezos, and Sundar Pichai. But the Musk/Trump alliance became apparent earlier than that at an election victory party where the Tesla CEO sieg-heiled on stage. Soon after the inauguration, Musk wasted no time ingratiating himself and planting his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a taskforce created by Donald Trump after Elon Musk floated the idea in an interview with the president-elect.