12:00 PM – Nancy Rawles: My Jim
Northgate Community Center
The Washington Center for the Book at The Seattle Public Library invites everyone to take part in Seattle Reads My Jim, a project designed to foster reading and discussion of works by authors of diverse cultures and ethnicities. Nancy Rawles’ novel re-imagines Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the slave’s perspective.
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6:30 PM – Literary Fiction I: Student Readings
UW Bookstore, U-District
This year’s students of Scott Driscoll’s UW Extension Literary Fiction class will read selections from their work.
[LINK]

6:30 PM – Stephanie Kallos: Sing Them Home
SPL Ballard Branch
Everyone in Emlyn Springs, Nebraska, knows the story of Hope Jones, the physician’s wife whose big dreams for their tiny town were lost along with her in the tornado of 1978. For Hope’s three young children, the stability of life with their distant, preoccupied father, and with Viney, their mother’s spitfire best friend, is no match for their mother’s absence. Larken, the eldest, is an art history professor who seeks in food an answer to a less tangible hunger; Gaelan, the only son, is a telegenic weatherman who devotes his life to predicting the unpredictable and whose profession, and all too much more, depend on his sculpted frame and ready smile; and Bonnie, the baby of the family is a self-proclaimed archivist who combs the roadsides for clues to her mother’s legacy, and permission to move on. When, decades after their mother’s disappearance, they are summoned home after their father’s sudden death, they are forced to revisit the childhood tragedy at the center of their lives.
[LINK]

7:00 PM – Nancy Rawles: My Jim
SPL Columbia Branch
The Washington Center for the Book at The Seattle Public Library invites everyone to take part in Seattle Reads My Jim, a project designed to foster reading and discussion of works by authors of diverse cultures and ethnicities. Nancy Rawles’ novel re-imagines Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the slave’s perspective.
[LINK]

7:30 PM – Miranda Weiss: Tide, Feather, Snow
Barnes & Noble, University Village
A captivating memoir of life in Alaska.
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7:30 PM – Reif Larsen: The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet
Elliott Bay Book Co.
Two predictions about The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet: readers are going to love it as much as I did, and few if any will have experienced anything like it. I’m flabbergasted by Reif Larsen’s talent, and I was warmed by his generosity. Here is a book that does the impossible: it combines Mark Twain, Thomas Pynchon, and Little Miss Sunshine. Good novels entertain; great ones come as a gift to the readers who are lucky enough to find them. This book is a treasure.” – Stephen King
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12:00 PM – Poetry Appreciation Group
SPL Central Library
Join fellow poetry lovers to read and discuss poems.
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6:00 PM – Poetry Contest Award Ceremony
SPL Northeast Branch
See SPL’s poetry contest winners receive prizes and read their poems.
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6:30 PM – Bree Loewen: Pickets and Dead Men: Seasons on Rainier
SPL Ballard Branch
Pickets and Dead Men is the story of a young woman’s experience as a climbing ranger where respect is hard won and on-the-job performance can be the difference between life and death. Bree Loewen has been a climbing ranger on Mount Rainier, an EMT in Seattle, and has written for Climbing magazine. She has taught rigging and navigation classes for search and rescue groups and lives in Carnation, Washington, with her husband and daughter.
[LINK]

6:30 PM – End of Term: Readings
Richard Hugo House Cabaret
Spring quarter students share new work written in Hugo Writing Classes. Potluck begins at 6:30 p.m.; open mic at 7 p.m.
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7:30 PM – Geoffrey Miller: Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior
Town Hall Seattle, Downstairs, $5
In the spirit of Freakonomics and The Tipping Point—books about logic in what seems to be chaos—evolutionary psychologist Geoffrey Miller presents Spent. The book looks at the way our choices as consumers advertise our biological potential to mates and friends. Sponsored by Town Hall and University Book Store. Part of the Seattle Science Lectures. (NOTE: SPL has the wrong subtitle for this book, so if you are trying to search it, use the author’s name for best results.)
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7:30 PM – Glen David Gold: Sunnyside
Elliott Bay Book Co.
“From the bestselling author of Carter Beats the Devil comes an elegant blend of reality and fiction, war drama and Hollywood glamour. Gold sets into motion his cameo-heavy, multi-pronged plot with a bizarre incident in winter 1916, when Charlie Chaplin is spotted simultaneously in 800 places across the country, causing mass hysteria and panic … The result is a dramatic narrative of chance and coincidence, and also a serious reconstruction of an evolving social landscape. It is wholly exhausting and entirely satisfying: to borrow an idea from Chaplin’s great personal-artistic quest in the book, it’s a work as good as Gold.” – Publishers Weekly
[LINK]

7:30 PM – Shirin Ebadi: Seattle Arts & Lectures Special Events
Benaroya Hall, S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium , $10-$35
Born in northwestern Iran in 1947, Ebadi is the author of numerous papers and articles for Iranian journals, and is the author of Iran Awakening: One Woman’s Journey to Reclaim her Life and Country (2007) and Refugee Rights in Iran (2008). Married with two college-age children, she continues to practice law in Tehran, despite continued resistance, regulations, and political unease. She is also a founder, with six other female Nobel winners, of the Women’s Nobel Prize Initiative, a nonprofit based in Canada that works for women’s rights internationally. She is also the founder one of the first independent, nongovernmental human rights organizations in Iran: The Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child. (Source: Seattle Arts & Lectures)
[LINK]

Pacifico beer, made in Mexico, is launching a new 7 oz bottle, the perfect size for ordering in buckets, keeping your beer colder longer, and for toting to parties and picnics. To celebrate, they’re hosting the world’s “smallest” toast in select western US cities, including Seattle. All the bars hosting the toast will have the new bottles on special and offer giveaways and a chance to be featured on the Pacifico website.

The toast takes place Thursday, May 21 at 7 pm at three local bars: Paragon Restaurant and Bar (2125 Queen Anne Ave N), Del Rey (2332 – 1st Ave), and Attic Alehouse & Eatery (4226 E. Madison St.)

It’s hard work putting on a big event of any sort, especially a huge festival like the Seattle International Film Festival, and one of the key requirements for success is having enough people on hand to do all the jobs, big and small, that need to be done. In addition to their full-time staff, SIFF relies on volunteers to to help keep everything running as smoothly as possible.

There are about 50 – 80 volunteers who help out at SIFF throughout the year, says SIFF Volunteer Coordinator Monica Hinckley, who help out at SIFF Cinema and distributing their SIFF Cinema catalogs throughout the city. That number swells to 600 to 800 during most festival years, but this year they have over 900 active volunteers. Festival volunteers fill many roles from the obvious, like box office will call staff and ushers, to the positions like guest relations driver or bartender. SIFF volunteers introduce films, photograph the events, represent the festival as part of the street team, help out in the festival and guest relations offices, provide translation or interpretation services, provide technical or production assistance and much more. There’s a position for just about anyone.

Managing that many people is a job in its own right, so SIFF relies on an on-line scheduling tool called Shiftboard which allows people to sign up for teams and then check that team’s calendar for open shifts. There are an amazing 3,500 shifts to get covered. Volunteers choose their level of commitment: shifts can be as short as one hour or as long as eight and volunteers can pick up as few or many shifts as they like.

In addition to the satisfaction of helping to put on the largest film festival in North America, volunteers get some tangible perks: every two hours of work earns a voucher for a Festival ticket or for use at SIFF Cinema all year long. Addtionally, those who commit as interns, working 20 hours per week get a Staff Pass; members of the front office volunteer team agree to work four hours a week for six months and earn a Festival Pass.

Volunteer recruitment starts long before the Festival but even now it’s not too late to sign up: volunteers are accepted during the entire course of the festival. (They particularly need ushers for the last week as those shifts can be hard to fill.)

SIFF volunteers represent a wide variety of types of people – students, retirees, employees of companies that encourage community service, and film lovers of all sorts. Two of the volunteers this year are Eric and Kathy. Eric has been a SIFF volunteer for four years and has done a bit of everything: he’s been an usher, worked will call, sold merchandise and concessions, helped with event production, general office work, promotions and members. Kathy is a front office volunteer whose just started at SIFF this year. They were both happy to talk about their SIFF experience; follow the jump to read more.
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Tuesday night, May 19, join Non-profit Comedy as they present a benefit comedy show to raise funds to fight breast cancer. Showtime is 8pm at the Comedy Underground (109 S. Washington St.) in Occidental Park. Cover for the show is $12 at the door ($6 with student ID) and at least half gets donated–the more people who show up, the higher the amount of the donation so gather your friends and get down there.

12:00 PM – Garry Disher: Blood Moon
Seattle Mystery Bookshop
A rare visit by this Australian writer. Insp. Hal Challis and his crew investigate the murder of a woman who oversaw the penalties on land-use violations, and the beating of a school chaplain. Complicating their work is the growing romance between Challis and Sgt. Ellen Destry.
[LINK]

12:05 PM – Thrilling Tales: Adult Story Time
SPL Central Library
Love a good story? Sit back, relax, and escape from the everyday as we bring you gripping short stories expertly read, and well-calculated to keep you in suspense!
[LINK]

7:00 PM – Mark Obmascik: Halfway to Heaven: My White-knuckled–and Knuckleheaded–Quest for the Rocky Mountain High
The Mountaineers Club
Over forty and feeling every year of it, Obmascik decided to embark on a midlife adventure in the mountains of Colorado, and in the process, gives us a peek at the quirky personalities of those who seek the peaks. Sponsored by The Mountaineers. Free and open to the public.
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7:00 PM – Paul Park: Readings
Richard Hugo House, Cabaret
Paul Park, author of “The Starbridge Chronicles” trilogy, among others, reads and discusses his work.
[LINK]

7:30 PM – Mark Kurlansky: The Food of a Younger Land: A Portrait of American Food—Before the National Highway System, Before Chain Restaurants, and Before Frozen Food, When the Nation’s Food was Seasonal, Regional, and Traditional—from the Lost WPA Files
Elliott Bay Book Co.
While researching another project, Mark Kurlansky came across an abandoned writing project that had been started during FDR’s ‘stimulus package,’ the New Deal—this project, America Eats, was never published. The material is fascinating and revelatory—Aplets & Cotlets, and salmon are some of the foods from this area, with ‘Montana Fried Beaver’ being found over the mountains. These and many other savory stories await. Also in hand for this evening—representative of Mark Kurlansky’s range—is his new translation of Emile Zola’s The Belly of Paris (Modern Library).
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7:30 PM – Reza Aslan: How to Win a Cosmic War: God, Globalization, and the End of the War on Terror
UW Kane Hall, Room 210
“An eloquent plea for defanging terrorism with rights for Muslims, both in the West and the Middle East. Iranian-born Aslan offers an attention-grabbing proposition: George W. Bush got something right in the Middle East. The former president correctly said that only by extending democratic freedoms to oppressed Muslims in the Middle East could we quell the appeal of terrorism. Yet Bush failed to back up his own words … readers who believe a fight with terror requires throwing some military punches will learn from Aslan’s endorsement of soft-power approaches.” – Kirkus Reviews
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7:30 PM – Rose Alley Press: Poetry Reading
Richard Hugo House, Theater
Hear the work of four excellent poets: Karen Finneyfrock, Victoria Ford, Jack McCarthy and Joannie Kervran Stangeland. Refreshments served and prizes offered.
[LINK]

1:00 PM – Free for All!
Town Hall Seattle
Imagine an entire Town Hall season rolled into one rich, raucous day, and you’re at Free for All. Every hour on the hour, our two stages will host local musicians, scientists, writers, thinkers, and civic leaders in programs drawn from across the wide expanse of the Town Hall calendar. Highlights include a family concert by Caspar Babypants (Chris Ballew, of The Presidents of the United States of America); a TownMusic concert; Short Stories Live; a debate between King County Executive candidates; science historian George Dyson, with his acclaimed consideration of the kayak; and the thundering drums of Seattle Kokon Taiko. Light food and drinks will be served throughout the day in Town Hall’s new café space. Come for a taste, or stay the whole afternoon—and celebrate ten years of programs that reflect and inspire Seattle’s best impulses: creativity, empathy, expansive thinking, and an ever-stronger community.
[LINK]

2:00 PM – Lynda Mapes: Breaking Ground: The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and the Unearthing of Tse-whit-zen Village
SPL Central Library, Level 1, Microsoft Auditorium
Award-winning Seattle Times journalist Lynda Mapes spent over a year interviewing the people involved in the 2003 discovery of the oldest and largest Indian village ever unearthed in the Northwest. It began with a backhoe digging out a space for a massive local dry dock and stumbling upon the long-buried village of Tse-whit-zen, the central city to the Klallam people. The book looks at the history and culture of the Klallam, and the controversy that surrounded the cessation of the dig, which had already cost the state $70 million.
[LINK]

2:00 PM – Wendy Wahman: Don’t Lick the Dog: Making Friends with Dogs
Queen Anne Books
In celebration of National Children’s Book Week and Page Ahead’s Book Drive, author Wendy Wahman joins Charles to share her new picture book, Don’t Lick the Dog. Learn how to approach pooches, meet a real, live author and illustrator, and enjoy the reading stylings of Charles during this festive event!
[LINK]

6:30 PM – Prof. Yael Zerbavel: “Encounters with the Past: Remembering the ‘Bygone’ in Israeli Culture”
UW Kane Hall, Room 220
34th Annual Stroum Lectures in Jewish Studies presents Zerbavel, author of Recovered Roots: Collective Memory and the Making of Israeli National Tradition. Zerbavel is the director of The Allen and Joan Bildner Center for the Study of Jewish Life and a professor of Jewish Studies and History at Rutgers University. There will be a kosher dessert dessert reception honoring Mrs. Althea Stroum and celebrating the naming of the Samuel & Althea Stroum Jewish Studies Program following the first lecture. RSVP requested for only the first lecture because of the special nature of this event.
[LINK]

Ok, it’s way too early so here’s a quick list of all the free, fun, sunny things to do this weekend.

-CHEESE FEST! One of my favorite festivals of all.

-U District Street Fair. Music, art and college kids. What more can you ask for?

-Syttende Mai, is Ballard’s annual and probably largest parade outside of Norway. Don’t even think about parking anywhere.

12:00 PM – Jon Talton: The Pain Nurse
Seattle Mystery Bookshop
[Economics journalist Talton now lives in Seattle; you can read his columns and analysis in the Seattle Times.] Cincinnati critical care nurse Cheryl Beth Williams becomes a suspect when the doctor is found dead in her secluded office – Cheryl Beth had been having an affair with the doctor’s husband. Retired homicide det. Will Borders is recovering from surgery and, from what he’s noticed about the crime, it appears a serial killer case that he thought he’d closed years before has reopened itself.
[LINK]

1:30 PM – George Pelecanos: The Way Home
SPL University Branch
Called “the most literary of America’s crime writers,” George Pelecanos digs deeper into the psyche’s and motivations of his characters than most would even consider doing. It’s that ambition that has made him as acclaimed as he is. His new book is about a father and his grown son, and the consequences of that son’s hard-won familiarity with trouble of all kinds. It’s the kind of book one would expect from one of the writers and producers of HBO’s ground-breaking series, The Wire.
[LINK]

2:00 PM – Contemporary African American Writing: Panel Discussion
Northwest African American Museum
A panel discussion with Christopher Jackson (Spiegel & Grau senior editor), Dawn Davis (Amistad editorial director), Ta-Nehisi Coates, Attica Locke, Rick Simonson (Elliott Bay Book Co.), and Paul Yamazaki (CityLights Bookstore). This event is part of the Seattle Public Library’s “2009 Seattle Reads Series,” this year featuring Nancy Rawles’ My Jim.
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2:30 PM – Karol Brown: A Visit with Harriet Tubman
SPL High Point Branch
“[A]n engaging, spellbinding portrayal that includes songs and stories containing messages of hope, unity and brotherly love.”
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4:00 PM – Poets West: Open Mic
SPL Green Lake Branch
Poets West has programs with open mike sessions on the first three Saturdays of May.
[LINK]

7:30 PM – Eugene Peterson: “Intently Haphazard”
University Presbyterian Church
Image Journal has awarded the 2009 Denise Levertov award to Eugene Paterson, Image contributor and author of The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language. Peterson will give read and give a presentation, with a reception to follow.
[LINK]

Ballard’s not the only community proud of its Nordic heritage: Poulsbo’s Viking Fest is a 40 year old tradition of fun and festivity that commemorates Norway’s Constitution Day.

Food, crafts, a parade, a race, and a carnival with games and live entertainment are some of the offerings on display–there’s even an “Iron Chef” competition–and the festival helps fund scholarships for local students. Viking Fest is fun for everyone, but it’s particularly great for families with kids since kids are a big focus of the event. Also, Poulsbo’s a fun town to visit if you have any sort of interest in Vikings–and who doesn’t love Vikings?

Getting to Poulsbo from Seattle is easy: take the Bainbridge Ferry and follow Hwy 35 to Poulsbo and then follow the helpful signs. Viking Fest opens today and runs through the weekend.
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Image by Jan Tik, used via Creative Commons.+