May 19 Monday
Sponsored by KNKX. Escape to the Reel World at the 51st Seattle International Film Festival. Celebrate independent cinema as a destination with screenings in person May 15–25 at venues across Seattle, and extend your vacation with select encores streaming on the SIFF Channel May 26–June 1.
Today’s SIFF is the culmination of over half a century’s dedication to bringing independent and international cinema to Seattle audiences. In 2024, we celebrated our 50th anniversary with the release of our virtual SIFF Archives, and we dropped this timeline for all you history buffs out there. Innumerable thanks to everyone who’s come to screenings, volunteered their time, and partied with us over the years. Our community of film-lovers is the reason we’ve kept SIFF going, and your dedication to the arts is what’s made that possible.
Opening Night Film and Party, May 15, 7 p.m. at the Paramount Theatre: The Irish film Four Mothers is written and directed by Darren Thornton (SIFF 2017’s A Date for Mad Mary), a humorous and tender Irish charmer about a gay YA novelist (James McArdle, “Mare of Easttown”) who must look after four aging women left in his care. The After-Party is at 9:30 p.m. at the Paramount Theatre and outside on 9th Avenue.
Closing Night Film and Party, May 24, 6 p.m. at SIFF Cinema Downtown: Eva Victor (“Billions”) writes, directs, and stars in Sorry, Baby, a nonlinear, seriocomic story about a melancholic English professor’s complicated path toward healing in the aftermath of an all-too-common tragedy. Winner of the Sundance 2025 Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. Director, writer, and star Eva Victor scheduled to attend. The Closing Night Party begins at 8 p.m. at MOHAI.
Echoes of the Floating World features a striking collection of 18th, 19th and early 20th-century Japanese woodblock prints from the Tacoma Art Museum and others, displayed alongside works by contemporary Northwest artists. This exhibition honors the rich legacy of ukiyo-e while exploring its cultural impact on today’s artistic expressions.
Hours-
Monday CLOSEDTuesday CLOSEDWednesday 10 am – 5 pmThursday 10 am – 8 pmFriday 10 am – 5 pmSaturday 10 am – 5 pmSunday 10 am – 5 pm
We are protesting project 2025. TacomaRama marching band will join us for the next 4 years. We will meet each month on the Saturday closest to the 18th each month. Always 10am, always Reconciliation park. Feel loved and supported.
Childhood’s End Gallery is proud to host “First Stop,” an exhibition showcasing the range of mediums and methodologies featured on the South Sound Studio Tour. This gallery exhibit gives art lovers the opportunity to pre-plan their tour weekend and to revisit their favorite artists’ work following the tour, or discover those they may not have seen. South Sound Studio Tour information and brochures will be available throughout the duration of the exhibition.Join us for our Artist Reception 5/16/25 from 5-7PM.Mon - Sat: 10-6 | Sun: 11-5
Never Turn Back: Echoes of African American Music unveils the profound legacy of Gospel, Blues, Jazz, and Soul artists who shaped the soundscape of American culture and used their music as instruments of resistance, identity, and representation.
Gospel, Blues, Jazz, and Soul embody the profound influence of African American music on culture and history. From the spiritual foundations and transformative movements of Gospel hymns to the revolutionary improvisations of Jazz, the Blues’ Southern roots rising from the Mississippi Delta, and Soul’s powerful amplification of the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements, these genres have defined the unique sound and undying spirit of a nation that continues to echo through contemporary Black music today.
Join us for a fun and relaxed watercolor class where vou'll explore new techniques and experiment with vibrant colors. Perfect for all levels - no prior experience needed!
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:
Creative watercolor techniquemixing and blendingLayeringbalance between water and pigment
Welcomed by KNKX. Frank Vignola is one of the most extraordinary guitarists performing before the public today. His stunning virtuosity has made him the guitarist of choice for many of the world’s top musicians, including Ringo Starr, Madonna, Donald Fagen, John Lewis, Tommy Emmanuel, Lionel Hampton, the Boston Pops, the New York Pops, and guitar legend Les Paul, who named Vignola to his “Five Most Admired Guitarists List:” for the Wall Street Journal.
His dynamic genre-spanning music has brought him to 21 countries on three continents – and still growing – performing in some of the world’s most illustrious venues, including the Sydney Opera House, Carnegie Hall, The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, New York’s Lincoln Center, The Blue Note, and the world’s oldest indoor concert hall, Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, Italy.
Pasquale Grasso - It was the kind of endorsement most rising guitarists can only dream of, and then some. In his interview for Vintage Guitar magazine’s February 2016 cover story, Pat Metheny was asked to name some younger musicians who’d impressed him. “The best guitar player I’ve heard in maybe my entire life is floating around now, Pasquale Grasso,” said the jazz-guitar icon and NEA Jazz Master. “This guy is doing something so amazingly musical and so difficult. “Mostly what I hear now are guitar players who sound a little bit like me mixed with a little bit of [John Scofield] and a little bit of [Bill Frisell],” he continued. “What’s interesting about Pasquale is that he doesn’t sound anything like that at all. In a way, it is a little bit of a throwback, because his model—which is an incredible model to have—is Bud Powell. He has somehow captured the essence of that language from piano onto guitar in a way that almost nobody has ever addressed. He’s the most significant new guy I’ve heard in many, many years.”
May 20 Tuesday
The TD Victoria International JazzFest is the longest-running professional music festival on Vancouver Island. This iconic event, the “grandfather” of music festivals serving audiences on Vancouver Island and beyond, has evolved from a four-day festival to a vibrant, 10-day celebration of jazz and its associated genres located in the heart of Victoria. Attracting over 40,000 people every year, TD JazzFest is an integral part of the local, national, and international jazz scene, and the highlight of the Victoria Jazz Society’s annual presentations. The 2025 lineup includes Madeleine Peyroux, Eliane Elias, Richard Bona, Artemis, Marquis Hill, the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio and LowDown Brass Band.
Anne Frank’s life stands as a testament to the consequences of hatred and the resilience of the human spirit.
This traveling exhibit from the Anne Frank House provides an immersive experience of Anne’s life, the rise of Hitler, and the devastating impacts of World War II on Jewish families and communities.
