Jul 14 Monday
June 20 - August 1, 2025 Summer Festival 2025 The World’s Largest Chamber Music Party returns!
This five-week celebration of extraordinary music and first-rate artists presents 12 mainstage concerts at Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall, each including a free pre-concert recital; two outdoor concerts in idyllic parks in Seattle and Bellevue; 18 concerts aboard The Concert Truck; the live music and cooking event Tasting Notes; an exciting variety of community and education programs, and for those who can’t attend in person, the return of our live streaming and on-demand, state-of-the-art Virtual Concert Hall.
Among the renowned artists participating this year are violinists James Ehnes, Elena Urioste and Noah Bendix-Balgley; pianists Yulianna Avdeeva and Inon Barnatan; and cellists Bion Tsang and Sterling Elliott. Highlights include masterpieces by Beethoven, Brahms, Fanny Mendelssohn, Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, and Tchaikovsky; music by important 20th-century composers, such as Mieczysław Weinberg, Rebecca Clarke and Amy Beach; and a selection of lesser-known works handpicked for the festival, including neglected pieces by Mel Bonis, Charlotte Sohy, and Moritz Moszkowski.
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.”
Live Jazz!
Jul 15 Tuesday
Live Music Returns to the Waterfront This Summer!
Get ready for an unforgettable summer on the water—Oodalalee: Concerts at Pier 62 is here. Brought to you by your friends at The Crocodile, this brand-new summer series transforms the recently renovated Pier 62 into a beautiful open-air concert venue, right on the edge of Elliott Bay.
Kicking off June 1 with a performance from Hermanos Gutiérrez, the series brings a stacked lineup all summer long, including Silversun Pickups, Watchhouse, Deltron 3030, Cosmo Sheldrake, Blind Pilot & John Craigie, Fruit Bats, and Otoboke Beaver with even more to be announced.
Time to Party with Thomas the Tank Engine! Day Out With Thomas: The Party Tour is rolling into the Northwest Railway Museum this July with loads of celebration-themed games and activities! Enjoy a real train ride with Thomas, live entertainment, photo ops, the exclusive gift shop, and lawn games. Then, head over to the Celebration Station for party-themed games and activities! Spend the day creating memories and celebrating 80 years of Thomas & Friends!
There’s so much to do at Day Out With Thomas: The Party Tour, including:
Hop aboard a train ride with ThomasParty at the Celebration StationPlay with Thomas & Friends™ toys in the Play Pod and apply your temporary tattooPhoto opportunities throughout the event, including with Thomas himselfAn activity sheet that will guide guests through the event experience highlighting the four key station stops to visit for a free giveawayLive entertainment including Eric OdeOutdoor activities including a bouncy racetrackA meet and greet with Sir Topham Hatt, Controller of the Railway,Railway museum admission with access to the Train Shed exhibits,Pop-up gift shop on site with exclusive Thomas & Friends™ products available only at Day Out With ThomasSnacks and drinks available on-site for purchaseVisit the historic downtown district of Snoqualmie for shopping and dining opportunitiesCreate lifetime family memories
Day Out With Thomas is heading to the Northwest Railway Museum on July 11 – 13, 18 – 20 & 25 – 27, 2025
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.
Join Childhood’s End Gallery for an exhibition of book arts in many forms; bound, unbound, unfolding from the walls, and suspended from the ceiling.“Summer Reading List” Featuring work by Susan Aurand, MalPina Chan, Lucia Harrison, Robin and Carmella Gumaelius, Randi Parkhurst, Shu-Ju Wang, and Suze Woolf.
Mandela: The Official Exhibition explores the life of the world’s most famous freedom fighter and political leader. His epic journey is told in a series of experiential galleries, from his rural childhood home through years of turbulent struggle against the apartheid regime, to his eventual vindication and final years as South Africa’s first democratically elected president.
An immersive and interactive experience, the exhibition features previously unseen films, photos, and the display of historical artifacts and personal effects on loan from the Mandela family, museums, and archives worldwide. This unprecedented exhibition offers fresh insights into the people, places, and events that formed Nelson Mandela’s character and the challenges he faced.
MOHAI will also highlight Mandela’s 1999 visit to Seattle and present a look at Seattle’s role in the anti-apartheid movement, including the work of the Seattle Coalition Against Apartheid. Mandela recognized Seattle as one of the first U.S. cities to boycott South African goods.
The period from the 1870s to the 1900s, known as the Gilded Age, saw the rise of the railroad, textile industry, and production. It also saw a rise in migration to US cities, providing workers to fill low paying jobs producing many of the fashions of the era. This era marked a turning point in fashion as new technologies and changing cultural norms transformed the ways in which people dressed.
Explore this history and enjoy the rare chance to see clothing, notions, and artifacts of the period from the Washington State Historical Society collections.
