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🎄 5 surprisingly delightful holiday facts about Seattle
SAY WHAT?
🎉“Did you know Seattle once set a record for hosting the largest Christmas Party?”
Long before tech companies like Amazon and Google began to one-up each other on employee perks, Boeing was throwing rager holiday parties in the Kingdome (RIP). In 1979, Boeing spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to stage a massive performance featuring ice skaters, acrobats, and three 40-by-50 foot stages with full-size “toys,” like cars, boats and an airplane. The shindig even set a new Guinness record (at the time) for “Largest Christmas Party.”
🎭“What’s Seattle’s most beloved holiday performance?”
Sure, ”The Nutcracker” ballet is always a family favorite, but ACT Theatre’s annual screening of “A Christmas Carol” offers a show that reflects the roots of Seattle’s theater history. Written by the theater’s founder, Gregory A. Falls, the Seattle adaptation has been a hit since the late 1970s and helped solidify ACT’s place in the local arts scene.
🎄“Are your neighbors this awesome?”
It feels increasingly rare to really know our next-door neighbors in Seattle, so the fact that a group of neighbors in Ravenna has been able to keep Candy Cane Lane — a holiday lights display — alive since 1949 is particularly impressive. In fact, a family who moved into the house in the early 2000s said the previous owners turned down a higher bid because the family promised to carry on the tradition. So the family moved into the house and inherited all its Grinch-themed decorations. Here’s how to check out this year’s Nutcracker-themed display.
☃️“Dreaming of a white Christmas? Don’t hold your breath.”
Snow has officially fallen on just nine Seattle Christmases during our 120 years of weather record-keeping, giving our area roughly a 7 percent chance of having a White Christmas any given year. The light dusting we got last year — one whole inch on Christmas Day — actually tied for the second snowiest Dec. 25 on record.
🍫“Is that a Seattle Frango or a Chicago Frango?”
Created in Seattle in 1918, Frango chocolate mints are a holiday-season favorite with a story that’s intertwined with America’s history of department-store consolidation. They were originally made and sold by Frederick & Nelson in downtown Seattle, but Chicago’s Marshall Fields developed its own recipe after purchasing Frederick & Nelson in 1929. Nowadays, both versions are sold in Macy’s stores, and Tukwila-based Seattle Chocolates manufactures the Northwest variety.
CELEBRATE WITH US
Happy Holidays, fam! Gift yourself a little something extra today. Become a member and you can make a difference in our city by supporting community-centric storytelling. PLUS we’ll help you explore, celebrate, and get involved in our city online and in person.PARTNER EVENTS
🎯 Wednesday, Jan. 2: Learn the art and science of achieving your goals at the next Impact Hub Lunch + Learn. (Pioneer Square)
🚢 Friday, Jan. 4: Dive into Seattle’s history with Foundation (Fremont)
AROUND TOWN
TODAY ~ CHRISTMAS
🍿 Eat Chinese food and sing along to “Fiddler on the Roof” (Queen Anne)
🍿 Watch a documentary about the writers behind your favorite Christmas songs (Mercer Island)
💃 Dance it out with KEXP DJ Riz Rollins (Downtown)
🎶 Belt out your (least) favorite songs at the ‘I Hate Karaoke’ benefit (Capitol Hill)
TOMORROW
🎈 Have a (snow) day in Denny Park — through Jan. 20 (Cascade)
🎈 Hang out at The Burke Museum for free before it closes for a remodel — through Dec. 30 (University District)
👋 Win a round of trivia at Central Cinema (Central District)
🎈 Wave to your favorite sea creatures at Winter Fishtival — through Jan. 6 (Downtown)
🎮 Get your game on at the library (New Holly)
THURSDAY
🎈 Let the kids rock out to The Not-Its (Queen Anne)
🎨 Craft a unique piece of art (New Holly)
FRIDAY
🎶 Listen to Duke Ellington’s “sacred music” (Capitol Hill)
🎶 Bring a date to the Beethoven concert — through Dec. 31 (Downtown)
🎈 Take the kids to build structures with LEGOs, blocks, and more (Greenwood)
SATURDAY
☕️ Attend an Ethiopian coffee ceremony (Dunlap)
🏞 See how many birds you can count (Wedgwood)
👋 Gather your friends for a game of dodgeball (Yesler Terrace)
SUNDAY
🎉 Sparkle at this bollywood pre-NYE party (Ballard)
🎈 Take the kids to see the WildLights at the zoo — through Jan. 5 (Phinney Ridge)
🎶 Remember Aretha Franklin at the early or late show (Columbia City)
🍿 Watch an Israeli dramedy (Ballard)
👋 Read your favorite books with certified therapy dogs (Magnolia)
MONDAY ~ NEW YEAR’S EVE
🍴 Try a new restaurant before the new year (All over)
🎉 Ring in NYE your way (All over)
🥂 Sparkle when the ball drops (Downtown)
🎉 Sing-a-long to Moulin Rouge NYE (Queen Anne)
🍻 Dance, laugh, and celebrate at Hale’s Ales NYE event (Fremont)
🎶 Welcome the new year with the Doo Wop Project (Downtown)
🎉 Celebrate 2019 with class at the Chihuly NYE event (Queen Anne)
🎉 Make 2019 pop at MoPOP (Queen Anne)
🎉 Head to the Science Center for an inquisitive start to the new year (Queen Anne)
🥂 Greet the new year from the top of the Space Needle (Queen Anne)
💃 Shake your hips to Latin tunes (SoDo)
🎉 Attend a NYE benefit for Fred Hutch (100% of sales proceeds go toward the Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center) (Belltown)
TUESDAY ~ NEW YEAR’S DAY
🏞 Check out Free State Park Day (All over)
🏞 Take the plunge at the 5k/Polar Bear Dive (Fremont)
🏞 Cannonball into the icy cold water at Polar Plunge (Matthews Beach)
🍴 Start 2019 off right with Taco Tuesday (University District)
WEDNESDAY
👋 Go ice skating with fellow LGBTQ+ folks (Queen Anne)
🎈 Keep the holiday spirit alive with glowy lights at the zoo – through Saturday (Phinney Ridge)
🎨 Check out art about the Alaskan Way Viaduct — through Saturday (International District)
👋 Celebrate Fantagraphics’ 12th birthday and see comic book art (Georgetown)
🍿 Yell at the movie screen at this showing of “Batman vs. Superman” (Central District)
Going to one of these? Take us with you! Email a pic to [email protected] or tag#theevergrey on Instagram. Learn what our emojis mean here. Is an event sold out? Hit reply to let us know and we’ll update the listing in tomorrow’s newsletter.
SEE YOU TOMORROW
Have a great time opening presents today. 🎁
– The Evergrey