Best bets for the weekend
Sheesh, the wind’s been blowing this week, rain’s been pelting, power lines have been falling. Sure, four seasons are nice, but since when has it become spring, summer, fall and WINDter? Pretty frosting on the Olympics a couple mornings ago. Keep fingers crossed for a ski area or two to open by Thanksgiving. (Read today’s stories to get inspired, then keep a tab on seattletimes.com/snowsports for updates.) Looking for stuff to do this weekend? Check out these events:
These events are turkeys: The word “turkey” is in the name, anyway. There’s the Turkey Toss at Woodland Park Zoo, in which turkey meat (or other Thanksgiving-themed snacks) gets tossed to tigers, piranhas, Komodo dragons, grizzly bears and other zoo carnivores. (When these guys say “pass the gravy,” don’t hog the ladle.) Or there’s Hopelink’s Turkey Trot, a fun walk to raise bucks for a good cause, in Kirkland.
Getting festive: The festival scene has cooled with the weather, but don’t go cold turkey. (Hey, we have a theme to keep up here.) This weekend, there’s the Seattle Juggling and Footbag Festival, in Ravenna. Bring your own flaming torches. The Northwest Quilt, Craft and Sewing Festival brings party animals to Puyallup. Bring your own quilt squares. In North Seattle, don’t miss Klezfest, a celebration of traditional Jewish music, dance, food and crafts). And, finally - though it goes against this column’s inclinations to emphasize pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce until after Nov. 22 - we’ll whisper this: Ballard’s Nordic Heritage Museum this weekend hosts its annual Yulefest celebration of Scandinavian song, dance, crafts and food. (Gobble, gobble.)
Toys for girls and boys (tall and small): Remember what fun Gomez Adams had blowing up model trains? If you’re cuckoo over things that go choo-choo, head for The Great Train Expo this weekend in Puyallup. Or, if you go gaga over things that say goo-goo, there’s the Antique Doll and Toy Market in Bellevue on Sunday. Birds on the brain: The Museum of History and Industry, Seattle’s own showplace of the wildly eclectic, offers a private viewing of a John James Audubon exhibit this evening, followed by a screening of the charming film, “The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill,” with a guest appearance by the film’s director and the parrot man it features.
Drink no wine before its time: And sometimes that time is, oh, a few weeks after the grapes are picked. But never sooner than the Thursday before Thanksgiving (which is today). That’s the tradition with Beaujolais nouveau, the fruity, purple nectar of the Gamay grape produced in the Beaujolais region of France. Look for it at your favorite wine shop and host your own tasting, or plump down money for a party on Friday, the Beaujolais Nouveau Wine Gala and Auction at the Westin Hotel in Bellevue. Northwest Weekend editor Brian J. Cantwell, a Seattle native, lives on his sailboat in Ballard. Reach him at bcantwell@seattletimes.com or 206-748-5724.