See four displays made mostly of food at Gingerbread Village in Sheraton Grand Seattle, 1400 6th Ave. Open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., extended to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Resolution Run 5K and Polar Bear Dive includes an optional dip in the cold waters of Lake Washington, awards, snacks, and a beer garden at Magnuson Park, 7400 Sand Point Way NE in Seattle.
Join 1000 people running into Lake Washington at noon to celebrate the new year at the Polar Bear Plunge, or just watch from shore. Costumes are encouraged. Parking is limited at Matthews Beach Park, 5100 NE 93rd St.
Watch model trains run through detailed scenes of the Pacific Northwest, and see railroad-history exhibits at the Model Train Festival at Washington State History Museum, 1911 Pacific Ave. in Tacoma. Free for children age 5 and younger. Closed Dec. 24 & 25.
Jump into the cold waters of Puget Sound at Polar Bear Plunge at Point Defiance Marina, 5912 Waterfront Dr. in Tacoma. Afterward, warm up at heating tents with hot drinks. Separate kids’ plunge (11:30 a.m.).
Bundle up to admire 800,000 holiday lights and displays at Zoolights at Point Defiance Zoo, 5400 N Pearl St. in Tacoma. The kids’ area has goats. Closed Dec. 24 & 25.
Buy a ticket online, then drive two miles past “300 elaborate displays” of holiday lights while you hear holiday music on radio station 1700 AM at Fantasy Lights in Spanaway Park, 14905 Bresemann Blvd. S in Spanaway.
WildLanterns features “large-scale animal and nature scape lanterns representing wild places from around the globe” including bugs, lions, pandas, parrots, and dragons, with snacks for sale and a performance in the entrance building at Woodland Park Zoo, 5500 Phinney Ave. N in Seattle. See schedule.
See a dozen Christmas trees decorated by local businesses during Festival of Trees at White River Valley Museum, 918 H St. SE in Auburn. Closed Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.
Enjoy furry costumes, art vendors, games, panel discussions, and a masquerade dance at Anthro Northwest at Hyatt Regency Seattle, 808 Howell St. in Seattle. See minors policy if younger than age 18.
Wonderland is a whimsical winter cabaret and burlesque show that promises “a glittering parade of nostalgia, exploding with dance, laughter, and all the cheer of yesteryear” at Can Can Culinary Cabaret, 95 Pine St. in Seattle for age 21+. Food and drinks for sale.
Legally Blonde: The Musical is an upbeat song-and-dance tale about a sweet sorority sister named Elle, known for her all-pink wardrobe and her chihuahua Bruiser, who goes to Harvard Law to win back her boyfriend, at Village Theatre, 303 Front St. N in Issaquah.
Saint Mark’s Evensong Choir performs its monthly Choral Evensong service in the cathedral nave at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, 1245 10th Ave. E in Seattle.
La Galette des Rois features galettes accompanied by a French cider tasting and soft drinks in a room above the French bakery at Centennial Tower, 2515 4th Ave. in Seattle.
Play board games, card games, role playing games, and miniatures games during OrcaCon, which includes panel discussions, workshop, and vendors in Hilton Bellevue, 300 112th Ave. SE in Bellevue.
National Geographic Live presents scientists, photographers, filmmakers, and adventurers live on stage with amazing photos and video at Benaroya Hall, 200 University St. in Seattle. January is about the Great Barrier Reef.
UW Dance Presents “showcases original choreography by internationally recognized faculty and visiting artists” to live music in Meany Hall for the Performing Arts at 4040 George Washington Lane NE in Seattle.
Your ticket to Taste of the Northwest includes six oysters plus 12 tasting tickets for wine, beer, and whiskey, with live music and food for sale at Campbell's Resort on Lake Chelan, 104 W Woodin Ave. in Chelan. Optional dinner buffet included or $109.
Bohemia is a “macabre and mystical dream cabaret” that combines classical music, art nouveau, green fairies, aerial numbers, dance, burlesque, classical piano battles, comedy, and original songs at The Triple Door, 216 Union St. in Seattle. Must be age 17+, or age 21+ for the show at 8:45 p.m. Closed Monday.
Dress warmly for Lake Chelan Winterfest, which features ice sculptures, live music, wine & ale tasting, kids’ activities, a polar bear splash, a giant beach bonfire, and fireworks on the sunnier side of the state. Schedule.
Family entertainment in Edmonds
January 18, 2025 (9:30 a.m.)
Edmonds (18 miles N)
Kidstock offers musical performances, theater, arts education workshops, and activities for kids at Edmonds Center for the Arts, 410 4th Ave. N in Edmonds. Free.
An endearing but naïve clown takes a self-discovery journey to a bizarre, exotic world in Kooza, performed by Cirque du Soleil in a giant heated tent at Marymoor Park, 6046 West Lake Sammamish Pkwy NE in Redmond.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day includes a job fair at Garfield High School (8:30 to 11:30 a.m.), a workshop (9:15 to 10:30 a.m.), a rally (11 a.m.), a march to city hall (12:30 p.m.), and then a bus ride back.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration has an interactive exhibit plus “music, movies, motivational speakers, activities for the entire family” and free admission to the Northwest African American Museum, 2300 S Massachusetts St. in Seattle.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Commemoration features special theater performances (11 a.m. & 1 p.m.) and includes free admission to the Washington State History Museum, 1911 Pacific Ave. in Tacoma.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration features a keynote speaker plus music, dance, and poetry at Greater Tacoma Convention Center. Doors open at 10 a.m. so you can meet community organizations before the show. Free parking.
Made famous by the Alfred Hitchcock film, Dial M for Murder is a bone-chilling thriller about a marriage gone wrong, performed live at Village Theatre, 303 Front St. N in Issaquah.
Check out hundreds of recreational vehicles at the Tacoma RV Show in the Tacoma Dome, 2727 E D Street in Tacoma. Children age 16 and younger are free. Repeats in Oct.
Dress up and dance to “swing, R & B, Latin, waltzes, ‘50s rock ‘n’ roll, foxtrots, quicksteps, and blues” played by a live orchestra at Masquerade in Century Ballroom, 915 E Pine St. in Seattle for age 21+. Singles welcome.
Seattle Chamber Music Society’s Winter Festival at Nordstrom Recital Hall in Benaroya Hall has a free recital before each performance. Repeats in July.
Tết in Seattle offers live performances, hands-on activities, foods, crafts, games, fashion, martial arts, and a marketplace at Fisher Pavilion and Seattle Center Armory, 305 Harrison St. in Seattle. Schedule.
Watch tournaments and competitions, try your hand at archery and thrown weapons during open hours, play games, and shop from artisans at the quirky Ursulmas Medieval Faire at Evergreen State Fairgrounds, 14405 179th Ave. SE in Monroe. Public days are Sat. & Sun. Children age 12 and younger are free.
Washington Sportsmen’s Show has seminars and exhibitors at Washington State Fair Events Center, 110 9th Ave. SW in Puyallup. Children age 5 and younger are free.
The Tacoma Home & Garden Show features home-improvement vendors, seminars, and thousands of plants in the Tacoma Dome, 2727 E D Street in Tacoma. Children age 12 and younger are free.
Celebrate the eagles that return in winter to the Stillaguamish River at the Eagle Festival, which offers guided tours, speakers, demonstrations, live music, an art and photography show, and horse-drawn wagon rides in Arlington.
Funk music
January 31 - Feb. 2, 2025
Olympia (62 miles S)
Olympia Funk Festival promises “three days of electrifying funk music, non-stop dancing, and pure celebration” in the Olympia Ballroom and at Capitol Theater, 206 5th Ave. SE in Olympia.
Seattle Boat Show has 800 boats and watercraft on display plus 126 boating seminars at Lumen Field, with a free shuttle to boats in the water at Bell Harbor Marina (until 5 p.m.). Children age 17 and younger are free.
The Sleeping Beauty is a “historically-informed re-imagining” of the classic fairy tale about a princess under a spell to sleep for 100 years until awakened by the kiss of a prince. It’s set in a a Pacific Northwest-inspired fairyland at McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St. in Seattle.
A ticket to The Sound of Music film starring Julie Andrews includes a fun pack at the door, an entertaining fancy-dress competition and subtitles on screen so you can sing along at The 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 5th Ave. in Seattle.
Celebrate Asia “honors Seattle’s Asian American community through exploring the rich musical traditions of Asian countries” at Benaroya Hall. Watch international entertainment in the lobby before (3 p.m.) and after the concert.
Watch 95 minutes of short films selected from the 2023 Sundance Film Festival program, including “fiction, documentary, and animation from around the world” during Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour at Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave. in Seattle.
Up with a Twist is a fundraiser for the School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts (SANCA), which includes a dinner, a dessert buffet, two drink tickets, and a “flying trapeze, aerial, and circus show” at Emerald City Trapeze Arts, 2702 6th Ave. S in Seattle.
A ticket to Burns Night Whisky & Bagpiping Event includes a bagpipe band, the reading of poems by Robert Burns, Scottish appetizers, a whisky cocktail, and a flight of six single malt scotch whiskies at The Barrel Thief, 3417 Evanston Ave. N #102 in Seattle for age 21+.
Walk to a dozen restaurants serving a variety of soups (gumbo, ramen, pozole, chowder, chili, Jamaican curry) during Fremont Soupocalypse, which requires no ticket and offers a prize after you collect eight soup stamps. The restaurants include Fremont Mischief Distillery, 132 N Canal St. in Seattle.
The annual Community Celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. includes a breakfast, a social hour, a keynote speaker, live music, and a community conversation at South Seattle College, 6000 16th Ave. SW in Seattle. [Website says Jan. 4 is the last day to register for this event.]
Celebrate the year of the dragon at Microsoft Asian Spring Festival Celebration, which has a family-friendly afternoon festival (games, gifts, food court, afternoon performance, and photo booth with traditional Chinese outfits) plus an evening gala performance at Overlake Christian Church, 9900 Willows Road NE in Redmond.
Kids meet the Snow Sisters, eat “tea sandwiches and desserts,” make a snowflake magic wand, get crowned with a rhinestone tiara, sing, dance, and watch snow fall at the Winter Royal Ball at Tea and Tiaras Party Parlor, 1809 99th St. E in Tacoma. Costumes welcome.
Tulalip Lights & Ice has 6 million lights on plants surrounding the casino entrance ponds and the Tulalip Amphitheater at 10400 34th Ave. NE in Tulalip. Ice skating and food for sale.
The Great Train Show features model train layouts and hundreds of vendors at Washington State Fair Events Center, 110 9th Ave. SW in Puyallup. Children age 2 and younger are free.
See frogs, snakes, geckos, and other exotic creatures at the Pacific Northwest Reptile and Exotic Animal Show at Washington State Fair Events Center, 110 9th Ave. SW in Puyallup. Bring no pets. Held in January & July.
The Sounds of Brass concert features “a 15-member brass and percussion ensemble” playing classical music in Building 2 at Tacoma Community College, 6501 S 19th St. in Tacoma.
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