Celebration
Winter Solstice at Seattle Center
For this transplant from the Great Plains, the season that begins Dec. 21 is “winter” in name only around here. The spectacle of a city paralyzed by one-sixteenth of an inch of snow is an amusement relished by someone who grew up in a state where April blizzards were not unheard of. Still, as a turning point in Seattle’s long gray march from summer to summer, the shortest day of the year is worth celebrating. This weekend, drop in to Seattle Center for this multiart fete, part of its ongoing Winterfest: craft activities at 1 p.m., storytelling (“Myths and Legends of the Heavens”) with Nancy Calos-Nakano at 3:30, and at 4 a processional onto the Center grounds for a sunset dance/fire/ritual performance, Orbis, at the International Fountain. Center House, Seattle Center, www.seattleseasons.com. Free. Events start at 1 p.m. Sat., Dec. 16–Sun., Dec. 17. GAVIN BORCHERT
Performance
Ellen Forney & Peter Bagge
If you missed Ellen Forney’s I Love Led Zeppelin show at the NW Film Forum, this may be your last chance to see it before she takes it on the road. Mixing wry satire as well as naughty bits, the video show presents some of the pop-culture chronicler’s key works, narrated live by Forney herself. If that weren’t enough to get you out, she’s on a double bill with Peter Bagge, creator of grunge-loser Buddy Bradley and Hate comics. He’ll be showing rarely seen animated works and telling tales surrounding his comics and the ’90s Seattle music scene, along with the latest installment of his Apocalypse Nerd series. You probably won’t see these two in a more intimate setting (the new Fantagraphics store in Georgetown) unless they invite you over for tea. Free! All ages! Comics! How can you not? (Note: Led Zeppelin will not be performing.) Fantagraphics Bookstore, 1201 S. Vale St., 658-0110, www.fantagraphics.com. 6 p.m. NEIL CORCORAN
Green Scene
Good Works
Get dirty and save the world. At parks large and small across the city, from Discovery Park to Madrona, volunteers will plant conifer trees and elderberries, help remove non-native species like knotweed, and improve trails. Organized by Green Seattle, restoration work party volunteers will get up early, don sturdy footwear and cold weather gear, and spend a few hours getting sweaty in their favorite parks, planting shrubs and yanking out invasive blackberries. Your labor will help to establish and protect native habitat, as well as add a few more trees (and bike trails) to our local ecosystem. If you’ve been spending a little more time in the car than you like, volunteering is a great way to assuage your guilt. Spend a few hours outside with a spade and a shovel, get fed, and leave a positive environmental footprint. Your sweat will be rewarded with (most likely) bagels and hot chocolate and the sweet knowledge that you are performing good work. Snacks and beverages as well as gloves and tools are usually provided. Dress in layers for the weather. For more details, and to find a specific neighborhood contact, visit www.cityofseattle.net/parks/volunteers/workparty.htm. 9 a.m.–3 p.m. (times vary). ADRIANA GRANT
City Life
Girl4Girl
Last year brought a peak in Seattle’s lesbian nightlife activity, at least where regular parties are concerned. It seemed like there was one every weekend, from the now- defunct Vibrator to the still-going-strong Lick and Cherry. Through it all—and since 1998—Girl4Girl has been hosting the megabash of every month, designed for the lesbian community at large (including the women who no longer live within stumbling distance of the Cap Hill nightspots). Always held at the same South Seattle warehouse (formerly the Premier, now the new home of the Fenix), crowds upward of 1,000 have gathered for past DJs like Salt N Pepa’s Spinderella and for live bands and dance performances. Tonight’s “Winter White Holiday Bash” lineup features Vancouver DJ Betti Forde, a Hanukkah-themed burlesque show from hottie Miss Indigo Blue, and CD release parties for Mary J. Blige and Ciara. There are only two rules: no unaccompanied men (and those allowed in will pay a pretty penny) and no cameras. You’ll have to take a made-for-MySpace snap with your new sweetie the morning after. Fenix Underground, 1700 First Ave. S., 405-4323, www.girl4girlseattle.com. $10 before 9:30 p.m., $12 after. 21 and over. 9 p.m. RACHEL SHIMP
