WEDNESDAY 8/25
Weta/Fox
James Cameron demands you see more Avatar (with Worthington, at right).
MSMG Seattle Lodge 93
Artists summon Morris Graves on Saturday.
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Opera: Jealous Much?
Verdi was all but retired when librettist Arrigo Boito gave him a pared-down, fat-free version of Shakespeare's Othello (Boito even trimmed the H in the title). It inspired the composer to the highest peaks he'd yet reached in tragedy: his greatest love duet, greatest tenor/baritone duet, and greatest soprano solo—the devastating "Willow Song" and "Ave Maria" that Desdemona sings just before Otello murders her. Yet there's at least one good reason Seattle Opera hasn't staged the piece since 1987: The title role is one of the most emotionally and vocally grueling tenor parts ever written. Your plan B is to see it as part of the opera broadcast series sponsored by Columbia City Cinema, in a 2008 Salzburg Festival performance with Riccardo Muti conducting. YouTube clips suggest it's a pretty smoldering performance. (Continues Wednesdays through Sept. 29.) Rainier Valley Cultural Arts Center, 3515 S. Alaska St., 721-3156, columbiacitycinema.com. $15–$20. 4 & 7 p.m. GAVIN BORCHERT
THURSDAY 8/26
Circuses: Believe the Hucksterism
Nineteenth-century circus owner P.T. Barnum had an enterprising spirit, silver tongue, and anything-goes approach to advertising—he allegedly coined the phrase "There's a sucker born every minute." In honor of the showman's business acumen, here are some numbers to consider. 100,000: The number of pounds of pachyderm on display in Barnum's FUNundrum!, which opens tonight. 65: The miles per hour that seven bikers in the Spherical Miracle act will be racing their motorcycles around a 16-foot-diameter steel globe. 30: The number of feet above the ground performer Andrea Ayala-Raffo will hang from a steel cable—suspended by her hair. Zero: That's what you'll feel like if you miss this spectacle. And should a phobia of clowns, a distaste for cotton candy, or some other lame excuse make you doubt the circus' appeal, consider another Barnum quote: "More persons, on the whole, are humbugged by believing in nothing than by believing too much." (Through Sat.) Comcast Arena, 2000 Hewitt Ave., Everett, 866-332-TIXX, ringling.com. $18. 7:30 p.m. REBECCA COHEN
Food/Books: Cookin' It Old-School
New York blogger and chef Georgia Pellegrini is disdainful of tags like "local" and "sustainable" (she calls them condescending) and distrustful of USDA standards for organic food. In Food Heroes: 16 Culinary Artisans Preserving Tradition (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $24.95), she instead focuses on artisanal food, which she defines as "dishes created and brought to the table from the surrounding countryside and imbued with local character." Among her heroes are an earthy and eccentric fungus forager from the Hudson Valley; a Denver distiller who created the first original whiskey recipe since Prohibition; a French fig grower who recommends jujubes as an aphrodisiac; and Seattle's own Jon Rowley, who'll also appear tonight. (The legendary seafood expert cooked homemade ratatouille for Pellegrini—no relation to fellow Northwest food icon Angelo Pellegrini.) Pellegrini's writing can get a tad hammy; in an olive orchard, she muses "that I am tasting and living time." And though she's very much a modern media creature, with a Twitter feed and a TV show (Girl Hunter) in development, Pellegrini clearly venerates these aging artisans. She wants to keep their traditions alive in a world where, as an Irish potato farmer says of the younger generation, "If they can't buy it and microwave it, they're going to starve." Elliott Bay Book Co., 1521 10th Ave., 624-6600, elliottbaybook.com. Free. 7 p.m. ERIN K. THOMPSON
Fairs: From FarmVille to Farm
Perhaps even more synonymous with the end of summer than Labor Day is the Evergreen State Fair. The annual event in Monroe offers carnival rides, mouthwatering food, an "Evergreen Idols" talent competition, and daily concerts by the likes of Los Lobos and 38 Special. (Also still working: Howie Mandel.) Visitors can enter pie-eating contests, text-messaging competitions, and chili cook-offs. Or let your baby crawl in the so-called "Diaper Derby." If Facebook's FarmVille is the closest you've come to real livestock, then the fair's interactive activities will offer a refreshing alternative—a chance for future locavores to collect eggs, milk cows, and pick apples. Kids will also have a chance to pet horses, pigs and...dinos? Yes, Days of the Dinosaurs is a 10,000-square-foot exhibit featuring 15 motorized replicas of the primordial beasts, including a lifelike velociraptor and tyrannosaurus. For a more traditional fair experience, visitors can brave the amusement-park rides or watch expert horsemen—and women—compete at the rodeo. (Through Sept. 6) Evergreen State Fairgrounds, 14405 179th Ave S.E., Monroe, 360-805-6700, evergreenfair.org. $7–$10. 10 a.m.–10 p.m. CELINA KAREIVA
FRIDAY 8/27
Comedy: Sing Dirty to Me
It's easy to be cynical about comics who release music albums, thanks to cringe-inducing efforts by the likes of Jimmy Fallon and Eddie Murphy. But an exception can be made for Margaret Cho. Her new Cho Dependent is charming yet provocative, featuring musical collaborations with Fiona Apple, Ani DiFranco, and Tegan and Sara. Still, for her Seattle show, Cho plans to stick to her trademark raunchy, politically charged stand-up. "I can't stop doing that; that would be weird," she assures me by phone from Provincetown, Mass., where she's prepping for her national tour. "I did a record, but I'm still a stand-up comic." Fine, but here's hoping she takes a break between jokes to perform her hilarious parody of Mickey Avalon and Dirt Nasty's "My Dick." Paramount Theatre, 911 Pine St., 682-1414, stgpresents.org. $25.50–$42. 7:30 p.m. ERIKA HOBART
