FRIDAY /6/17
Rex Tranter
A dancer in last year's Next Step showcase at PNB.
Peter Mumford
El Guindi has a taste for all theater genres.
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Arts & Disco: Art Under the Stars
Once a year, when the cyclone fencing goes up at Olympic Sculpture Park, and you hear the revelers and music inside, smell the food, and mildly resent that you can't get in, SAM's annual fund-raiser gala, Set the Table for SAM/Party in the Park, might have you feeling excluded. But why? You could be inside that fence for the private event—and for a very good cause. The ticket price may be steep, but it's an all-in extravaganza of cocktails, food (by Ethan Stowell, Isaac Norbe, and other prominent local chefs), and music. For latecomers on a budget, the 8 p.m. post-dinner portion of the evening is cheaper ($75–$100), but an excellent value, as the OSP becomes Seattle's nicest open-air concert venue. After live sets from the Paperboys, Curtains for You, and Hey Marseilles, the DJs (including Dave Hernandez of the Shins) will turn the whole park into a disco beneath the stars. Those too shy to dance can enjoy the late-night snack food, watch a squad of glowing hula-hoop performers, or try the mini–golf course designed by those Smash Putt guys. Or, if you're really thrifty, you could bob off the shoreline in your kayak, listening to all the fun. But wouldn't you really rather be inside for once? Olympic Sculpture Park, 2901 Western Ave., 654-3100, seattleartmuseum.org. $250 per person (21 and over). 6 p.m.–midnight. BRIAN MILLER
Comedy/Marty Gras
Few art forms are as hit-or-miss as stand-up comedy. And by "hit-or-miss," we mean mostly misses. Anyone can tell a joke, but to keep an audience of hundreds or thousands grinning for a half-hour routine is tough, tough stuff. That's why it helps to have an expert curator like Marty Riemer. Best known for his exploits as a longtime KMTT disc jockey, Riemer has always carved out time—be it during The Mountain's long-running "5:20 Funny" segment or by booking touring comics as guests on his morning podcast (martyriemer.com)—for laughs. Now in its seventh year, his :20 Funny Festival features the uniformly hilarious lineup of Tom Papa, Gary Gulman, Dan Naturman, and Owen Benjamin, with a portion of the gate benefiting Operation: Sack Lunch, which provides outdoor meals to the homeless and hungry. But perhaps Riemer's greatest claim to comic credibility is that he hails from Auburn, which boasts the highest per capita rate of crass mudflaps in King County. And is there anything funnier than a mudflap with a stripper silhouette on it? No, there's not. Paramount, 911 Pine St., 877-784-4849, stgpresents.org. $28–$75. 8 p.m.MIKE SEELY
Stage: When Musa Met Sheri
Yussef El Guindi's 2008 play Language Rooms dealt with Arabic-speaking U.S. translators and the strains of working in a Gitmo-like interrogation facility where they, too, fell under suspicion during the War on Terror. Now comes Pilgrims Musa and Sheri in the New World, a romantic comedy that would seem like a total change of pace for the Egyptian-born local playwright. Not so, he says, referring back to Language Rooms. "All my pieces have elements of comedy to them. This is also about traveling to a new world and trying to fit in . . . in a different genre." Musa is an Egyptian cabbie who falls for Sheri, an American waitress (the play's only U.S.-born character). Though Pilgrims deals with assimilation and culture clashes, says El Guindi, "I think I was in the mood for something a little lighter and less fraught. I would say this is my first flat-out romantic comedy. I don't mind genres—it's like going to a Thai restaurant or a Mexican restaurant." Indeed, whether as a diner, a writer, or a filmgoer, El Guindi is no snob. For example, he adds, "When Harry Met Sally is really a quite funny, decent romantic comedy." (Previews begin tonight; opens June 23; runs mostly daily, except Mon., through July 17; see acttheatre.org for exact schedule.) ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., 292-7676. $15–$37.50. 8 p.m.BRIAN MILLER
SATURDAY 6/18
Festivals: Let Your Fremont Flag Fly
Ah, the Fremont Fair. That weekend when hippies run free, painted, naked people mount bicycles, paradegoers park their cars and block my driveway, costumed Batmen and fairy princesses ramble the streets, and I sit back and drink $2 mimosas at Roxy's all day without shame. The highlight as always will be today's Solstice Parade (at noon), which showcases the usual eccentric floats, costumed dancers and musicians, and decorated cars. The always-eclectic live-music lineup features artists who mostly traffic in funky, get-down music—Fly Moon Royalty, Hot Bodies in Motion, Luc & the Lovingtons—that'll match the festival's freewheeling spirit just right. There will also be plenty of ways to spend your money, with 300-plus street vendors offering everything from elephant ears to organic cotton T-shirts to henna tattoos. And to up the squee factor, on Sunday (which also happens to be Father's Day), a Dads & Dogs Parade will march down the street (2:30 p.m.). For me at least, all those puppies will be a lot more visually appealing than the naked hippies from the day before. But you kids will probably dig both processions—furry and furless. Downtown Fremont, fremontfair.org. Free. 10 a.m.– 8 p.m. (11 a.m.–6 p.m. Sun.) ERIN K. THOMPSON
