October 4, Wednesday
Lit Crawl Kick-Off Party It’s almost time for Lit Crawl, Seattle’s wildest cross-city literary party. Tonight, the hosts present an unveiling ceremony where they’ll reveal this year’s lineup of readers and venues to an early-bird crowd, along with readings from local writers and a fundraising auction. Capitol Cider, 818 E. Pike St., 397-3564, litcrawl.org/seattle. $10. 21 and over. 6 p.m. PAUL CONSTANT
Zombie Cheerleaders From Hell The Heavenly Spies are part of Seattle’s renowned burlesque community, and with Zombie Cheerleaders From Hell, they’re bringing maximum movement (and gravity-defying hair) to one of the city’s tiniest stages. The Can Can audience loves a holiday, and nothing says Halloween like some bump and grind in the night. Can-Can, 94 Pike St., 652-0832, thecancan.com. $35–$45 ($75 with dinner). 17 and over/21 and over for late-night shows. Ends Oct. 31. SANDRA KURTZ
Interim Council Hearing Thanks to rapid (rabid?) lobbying by the folks at Transparency Seattle, the Seattle City Council is holding public hearings on the 16 candidates applying to sit in interim mayor Tim Burgess’ seat until they are replaced by either Teresa Mosqueda or Jon Grant after the city general election results are certified on Nov. 28. Come hear the applicants explain why they’re motivated and qualified to represent you during budget season, and then briefly tell them and the Council what you think. Seattle City Hall, 600 Fourth Ave., 684-8888, seattle.gov. Free. All ages. 5 p.m. CASEY JAYWORK
October 5, Thursday
WA 129 Reading Washington state’s outgoing poet laureate, Todd Marshall, collected as many Washington poets as humanly possible in an anthology titled WA 129. Tonight Marshall will be joined by 15 local poets, who will each briefly read. Expect to see Elizabeth Austen, Claudia Castro Luna, Sierra Nelson, Susan Rich, and Martha Silano, among others. Open Books, 2414 N. 45th St., 633-0811, openpoetrybooks.com. Free. All ages. 7 p.m. PC
Femmes of Vulgarity Kicking off the beginning of a stellar season of shows at Gay City, Femmes of Vulgarity is set to be a multimedia “queer and trans black femme exploration of sensuality, sexuality, and erotica.” Local erotic artists and magicians will explore the glory in vulgarity and challenge the virgin/slut paradox. Gay City, 517 E. Pike St., gaycity.org. $12–$20. All ages. 7 p.m. BECS RICHARDS
Witch-Ikon: An Exhibition of Contemporary Witchcraft Imagery Now is about the time that images of green-skinned, wart-nosed witches with pointy black hats abound—but Seattle isn’t on that fantasy kids’-book tip. We’ve got plenty of real-life witches up here. Occult bookstore Mortlake & Company is hosting an exhibition of contemporary witchcraft art, featuring incredibly talented artists like Benjamin Vierling and Marzena Ablewska-Lech who bring a masterful classical sensibility to their paintings and drawings. Throughout the month, look forward to lectures on “aspects of the witch in art.” Mortlake & Company, 121 Prefontaine Pl. S., mortlake.co. Free. All ages. 6–9 p.m. KELTON SEARS
October 6, Friday
From Here to Eternity Reading Caitlin Doughty is a mortician whose new book, From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death, journeys from Bolivia to Japan to Indonesia “to discover how other cultures care for their dead.” Tonight she’s joined by Seattle poet Sonya Vatomsky in an onstage conversation. The Summit, 420 E. Pike St., 322-7411, townhallseattle.org. $5. 21 and over. 7 p.m. PC
Why We Have a Body Directed by local theater-maker Rhonda J. Soikoiski, San Francisco-based Claire Chafee’s play, Why We Have a Body (which closes next week), follows four women who have decided to live outside the confines of patriarchal expectations. This comedy plays with archetypes, and is set on complicating identity labels. 12th Avenue Arts, 1620 12th Ave., 12avearts.org. $10–$36. All ages. 7:30 p.m. BR
The Wizard #2 Release Party Comic artist Brandon Lehmann has drawn many strange things in the Weekly’s comix section, but his main character outside our pages is The Wizard, a crotchety old bastard with magical powers and a sweet celestial robe. Tonight Lehmann releases The Wizard #2, following the titular hero’s journeys trying to avoid a clingy pole and rope merchant, accidentally getting gentrified by magically enlarged ants, and much more. The Wizard himself is rumored to be making an appearance at the party. Push/Pull, 5484 Shilshole Ave. N.W., pushpull seattle.com. Free. All ages. 7–10 p.m. KS
October 7, Saturday
“Write-In” This confluence of the literary and the political (politeracal?) is a combination of readings by local writers, writing prompts, and joint writing exercises—activities intended to celebrate the importance of free speech in these Trumpy times. This event is put on by Write Our Democracy, which used to be known by the much better name Writers Resist. Hugo House, 1021 Columbia St., 322-7030, hugohouse.org. Free. All ages. 10 a.m. PC
En Camino: Casa Latina’s Annual Gala There have always been reasons to support Casa Latina, a Central District staple and bedrock of the Latino worker community for the past 23 years. But now, what with the election of a president whose anti-immigrant policies and statements stoke fear and bigotry (and have real effects on people’s lives), it seems more important than ever to get together “en camino” and champion the rights of Latino immigrants in Seattle. In exchange for the gala price, you’ll get cocktails, dinner, dancing, music, and all kinds of celebratory speeches, including from Washington’s favorite civil-rights champion, Attorney General Bob Ferguson. The Westin, 1900 Fifth Ave., 728-1000, casa-latina.org. $135. 21 and over. 6 p.m. SARA BERNARD
October 8, Sunday
L.A. Witch You can’t throw a crystal in Los Angeles without hitting someone in a psych band. That being said, even amid the psychedelic surplus, L.A. Witch manages to stand out by swapping the tie-dye for an all-black palette and shadowy sonics, evident in murder ballads like “Kill My Baby Tonight.” Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St., chopsuey.com. $10–$12. 21 and over. 8 p.m. KS
October 9, Monday
Skyfarer Reading The best sci-fi bookstore in town brings Tacoma author Joseph Brassey and his brand-new space fantasy about knights in space and a magical gem. No less a talent than Neal Stephenson says Skyfarer is “one of those remarkable books that consists entirely of ‘the good parts.’ ” University Book Store, 4326 University Way N.E., 634-3400, bookstore.washington.edu. Free. All ages. 7 p.m. PC
October 10, Tuesday
Nasty Women Reading This anthology from Samhita Mukhopadhyay and Kate Harding is about “Feminism, Resistance, and Revolution in Trump’s America,” and it was inspired by the Women’s March. The editors are joined by local superstar Ijeoma Oluo, who has a much-anticipated book coming out next year. Hopefully there will be several good Janet Jackson jokes to accompany all the good, thoughtful conversation. Seattle First Baptist Church, 1111 Harvard Ave.,
652-4255, townhallseattle.org. $5. All ages. 7:30 p.m. PC
Avey Tare I’ve always found Avey Tare to produce the most challenging music in the Animal Collective universe—dark, spare, and minimalist. He’ll never stand accused of pandering to a crowd, yet his new album, Eucalyptus, meanders its way into many beautiful moments, owing to its deeply personal material that cuts through the synth. Barboza, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9951. $20. 21 and over. 8 p.m. DANIEL PERSON
