January 11, Wednesday
Immigrant Rights Workshop El Centro de la Raza is partnering with the Latino Bar Association and other lawyers to hold a “Know Your Rights” workshop in English and Spanish. The workshop will be followed by a free immigration legal clinic. There will be complimentary child care and appetizers. Centilia Cultural Center at El Centro de la Raza, 2524 16th Ave. S., 957-4360, elcentrodelaraza.org. Free. All ages. Workshop 5 –6 p.m., followed by legal clinic 6–8 p.m. CASEY JAYWORK
January 12, Thursday
Leaving the Planet Opening Reception Greg Stump’s deceptively simple comics are Seattle’s best-kept secret. From his early-2000s comic contributions to The Stranger to his magnum opus Disillusioned Illusions, Stump has been gradually stripping away all artifice to discover a kind of cartooning nirvana. Tonight, Stump kicks off his first non-comics art show with Leaving the Planet, an ink-and-watercolor extravaganza. Joe Bar, 810 E. Roy St., 324-0407. Free. All ages. 6 p.m. PAUL CONSTANT
Slide Show Seattle Weekly comic artist and illustrator Marie Hausauer is presenting a new gallery show with an interesting premise: Using discarded 35mm family portraits from the ’60s found at antique stores as inspiration, her painting series adds surreal elements to the quaint settings, like giant looming hands coming out of the sky. The Factory, 1216 10th Ave., thefactoryseattle.com. Free. 6–11 p.m. KELTON SEARS
Standard Goods First Anniversary The Capitol Hill clothing store/gallery celebrates a year in operation with a show from Seattle Weekly GIF photographer Sofia Lee, a performance featuring the dream-synth stylings of Lilac, and, last but not least, free PBR. Standard Goods, 701 E. Pike St., thestandardgoods.com. Free. 6–10 p.m. KS
Madame Dragon’s 60th Birthday Bash In her last appearance with Café Nordo, Sara Porkalob stole the show with her preternatural timing and knack for physical comedy in the spy-thriller sendup To Savor Tomorrow. In Madame Dragon, there is no need to steal the show; this one is all about her and her Filipina gangster family. Dinner-theater guests will be treated to her brilliant talents and a menu of Filipino cuisine from chef Aaron Vervoza. Café Nordo, 109 S. Main St., cafenordo.com. $75. 21 and over. 8 p.m. Ends Jan. 22. MARK BAUMGARTEN
By Heart In this burgeoning era of resistance, Tiago Rodrigues’ performance piece resonates by demonstrating one of the greatest weapons against oppression: memory. Each night, the Portuguese actor and director will invite 10 audience members to take the stage with him, where they will learn Shakespeare’s Sonnet 30, by heart. On the Boards, 100 W. Roy St., 217-9886. $23. 8 p.m. Ends Jan. 15. MB
Wayward Music Series Deep in the wilds of Wallingford, the Wayward Music Series is kicking off 2017 with a night of oscillating fields of sound and endless seas of drone provided by Further Record’s own Jonas Reinhart. Also featured tonight: hometown hero Norm Chambers (who used to go by Panabrite), who will be accompanied by the organically derived visual wizardry of Leo Mayberry (KillingFrenzy Visuals). Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N., waywardmusic.org. $5–$15 suggested donation. All ages. 8 p.m. MEAGAN ANGUS
January 13, Friday
Indigenous London Reading Canadian history professor Coll Thrush, who wrote a terrific history of indigenous Seattle, returns with a book about the history of native peoples from America and New Zealand who traveled to the very center of the British Empire from the 16th century onward. This is a fascinating new twist on the study of colonialism. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave., 624-6600, elliottbaybook.com. Free. All ages. 7 p.m. PC
January 14, Saturday
Bring on 2017! Open Books, under the guidance of new owner Billie Swift, has been kicking ass with its reading series lately. The store kicks off a new year of literary events with a reading from four Seattle-area poets: Samar Abulhassan, Natasha Marin, Imani Sims, and Anastacia Renee Tolbert. Come join the party. Open Books, 2414 N. 45th St., 633-0811, open poetrybooks.com. Free. All ages. 7 p.m. PC
Tomten Having just wrapped up recording its third full-length, Cremation Songs, Tomten will headline tonight’s excellent and varied bill, with leader Brian Noyes-Watkins brooding loose-lipped over his band’s tender, organ-forward Anglophilic pop. In support will be San Francisco’s K Skelton and the inimitable Luz Elena Mendoza of Portland’s Y La Bamba. High Dive, 513 N. 36th St., 632-0212. $8 adv./$12 DOS. 21 and over. 8 p.m. MB
January 15, Sunday
Writers Resist: A Celebration of Free Speech It seems impossible that this week will bring both the annual celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Donald Trump’s inauguration. But here we are. To mentally prepare for the discord to come, why not attend this freedom-minded reading by writers from Bellingham (Robert Lashley), Spokane (novelist Jess Walter, poet Tod Marshall), and Seattle (Elissa Washuta, Jane Wong, G. Willow Wilson)? Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., 652-4255, townhallseattle.org. $5. All ages. 7:30 p.m. PC
Dance Crush In a world full of infinite-loop replays on YouTube, live dance is still a “You had to be there” proposition. But though you may have missed some of the most wonderful stuff in 2016, there is still hope for you. The young writers at SeattleDances are bringing back a handful of favorites as part of their new Dance Crush initiative. Part award show and part retrospective, you can catch excerpts from some stellar works by PE|mo, Randy Ford, Rachael Lincoln, Ella Mahler, Scotty Flores, and “What’s Poppin’ Ladiez?” Erickson Theatre, 1524 Harvard Ave., seattledances.com. $15. 7 p.m. SANDRA KURTZ
The Road to Nickelsville This documentary tells the story of the controversial Seattle homeless encampment, which originated as a protest against Mayor Greg Nickels’ homelessness policies. Filmmaker Derek McNeill and Seattle Weekly’s own Casey Jaywork (that’s me) will participate in a post-screening panel discussion. Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave., 329-2629, nwfilmforum.org. $13. All ages. 5:15–7:15 p.m. CJ
January 16, Monday
Something Special The Egyptian Theatre is so beautiful and so welcoming that I’ve always thought it was kind of a shame that nobody ever hosted a reading there. Tonight, my dream comes true: Something Special is a multimedia celebration of short films, music (from Cosmos the Band), and spoken word (from Nikkita Oliver, Troy Osaki, and Leija Farr.) Egyptian Theatre, 805 E. Pine St., 324-9996, siff.net. $10. All ages. 9 p.m. PC
January 17, Tuesday
Race and Police Brutality: #whenwillitstop? South Seattle Emerald founder Marcus Harrison Green will moderate a panel discussing why so many black Americans are gunned down by police—and why so many other Americans remain skeptical of this despite mounting evidence. Panelists include Seattle King County NAACP’s Sheley Secrest, Seattle Community Police Commission’s Lisa Daugaard, Alliance for Gun Responsibility’s Riall Johnson, and Donald Byrd. Washington Hall, 153 14th Ave., 322-1151, washington hall.org. Free. All ages. 6:30–8:30 p.m. CJ
