The Seattle Outdoors - Where People Meet Art - Fri Aug 27

There is more to the outdoors up here than watching whales swim, the Mariners sink, and the dusk light bounce off of Mount Rainier. This Friday brings three outdoor art events to enjoy this Friday evening in Seattle.

SAM Remix at the Olympic Sculpture Park : Fri Aug 27 8-Midnight

The Olympic Sculpture Park is the year 'round outdoor art installation of the Seattle Art Museum. This Friday night this waterfront sculpture park hosts the Seattle Art Museum's quarterly art party SAM Remix. This party includes talks and performances by Trenton Doyle Hancock, Truckasaurus, I Heart Shiva, and many others. Tickets and more about the Olympic Sculpture Park and SAM Remix at SeattleArtMuseum.com.

KEXP Free Concerts at the Mural : Fri Aug 27 6-11pm

Each summer local listener-supported radio station KEXP teams up with Seattle Center to present a series of free concerts on summer evenings at the Mural Amphitheater at Seattle Center. This Friday the set includes Mt St Helen's Vietnam Band, The Head and the Heart, and Yuni in Taxco. KEXP DJs will be spinning between sets, and the beer/wine garden will be open all evening. More at KEXP.com.

Seattle's Capitol Hill Gets MadArt : Aug 12 - Sep 12 : Plus the outdoor movie "Candleshoe" at 9PM

Six artists have installed their sculptures in Capitol Hill's Cal Anderson park for a month. The organization MadArt organized the installation, with the goals of supporting emerging artists and bringing art into our lives in unexpected ways. Preview the exhibit at MadArtSeattle.com. View the art any time, but be at the park by 9PM on Friday evening with a blanket to watch Jodie Foster in the 1977 Disney classic "Candleshoe". Details on the outdoor movie at ThreeDollarBill Cinema.com.

Sunlight in Seattle-get back to nature

With over fifteen hours of sunlight each day, we humans aren't the only ones enjoying this Seattle summertime. Plants are in their prime right now, and there are many different ways to enjoy the Emerald City through a leafy lens.

For a day in one of Seattle's Japanese Gardens visit either Kubota Garden or the Washington Park Arboretum near the University of Washington.

Discovery Park is Seattle's largest, and with 11 miles of hiking trails, two entries on the National Register of Historic Places, beaches, bluffs, and the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation's Daybreak Star Cultural Center, it is easy to forget you are in a city.

The city of Seattle has named 2010 the Year of Urban Agriculture, and so on a neighborhood walk around any of Seattle's wonderful B&B's you are sure to get some peeks into amazing backyard gardens (disclaimer: while Seattleites are known for their friendliness, please don't take this as an invitation to picnic in Bill Gates' garden.)

But for me, Seattle Neighborhood Farmers Markets take the cake. Washington may be best known for its apples and cherries, but the Pacific Northwest is second only to California in its selection and quality of fresh local food. There are too many choices to list, but the newly opened Olympic Sculpture Park Farmers Market should not be missed if you are visiting on a Thursday. Some of our guests' most enjoyable afternoons come from exploring one of the many distinct and diverse neighborhoods within Seattle. Use our Farmer's Markets as an excuse to visit a side of Seattle you would not otherwise get to see, and enjoy some of the best fresh food you have ever tasted.

Seattle Storm Basketball Game

Basketball fans, are you feeling a little low since the NBA season is over? We've got the perfect antidote right here in Seattle with the terrific WNBA team, Seattle Storm. The woman-owned team is off to a great start in their 11th season with a huge lead in the Western Division. Three innkeepers from two of our Seattle Bed and Breakfast Association inns, Greenlake Guest House and Salisbury House, went to a game last night, and even though star Sue Bird stayed on the bench with a sore back, the rest of the starters, with help from the bench, beat the San Antonio Silver Stars 86-72. The Storm's home court is the comfortable KeyArena at the Seattle Center in the shadow of the Space Needle. Check out the schedule now and plan to catch some real hoops action; same great game but with reasonable ticket prices and a lot less ego!

See a Youtube clip from the game "Swin Cash Jumpshot"