Charity / Benefit

Arcade Light (great cause, amazing local food & drink) returns April 19th to Pike Place Market

Arcade Lights returns April 19th!  I’m excited to attend for the first time ever! Proceeds of this event benefit the Market Foundation which supports low income folks in our area through a variety of human service agencies.

At Arcade Lights (April 19th in Pike Place Market) you’ll be able to celebrate local artisan

food, craft beer and wine with over 60 vendors participating.

Tickets are $28 in advance and $35 day of which gets you a glass and 10 tasting tokens (you can buy more at the event to support the cause event more).

There are a BUNCH of amazing local vendors participating – some that jump off the page to me include:

Savory foods: Mt. Townsend Creamery, Pampeana Empanadas, Uli’s Famous Sausage

Sweets: Kukuruza Popcorn, Portage Bay Cafe, Sweet Iron, The Confectional, Theo Chocolate, Whidbey Island Ice Cream Company

Wineries: Cavu Cellars, Naches Heights Vineyard, Terra Blanca,

Breweries: Fremont Brewing, Odin Brewing Company, Pike Brewing Company

Drinks: The Methow Valley Ciderhouse, Tieton Cider Works

Hope to see you there! 

South Lake Union Block Party – August 10th!

Bites from local South Lake Union restaurants (including Cuoco and Tutta Bella) and food trucks (Skillet, Top Pot and more) will be served, with kids events, a beer garden and more. I’m particularly excited to taste and then cast my vote for “Best Burger in SLU.”  All proceeds benefit Plymouth Housing Group, a local non-profit organization dedicated to providing permanent, supportive and stable housing to chronically-homeless adults.    Event is free but food and drink are available for purchase.

Wishes In Flight: You Hold the Ticket to a Child’s Wish!

KOMO News & Make a Wish Alaska & Washington are pairing up for a special pledge drive this Thursday!

Did you know over 70% of the kids who become part of the Make A Wish program ask for trips? Here’s how you can help bring smiles to little faces & their families: donate your airfare miles to Make a Wish!  Miles are accepted from Alaska Airlines, Delta Airlines, United Airlines & US Airways.  I hear Alaska is matching up to 500,000 miles!

Don’t have miles to donate? You can donate $5 now through August 10th, by texting “MILES” to 80088.

On twitter? Follow along and tweet about this using hashtag #wishesinflight.  Follow Make A Wish AK & WA on Twitter & Facebook. Please share this post to help spread the word!

Wine Rocks brings together wine, food and music for a unique event

Mark your calendar for July 11th and get your tickets for the 5th Annual Wine Rocks on Pier 66.  For $35, this unique wine experience pairs wine with live music and food from 6pm – 10pm and features 40 Washington wineries, distilleries and breweries.

I can’t wait to see what wineries and oenologists I’m charmed by at this event! I’ll be sure to report back on who gets added to my favorites list (Kiona Vineyards is already on there)! One of the best things about these events, besides the music, food and drink, is falling in love with new wines that we might not have tried had we not attended!

Wine Rocks Seattle is collaboration between Jen Doak of The Bevy Project and Jamie Peha of Peha Promotions. This event benefits The Giving Grapes Foundation, which assists local charities who provide financial assistance to service industry professionals who have taken time off work due to injury or illness.

Throughout the evening select Washington winemakers and friends will take the stage to share their passion for music. This year’s featured bands include: The Wicker Rhinos – Paul Gregutt (wine writer) and Larry Davidson (sommelier), The Raven & The Fox – Chip McLaughlin (Vinyl Wines) and Mari Gisele, Turbo Grape Mashers – Gordy Rawson (Chatter Creek Cellars), Shelly & the Curves, and Soul Jelly.

Don’t forget to sip, drink plenty of water, snap photos of bottles you love with your cell phone so you remember them later, and plan for a safe ride home! Tickets: http://winerocksseattle.com/

**NOTE: Giveaway has ended**

Here’s your chance to win 2 tickets to the event! Multiple ways to enter:

1) Blog: Check out their website, then comment below what winery, distillery or brewery you’re most excited to try.

2) Facebook: enter on Seattle Pocket’s Facebook Page.

3)  Tweet: “I want to win 2 tix to Seattle’s #wawine @winerockssea via @keridwyn #seattlepockets http://bit.ly/Q8RatX” (be sure you’re following @winerockssea and @keridwyn on twitter)

4) Pinterest: Pin this post on pinterest, then post the link to your pin in the comments below

“Sing out for fun or fame” with Seattle Men’s Chorus

Love to sing or karaoke? Seattle Men’s Chorus is running a super fun contest, where you can enter to win the chance to sing your favorite song at McCaw Hall at Seattle Center with 200 amazing backup singers!

Here’s how to enter:

Pike Place Market contains hundreds of hidden “pockets”

SeattleTravel.com asked me to write an article about Pike Place Market, to share some local insights with potential tourists.  Without an abundance of words to work with, it was hard to choose what businesses to highlight.  I dare say, I could write this post five times over and still have businesses to talk about. Did your favorite Pike Place Market business make the cut? Let me know!  If not, chime in on the comments or on Facebook or Twitter!

An excerpt:

…Staying at a location that has a kitchenette? There’s nothing more satisfying than a fresh meal right from the market. Sosio’s Produce has been handed down through generations and their friendly staff are always at the ready with a sample to try, news of what’s in season, and are a great resource for produce questions. Prefer to have others do the cooking? You can’t walk far without stumbling over many incredible restaurants.  If you’re craving a Parisian experience– Maximilien, Cafe Campagne, Marche and Le Pichet (oh, the pastries!) are local favorites.  The Crumpet Shop is a delight for the senses, with unique savory and sweet rotating menu options.  If you’re a sucker for freshly made pasta, you can’t go go wrong with Il Corvo, down the steps from the market on Western Avenue.  Want to show off to your friends by treating them an incredible meal at an  off-the-beaten path gem of a restaurant? Step up the stairs to the 3rd floor of the Corner Market Building to Matt’s in the Market, where you can dine on deliciously locally sourced dishes with a grand view of the market clock, Elliott Bay and the Olympic Mountains. Full article, here.

Sosio's Produce. Photo by Mark Hinderliter

HONK! Around The World this Saturday!

This Saturday, HONK! Fest Westthrows their first sponsored event of 2012!  Revel in the art of big, bright noise as this festival brings music and dance from different parts of the world together for one fun night!  Tubaluba, VamoLa, Nu Klezmer Army, and gypsy-inspired DJ Makedon will provide musical sets, with many dance troupes, bellydancers and others providing performances throughout the night.  This is an all ages event at Hale’s Palladium in Fremont - tickets are available now through Brown Paper Tickets.

If quiet is what your looking for this Saturday night, this is not the event for you! But if you love to dance to bright, big sounds, you are in for a treat! I’m most excited to see Tubaluba perform, but know I will end the night having fallen in love with some of the bands I’ve yet to see live. About Tubaluba: “Just the grease you need to shake what yo mama gave ya. Tubaluba brings vocals, piano, drums, and a mess of horns to the party, serving up New Orleans classics with second line-ified R&B tunes and booty-shaking originals. Funk yeah! Tubaluba influences: Rebirth Brass band, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Mama Digdown’s Brass Band, bourbon, hot sauce, sweet potato pie.”

For more info on HONK! Around the World, visit their blog or Facebook event page.

Be sure to mark your calendars for June 1, 2nd and 3rd, when the official HONK! Fest West hits Seattle for their main event of the year.

HONK! Fest West is a free, three-day, community-supported music festival devoted to marching bands, drum corps, samba lines, and anything acoustic and mobile that makes a ruckus. We are also partial to street performers, dancers, and artistic appreciators.

Now, where can I get one of those cute HONK! tank tops my pal Tina let me borrow last weekend? Hoping they’ll be for sale at the event!

Seattle Women’s Chorus “Shot Through the Heart” Feb 18 & 19

Two afternoons in Seattle, February 18th & 19th, the Seattle Women’s Chorus will delight audiences at Benaroya Hall as they examine “The Good, Bad & Hilarious Aspects of Love”  in their new performance, Shot Through the Heart.

I personally can’t wait to see this performance. If you haven’t checked out Seattle Women’s Chorus, you have been missing out! This 175 person choir is chock full of talent and humor and will be singing love songs from “the great american song book,” modern pop hits, with some classical songs mixed in for good measure. I’m most excited to hear the gals sing their versions of Pink’s “So What” (yeah, breakup songs in a love song show!) and Christina Aguilera’s “Candyman.”  Buy tickets here and scroll down for info on how you can enter to win a pair to the 2/18 performance. UPDATE: Contest has closed.

Photo: SWC

On a personal note, my fellow Carol Brunette, the creative and talented Laura Szczes, will be one of the soloist for the evening (Laura penned the Carol Brunette’s winning song for “Most Creative” in the 2011 Figgy Pudding competition – a hilarious re-write of “Proud Mary.)

Want to make the show extra special for your sweetie or best friend? Dedicate one of the songs to them and have the chorus perform it live! Your donation will benefit the choir and is tax deductible. Details here. Songs still available: My Funny Valentine, Sing it Loud & So What. Super special: Eric Lane Barnes is collecting personal stories from among the singers to weave into the concert – there will be narratives and scenes that will play out between the songs.  “It runs the gamut… musically and topically,” said artistic director Dennis Coleman. “We’re singing about love: puppy love, euphoric love, passionate love, tragic love, goofy love, and those all too familiar love/hate relationships. And we’re covering these themes in music styles that will appeal to a wide range of tastes. This is music you’ll love to listen to.”  You can also bring a donation of clothing, shoes and bedding (in good condition) to the show, to support SWC’s drive for Hopelink.

CONTEST TIME! UPDATE: Contest has ended

Disclosure: Seattle Pockets was gifted 2 tickets to “Shot Through the Heart” in addition to the tickets provided for the giveaway. This gift in no way influences the opinions shared in this post. Seattle Pockets only shares posts about events and businesses we believe in. Full disclosure policy, here.

Seattle Wine & Food Experience – Feb 26

Wine fans in Seattle are getting excited to raise a glass at the Seattle Wine & Food Experience, returning to Seattle Center February 26th from noon – 5pm. This event not only features Washington Wines, but will have a special focus on Oregon wineries.  In addition, we’ll be able to taste Idaho, Californian and International wines while sampling small bites from over 20 local chefs. New this year: a beer and cider exhibit and (I can’t wait for this) a Northwest Distillery Row.

Seattle Food and Wine Experience 2011 at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall. Photo by Alan Alabastr

Admission is $49 per person, 21+, ID required.  A portion of the ticket sales benefits The Giving Grapes Foundation, which has chosen  Big Table, which exists to transform lives through community around food, offering practical and personal support. See below for your chance to enter to win a ticket to this grand event!

I’m particularly interested to see how the Northwest Distillery Row takes shape at this event!  Distilleries involved include 44 North Vodka, Bainbridge Organic Distillers, Bakon Vodka, Bendistillery, Black Rock Spirits, BroVo Spirits, Fremont Mischief, Pacific Distillery, Sidetrack Distillery, Skip Rock Distillers, Soft Tail Spirits, Sound Spirits, Venom Vodka and ZAC Mezcal.

Of the Oregon wineries, I’m most excited to try:

• Pinot Noirs from  A to Z Wineworks, Cooper Mountain Vineyards, Rex Hill ,Youngberg Hilland and Anne Amie Vinyards
• Merlot from Don Carlo Vineyard
• Malbec and Viognier from Watermill Winery
• Muller Thurgau from Henry Estate Winery
• Borealis from Montinore Estate
• Viognier from Watermill Winery
• Everything from Erath.  A few years back, I had an amazing trip with my mother, sister-in-law and her mother to Erath (if you are ever in their area, do make a point to stop by their tasting room), so am particularly interested in trying their Pinot Gris and Pinot Noirs.

Of the Washington wineries, I’m looking forward to sipping:

• Syrahs from Airfield Estates, Glen Fiona, Woodinville Wine Cellars and Robert Ramsay Cellars
• Columbia Winery, Chateau Ste. Michelle and Hogue Cellars (wines I often pick up when out shopping)
• Sauvignon Blanc from DiStefano Winery
• Riesling from Diversion Wine and Milbrandt Vineyards
• Merlot from Girly Girl Wines, Glencorrie Winery and Waterbrook Winery
• Hestia Cellars
• Kiona Vineyards and Winery (if you have a chance to visit them, do! They have a gorgeous view)
• Chardonnay from Orca Wines
• Onxy 2008 from Terra Blanca Winery (another great winery in Red Mountain)
• Malbec from Three Rivers Winery

And let’s not forget the food! Restaurants that have caught my eye include: A la Mode Pies, Cicchetti Kitchen & Bar, The Coterie Room, Lola, Luc,  Purple Cafe & Wine Bar, Spur Gastropub, Wild Ginger and Tavern Law.

CONTEST TIME! 

Contest has ended! Congrats to winner Katie Hope!

*Restaurants/Wineries: want me to hyperlink to your site? Just post the link as a comment below!  Is your restaurant or winery not mentioned here? Comment below and I’ll be sure to swing by your booth at the event!

Contest: Tickets to Team Up For Non Profits at The Tractor Tavern

Team Up for Non Profits provides our Seattle community with live music concert nights that benefit rotating non profits.  Their upcoming event at The Tractor Tavern in Ballard on Thursday, December 15th is a fundraiser to keep their organization going into the new year!  Bands Drew Grow & The Pastor Wives, Lower Lights Burning and Chris Cunningham will come together for this fun night. More about this creative organization, here. 

Buy tickets, here, through Brown Paper Tickets.

You can also enter to win 2 tickets to the show – simply post in the comments below was Seattle area non-profit you think Team Up should support in future concerts. Contest ends EOD Tuesday.

Be sure to like Team Up on Facebook.