The Shoreline Museum is where I learned how to type S.O.S. on a telegraph when I was growing up. We…read morecame here for school to learn about the history of our city, Shoreline, and some basics about various technology that existed and played an important role in societal functioning roughly time-coincident with the history of the city, such as the telegraph. That was the museum set-up in the former building, a brick building that has since been integrated into the current Shorewood High School campus. The exhibits did/do a good job of providing foundational knowledge of the city and how it has operated as a community through the decades. It is also one of the best museums I have been to in terms of providing an appropriate amount of broader world context as relevant for the city in its history. The new building has a different layout, but preserves the feel of the former building.

Did you know Shoreline had a Historical Museum? I didn't until I was driving up 99 the other day…read moreand saw a brown sign that said Historical Museum that way, so I went that way, I wanted to check it out. It's housed in the historic Ronald Elementary School building and it's FREE! Yes another free thing to do in Seattle. The museum preserves, records and interprets the history of the Shoreline area which I found out is Broadview, Lake City, Lake Forest Park, North City, Richmond Beach and Ronald. If you like antique radios they have a room on the third floor filled with historic radios and memorabilia and apparently it's where the Puget Sound Antique Radio Association meets each month, in case you're into that kind of thing. The 'exhibit' I liked best was also on the third floor in the Jeanne Crane Room it was filled with newspaper clippings of crimes in the area many years ago. Everything from accidents to murders to prostitutions to missing people to assaults to robberies. Some of the articles were hard to read due to the photocopying of them but the details provided were interesting totally different from the way the news is reported today. The rest of the museum is ok with more bits and pieces of history about the area. I'm glad I went but I doubt I'll ever go back unless for some reason I need to do some research on something that happened in the Shoreline area. If you live in the area I say go check it out but if not don't make a special trip.

What a beautiful hidden gem! Wonderful, winding, and well maintained paths with all types of flora…read more An easy walk and plenty to discover in a quiet amd restful setting.

The Arboretum at South Seattle College is gorgeous, abit slightly neglected…read more The space isn't rife with amenities. There's no restroom on location that's open on the weekend (and whether one is available to the public during the week is questionable). But it's downright beautiful. I've never seen so many different conifers in one place. Even their cones and how they presented were different. Some stuck straight up, some dipped down, some were small, some big - just absolutely fascinating. The areas outside the conifer section were a bit on the neglected side however. A few of the branches and bushes could have used a trim and a couple of the trail openings between flora were almost totally grown over. It appears as if the space might be used for weddings in the Summer and not well maintained after August. All in all, my advice would be if you're going to visit, do so knowing there's not much here and plan your trip accordingly.

The Redmond Arts Festival is an annual festival that occurs in the Redmond Town Center during the…read moresummer season. If you're into art, especially finding local art, the Redmond Arts Festival is an event that was created with you in mind. I'm in Redmond a lot, and while I was at the Redmond Town Center for other business, I checked out the Redmond Arts Festival while it was going on. The Redmond Town Center has vendors lined up along the town center, selling their artwork and there is live music that plays in the main plaza, by the water fountain. The selection of artwork is small, especially compared to other art festivals that occur around the area. But it's cool that Redmond has their own community event. Also, this year, they've timed this festival during Redmond Derby Days where Microsoft shuttles can take you to and from both events for free. Smart thinking! It was nice to see what was offered this year, but if you're not already in Redmond, I wouldn't go out of my way to visit due to how small the festival is.

An annual three-day weekend arts festival that's a fun addition to the Redmond Derby Days (and…read moredon't forget the seasonal Redmond Saturday Market)! The town center becomes lined with booths of various handmade goods, including the usual set of paintings, crafts, pottery, jewelry, and sculptures. Other activities are present as well: live bands performing all day, kid-friendly activities, and a couple of food trucks. Of course, this is not a large city like Seattle, so come with expectations set to what a nice, small town like Redmond would offer!

Amazing art gallery. They exhibit mostly contemporary work by Northwest artists. The art has a…read moresocial or political issue. Nice staff. Highly recommend you visit.

Unbelievable that this gallery hasn't been more reviewed…read more Art is its own world where what is good is defined by a murky process made by people who went to art school, people who can converse in art language, people who have seen a lot. But forget that, if you like it, it's good! Danger though, the more you see, the more you refine your individual aesthetics. It can change. Kucera is a Seattle art champion and heir to pioneer Linda Ferris. If you are in the hood, the gallery is a must stop, if only for your art eye education of what you think is good!

The collection is so impressive. 100% recommend to visit and take in the amazing art.read more

I looked around Chinatown Artwalk and only saw one item that could be categorized as art: a…read morerectangular block painted with a variety of pictures that looked like graffiti. If this was all they had to showcase their artwalk, then it's quite sad. I'm thinking that perhaps I just missed the real artwalk because my map took me to the wrong place. In any case, I wasn't the slightest bit impressed.

The Chinatown Artwalk is a great way to get to know some amazing local artists. Two of my friends…read morehave had shows here for the past artwalk: Monica P (a Yelper), and Carina del Rosario. Monica makes some moving mosaics with bright, vibrant colors. Her lizard piece is probably my favorite. Carina finds a way to capture her travels, life, and life's ironic moments in some moving photography...and recently showed a slide show at the last artwalk. Her pieces have a lot of character and charisma, and some like an alley piece in Guanajuato bring back memories of travel as well. This is an ongoing event, and the next one will be August 15th. There are a lot of cool restaurants and Happy Hours nearby as well. Art and Green Leaf anyone? Oh yeah.

Great tour in an under the radar Seattle museum. It's housed mainly on the 3rd floor of a working…read moreAT&T communications building and is open SUNDAYS only from 10-3. Be amazed by a century's worth of telephone equipment from the very first sending device to video phones from the 1964 World's Fair. Your tour guides are equal parts excited and surprised that you are there and able to explain how your call actually gets routed to Beechwood 45789. This is good for all ages, especially 15 and up. Work this into your weekend.

If you're a fan of old tech, phones, computers, data transmission, this is a very worthwhile visit…read more Knowledgeable guides tour small groups around working telephone switches, inside a decomissioned telephone switch building. Definitely a museum aimed at a particular audience, the more technical you are, the more interesting it will be. Youngsters will probably be bored unless they are slightly older and have some experience with electronics. No question or technology is too obscure for the very capable guides.

The Fishermen's Fall Festival is one of the oldest festivals in the region. Though I never heard…read moreof it before, we decided to visit. I sure am glad we did!! Unlike other festivals with crafts, sales, and food booths/trucks, this is all about the fishermen's contributions to the Seattle area with all sorts of sea and seafood related activities. Numerous children's activities are created with sea themes such as painting sea shells and building wooden boats. They can also jump on a bouncy boat or have balloon animals made for them. A stage with performances and beer garden provides entertainment. There is also a series of competitions - salmon filleting, eating Lutefish, oyster slurping (next year!). There's even a free boat ride (limited tickets). Several seafood companies donated all the seafoods to this event, sponsoring the seafood cook-outs, with all proceeds going to the fishermen's terminal. One area had three large bins of ice with fishes that they flew in from Alaska to show what varieties there are. This collection was impressive! We had such a wonderful time. Definitely going to look for this next year.