Moss Mantis is not a band of many words. If you check out its website or Facebook page you’ll only find one sentence in the About section. It goes a little something like this: “Moss Mantis is a four-piece rock and roll band from Seattle.” It’s simple, to the point. The band members* just aren’t really into talking about themselves. Refreshing, right? What they are into is playing music, and good music at that. The kind of music you can rock out to — shake your hips, nod your head, jump around, sing along. Shit, you could even throw in a head bang if you were feeling especially inspired, and it wouldn’t be that weird. Have I piqued your interest? (The answer is, “Of course!”) Well, lucky for you Moss Mantis is playing this Friday at the High Dive in Fremont. And as the concert poster states, it promises to be a night of “absolutely insane rock and roll music.” You’d be silly to pass that up. So don’t be silly. Go to the show. Rock out. Thank me later.

*Moss Mantis band members

Ray Benson – Drums

Cameron McCracken – Vocals, Bass, Guitar

Charlie Tribe – Vocals, Guitar, Bass

Sean Walsh – Guitar, Vocals

The fourth annual Retro Fools Day is this Saturday, April 6th at Stevens Pass. For those unfamiliar with the event, it’s a day of retro aka old school ski outfits (which is my favorite part), stunt and race competitions, raffle prizes and style awards. In summary, it’s a great day of spring skiing in goofy outfits. Fun, right?! Awards include Best Dressed,  Fastest Time, Best Trick, and the ever ambiguous Most Radical.

Not sure what to wear? Let the gentleman below serve as an example. Bonus points from me if you can score a neon onesie.

Photo via wastelandnw.com

Look at all the beanie-clad kids. Photo via theskichannel.

Do you ski or snowboard? If so, boy oh boy, do I have the deal for you. The World Ski and Snowboard Festival is April 12 – April 21 in Whistler, and Whistler is offering some killer stay-and-ski packages. Usually, a standard one-day lift ticket will cost you roughly $100. But during the festival you can score (like my friends and I did)  a suite for three nights, and a two-day lift ticket for every person in the room for approximately $250. That’s right, the room AND tickets cost $250 total.* Such an amazing deal considering two standard tickets alone would normally cost you $200.

The prices aren’t the only thing that is awesome about this event. Besides sunny Spring skiing, the World Ski and Snowboard Festival also offers concerts, competitions and the shopping/eating/drinking treats Whistler is known for. My friends and I have attended before and it’s such a blast. If you’ve been wanting to go to Whistler, now is the time to do it.

*Price based on six person suite

The Moisture Festival will present comedy/varietè/burlesque performances featuring the best in local, national, and international artists at these venues across the Seattle area including Hales Palladium, the Broadway Performance Hall and Siff Cinema at the Uptown.  Stay tuned for additional venues as we confirm them.

Look out for aerialists, jugglers, comedians, dancers, rope acts, bubble acts, clowns, acrobats, can can girls, strong women, strong men, tap dancers, drill teams, musical numbers, the weird and the wonderful all keeping the tradition of comedy/varietè/vaudeville alive.

Check out the full calendar of events here.

The troop has come to realize that it is impossible to define “family friendly” since it depends entirely on the particular family, but there is a way to gauge which show is right for you and your family and friends.

• 3:00pm shows: Ideal for children of all ages
• 7:30pm shows: Geared for all ages, but not guarantee to meet everyone’s expectations of “family friendly”10:30pm & Burlesque shows: 18 years and older with a more adult orientation

It’s that time of year again! Time to get your drink on in support of the fight against multiple sclerosis. The 8th Annual MS Pub Crawl is from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. (or later depending on your booze endurance) this Saturday, March 9th in Ballard. This event, organized by my good friend and fundraising guru, Molly Johnston, has raised over $55,000 in support of research and programs working to find a cure for M.S. and help families currently dealing with the disease.

This crawl is no joke. All the money raised goes directly to the National MS Society, and all the participants know how to party. For realz, yo. We be drinking. Not sure where the thug life grammar came from, but it felt good.

Thirty dollars gets you in, with a t-shirt and drink specials at every bar on the crawl list. Below is the list of participating bars, and a link to register. Come join me and the approximately 300 other awesome people who will be in attendance. You can think of it as training for St. Patrick’s Day drinking with the added bonus of doing good for the community. Who can say no to that? Bad people, that’s who. (Just kidding, you’re all wonderful, no matter if you attend or not. Xoxo… but you should probably come.)

BAR LOCATIONS, Drink Specials valid from 3-10pm
Kings Hardware @ 3pm to get your t-shirt
The Loft
Hattie’s Hat
BalMar – 6:30pm for RAFFLE TIME!
Azteca (nachos anyone?)
Market Arms
*reminder – as soon as you check in, you can head to any bar on the list!

Instructions to register:

Click link below

Select “Other amount meaningful to you” and write in $30 (or if you’d like to donate more that the minimum, select any other option)

Include t-shirt size in personal note section

Fill out rest of form and submit

Click here to register for the MS Pub Crawl >>

It’s that time of year again! This Saturday, March 2nd, Stevens Pass is hosting its annual Hope on the Slopes event, a 24-hour ski and snowboard extravaganza. Stevens Pass stays open for 24-hours for the HOTS participants, and the day is filled with games, races, music, etc. I attended last year with a team of friends, and we had such a blast. The money raised from the event benefits the American Cancer Society in its mission to help cancer patients and their families with information and support, to fund research that leads to improved treatments, to educate the public about cancer prevention and early detection, and ensure everyone has access to life saving cancer screenings. Very important stuff. So if you were planning on heading up to Stevens on Saturday, I can’t recommend enough that you spend the extra dough to participate. Not only is riding the mountain at 11 p.m. pretty nifty, it’s for a great cause. I will be riding for Michelle, Nana, Grammy, Uncle Tom and my friend recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Who will you ski for?

Register today!

Shred for Stevens Day

I’m a little late to the posting party, but if you’re up for some Tuesday night skiing I highly recommend heading up to Stevens Pass for the Shred for Stevens Day event taking place today. Half of the lift ticket proceeds will benefit the Ski Hill Memorial Project, a fundraising program commemorating avalanche victims Johnny Brennan, Jim Jack, Chris Rudolph and Daniel Zimmerman. The 24-month campaign aims to raise $500,000, which will be used to enhance The Leavenworth Ski Hill and forever immortalize the lost Leavenworth locals. A pretty neat project, if you ask me.

Photo via Plain Chicken

Technically Crack Bread can be made any time of year, but it is so awesomely unhealthy and delicious that I think it’s best to relegate it to special occasions. The Super Bowl is one such occasion given its traditional menu of cheesy, meaty, carby, generally bad for you, but oh so tasty treats. I have to warn you though. Once you’ve tasted Crack Bread, you will crave it. Hence the word “crack” in the name. It’s addictive on so many levels. Cheddar. Bacon. Ranch. Warm. Crunchy. Sourdough. Bread. I mean, c’moooon. My friend Marianne got me hooked a couple years ago when she made it for a boating trip, and I haven’t trusted myself to make it since. I honestly think I could eat a whole loaf to myself, and not regret it… Anyhoo, I could go on and on, but I suggest you whip up some Crack Bread for the Super Bowl (did I mention it’s also super easy to make?). You will be the star of the party, and probably develop a cult Crack Bread following. Give it a go, and let me know what you think!

Ingredients:

1 unsliced loaf of (round is preferable) sourdough bread

8-12 oz. cheddar cheese, thinly sliced

3 oz bacon bits

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 Tbsp Ranch dressing mix

Steps:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degress

2. Using a sharp bread knife cut the bread going both directions. DO NOT cut through the bottom crust

3. Please slices of cheese between the cuts

4. Sprinkle bacon bits on bread, make sure some gets in the cuts

5.Mix butter and Ranch dressing mix. Pour over bread.

6. Wrap whole loaf in foil and bake on baking sheet for 15 minutes.

7. Unwrap. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Today, I found myself thinking about all the enjoyment the combination of Seattle and snow has given me over the last seven years I’ve lived here. Yes, I know the city isn’t well prepared for snow removal, the streets are insanely steep in some areas, and cold liquid turns into ice almost the second it hits the street. I’m not here to criticize anyone, and that’s not the point of my pondering. I’m more interesting this morning in the planned snowball fight that is set to take over the Seattle Center this Saturday. Apparently it’s going to end up being the largest snowball fight in the world.

It’s sold out by the way.

As a born and raised girl from Montana, the idea of paying to play with snow and trucking in many many tons of the fluffy stuff makes me giggle. Most of my Halloween costumes and even Fourth of July outfits growing up were designed to fit over a snowsuit. There were even days when I’d have to start my car about 45 minutes before I wanted to drive it because it was so cold and snowy outside. I do love snow, and secretly wish Seattle got more (and that we were more prepared here), but I completely understand if you disagree.

For those of you who are going to brave the insanity that is likely to ensue at this snowball fight, I commend you. Snow is tons of fun, and I hope you have a blast! I’m looking forward to seeing the photos and videos that follow early next week. If you don’t know what to expect, check out the fun photos and video of the current world record fight on Seattlepi.com.

My advice? Team up with a friend who can watch your back, preferably one that is fast at packing snowballs. Also, don’t get hit in the face or hit someone in the face. That just doesn’t sound pleasant. And, above all, have fun!

The Museum of History & Industry opens its new location in the restored and expanded Naval Reserve Armory at South Lake Union Park.

The much anticipated opening was welcomed with reviews of the new, open venue (50,000 sq. ft.) and new, inviting exhibits. Everything from the old Rainier “R” to hands on activities  and live performances are featured in the new space and you can visit it for free TODAY!

That’s right, it’s first Thursday and MOHAI is open all day for free in honor of the arts communities regular First Thursday.

With MOHAI joining the bustling South Lake Union community, the museum is expanding its Free First Thursday programming as a way of engaging professionals and residents in the neighborhood and beyond. On the first Thursday of every month, MOHAI will be free and open to the public until 8pm, with hourly Highlights Tours, special programming and various activities related to the museum’s current exhibits. The museum’s inaugural Free First Thursday will include a make-your-own movie activity that complements the special exhibit Celluloid Seattle: A City at the Movies.

On January 3 MOHAI, along with Pabst Brewing Company, will also host a celebration for the iconic, 12-foot tall Rainier ‘R’ sign, which has been restored and placed at the top of the Wall of Icons in the museum’s Faye G. Allen Grand Atrium. All are welcome to join for photo ops with the one-of-a-kind Rainier Harley Davidson Fatboy, and to witness the Wild Rainiers grazing throughout Lake Union Park. The event will culminate at 7:00pm with a short ceremony and presentation of the icon’s place in Seattle’s heritage.

It’s free! Be there!