08.04.2023

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Today’s Forecast

🛸 We come in peace

UFO Festival beams down in Burien

A mural in Burien depicts the Maury Island Incident. | Photo via Explore Southside Seattle

If you see a bunch of little green men running around Burien later today, there’s no need to grab the aluminum foil — it’s just the Burien UFO festival (BUFO).

The annual event, hosted this year at the Heritage Highline Museum, brings believers and non-believers alike together for presentations, a costume contest, and live music.

Regardless of how seriously you take the concept of aliens running around our planet — it seems that the US Congress is on the case — the fest honors a real event (or at least the real investigation of a claim). It’s where we even got the term “flying saucer.”

What’s that in the sky?

BUFO was first launched by John White, the executive producer of “The Maury Island Incident” short film named after a mysterious event from 76 years ago.

On June 21,1947 (two weeks before Roswell), harbor patrolman Harold Dahl, his son, and their dog took their boat out to tour the Puget Sound. During their ride, Dahl said six “flying saucers” appeared in the sky above his boat. One of the aircraft seemed off-kilter and allegedly exploded, dumping a “material resembling lava rocks” onto the boat. The debris broke Dahl’s arm and killed the dog.

Dahl reported the event to his supervisor and claimed he was then visited by a “man in black” (yes, like the Will Smith character). The person supposedly told Dahl to stop talking about the UFOs and threatened that “bad things will happen” if he didn’t shut up.

No, but what was it? Really.

The case was then investigated by the FBI, who declared the event a hoax. But a recording showed Dahl was potentially freaked out by the investigation, which may have influenced his testimony.

Today’s festival will have presenters who claim to have evidence from the event, so maybe you should grab that tinfoil after all.

Asked

Serious question: Are aliens real?

A. Yes, of course.
B. No, of course not.
C. My verdict is still out.

Tell us what you think

Events

Friday, Aug. 4

Andrew Rivers: Comedy Special Taping | Friday, Aug. 4 | 8-9:30 p.m. | Capitol Hill Comedy Bar, 210 Broadway E., Seattle | $5-$30 | Be part of a live laugh track — this comedian’s work has millions of views on Facebook and YouTube.
Silent Disco at Fremont Fridays | Friday, Aug. 4 | 10 p.m.-1 a.m. | LTD Bar and Grill, 309 N. 36th St., Seattle | $5 | Grab some wireless headphones and rock out to several live DJs in a very quiet crowd.

Saturday, Aug. 5

West Seattle Glass Float Scavenger Hunt | Saturday, Aug. 5, Friday, Aug. 11 | 9 a.m. | Various locations in West Seattle | Free | Join the hunt for one of the 50 glass orbs hidden in and around West Seattle — another 50 will be released the morning of Saturday, Aug. 12.
The Not-Creepy Gathering for People Who Want to Fall In Love | Saturday, Aug. 5 | 3-5 p.m. | Ballard Homestead, 6541 Jones Ave. NW, Seattle | $10-$30 | This structured dating event is built to help break the ice and help you meet stellar love candidates — open to any orientation, age, or gender.

Sunday, Aug. 6

Afternoon on the Trails | Sunday, Aug. 6 | 1-5 p.m. | IslandWood, 4450 Blakely Ave. NE, Bainbridge Island | Free | Explore the 200 acres of woods during this self guided tour on Bainbridge Island.
Mad Scientist Drink Fusion Lab, A Mocktail Focused Workshop | Sunday, Aug. 6 | 4:30-6:30 p.m. | Greenfire Loft at Melrose Market, 1531 Melrose Ave., Seattle | $35-$68 | Experiment with nonalcoholic ingredients to create a delicious innovation of your own,
Herbalism Workshop at the Seattle Greenhouse | Sunday, Aug. 6 | 5-7 p.m. | The Seattle Greenhouse, address to be revealed after ticket purchase | $65 | Sip on some green tea while you learn how different herbs could be beneficial to your body.

Events calendar here

Click here to have your event featured.

News Notes

Development

The Port of Seattle has announced that Global design firm HOK will lead the $1.5 billion renovation project at Sea-Tac Airport’s S Concourse. The firm previously worked on the airport’s D concourse and is currently on the SEA Gateway project. Completion on the renovations is targeted for 2031. (Puget Sound Business Journal)

History

This is quite the find. RapidRide G Line construction workers recently uncovered rail ties from what is likely the old Madison Street cable car that operated from 1890 to 1940. A spokesperson from the Seattle Department of Transportation said the artifacts did not meet requirements to be historically signifcant and likely won’t be preserved. (KIRO News Radio)

Biz

Something’s cooking — Ezell’s Famous Chicken announced the winners of its 2023 Rudd’s Raising Up Black Businesses (RUBB) grants grants which divvies up $30,000 to Puget Sound businesses. The list of Seattle winners includes Black Owned Business Excellence, Urban Impact, Black Dot, and the ELEVATE Movement.

Outdoors

Grab your backpacks — National parks are free today. This includes Washington state’s North Cascades, Olympic, and Mount Rainier national parks. Two more free entrance days will come on Saturday, Sept. 23 and Satuday, Nov. 11. (Seattle Times)

Coming Soon

Yummy — a new vegan pop-up shop is on its way to Ballard later this month. Seedlings Vegan Provisions will take up temporary residence in the Ballard Collective on Sunday, Aug. 6 + Saturday, Aug. 12, Molly’s Bottle Shop on Saturday, Aug. 19, and Peace Love and Happiness Club on Sunday, Aug. 20. (My Ballard)

Film

SIFF Cinemas is now accepting video submissions for the Seattle International Film Festival running Thursday, May 9-Sunday, May 19, 2024. Filmmakers can submit their works for the 50th anniversary event until Thursday, Dec. 21.

Real Estate

According to a new analysis of home prices and median incomes by Redfin, Seattle-area households need to make ~$142,000 per year in order to afford a starter home. That number is a 4% increase from last year and above King County’s median annual income of $106,000. (Seattle Times)

Tomorrow Is

National Oyster Day. Taylor Shellfish is celebrating with special grilled and skewered oysters on both Saturday, Aug. 5 and Sunday, Aug. 6. But you can also enjoy a selection at Walrus and the Carpenter, Westward, and Elliott’s Oyster House, too.

Job

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Arts

MoM’s closing time

First Hill’s Museum of Museums to close in September

The Museum of Museums has been home to an eclectic array of exhibits, like one that invited local felines to come explore artistically designed cat towers. | Photo by Janet Galore

Founder of First Hill’s Museum of Museums (MoM) Greg Lundgren has announced that the art venue’s last day will be on Friday, Sept. 1.

Greg announced the closure to MoM members on Tuesday in an email. He explained that the costs to repair the 77-year-old medical building that the museum occupies were too expensive, particularly with a plumbing issue that had recently worsened.

The Museum of Museums opened in March 2021.

“Please know that we have explored all options to repair this coming event, and that our motivation was to chart a much longer voyage in 900 Boylston,” read the email.

We’ll miss the museum known for quirky exhibits like “Cat Tower” and it’s current “Soft Touch” collection of comforting and touchable artworks — you can still visit the latter. Stop by before the end of the month.

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The Wrap

Today’s edition by:
Alina

From the editor

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that while I had only been to the Museums of Museums once, it was a really memorable thing to bring my cat along for Cat Tower. She... uh... was pretty unsure about the whole experience herself, but I loved that a museum was so willing to be playful with their works. It was special and I am sad to see MoM go.

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