Category Archives: Joseph & Paul

by JiaYing

‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ gingerbread village at Sheraton Grand Seattle

This year's gingerbread house village at the Sheraton is themed Charlie and The Chocolate Factory! We're going to make our gingerbread houses this weekend, and I'm sure ours are going to turn out looking *just* like these.

  • Where: Sheraton Grand Seattle, 1400 6th Ave.
  • When: Through Jan. 1, 2024
  • Cost: Free to visit, donations accepted for type 1 diabetes research
  • Times: Sunday-Thursday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday-Saturday 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.
by JiaYing

Calder and Hokusai double-header at the Seattle Art Museum

Opening weekend for the Calder show at the Seattle Art Museum. Such a joy to walk through this exhibit. I am a massive, MASSIVE fan and here are a million pictures.

* Show runs Nov. 8, 2023 to August 4, 2024. Kids 14 and under are free, adults are $30 advance or $33 day-of tickets. We snagged the museum pass from The Seattle Public Library; free day is First Thursday.

Calder isn't the only big show; SAM has a double header! Hokusai of "The Great Wave" fame is here from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. A few more pictures...

The Great Wave in Lego!
At the ticketing counter, there are signs warning you might hear screaming. Here's why. One of the few times when you can scream in a museum. (Although a guard did come over to admonish us for overdoing it.)
Small but cool antiquities section. The Met has so much of this it's packed on shelves like a warehouse... (that comes with its own set of problems).
These two. They take great pride in seeking out benches because they know I take forever in galleries.
by JiaYing

WildLanterns at Woodland Park Zoo: Pandas, pandas, pandas!

Opening night of WildLanterns at Woodland Park Zoo!

Themes for this year's show are...

  • spiders
  • snow/ice
  • and PANDAS, PANDAS, PANDAS!!!

WildLanterns is one of our favorite holiday activities, and we love that it's a completely new show every year. Link to my ParentMap story here.

When: Nov. 10 to Jan. 14, 4 to 9 p.m.

Cost: $29.95–$36.95 for everyone 13 and up; $25.95–$31.95 for kids 3-12. (Yes, I know it's spendy, but that money goes directly to animal care.)

by JiaYing

Jeff Kinney’s ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ book tour

As a book nerd, I have been to a lot of author events in my life. Jeff Kinney's book tour for his latest "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" book is like NONE OTHER.

  • Everyone got a signed copy of his latest book right when they walked in the door. No waiting 3 hours in line afterward for an autograph. Brilliant.
  • He's not just reading a book at a podium, he's running a game show! Now that's showbiz.
  • All the prize money ($7,000+) was donated to libraries. Everybody wins!
  • TONS of audience participation. He also lined up a superstar local children's author (Corinna Luyken) and librarian to pull onto the stage. Nice touch.