With great excitement, Tasveer South Asian Film Festival (TSAFF) proudly announces its programming lineup for the 12th annual Festival being held at venues throughout greater Seattle.
The Festival will take place October 6-15, 2017 and includes 18 feature films and 38 shorts from 11 countries, plus a filmmaking workshop and a symposium examining the homogenization of film and art as well as sexual politics in South Asia.

For  the first time ever, TSAFF will also offer a Virtual Reality Experience Booth at every programmed event, featuring “Blood Speaks: A Ritual Of Exile,” a photography exhibit from Indian artist, Poulomi Basu, amongst others.

The Opening Night Gala celebration will be held at Seattle Art Museum and kicks off the ten-day Festival on Friday, October 6, featuring the Nepali feature film  Bijuli Machine, the story of two scientists on a quest for an alternative energy source, set to be honored after the screening with a reception at SAM. The film’s director Navin Awal is expected to attend. On Tuesday, October 10, in partnership with the South Asia Center at the University of Washington, faculty, students, TSAFF filmmakers, and the public will come together for a one-day symposium titled “Boundaries and Belongings,” an opportunity to gather and dialogue on timely and relevant cultural and political, national and intra-national issues that plague the eight nation-states of South Asia. “The annual Symposium
we host at the University of Washington during the Festival is a critical opportunity for us to fulfill our mission in a unique way. We provide an opportunity for filmmakers to visit one of the best institutions in the country and engage in a discussion  with the academia and inspire a positive change or awareness for the students, staff, and the general public,” Rita Meher, Tasveer Executive Director said.

On October 9 and 10, Tasveer will also host a Master Class filmmaking workshop led by highly acclaimed Nepali filmmaker Subarna Thapa, director of Soongava, the 2014 official entry for the Oscars from Nepal. The is the first-time Tasveer has brought a South Asian director from overseas to this Festival and in the hope of offering attendees a truly unique South Asian perspective and style in filmmaking.
This year’s Centerpiece Gala on Friday, October 13 at Redmond’s Regal Bella Bottega Stadium theater will present the contemporary film, Sonata, a film featuring renowned actress and director Aparna Sen who is also expected to be in attendance.

Tickets are on sale now to the public and can be purchased at tsaff.tasveer.org or by calling (206) 349-4478. Click here for more information.

“Thrilling Tales: A Story Time for Grown-ups” is comprised of gripping short stories for a grown-up audience that are expertly read aloud from 12:05 p.m. to 12:55 p.m. on select Mondays of the month at The Seattle Public Library, Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., Level 1, Microsoft Auditorium, 206-386-4636.
Library programs are free and open to the public. Registration is not required. Parking is available in the Central Library garage at the regular rates. Brown bag lunches and knitting are welcome. Doors open at 11:40 a.m. Stories start at 12:05 p.m. and are finished no later than 12:50 p.m.
This month’s stories will include:

·         12:05 p.m. to 12:55 p.m. Monday, Sept. 25 • “The Mountain Top” by Georgia Ruth. Jeff and Sally left their big city cares behind to retire out in the country, where folks are neighborly. Perhaps a might too neighborly.

For more information, call the Central Library at 206-386-4636 or Ask a Librarian.

The Burke Museum is combining two of their most popular annual events—Bug Blast and Meet the Mammals—into an amazing day of fuzzy, slimy, spiny, cuddly and crawly fun! See hundreds of specimens from the Burke’s entomology and mammal collections, and hear from experts about all sorts of amazing animals that roam the Earth!

Featuring: The Bug Chef

Photo courtesy of David George Gordon

Click here for updates on the cooking show time

David George Gordon, AKA The Bug Chef, returns to the Burke with buggy recipes. Attend a cooking demonstration where The Bug Chef will recruit volunteer chef’s helpers and taste testers from the audience. Find out how bugs pack a powerful, nutritious punch, and for the brave, try a sampling of The Bug Chef’s creations—with ingredients like black ants and tarantula—for yourself!

Additional activities include:

• Touch live bugs like tarantulas and cockroaches—if you dare!
• Solve mysteries in an animal-themed scavenger hunt
• Check out mammal headgear, such as massive antlers and horns
• See beautifully-preserved butterflies displayed only at Amazing Animals!
• Examine the variety of ways mammals move—from bats that soar in the sky, to the mammals that swim in our oceans
• Animal-inspired crafts, face painting, and more!

Photo courtesy of Rachel Crick Photography

Amazing Animals is included with museum admission and is FREE for Burke members or UW students, staff and faculty with UW ID. Not a member? Join today!

In honor of Veterans Day, admission to Amazing Animals and the Burke Museum is free to veterans and service members with ID.

Pre-sale tickets and updates on Amazing Animals at burkemuseum.org/amazinganimals.

From our friends at Safe Seattle:

Safe Seattle community member Bob MacDonald writes that he witnessed and intervened in an attack on a woman in Gasworks Park this morning, at about 8 AM. This incident has been reported to the Seattle Police Department.

MacDonald saw a young woman entering the grassy area on the west side of the park from Northlake Way. She was walking through the area when she was accosted by a shirtless and shoeless man who was acting erratically, as if he were under the influence of drugs. As MacDonald says:

“I was about 20 yards away when I first began observing this incident. The attacker appeared to be trying to steal the woman’s backpack. When she wouldn’t let go, he pulled her closer and then grabbed her around the waist with both arms and tackled her to the ground. He then pinned her down and threatened her with some kind of object or weapon. I couldn’t see what it was.

At this point an employee of a rental bike company who’d been loading bikes onto a truck approached me and asked if anyone was going to call 911. He said, ‘I don’t think they know each other.’ Then he left.

I called 911 and continued to observe. A man from the Parks Department drove a white pickup truck out to the middle of the grassy area where the attacker and victim were struggling, and this caused the attacker to break off and confront the Parks guy, who had gotten out of his truck. I think the craziness of the assailant took the Parks guy off guard because he retreated back into his truck and left.

The attacker then went back to the victim and began shouting at her, swinging the backpack he was carrying and grabbing at her. He did this for about five minutes while I followed and talked to 911. He physically attacked her again in the grassy area to the east of the parking lot and I intervened and drew him away. A couple witnesses shouted for her to run and find some people to be around, but instead she went east out of the park and followed the trail along Northlake Way where it leads into some overgrown brush.

The attacker followed her back in there, and I didn’t want to pursue him at first because of the chance he’d corner me. But the 911 dispatcher told me the police were still two minutes away, and I didn’t want to let the victim out of my sight, so I decided to go down that path after them. When I found them, the attacker had the woman on the ground, just out of sight of the road. And now he was actually hitting her in the head. She started screaming as I approached. When I was about five feet away, the attacker noticed me and jumped up and came at me, trying to threaten me. I stepped around him and got between them and told the woman to go back into the park and find some people to help, which she did. The last time I saw her, she was running over the grassy hills to the east of the parking lot headed back into Gasworks Park.

I turned and left the brushy area and the attacker followed me out into the roadway (Northlake), threatening to fight me. I don’t think he really wanted to fight someone who would fight back, because at one point I almost threw a punch at him and I think he knew it. I said something like, “She’s gone now, dude; it’s over,” and he realized I was right and just turned around and walked east on Northlake.

He sat down on the curb next to the street and a University cop pulled up and walked over to him. The suspect immediately launched himself at the cop. They struggled briefly and the attacker broke free and fled. The cop caught up with him within one block. The cop deployed his Taser, but it failed. The cop then grabbed him and got him down and at that moment two other University police cars showed up and it took all three cops to get this guy subdued. SPD arrived within minutes and the man was arrested.”

Photo courtesy of Bob MacDonald

According to MacDonald, the victim left the scene and was being sought by police for questioning. MacDonald reported that he had heard she was located a few blocks away.

The Parks Department employee who intervened left the scene in his truck, and was being sought by police for additional details.

This incident happened in broad daylight at a popular Seattle park. MacDonald told me that several people witnessed the attack at various times during the 10 minutes it was ongoing. He counted six people standing and watching at one point, and he estimated that 20 people in total saw what happened, or parts of what happened. Besides those two individuals and the single Parks Department employee, who intervened briefly and then left the scene, no one else intervened. MacDonald told us that if just one other person had stepped up with him to confront the attacker, the outcome would have been very different.

Stone Soup Theatre in Wallingford is holding auditions for Lion, Witch, Wardrobe on October 23rd 4:15- 6:15.  Rehearsals for this tuition based program will begin the following Wednesday from Oct 25^th Thru December 13, with three performances December 14- 16.  This is for ages 8 thru 16.  No experience is necessary. Auditions will be a group audition with readings from the script and various movement and acting exercises.

Stone Soup Theatre is Seattle’s only short play theater with outreach programs in 30 schools, summer camps in three outdoor locations and a youth conservatory program.

If you would like more information about auditions, please contact Jeremy Ehrlich at 206-388-9212 or email at Education@stonesouptheatre.org.

Join Northwest Girlchoir in September! For girls and young women who love to sing, Northwest Girlchoir has openings for new singers entering grades 1-12 to join in the fun this fall. Learn musicianship, vocal technique, and performance skills, all while building lasting friendships in a supportive community.
During the span of four decades, Northwest Girlchoir has empowered and inspired thousands of girls and young women in our region to lift their voices in chorus with others. Choristers perform for thousands of audience members at concerts held across the greater Puget Sound Region and on tours nationally and internationally.
Grades 1-2: Easy online registration is now open for girls entering grades 1-2 to join Prep Choir! Enrollment for Prep Choir is open online until Friday, September 22. Members learn music in a fun and nurturing environment as they prepare for exciting mainstage concerts. Sign up online here.

Grades 3-12: Fill out the Audition Request form by Monday, September 4 to join one of Northwest Girlchoir’s five progressive-level choirs this season! Auditioned choir members enjoy performing at mainstage concerts, in the community and at special events, and even on tours. Learn more here.

Financial aid is available for every choir level and they encourage families to apply.  Click here  for more information, or call the office at (206) 527-2900.

The large lock at the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in Ballard is now open to all marine traffic following repair of an unexpected hydraulics problem.

Mechanics fixed a broken bolt and failed O ring, tested the hydraulic system and put the large lock back in service at 1 p.m. today.

For current information about activities at the Locks, visit the Locks’ Web site at http://bit.ly/BallardLocks or follow the Locks on Facebook and Twitter: www.facebook.com/chittendenlocks<http://www.facebook.com/chittendenlocks> and http://twitter.com/ChittendenLocks.

Brown Bear Car Wash celebrates its 60th anniversary next Thursday, August 24, by offering free “Beary Clean” car washes at 23 Puget Sound area tunnel wash locations from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The closest one to Magnolia is the location at 1800 15th Ave W.

Last year’s “Free Car Wash Day” set the all-time record as Brown Bear tunnel wash locations added sparkle and shine to 29,673 cars and trucks across the Puget Sound area.

For the past ten years, family-owned Brown Bear has provided over 280,000 free washes as it celebrated its August “birthday” with customers and honored veterans and current service members on Veterans Day.

Brown Bear founder and CEO Victor Odermat opened the company’s first location in 1957 at 15th Ave West in Seattle.  Brown Bear now owns and operates a total of 52 car washes throughout the Puget Sound area and
Spokane.

“This is our way of saying ‘thank you’ to the community that has supported us for 60 years,” said Odermat. “It’s a fun and busy day as we celebrate with our customers while benefitting the environment.” During the anniversary celebration, on August 24 only, two customers will be selected to win free car washes for a year through Brown Bear’s Unlimited Wash Club. Customers can enter to win by taking a photo of your newly-washed vehicle and posting it on Twitter (@brownbear) or Instagram (@brownbearcarwash) with the hashtag #FreeCarWashDay.

Widely recognized for its environmentally-friendly practices, Brown Bear uses gentle, biodegradable cleaning detergents at all its locations.

For tunnel wash locations and more information about Brown Bear Car Wash, visit www.brownbear.com.

Would you like to save money and the environment?  Seattle Public Utilities Water Conservation Program can help you do both!  Partnering with Sound Generations Minor Home Repair program, the Water Conservation Program will remove your old toilet and replace it with a water-saving toilet at no cost to you.  To be eligible, you must receive a Seattle Public Utilities water bill, live in the home you own, have toilets that were installed before 2004 and meet income guidelines.
Interested?  Call Sound Generations at 206-448-5751 or click here to get started.

by Meghan Walker at our sister site myballard

With around 20 wildfires still blazing in British Columbia, the air quality burn ban has been reinstated for King County.

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PS Clean Air Agency @pscleanairWith more wildfire smoke from BC moving into our region, PSCAA is issuing a Stage 1 Air Quality Burn Ban, effective at 2 PM today, 8-8-17

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency has again issued the Stage 1 ban for King, Kitsap, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties, effective at 2pm on August 8. “With high pressure pushing more smoke into the Puget Sound area, we forecast levels that are unhealthy for sensitive groups through Friday,” the agency writes in a statement. “We expect calm winds and smoke to settle daily.  Saturday and onward, the area of high pressure should push eastward, bringing us back our more typical and cleaner air from the Pacific Ocean.”

As a reminder, the Stage 1 ban includes the following:

• No charcoal barbeques or similar solid fuel devices
• No fire pits, chimineas, fire bowls, or similar free-standing devices
• No campfires or bonfires
• No fireplaces, uncertified wood stoves, or uncertified inserts*
• No agricultural fires (as described in the agricultural burn permit)
• Local fire districts do not grant Native American ceremonial fire permits outside of tribal lands during air quality burn bans.

It’s okay to use natural gas and propane grills, stoves, or inserts during a Stage 1 burn ban.