Skip to content

Seattle Culture

The Pulse: Shaking Off the Frost

Big ideas, jazzy teens, burger farewells, and dancing aluminum

By Sarah Stackhouse January 17, 2025

Seattle skyline at dusk with the Space Needle prominently featured, surrounded by modern skyscrapers and buildings, capturing the city’s rhythm like The Pulse of urban life.
Photo by Ganapathy Kumar / Unsplash

Seattle’s about to get a blast of icy air — and while I love the sharp clarity of a cold morning, it’s easy to romanticize when I’m indoors with a cup of coffee and my coziest socks. What’s your go-to for staying warm? Fleece-lined everything? A massive stack of library books? Let’s ride this cold snap together — here’s what’s happening this week.

Can a bear hug melt the Seattle Freeze?

Burgermaster’s first-ever location, a 73-year-old landmark, is closing its doors

Design fans: Don’t miss Boliglaboratorium: A Danish Housing Lab at UW.

Seattle is putting $108 million toward affordable housing.

This new dance show looks so expressive. I love modern dance, especially when this description is attached: “The dancers move around in a horde on the floor, slithering, crouching, and kicking; coming together and pulling apart; leading each other, then crawling up bodies, animal-like and desperate.”

Four local high school jazz bands made the Essentially Ellington finals — congrats, Garfield, Bothell, Roosevelt, and Mountlake Terrace!

The L.A. wildfires have burned more than 37,830 acres — that’s 315 times larger than the Great Seattle Fire of 1889.

Tank and the Bangas are at Neumos next week — got my tickets already.

A new bar specializing in low-proof and zero-proof cocktails that hasn’t opened yet is already generating buzz.

Would you go see this show in Olympia? The bodies wiggling around in those tubes cracks me up. 

An underwater volcano 300 miles off our coast is predicted to erupt by the end of the year. But don’t worry — it’s a mile underwater.

Seattle Humane is helping pets affected by the L.A. wildfire-affected find new homes.

Are you going to Seattle’s MLK Day march and rally? 

There’s a new dessert bar coming to Capitol Hill, and the black sesame hazelnut thumbprints already have my attention. 

And finally, a little levity from the comment section of our story Amazon Numbers Still Aren’t in, But Downtown is Again on the Upswing: “This has absolutely trashed the time it took to get my son to preschool. A previous 20-minute drive now takes 1 hr 20 min from Woodinville to Bellevue. Thanks 👍 Amazon.” — mrs.dunagan 

What’s catching your eye this week? Let us know @seattlemag.

Follow Us

Rewriting the Story

Rewriting the Story

What if we collect security instead of insecurity?

What would life look like if we went through life collecting securities rather than insecurities? What would it feel like if we built our self-worth from the inside out rather than the outside in? The concept of self-worth is based on our view of the self, yet most of us go through life half asleep…

The Pulse: Love in a Cold Climate

The Pulse: Love in a Cold Climate

The most romantic walks in Seattle and another breakfast heist

Happy Valentine’s Day. I’ve always liked the idea of celebrating love. And being in the city feels romantic this time of year — cold air, twinkling lights, maybe a late-night walk under the glowy moon. Whatever it is you’re doing, I hope you’re staying warm. Here’s what’s going on around town… Need Valentine’s plans? Find…

Panorama Plates for Valentine’s Day

Panorama Plates for Valentine’s Day

These Seattle restaurants all offer great food and spectacular views

Some local restaurant groups have built their reputations on waterfront locations with a view. Most offer special Valentine’s Day menus. Duke’s Seafood, Daniel’s Broiler, Anthony’s, Salty’s, Ivar’s and other restaurant groups have multiple locations with water views. Fire & Vine has two waterfront concepts, Aerlume — just north of Pike Place Market — and AQUA by El Gaucho on Pier 70.  …

The Pulse: Thawing Out

The Pulse: Thawing Out

Seattle’s food scene steps up and an ugly art tradition lives on

We made it through all the snow and ice this week, and now it’s time to gear up for Valentine’s Day. We’re keeping things simple this year — just stencils, stickers, glitter, and some white cards to decorate. What are your plans? It’s been a week full of news and updates, so here’s what’s happening…