Things to Do When You're Not at the Conference!
Entertainment may come in many forms for many people.  Some are enumerated below. New opportunities may occur at almost any time! For  news and information about Seattle and its doings consider checking in on our local papers, especially the entertainment sections, and the two general sources named below:

• The Seattle Times is one of our two daily morning papers, locally owned.
• The Seattle Post Intelligencer("The PI") is our other morning daily. It is a Hearst paper
• The Stranger, which bills itself as both "Seattle's Only Newspaper" and "Seattle's free weekly alternative arts and culture newspaper". It's edgy and a good source for music events and what's happening in the clubs and concert venues.
• NWsource - this guide's motto is "we find it. you do it." It covers many aspects of the Seattle area and also hosts some blogs.
• Citysearch Seattle  invites you to "live like an insider" and is also a comprehensive guide.

City Pass

If you plan on playing tourist while in Seattle, you might consider purchasing a City Pass . You get five Seattle attractions for $40 adult fare/$24 children valid for nine days! Take in the Seattle Aquarium , the Pacific Science Center the Seattle Harbor Tour on an Argosy Cruises ship, the Museum of Flight  and the Woodland Park Zoo You may purchase the pass at the ticket booth on Pier 55 or at the  retail store, the Argosy Visitor Center, on Pier 56 or visit the buy it online . 
 

Sports
 
The Seattle Mariners (Seattle's major league baseball team) will be playing home games at Safeco Field from June 13th to June 15th against the Washington Nationals, and from June 16th to June 18th against the Florida Marlins.  For times and ticket information, follow the Mariners link above.  Safeco Field is located approximately 1.7 miles south of the Convention Center.   Give away bobblehead nights:  June 13th for Adrian Beltre and July 18th for Felix Hernandez!

The Seattle Storm (Seattle's WNBA team) will be playing a home game at the Key Arena against Connecticut on Monday the 16th, and a few days after the conference against Indiana on Friday the 20th.  For times and tickets, follow the Storm link above.  Key Arena is located at the Seattle Center, approximately 1.4 miles northwest of the Conference Center.

Seattle is also home to the NFL's Seattle Seahawks (who play at Qwest Stadium, just north of the Mariners' Safeco Field), and to the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics (who share Key Arena with the WNBA Seattle Storm).  Neither team will be playing in June.

If you're staying in Seattle a few days after SLA and like roller derby, check out the all-female Rat City Roller Girls. They are hosting the Visiting All Star Travel Team on Saturday, June 21.

Theatre 

You can keep up with the very active Seattle (and environs) theatre scene at  Seattle Performs:

 There is a listing of the local theatres and groups, and links to websites. There is also a master calendar, with some June performances currently listed. RSS feeds are available.

Some in-city companies with announced productions for June 2008:

The Paramount Theatre will be hosting the touring Tony Award-winning musical Avenue Q from June 10th through June 22nd.  Individual tickets, when they are made available, will be sold through Ticketmaster.  The Paramount is located one block north of the Convention Center.

INTIMAN Theatre is at 201 Mercer Street, on the Seattle Center grounds. May 30 - June 22: A world premiere of Namaste Man, a solo performance by Andrew Weems, chronicling in stories his youth growing up around the world.

ACT Theatre  is around the corner from the Convention Center on Kreielsheimer Place at 700 Union Street. They will be previewing A Marvelous Party: The Noël Coward Celebration Words and Music by Noël Coward June 13-18. It opens the 19^th.

Bookstores

In 2007 Seattle was once again one of the top ten most literate cities in the US: number two behind Minneapolis. You may have already gone to the website for Seattle Public Library's  Central Library and it's definitely worth a visit. But what about buying books for before bedtime or the long trip home or as gifts? Yes, Seattle has bookstores!

There are The Chains:

Barnes & Noble is downtown on the first floor of Pacific Place at 7th and Pine.

You will find Borders Books & Music at  1501 Fourth Avenue between Pike and Pine. (There is also one at SeaTac Airport.)

And there are The Independents:

The Elliott Bay Book Company is located in Pioneer Square at First Avenue and Main Street, south of the Convention Center near the baseball and football stadiums. Elliott Bay carries both new and used books. Look for staff recommendations scattered around the store. They frequently sponsor author readings. The Elliott Bay Cafe is downstairs, specializing in organic foods, mainly soups and sandwiches.

Also in the area, at 117 Cherry Street is the Seattle Mystery Bookstore. This specialty store features new and used titles and hosts frequent author signings.

Wessel and Lieberman Booksellers, a full service bookshop specializing in new, used, rare, and out of print books and related material, is also in this historic district at 208 First Avenue S.

Just a little east of downtown, in the Capitol Hill neighborhood: Bailey/Coy Books on Broadway Avenue E. A general interest bookstore, they also have an extensive collection of gay/lesbian/bisexual /transgendered literature.

Back downtown, another specialty store Peter Miller Architectural & Design Books is on First Avenue.

Should you visit the University District, (the U District) location of the University of Washington in the northeast section of Seattle, you will find several used bookstores, plus you might want to visit the University Bookstore. This sprawling emporium carries textbooks (of course), general books, art supplies, gifts, and UW Husky paraphernalia.

This section has highlighted some establishments close to the downtown/Convention Center area. For others, check the  Citysearch guide, the Seattle phonebook,  or stop by the Hospitality Booth

Some tours in the city...

Savor Seattle Food Tours takes you on a two-hour walking tour of the Pike Place Market.

You can even  take a tour  under the city in Pioneer Square: Bill Speidel's Underground Tourhttp://www.undergroundtour.com/, a leisurely stroll through a part of the old Seattle that existed before the Great Seattle Fire of 1889.

For a unique experience, you can Ride the Ducks of Seattle Ride the Ducks of Seattle These ducks are amphibious WWII vehicles that will take you on both land and sea, with a running - and humorous - commentary from the driver.

Museums

Seattle Art Museum is comprised of three facilities: the newly renovated SAM Downtown, the Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill, and  the outdoors Olympic Sculpture Park on the waterfront. A special exhibition at SAM Downtown opens June 19 -- Inspiring Impressionism: The Impressionists and the Art of the Past

Actually part of the National Parks Service and located in Pioneer Square, Klondike Gold Rush International Historical Park celebrates Seattle's role as gateway to the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897-1898.

Frye Art Museum

Wing Luke Asian Museum

Odyssey Maritme Discovery Center is located on the  waterfront on Alaskan Way at Pier 66, aka the Bell Street Pier, at  the foot of Bell Street. Odyssey focuses on the  rich maritme heritage, past, present, and future of Seattle, Puget Sound, and the North Pacific. therre are many intractive exhibits: tour by kyak, unload containers from a ship, pilot that container ship!

The Children's Museum  Bringing the kids? Motto of this interactive experience at Seattle Center: No adult without kid supervision!

These next three are near the University of Washington, with the Burke and Henry on the campus:

Burke Museum

Henry Art Gallery

Museum of History and Industry preserves and communicates the diverse history of Seattle, Puget Sound, the northwest region, and the  nation as a whole. The core exhibit,  Essential Seattle: a City revealed, the future imagined.

Nordic Heritage Museum  Located northwest of downtown in the historically Scandinavian enclave of Ballard, the Nordic Heritage Museum preserves and celebrates the cultural legacies of  immigrants from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, the only museum in the US to do so for all five countries of origin.

Museum of Flight This museum is located not by accident adjacent to Boeing Filed and several Boeing facilities. The Red Barn, the original manufacturing plant built in 1909, is incorporated into the design. Among the planes on display: a Concorde and an Air Force One.

Music

Seattle Symphony

Note: The seasons will be over for both the Seattle Opera and the Pacific Northwest Ballet.