👻 A Haunted House at Magnuson. Conga Drumming in Roosevelt. Injera in Pinehurst.

Happy Tuesday all! It’s great to be back to this crisp fall weather.

🦝 Still need a Halloween costume? Good Morning America has an idea, and it’s local: Jimothy, Ballard’s viral short-spined raccoon, made their list of easy DIY costumes. The recipe is gray sweats, a cheap eye mask, gloves, and a pillow stuffed up your shirt for his signature round shape. (If you see a lot of very round raccoons on the 31st, now you know why.)

🏈 I’ll admit last Thursday’s Seahawks game was on in the background at our house. Through three quarters it was a snore (why isn’t the score changing?), with the Hawks down 14–3 and barely moving the ball. Then the fourth quarter happened: a touchdown and two-point conversion, then a field goal with three seconds left to force overtime. And then an interception and a long Denver field goal to lose 17–14. The defending champs are now 3–3 and get a shot at turning things around at home against the Chiefs this Sunday.

🦑 Speaking of sports, here’s a confession: I somehow let the Kraken’s season start without a word in this newsletter. They opened Oct 1 with a 6-1 win in Calgary, beat the Flames 6-1 again in the home opener, and went 3-1-1 on an 11-day road trip before Florida put eight past them Saturday. They’re 5-3-1 and back at Climate Pledge this week: Detroit tonight, then Utah Thursday and Minnesota Saturday. Recap

🎃 And if your pumpkins aren’t home yet, my pumpkin patch guide has ten farms ordered by drive time, and most of them are free to pick from. A few are winding down (Jubilee Farm’s last weekend is Oct 24–25), so don’t wait too long. I just got mine at the Hunter Tree Farm location by the Wedgwood post office!

👻 I’ll do my best to put together a Halloween roundup next week. Know of a trunk-or-treat, haunted yard, or neighborhood party worth mentioning? Submit it here and I’ll take a look!

Please send this issue to anyone who might enjoy it - it helps a lot!

Cider is my husband’s drink of choice, so we were happy to try Press Then Press’s Cider Club. Last weekend we opened the Seattle Cider City Fruit, which was light and refreshing, perfect for a sunny fall evening.

Erik and Storie have built one of the biggest cider selections in the country - 500+ bottles, mostly from small, farm-based cideries. While 95% of their business ships nationwide, local cider lovers are in for a treat. Fun fact: Press Then Press runs out of Erik and Storie's home and office right here in Wedgwood, and if you're local, pickup is free (or they'll deliver). They're both Certified Pommeliers who got into selling cider after serving it at their own wedding and watching everyone ask where to find more of it — so if you're not sure where to start, that's genuinely their favorite part of the job.

Use the discount code WIRE at checkout to get a bonus cider added to your first order! pressthenpress.com.

🎃 Pumpkin Carving at Northgate Community Center — Fri, Oct 23, 4:30–6:30pm (Northgate Community Center, 10510 5th Ave NE)
Let someone else deal with the pumpkin guts this year. Seattle Parks is hosting a pumpkin carving night for ages 5 and up, so the mess stays at the community center and you get to take home the finished jack-o’-lantern. Registration is required.

👻 Magnuson Haunted House — Fri, Oct 23 & Sat, Oct 24, 5–10pm (Magnuson Community Center, 7110 62nd Ave NE)
The community center sits on the old Naval Air Station grounds, and once a year its hallways become a haunted walk-through: dark, winding, and full of ghosts and ghouls around every corner. It’s $7 for ages 11 and up, and registration is required, so sign up ahead rather than counting on walking in. It’s a good pick for tweens and teens who’ve outgrown trunk-or-treating, and it’s the same weekend as the Coffee Festival, so the parents can have their own fun nearby.

💊 Prescription Drug Take Back Day — Sat, Oct 24, 10am–2pm (SPD North Precinct, 10049 College Way N)
This is your twice-a-year excuse to clean out the medicine cabinet. Bring unused or expired prescriptions to the North Precinct, just north of North Seattle College, and they’ll take them off your hands. It’s a five-minute stop that keeps old pills out of the wrong hands, and the drain.

☕ Seattle Coffee Festival — Sat–Sun, Oct 24–25 (Magnuson Park, Hangar 30, 6310 NE 74th St)
The Seattle Coffee Festival is back at Hangar 30 for its second year. That means a hangar full of specialty roasters and local coffee shops pouring samples, plus snacks and live music. If you’ve ever wanted to taste your way through the city’s coffee scene without crossing a bridge, this is it, and it’s practically in our backyard. Tickets start around $30 (prices vary depending on the day and time slot). Go early on Saturday, and plan your caffeine intake accordingly.

Got something happening in the neighborhood? I want to know about it! Submit your event here. I review submissions each week before sending.

🧪 Slime Class at Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center | Thu, Oct 22 (and again Oct 29), 5:30–7pm, 6535 Ravenna Ave NE. Ages 10–17, $5, registration required. Another mess to keep at the community center!

🎻 Fiddler’s Inn | Thursday music at 9219 35th Ave NE: Igor Abuladze’s Road to Home (Oct 22).

🏊 Bounce and Swim at Green Lake Community Center | Fri, Oct 23, 6–8pm, 7201 E Green Lake Dr N. Free, with a family swim from 7–8pm where you dodge floating pumpkins. Registration required.

🎨 Craft Night at Chance Encounter Games | Fri, Oct 23, 6pm, 6317½ Roosevelt Way NE. The theme is “Costumes and Seasonal Little Guys,” which is exactly what it sounds like. If you’re still figuring out a costume, it’s a good place to work on one.

🧘 bodyART with Lilian Vágó | Free trial session Mon, Oct 26, 10:30am, at eXit SPACE, SEA Studio at Green Lake. It’s mindful movement built on physical therapy principles, designed for all levels. Message Lilian on Facebook to save a spot.

🀄 Learn Mah Jongg at StudioLife | 5236 University Way NE. A 3-week beginner series in American Mahjong starts Nov 3 (continuing Nov 10 and 17), with morning and evening sessions. The instructor, Val, starts from the very beginning, so no experience is needed. Already know how to play? They also host open play on select Thursdays.

🥕 Lake City Farmers Market | Saturdays, 10am–2pm, through Dec 19, at NE 125th & 28th Ave NE.

🎨 Magnuson Park Gallery | Small Works from the Artists of Building 30 West, through Oct 31. Free, and an easy add-on to a Coffee Festival trip.

☕ Co-Working Wednesdays at Cafe Blameless | 5751 33rd Ave NE, Wednesdays 9am–2pm. Bring a laptop, no registration needed.

319 NE 72nd St (Roosevelt): Monastery Arts has opened in the basement here, and it may be the most eclectic class lineup in Northeast Seattle. The main draw is adult self-defense. Brother John Beall (“Sijo” in class) teaches Yongli Kuen, also called “Pressure Fight,” a survival-focused martial art built around striking, trapping, and staying calm under pressure. He trained under James DeMile, one of Bruce Lee’s original Seattle students, and has five decades of teaching behind him. There are also classes in conga drumming, didgeridoo, and men’s throat singing. (Yes, all under one roof.)

The easiest way in is a free demo. Martial arts demos run Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:15pm and Saturdays at 10:30am through Oct 31. Drumming and throat singing demos are Oct 21, 23, 26, and 28. See the demo schedule, or text (425) 286-3218.

🌉 The 520 ramp closures are back, Monday through Thursday nights. From 10pm to 6am, the westbound 520 off-ramp to northbound I-5 is closed, and drivers get sent to southbound I-5. Coming home from the Eastside late? Take the Montlake exit instead. The eastbound off-ramp to Montlake is also closed overnight, so anyone getting on eastbound 520 from I-5 crosses the lake and pays the toll. Both closures repeat Oct 26–29.

☕ Magnuson will be busy this weekend. The Haunted House runs Friday and Saturday evenings, and the Coffee Festival fills Hangar 30 on Saturday and Sunday. Expect more traffic on Sand Point Way, and carpool if you can.

🏈 Game-day traffic is downtown only. The Huskies have a bye week, so there’s no game at Husky Stadium. The Seahawks host the Chiefs on Sunday, so plan accordingly if you’re heading downtown or to SODO.

This one was my daughter’s idea. After a unit on Ethiopia at school, she wanted us to taste what she’d been learning about, and she picked Enat. Delicious call, kid.

Enat means “mother” in Amharic, and the place lives up to it: attentive service, generous portions, and food you share. The star is the injera, the tangy, spongy flatbread you tear off and use to scoop everything else. Get a combination platter. The veggie combo gives you a little of everything: lentil sambusas, shiro, misir wot, and cabbage and potatoes. There’s a gluten-free version too.

Open Tuesday–Sunday, 11am–9pm. Takeout too.

In case you missed them — a few guides worth bookmarking:

🎃 Pumpkin Patch Round-Up! — All the great pumpkin patches worth visiting in the greater Seattle area.

🥡 NE Seattle's Takeout Roundup — neighborhood by neighborhood, the order-ahead spots that keep coming up in our house

🎂 Where to Host a Kids Birthday Party Near NE Seattle: 17 Venues — from our backyard to worth-the-drive

🌃 Date Night in Northeast Seattle — restaurants, bars, and spots worth staying out for

Can you guess the price of this real estate listing based on just one photo? Hint: 4 Bed, 3 bath, 2960 square feet

$1.795M
$1.995M
$2.10M
$2.4M

🧑 Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center | Ultimate Frisbee Drop-In (ages 9–13, Wednesdays 3:30–4:30pm), Teen Kitchen Creations (Tuesdays 4:30–6:30pm), Teen Baking Club (Wednesdays 4–6pm), and Pokémon/Minecraft Club (Tuesdays 5:30–6:30pm).

🏓 Magnuson Community Center | Teen Pickleball Drop-In, Saturdays 2:45–4:45pm; Family Open Gym, Saturdays 12:30–2:15pm.

🎸 Northgate Community Center | Teen Guitar Lessons, Mondays 5:15–6:15pm.

🏟️ Seattle Sports Schedules

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