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Come see the exhibit Colors of the Oasis: Central Asian Ikats at the Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM) and enter to win a trip to Uzbekistan! Entries are being accepted at the Seattle Asian Art Museum during May, June and July, 2012. For details and qualifications, see the Official Rules for contest terms and conditions. The winner will be randomly selected during the first week in August and notified via phone or email.
Exuberant clothes were a common sight in the oasis cities of Central Asia, the crossroads where goods and people flowed in from India, China, Iran and Russia. During the 19th century, oasis patrons wore robes fashioned with rich colors and mysterious designs. This tradition led to a flourishing use of ikat (ee-kat). Ikat fabrics are made from individually dyed silk strands woven by hand in a labor-intensive process. The “Colors of the Oasis” exhibition recreates a sense of walking into a crowd of cosmopolitan clients who wear ikat robes of distinctive boldness.
As an English visitor (William Eleroy Curtis) wrote in 1911: “Everybody wears a coat like a rainbow… No matter how humble or hungry a man may be, and even if he has but a single garment, it is made of the most brilliantly colored material he can find.”
The ikat exhibit at SAAM includes over 40 robes and provides a vision of the oasis crowd. Some feature sharp graphic designs of rigorous abstraction, but others favor delicate harmonies with flowing floral motifs. Scorpions and Arabic script, paisleys and European florals, jeweled tassels and cypress trees swirl together in a design pool that reflects oasis life.
While you are visiting the glorious Colors of the Oasis exhibition, stop at the Garden Court and enter to win the trip for two to the heart of Central Asia, where you can see the land where the ikat robes were created. The fully-escorted, 15-day small-group tour Silk Route Odyssey: Caravan Across Uzbekistan, courtesy of the exhibition sponsor MIR Corporation. See contest details, rules and exclusions to find out more about your chance to win this amazing trip.
Free Days at SAAM
- First Thursday: Admission to the Seattle Asian Art Museum is free for everone on the first Thursday of each month.
- Second Thursday: The Seattle Asian Art Museum is taking part in the new Capitol Hill art walk, Blitz, on the second Thursday of every month. Admission is free for everyone from 5 to 9 pm.
- First Fridays for Seniors: Admission to the Seattle Asian Art Museum is free for seniors 62 and over on the first Friday of each month.
- First Saturdays for Families: Admission to the Seattle Asian Art Museum is free for families on the first Saturday of each month .
Mothers ride free with a paying child of any age on Mother’s Day Weekend! See Mother’s Day schedule.
The Snoqualmie Valley Railroad is located at the Northwest Railroad Museum. Purchase railroad tickets at the original Snoqualmie Depot 1890 ticket window. Wander through the depot exhibits about railroad history and the Victorian railroad experience. The Snoqualmie Depot is open to the public 7 days a week year ’round (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day). There is no admission charge. The Museum is open 10am to 5 pm.
The Northwest Railway Museum is a Washington non-profit corporation and is registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) corporation. The Museum operates the Interpretive Railway Program called the Snoqualmie Valley Railroad. This five mile common carrier railroad allows museum visitors to experience a train excursion aboard antique railroad coaches through the Upper Snoqualmie Valley. Trains operate on Saturdays and Sundays from April through October. In 2010, trains also run on Memorial Day and Labor Day.
The Museum was founded in 1957 as the Puget Sound Railway Historical Association. In September 1999 the name was formally changed to The Northwest Railway Museum. It is the largest and most comprehensive railway museum in Washington State and is visited by over 80,000 people each year.
Mother’s Day from 1-4pm is always a special time at the Washington Park Arborteum. Kids and families can enjoy fun, plant-themed activities and a walk along Azalea Way, with beautiful azalea bushes and cherry trees in full bloom. There is a free, guided walk from 1 – 2:30pm led by guides who take visitors on a tour of some of the amazing trees and shrubs blossoming in the park this month!
Location for the Mother’s Day event is at the Graham Visitor Center, 2300 Arboretum Drive E, Seattle, 98112. (Google map). Admission and parking are free. For directions and maps click here.
The annual Kirkland Artists Studio Tour (KAST) occurs every year on Mother’s Day weekend, Saturday and Sunday from 10:00am to 5:00pm. The free self-guided tour includes dozens of local artists showing in unique home studios throughout Kirkland. Explore the scenic neighborhoods of Kirkland on the beautiful shores of Lake Washington. Tour visitors are invited into a variety of different studios, representing dozens of local artists. Browse among new works; watch art making demonstrations; and purchase art directly from the artists themselves.
To pick up a brochure which includes a map of the KAST 2012 Studios and Artists, please visit the Kirkland Arts Center, 620 Market Street, Kirkland WA 98033 (Google map). Smart phone users can directly access our KAST 2012 Google Map for help in navigating the tour.
KAST began in 2004 when a small band of artists decided it was time Kirkland had its own artist studio tour. The artists open their studios once a year on Mothers Day weekend to give the public a rare opportunity to see artists create in their studios. Kirkland Arts Center took on the management of the tour in 2008 as part of new programming initiatives designed to support the arts within the local community.
Here’s a list of places to find a map for Seattle bicycling, a King County bike map or Washington state bike map, plus bicycle maps for other regional and local areas and plenty of useful bicycling information:
Wiith the City of Seattle committed to becoming the most bicycle-friendly city in the country, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has launched BikeSmart. BikeSmart has two primary goals:
- to encourage more people to ride their bicycle
- to improve bicycle safety
One of SDOT’s most popular publications is the free download Seattle Bicycling Guide Map. The map presents information about cycling in Seattle in a clear, easy-to-use, and friendly format. The map is updated annually and includes information about facilities including green bike lanes, bike boxes, and signed routes. To request a Bike Smart Seattle kit mailed to your address fill out the online order form at Bike Smart Seattle. The kit comes complete with a Seattle bike map, coupons, calendar of events, and more.
There are several bicycle clubs and advocacy groups in and around Seattle, with membership beginning as low as $15 per year and that offer rides and other benefits of interests to bicyclists.
Bicycle clubs and advocacy groups in Washington State
- Bicycle Alliance of Washington (BAW) members believe that bicycling in Washington is inexpensive, healthy and fun, and that bicycles are a viable transportation alternative. BAW advocates for bicyclists and a bike-friendly Washington. Membership is $35/Individual and $60/Family. If you purchase (or renew registration on) a special design Washington Share the Road License Plate for your vehicle, you get a free Individual Membership to BAW. Special design license plates cost up to $45 , in addition to standard licensing fees. Contact your local Washington state vehicle licensing office to determine the exact cost of special design plates for your vehicle.
- Cascade Bicycle Club is a non-profit organization based in Seattle, Washington and serves more than 13,000 members in the Puget Sound bicycling community. The mission of CBC is to Create a Better Community through Bicycling. Memberships start as low as $35 for individuals.
- Cyclists of Greater Seattle (C.O.G.S.) is a Seattle Area cycling club with great rides, fun people and social events. Single/family membership $16/$20.
- Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance is the state’s largest mountain bike advocacy and trail building group focused on protecting sustainable mountain biking opportunities in Washington state. Membership begins at $30.
- Evergreen Tandem Club is for riders of tandem bikes. Membership is $25 / tandem team
- Redmond Cycling Club is a group of individuals joined together for inspiration, camaraderie, and enjoyment through challenging cycling. Membership is $15 for individuals/families.
- Seattle Bicycle Club is a not-for-profit membership organization dedicated to the interests of recreational cyclists. Club interests are recreation, exercise, safety and camaraderie. The Seattle Bicycle Club does not charge a membership fee.
National bicycling clubs
- Adventure Cycling Association inspires people of all ages to travel by bicycle, explore landscapes and the history of America for fitness, fun, and self-discovery.
Bellevue Botanical Gardens celebrates Public Gardens Day on Friday, May 11, 2012, in keeping with National Public Gardens Day. National Public Gardens Day is an annual celebration of public gardens across America, to raise awareness of the important role botanical gardens play in promoting education and environmental stewardship, plant and water conservation, and green spaces. Like many public gardens around the nation, Bellevue Botanical Garden will celebrate with fun activities throughout the Mother’s Day weekend. Why not make it a family trip and take Mom to Bellevue Botanical Gardens as a surprise? It’s a whole new way to give the gift of flowers, and it’s a FREE gift, too, if you take advantage of a promotion by Better Homes and Gardens magazine and the American Public Gardens Association. Get National Public Gardens Day FREE admission on May 11 when you sign up online, select the garden you’d like to visit, and indicate how many people you want to take with you. You can get FREE admission for up to ten people.
Everyone is welcome to the Earthworks Inaugural Ride for bicyclists to celebrate the restoration of the Herbert Bayer Earthwork Park in Kent on SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2012 at 9:00am. Following the Inaugural Ride on June 2, the Earthworks Tour will become a permanent bicycle route and remain open to the public for self-guided tours. The Earthworks Tour will be expanded upon within the coming months and years as new routes become available to bicyclists. Check the earthworks website for trail updates before you head out.
Inaugural Ride:
- When: SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2012 at 9:00 AM
- Where: Herbert Bayer Earthworks, Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks Park, 742 East Titus Street, Kent, WA
- Preregistration: It’s free and simple to sign-up for the Inaugural Ride.
Riders can choose from three routes:
- The Easy Ride, recommended for families, is a flat, 12 mile ride to the Green River Natural Resources Area and back. Beginning riders and families with children can ride in a group with experienced ride leaders.
- The Intermediate Loop is a 20 mile ride that takes riders through the Green River Natural Resources Area and out to Lorna Jordan’s Waterworks Gardens. It is also mostly flat with a single, long incline approaching Waterworks Gardens.
- The Advanced Ride follows the 20 mile route but includes a steep hill climb up to the Robert Morris Earthwork that adds 3 miles.
All of the roadways and trails along the tour are paved. Visitors can bike to each location but should plan to walk through the earthworks. Rest areas will be located at the Green River Natural Resources Area and Waterworks Gardens.
The Earthworks Tour is a new bicycle route that is being organized by the City of Kent Arts Commission. The tour connects four iconic landscapes in the Green River Valley that are all internationally recognized, but not well known locally. Three were designed by artists and the fourth is a nature preserve. They are the Herbert Bayer Earthwork, the Robert Morris Earthwork, Lorna Jordan’s Waterworks Gardens and the Green River Natural Resources Area.
Join Cascade Bicycle Club on any of their free daily bicycle rides, offered every day of the year–more than 1,300 rides annually. Rides range from leisurely 10-mile jaunts to strenuous endurance events to multi-day rides and take place throughout the Puget Sound region. Members and non-members are welcome to attend rides.
Check the Cascade Free Daily Ride Calendar. Unless indicated, it is not necessary to RSVP to participate in a ride. Be sure to arrive 15 minutes early to hear the ride briefing. All riders must sign a waiver form. Riders should carry necessary equipment to fix a flat (tube, patchkit, pump). For more information, read about daily rides and ride classifications on their website.
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