Virtual Experiences Abound At Seattle Center This May

Spring is busting out all over the virtual world at Seattle Center. Here are some online options for the month of May among public programs and organizations that reside on the grounds. They include cultural festivals, classical music and dance, varied cinema and theater, virtual classes and workshops and more. Find additional listings and information at seattlecenter.com/events/virtual-events/arts-at-home.

Seattle Center Festál-It's a busy month for Seattle Center's premier public program. It starts with Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month Celebration, 12 noon-2 p.m., May 2, recognizing Seattle's strong ties with Asia and the contributions of Asian Pacific Islanders in our region through music, dance and a celebrity hum bow eating contest. A Glimpse of China - Seattle Chinese Culture & Arts Festival, 12 noon-1:30 p.m., May 8, explores 5,000 years of Chinese culture and heritage with live streaming music, martial arts and other Chinese movement traditions, demonstrations and decorative arts. Spirit of Africa, 3:30 p.m.,-5 p.m., May 15, streams live from Dakar, Senegal, as it celebrates the joyful, rich and diverse music, dance and culture of Africa, with some of West Africa's leading musicians. Seattlecenter.com/festal.

Book-It Repertory Theatre-This season, Book-It has gone all-audio to play with the form and structure of book adaptations in five "mainstage" dramas. Single tickets are on sale for Childfinder, The Canterville, Ghost Mañanaland and The Effluent Engine. The Mandala of Sherlock Holmes opens May 15. Learn more at book-it.org.

Cascade Public Media-The big event focus at CPM this month is Crosscut Festival, May 3-8, when an outstanding line-up of journalists, politicians, authors, creators and newsmakers from our community and around the nation come together to take a hard look at the people, policy and events that shape our lives. Find more and get free tickets at festival.crosscut.com.

Classical KING FM & Seattle Opera-KING FM airs past Seattle Opera productions, 10 a.m., Saturdays in May. Broadcasts include Cavalleria rusticana, May 1; The Daughter of the Regiment, May 8; Don Quichotte, May 15; Semele, May 22, and The Elixir of Love, May 29. seattleopera.org/kingfm.

Museum of Pop Culture-Now in its 20th year, Sound Off! 2021 wants to introduce you to the eight artists at the heart of the northwest music scene you won't be able to stop listening to, 7 p.m.-9: p.m. May 15. The Sky Church livestream lineup includes Aurora Avenue, Trevor Eulau, CANNXN, Brenna Bruce, Kiddus Fecto, Sundust, Aurelio Valdez and Lexi Lalauni. MoPOP's So Bad, It's Good movie series features Troll 2, 6 p.m., May 8. Guided by the specter of 'ol grandpa, Joshua's gotta find a way to save his vacationing family from getting goblin-ed up. In the horror genre, check out the It's Coming from inside the House series, showing Jacob's Ladder about a group of young film students who run into real-life zombies while shooting a horror movie of their own., 7 p.m., May 21. Mopop.org.

Northwest Folklife Festival-This beloved annual gathering celebrates its 50th Anniversary in 2021 with a virtual festival presented on multiple channels, May 28-30. Cultivating and preserving the diverse arts, heritage and traditions that reflect our region's dynamic communities, Folklife is o-curated and co-created for the people, by the people. www.nwfolklife.org.

Pacific Northwest Ballet -REP 5 of the 2020-2021 Season features Coppélia (archival recording), music by Léo Delibes, choreography by Alexandra Danilova and George Balanchine, May 6-10. This bonus content for season subscribers and Digital Performance Plus ticketholders includes a dancer's introduction, "Live from the Lincoln Center" interview and a sublime Pas de Deux. www.pnb.org/season/rep5.

Pacific Science Center-Text your knowledge and learn something new about Earth's systems and sustainability at Earthly Explorations Family Trivia, live streamed, 6 p.m., May 4. Download the Kahoot! app to play. A free Virtual Planetarium Show, presented in partnership with Varsity Tutors, May 17, invites participants to discover how to find constellations and how the sky can be used to find directions! Learn more and register at www.pacsci.org.

Seattle Children's Theatre-Registration is now open for Summer at SCT, offering story drama, acting, musical theatre, physical comedy, improv and more. Class finder tools and scholarships make participation easy. More on classes, individualized experiences, workshop and residencies at SCT.org.

Seattle Opera-Karen Vuong performs in recital with pianist David McDade in a program of luscious French and vibrant German art song, 7 p.m., May 7 through May 28. Seattleopera.org.

Seattle Rep-Plays in Process: Ghosts offers an inside look at the innovative new translation of Henrik Ibsen's controversial masterpiece, Ghosts, with leading artists Uma Thurman and David Strathairn, director Carey Perloff, and more, 7:30 p.m., May 6. The Rep's monthly play reading group, Kilroy's Club, discusses Nadeshiko by local playwright Keiko Green, which follows two women, one during WWII and the other in 2016, 11 a.m., May 15. Explore how theatrical processes and organizations would look if they were fully supportive of parents in all stages and structures of parenthood at (Re)Imagine Parents in Theater Panel, 5 p.m., May 20.

Masterclass Mondays looks at Anti-Racist Directing: Reformatting Power in the Rehearsal Room, 5 p.m.-6:30 p.m., May 24, via Zoom, with Taibi Magar, who will examine power dynamics in the rehearsal room from the perspective of a director. The workshop is intended for anyone with an interest in directing as a field or a practice-no experience required! Learn more and register for these opportunities at Seattlerep.org.

Seattle Shakespeare Company-join our region's preeminent Shakespearean theater group for Romeo y Julieta, May 21-June 6. This bilingual English/ Spanish production of Shakespeare's classic love story, which celebrates Latinidad and queer culture, is a brand-new way to experience this play in a view on-demand video production. seashak.es/romeoyjulieta2021.

SIFF-Cinema DNA: Children of Vertigo-virtual class delves into the power that Hitchcock and Vertigo brought to the cinema, May 4. Check out audience favorites from the 2021 Seattle International Film Festival and other films from Virtual SIFF Cinema including Downstream to Kinshasa, There Is No Evil, and When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, through the month. What the Femme: The Evolution of Ellen Ripley-virtual class, May 18, looks at this unconventional feminist journey through the lens of film programmer Anthony Hudson. Director Emily Cohen Ibañez shares the ways her documentary, Fruits of Labor, makes space for magical realism where spiritual forces live in nature. cINeDIGENOUS: Magical Realism and the Documentary-virtual Class, May 25. Learn more, register and buy tickets at SIFF.net.

The VERA Project-Hands-on workshops for all ages and all experience levels, presented virtually, are taught by expert members in the VERA community. Offered in May are Gig Poster Design, 4-week workshop, 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m., Mondays, May 3-24; and Embroidery & DIY Culture, 3-week workshop, 2 p.m.-4 p.m., Sundays, May 2-6. Theveraproject.org/classes.

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