Southern Livin’ | What to do in South Seattle

So many of our awesome Diva Dwellers live in South Seattle and so does half of the Diva Team! We love this awesome hood for so many reasons: great public transit options (we ride the LINK light rail for reasons other than getting to the airport!), awesome mid-century homes, one of the cities most beautiful parks complete with old-growth forest for the mutts to romp in and, last but not least, an incredibly diverse community.

For years this part of Seattle has been easily maligned and often overlooked. While the rest of Frelard and Belltown are experiencing booming influxes of hipster twenty somethings, South Seattle has been experiencing a renaissance of it’s own. While no one was paying close attention, this corner of the world has sprouted some amazing restaurants, well respected music and theatre venues and neighborhood festivals.

Treelined streets, art and eats and drinks galore!

If you haven’t checked us out down in the Sassy South End, here are a few reasons why you should hop on the Link and head on down!

Sunday, March 8th is the Inaugural Rainier Valley Lit Crawl. Little brother to the bigger, snazzier and more well known Seattle Lit Crawl which takes place on Capitol Hill in October, the Rainier Valley Lit Crawl is like a pub crawl with literature. Starting at 5pm at the Union Bar on Rainier Ave, participants will sip a beer and listen to hyper-local writers read their work. Each hour is a different venue snaking down Rainier Ave from Hillman City into Columbia City stopping at Africando Banadir, Flying Lion Brewery and Lottie’s Lounge. Coming from Sarah the writing MFA student herself, this is a great way to support local writers and businesses.
Curious about those awesome restaurants we mentioned? The Pretty Fork is hosting the Columbia City Progressive Dinner on Wednesday, March 18 at 7pm. $49 buckeroos buys you three courses at three eateries in the Rainier Valley to be revealed 48 hours before the event.
Sunny sidewalk dining at Lottie’s Lounge.
Have you been to the Ark Lodge Theatre? This is not your average theatre, folks. After years of on and off openings and closings, the McRae’s renovated (and continue to do so) and reopened this historic building in 2012. They show everything from big box office favorites to indie films, they host Superbowl and Oscar parties and just recently opened the Prestige Room. The seats don’t feel like sofas like the Big Box Theatre competition, but the staff is friendly, the popcorn is great, and as you snuggle into the seats you can practically see the ghosts of Columbia City past watching films decades ago.
Columbia City Theatre has been dubbed “the cities’ finest sounding room” by SPIN magazine. It’s more than just a music venue, it’s an intimate arts commune. Check out the schedule and you’ll find local and national bands, benefit shows, burlesque shows, karaoke and drag shows.