One of the joys of hosting the conference in our home city is that we get to share some of our favorite places with you all!
In addition to great resources like The Intentionalist, which notes womxn and people of color owned businesses, we wanted to share our staff favorites.
Nancy, Karen and Leslie all love Pike Place Market – the Gum Wall, and the Beecher’s cheese samples, and the smoked salmon crumpet at The Crumpet Shop! And, amazingly, behind the scenes at the Market, you can take a self-guided tour to learn about the community and social service support that the Pike Place Market Foundation provides for elders and low-income community members!
For a view of the city, Cheryl loves the Starbucks on the 40th floor of Columbia Tower (only on weekdays); Mika loves Kerry Park (in a different neighborhood, but iconic views!); Anjana loves looking out at the city from Gas Works Park, in Wallingford; and Leslie likes looking back at the city from the Bainbridge Island Ferry (you can walk on – maybe even get a view of Mt. Rainier if the rain holds!)
And of course, there’s so much good food to eat here! Lyn says that Seattle is dumpling heaven and has a lot of favorite places: Steamed, boiled, pan-fried, deep-fried from China, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, and beyond! Check out: Gourmet Noodle Bowl, Szechuan Noodle Bowl, Mike’s Noodle House, Dough Zone, Ba Bar, Annapurna Café and Little Ting’s Dumplings for starters… While Marc loves the deep dish pizza at Delfino’s Chicago Style Pizza in the University Village. Marissa prefers stopping in at a farmers market (the Ballard Farmers Market and Capitol Hill Farmers Market is open year-round on Sundays), where she loves sampling Sea Wolf Baking and produce from Nature’s Last Stand. Cheryl loves the iconic Portage Bay Café, with multiple locations; and Elyse loves the homemade plantain chips and black bean dip at Marjorie. Danielle likes the pistachio matcha latte at Anchorhead Coffee, just a few blocks from the Westin! Mares recommends going to the local Trinidadian restaurant Pam’s Kitchen in Wallingford.
Seattle isn’t Seattle without some quirky, unique spots. A short jaunt from downtown you can find the home of KEXP, where Mika loves to sip on coffee, listen to the live broadcast, and shop for records. Meg would rather spend her days getting lost in the book stacks at Elliot Bay Book store in Capitol Hill, while Luke wants to watch the boats come and go at the Ballard Locks (sometimes you might even see a brave kayaker take the locks). Across the water, Sharayah likes to go to Discovery Park to visit the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center and support the historical and ongoing indigenous activism that led to establishing the Center. Meg loves renting bikes along Alki Beach in West Seattle, though this is, admittedly, best done in summer! Sindhu adds on a stop at Marination Ma Kai for tasty snacks and great views of the city from Alki.
Even though the weather will likely be damp, that doesn’t stop Seattle-ites from getting outside. It’s always green here! Erin suggests taking a walk in Volunteer Park (Capitol Hill) and be sure to check out the cactus and succulent greenhouse. You can then mosey over to Lake View Cemetery and pay respects to the martial arts film star’s burial sites, Bruce and Brandon Lee. Also buried there is Princess Angeline, daughter of Seattle’s namesake, Chief Sealth.
And, if you’re staying longer than just the weekend for the conference, Barbara recommends visiting Tillicum Village.
We have even more recommendations in our conference app, PNW19. If you visit one of these spots, use #PNW19 and share a photo with us on the conference app!