Sara Porkalob, Seattle-based playwright, director, activist and more, is off to Broadway — but before she goes, she shared what she’s been reading and rereading lately.

Here are a few arts-and-entertainment-y online diversions for the week, from near and far, including Seattle Opera on KING-FM and New York City Ballet.

Like countless others in the arts and beyond, drag performers have been hit hard by venue closures and stay-home orders. But the drag community has always found ways to endure, connect and celebrate — during and after the coronavirus pandemic, that much will remain true.

May is here! As we welcome a new month under the stay-home order, here are even more suggestions for things you can do at home.

Seattle indie rock stars Car Seat Headrest get a sonic makeover with its electro-charged new album “Making a Door Less Open,” dropping May 1.

Earlier this year, clients of the Seattle-based online ticket broker — many of them artists and small-business owners — said they haven't been paid for events, some dating back to last year. Some, still unpaid, have been turning to Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson for help.

Gov. Jay Inslee has released a four-phase plan to guide the reopening of Washington's economy and amenities. Here's an estimate of when things will start to open back up.

When Maple Valley's Zan Fiskum appears on “The Voice” Monday night, she'll be continuing a growing tradition started by Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile, and continued by wunderkind musician Benicio Bryant.

LONDON (AP) — Dave Greenfield, the keyboard player with British punk band The Stranglers and who penned the music to their biggest hit, Golden Brown, has died after testing positive for coronavirus. He was 71. The band’s official website announced that Greenfield died on Sunday after contracting the virus following a stay in a hospital […]

Dave Matthews Band announced it's rescheduling its entire summer concert slate — including the annual Labor Day weekend bash the band's hosted at the Gorge Amphitheatre for years — due to COVID-19.

The Sharma brothers, who became interested in music in the fourth grade, have played in bands at Eckstein Middle School and Roosevelt High. So it felt quite natural for them to step out of their house April 9 for their first front-porch performance.

Fiskum destroyed an updated, slow-fast version of Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” on the NBC singing competition show on Monday night.

The COVID-19 pandemic is the latest challenge for Seattle’s independent record stores like Easy Street, but these titans of vinyl continue to rise to the occasion.

By all accounts, 2020 has been, to put it mildly, a weird year. This week alone has already seen a 5-year-old boy from Utah attempt a solo drive to California on a mission to buy a Lamborghini, a llama named Winter emerge as a potential key player in the race for a treatment targeting the […]

The Seattle rock icons filed a countersuit Wednesday accusing Vicky Cornell of withholding money raised through a star-studded benefit concert held last year in the late singer's honor, instead using it for personal purposes — an accusation Cornell denies.

Between Mother's Day and the expected sunny weather, there's lots to celebrate this weekend! Whether you'll be enjoying nature or continuing to stay inside, here are some things you can do while maintaining social distancing.

With social distancing efforts (or just distance) keeping many families apart for Mother's Day, our features staffers share how they'll be celebrating their moms this weekend. Happy Mother's Day!

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It’s been over a decade since reggae king Buju Banton and R&B star John Legend collaborated on a song, and the Grammy winners have reunited for a new track. Banton and Legend released the easygoing love song “Memories” on Friday. It is the first single from Banton’s upcoming album “Upside Down,” […]

Brandi Carlile has rescheduled her June 6 Echoes Through the Canyon show at the Gorge Amphitheatre to Aug. 14, 2021.

From an unexpected friendship across species, to a cluster of clay llamas, to finding a way to remotely produce a song featuring multiple collaborators, people across Washington state have found ways to stay connected to their artistic communities, their jobs and their routines — or to find beauty in the changes themselves. 

Seattle banned the use of playgrounds, athletic fields and sports courts weeks ago, taping off playground structures and swings.

Zenith Holland Nursery has seen times like this before — and survived. The Des Moines nursery opened in 1907, survived two world wars and remains open during the coronavirus shutdown.

Northern elephant seals have a range from Alaska to Mexico. Most of the animals make their way along the coast, but some venture into Puget Sound.

Gov. Inslee announced Monday that golf and recreational fishing could resume on May 5 and many state parks and public lands will reopen as well.

If you bought a 2019-2020 season pass but didn't use it — or didn't use it as much as you'd hoped to — you may have a credit waiting.

A huge asteroid will make a (relatively) close pass of Earth early Wednesday, but you'll need a telescope to see that; however, an exceptionally bright Venus should be visible to the naked eye at dusk and in the early evenings. Look to the west.

Gov. Jay Inslee on Monday announced the easing of restrictions on outdoor recreation in Washington state, starting May 5 with the opening of golf courses, state parks, fishing and hunting. Here’s some of what will be different as our state reopens the outdoors.

One reader captured this excellent shot of a stunning wood duck wading across the water, showing that self-isolation sometimes really all it’s quacked up to be.

With campouts in the outdoors currently not allowed, the Mount Baker Council, which has troops in Island, San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish, and Whatcom counties, is hosting a virtual campout this weekend for Boy Scouts and their families.

Good news amid the coronavirus gloom: More than 100 Washington state parks will reopen for day use on Tuesday.

More than 100 Washington state parks will reopen for day use on Tuesday. But this doesn't mean you should abandon social distancing practices. Here's what you need to know before you go.

In the first phase of the state's reopening, hunting and fishing were reintroduced statewide, municipal golf courses began operating again, and more than 100 state parks reopened for day-use recreation only.

As always, a big “thank you” to our front-line workers for their selfless, tireless service — and, in this instance, for sharing a hopeful image of the Seattle skyline, shot from West Seattle on a recent morning.

Coronavirus canceled their mountain climbing trips and adventure runs, so these Seattleites found creative ways to stay fit, stay sane and conquer their lofty goals — all while maintaining social distancing.

The National Weather Service in Seattle counted about 250 reports of cloud-to-ground lightning strikes. "It made for a pretty good show for us," meteorologist Dana Felton said.

Some King County parks and public lands will reopen on Friday as the first phase of Gov. Jay Inslee's plan to reopen Washington's economy continues. Here's what's open and what's not as we head into a sunny spring weekend.

Between Mother's Day and the expected sunny weather, there's lots to celebrate this weekend! Whether you'll be enjoying nature or continuing to stay inside, here are some things you can do while maintaining social distancing.

Gov. Kate Brown announced earlier this week that some outdoor recreation activities can resume as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

From an unexpected friendship across species, to a cluster of clay llamas, to finding a way to remotely produce a song featuring multiple collaborators, people across Washington state have found ways to stay connected to their artistic communities, their jobs and their routines — or to find beauty in the changes themselves. 

Every Mother's Day, climbers flock to Mount St. Helens in festive dresses in the continuation of a tradition started by 'the woman in the red dress.' This Mother's Day, a new mini-documentary from OPB tells the story of Kathy Phibbs, a gifted alpinist who paved the way for a more inclusive outdoors community — and pink flamingos on mountain summits.

The Emerald Distaff, the signature race of season for fillies and mares, has been on the same day as the Mile for years. This year, the track added the Muckleshoot Derby and the Washington Oaks.

My Grandpa pulled away late to win the Muckleshoot Derby, and No Talking Back won the Emerald Distaff during Championship Sunday at Emerald Downs.

Law Abidin Citizen caught heavily favored Anyportinastorm in the final strides to win the biggest horse race in the Northwest.

An overflow field of 13 juveniles was entered in Sunday’s $100,000 Gottstein Futurity at 1 1/16 miles, the last of three stakes scheduled on closing day at Emerald Downs in Auburn.

Track president Phil Ziegler says overall handle increased this season despite 11 fewer races. But he says attendance, the number of horses per race and on-track betting declined.  

ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) — Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer is banned from entering horses in the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita, where he was barred earlier this year. Fred Hertrich, chairman of the Breeders’ Cup board, said Friday that it would honor Santa Anita’s house rule and not allow Hollendorfer to enter horses in […]

DEL MAR, Calif. (AP) — Del Mar is preemptively canceling racing for Nov. 21 because of projected rain from the season’s first storm in Southern California. Track officials said Friday the cancellation is due to “an abundance of caution” because rain forecast from Tuesday through Thursday likely will result in a muddy main track and […]

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The owners of Maximum Security say they will appeal a federal judge’s dismissal of their lawsuit that seeks to challenge the decision to disqualify their horse as winner of the Kentucky Derby. Gary West said in a statement Monday that he has authorized his attorneys to file an appeal. West and […]

DEL MAR, Calif. (AP) — A 3-year-old filly has collapsed and died after a workout at Del Mar, while another horse that was injured in a race on Nov. 10 has been euthanized, making it four horses that have died since the track’s fall meet began Nov. 8. Slewgoodtobetrue died in the barn area Sunday. […]

ARCADIA, Calif. — A horse broke down in the last race at Santa Anita on Wednesday, the track’s first racing death of the winter-spring meet after a spate of deaths last year. Golden Birthday took a bad step in the stretch and jockey Victor Espinoza fell off while trying to pull up the 4-year-old gelding […]