This month, enjoy a holiday film series at West of Lenin, curated by film aficionado Warren Etheredge of The Warren Report. Find a different, unusual holiday film each week on Wednesdays at 7p – for only $5 a ticket.
- Dec 7th, ‘Ira Finkelstein’s Christmas (Switchmas)’ presents a Christmas-obsessed Jewish boy, on his way to sunny Florida, decides to get the Christmas of his dreams by trading airline tickets – and places – with a boy on his way to snowy Christmastown, Washington.
- Dec 14th, see ‘Short Stocking Stuffers’ with a collection of holiday-themed short films that redefine the season and promise to provide unconventional cheer.
- Dec 21st, come to celebrate – in costume or without – at ‘Santa Claus Conquers The Martians’! In a film widely considered to be the worst ever, Martians kidnap Santa Claus because there is nobody on Mars to give their children presents. Come as your favorite jolly fat man, elf or Martian, and get in for half-price.
Tickets cost only $5, and can be purchased in advance through Brown Paper Tickets, or at the door.
In addition to the ‘Up Your Chimney’ film series, West of Lenin has a few other, one-night-only treats in store for those looking for something very different from traditional holiday fare.
- Monday, Dec 12th, at 7:30p, find ‘Four American Fairy Tales (And A Few American Songs)’ presented by storyteller Bret Fetzer and his musical cohorts from the Moonshine Revival Tent – Eric Padget and Christine Longé. Meet four unusual heroines in these four new tales: ‘Bathwater’ about a girl who escapes in an old wooden tub, ‘Gifts of the Polar Bear’ about a woman who crosses the Alaskan tundra after her missing husband, ‘President of the Prairie Dogs’ about a girl who gets involved with subterranean politics in Wyoming, and ‘The Christmas Present’ about a girl whose envy of her sister leads her to plot with the Devil himself. General admission to the singular event costs $10, with tickets available through Brown Paper Tickets.
- Friday, Dec 16th, at 7:30p, enjoy a live reading of ‘A Christmas Story’ by Jean Shepherd. This favorite holiday tale tells of Ralphie and his effort to convince his parents, his teacher and Santa, that a Red Ryder B.B. gun is the perfect gift for him for Christmas. Brainchild of Warren Etheredge, all proceeds from this event go to support the Red Badge Project. Tickets can be purchased, pay-what-you-will, through Brown Paper Tickets – suggested donations are $10.
- Monday, Dec 19th, at 7:30p, the dark and bluesy Yuletide treat is back! ‘Christmas B-Sides & Rarities’ will celebrate five years of occasionally cynical, often funny and decidedly musical variety. The perfect antidote to overly cheery, relentlessly commercialized traditional Christmas fare, the ‘B-Sides & Rarities’ showcases talents from throughout the Seattle theater scene. Find show details, and tickets ($15,) on Brown Paper Tickets.
West of Lenin offers up the alternate to sticky sweet and tedious tradition. Treat yourself, and your friends, to a night of laughs and looks at other sides of the holidays. Find more on the West of Lenin.com website!