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🌃 Washington goes hard for 'Die Hard'

Plus: Activists stop a sweep at Cal Anderson Park for now. 

By Grace Madigan

Hey there, it’s Thursday.

Apparently, “Die Hard” is the most popular Christmas movie in Washington. This truly confuses me considering that there are literally hundreds of other movies out there that do not start heated debates about whether or not they’re a Christmas movie. 

Admittedly, I’ve never seen “Die Hard” — never felt the need to — but perhaps this needs to change? My roommate did tell me that “Die Hard” is in fact one of her favorite Christmas movies. So maybe it merits a shot at becoming one of mine, too. Please let me know if this is one I should skip or dedicate two hours of my life to watching.

Enough about “Die Hard,” let’s get to those headlines... 

'Tis the season for dressing up our pets for our own entertainment. 🐾 | Tag @the_evergrey or use #theevergrey to be featured in our Instagram of the Day. (📸: @thegratefulzed) 

What Seattle is talking about

Almost half of the city’s helmet citations are given to those experiencing homelessness. Crosscut analyzed court records and found that about 60% of citations issued by police since 2019 were given to riders who are unhoused. After a summer of protests calling for the defunding of SPD, some are questioning whether the helmet law actually encourages safety or is being used as a reason to stop someone and investigate an unrelated crime. (Crosscut)

Activists and volunteers filled Cal Anderson Park yesterday in response to a scheduled sweep. Property owners and nearby businesses have called on the city to clear and reopen the park, despite CDC guidelines that recommend avoiding homeless encampment sweeps during the pandemic. The morning ended with no sweep as a federal lawsuit was filed on behalf of a resident in the encampment. (Capitol Hill Seattle Blog)

Seattle is extremely vegan-friendly. A report from Myprotein found we are the third-most friendly city in the U.S. for vegans. Only New York City and Atlanta, GA beat Seattle out. (Seattle PI)

Escape Seattle for Christmas. Or maybe the day after, so you can hike off all that food. Here are some day trip ideas if you want to play in some snow or just want a nice long drive. (Seattle Met)

💚 Become an Evergrey Extra member!

Evergrey Extra members are getting some ideas on how to get into the holiday mood with some socially-distant activities. 🎄

Want in on the fun? There is still time to become an Evergrey Extra member for half off and join our growing community. Looking ahead we need your help to keep connecting you with your city in 2021 and beyond. If the newsletter has helped keep you informed, inspired, or uplifted this year, consider becoming an Evergrey Extra member. 

Get half off membership until Dec. 24 by using the code HALFOFF, that’s $4/month, or $40 for a whole year!

Things to do

Submit your events to our calendar.

Today

🌎 How does Seattle create a welcoming and inclusive community for people from all backgrounds? Hosted by The Evergrey and Civic Commons at 6pm. Register (Sponsored)

Tomorrow

🎅 Get your caffeine fix and check out a festive holiday pop-up (U-District) —through Dec. 24

🎄 Evergreen City Ballet presents a new way to experience the Nutcracker with the docu-dance film "Nutcracker Suites" (Online)

Saturday

🎶 Get in the spirit by listening to the Roosevelt High School Jazz Band perform songs from Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite (Downtown)

🛍️ Support Black-owned businesses at the Peace Peloton Holiday Market (Columbia City)

✂️ Learn how to make pop-up cards with your kiddos (Online)

Sunday

🌠 Ponder the Winter Solstice night sky in an online planetarium show with Gathering Ground (Online)

Thursday, December 24

🎶 Sing along to the Moondoggies' annual Christmas show (Online)

Promotion from United Way of King County ☂️ Fight homelessness. Have an impact this year. You can help local families by giving $1/day for a year, helping keep them safely housed and put food on the table. Start your Year of Impact now>>

One more thing …

If you’re already looking ahead to New Year’s Eve, here’s a list of places from Eater Seattle to get food and drinks for the holiday. Just because we’ll be stuck at home, that doesn’t mean we can’t make it a festive night. 

Thanks for staying with us until the end. See ya tomorrow when we wrap up the week!

— The Evergrey