Things to Do in Bellevue
Recommended Things to Do by Groupon Customers
From its birth more than 80 years ago, The 5th Avenue Theater has grown into a cultural leader in the Northwest, enlightening eager audiences with performances both elegant and entertaining. The three-show package grants eyes and ears admission to a series of family-friendly productions served course by course, like a fancy meal or a day of binge golfing. Begin with an appetizer of laughter, friendship, and premeditated workplace revenge in 9 to 5: The Musical from April 5–April 10. Follow three unlikely friends through a plot to conquer their company, while they sing along to the Grammy-nominated score penned by Dolly Parton. Then, satisfy gambling glands May 17–May 22 with Guys & Dolls, a tale of gangsters, gals, love triangles, and suspense quadrilaterals, set to the music of Frank Loesser. Finish the tuneful trifecta July 12–July 17 with Aladdin: The New Stage Musical, a sweet tale of courage and friendship based on the animated film. Relish new and treasured melodies by Alan Menken as acclaimed director Casey Nicholaw offers spectators a magic carpet ride in his '83 Ford Taurus.
BAMignite celebrates the closing days of Bellevue Arts Museum's Think Twice: New Latin American Jewelry show with music, performances, and art demonstrations. Guests draped in their own provocative jewelry wander through the drifting grooves of a DJ set and the Brazilian melodies of ChoroLoco. A sultry tango performance stirs up enough heat to fuel the do-it-yourself jewelry-crafting station. Meanwhile, artist Cathy McClure helms a live artist demonstration that highlights the inner workings of her fantastical toy robots and offers insight into life as the lost Jetson. An art-in-motion presentation shows the mobile sculptures of Michael Cooper in action, and fictitious, limited-edition passports made by Erika Harrsch are up for grabs during a wheel-spinning contest. Guests can corral refreshments (not included in this Groupon) at a cash bar before whispering their own creative ideas into receptive empty glasses.
Today’s Groupon gets you $30 worth of beer tasting, a pint of your favorite house beer, and a nifty T-shirt at Two Beers Brewing Co. for $15. Beer tasting will incorporate your hands, torso, and palate for a full-sensory tastezone.China, 5,000 BC: Alcohol was used in China to celebrate a variety of important events like births, conference championships, and the invention of gunpowder.
Cindy Ross was an unlikely person to found a scuba-diving school. Told by a commercial diving instructor at 19 that she was too small to scuba, Ross didn’t begin to explore the sport until she was in her 30s. Earning certification was a trial, and she spent her first four dives lugging 80-pound gear in the snow up and down a massive hill—and, adding insult to injury, the men’s equipment didn’t even fit properly. But the fifth dive changed everything. Held in Puget Sound, Ross felt a calling to the location's green waters and white anemones, and since then, the aquanaut has frolicked with such neighbors as a 1,200-pound sea lion, hundreds of Canadian seals, and a giant Pacific octopus.
Today, she and her team of sea-loving instructors grant students innumerable ways to get in the water. Discover Scuba courses get feet wet as beginners learn how to use their equipment and enjoy the freedom beneath the waves. Meanwhile, those determined to spend a life amid the reefs can earn their Open Water certification virtually anywhere—after preliminary classroom and pool sessions, the center's connections with Scuba Schools International allows students to finish their certifications in a number of locations, from the Puget Sound waters so beloved by the company's founder to oceans halfway across the world. GirlDiver also leads vacations to tropical destinations, ensuring that tourists are strong swimmers whether they're gliding with dolphins or fighting the currents in the resort's communal hot tub.
Onlookers gasp as the graceful figure tumbles to earth in a slow-motion plunge. Her strong legs twist and spin down a billowing swath of deep-red fabric like a spider expanding its web. It is awe rather than fear, however, that draws the crowd's gasps, as the elegant descent is performed as a demonstration by one of Emerald City Trapeze Arts’ skilled instructors during a silks class. A dedication to teaching students of all ages and abilities the skills necessary to capture both the beauty and athleticism of the circus arts is the studio's main mission, upheld by a cadre of circus-grade instructors and a friendly staff.
Below the soaring ceiling of exposed old-growth beams of Seattle’s indoor venue or amid the warm breezes of Maui’s outdoor trapeze, students leap and balance on well-maintained circus apparatuses as their instructors correct their form and ensure their safety. The staff welcomes aerial enthusiasts to experience the sky-splitting thrills of all manner of circus specialty, from the flying trapeze to acrobalance to aerial hoop performed on the top of an elephant's stiletto. Along with high-flying classes, Emerald City Trapeze Arts’ crew celebrates the circus arts via dances and parties held within the whimsical-yet-rustic Seattle venue, from merriment-packed Halloween festivities to energetic performances by staff and students.
