What to Do

Music, Arts, and Entertainment
Seattle offers an astonishing variety of cultural and entertainment experiences. For example, the city is second only to New York in per capita live performances held each year—with more than 80 live music clubs and 29 professional theatre companies. Here are just a few highlights:

"What is amazing about Seattle is that almost any kind of outdoor activity is practically right outside your front door. In the six years I’ve lived here I’ve not only kept up my rowing, but also become a kayaker, fly fisherman, marathoner, and mountain climber!" - Andy, Senior Manager, Microsoft, IP Ventures

•	Seattle’s Intiman Theatre won the 2006 Tony Award for outstanding regional theatre.
•	Seattle is one of only six cities in the country with a major symphony, opera, and ballet company.
•	Artists thrive here—glass artists in particular. The Seattle area is home to the highest number of glassblowing studios outside of Venice, Italy.
•	Grunge is long gone, but Seattle bands continue to pioneer new sounds—Left Hand Smoke, Mudhoney, Sky Cries Mary, Supersuckers, Neko Case & Her Boyfriends, and Deathcab for Cutie, to name just a few.
•	The annual Seattle International Film Festival is the largest in North America, with more than 300 films from nearly 60 countries. The city also boasts numerous independent movie theatres, scores of multiplexes, and a digitally refurbished Cinerama, one of the few remaining in the country.

Recreation
There’s a good reason why outdoor lifestyle companies like Eddie Bauer and REI were founded in Seattle. And why the city is a magnet for world-class triathletes, marathon runners, cyclists, and mountain climbers. Seattle is smack in the heart of one of the country’s most spectacular recreational regions. You’re within just a few hours drive of three national parks: Mt. Rainier, North Cascades, and Olympic. Here’s a small sampling of fun things to do:

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Road and mountain biking, kayaking, rowing, hiking, peak bagging, rock climbing, downhill skiing, snowboarding, rollerblading, sailing, wind surfing, diving—all of this and more is available either within the city limits or close by. Three downhill ski areas are only an hour or two away, and the Mt. Baker Ski area, a couple of hours further, regularly gets the deepest snowfall of any resort in the lower 48.

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Seattle hosts a pro sports team for every season. Major League Baseball’s Seattle Mariners and the 2006 NFC Champion Seattle Seahawks each play in dazzling new stadiums. The NBA Seattle Supersonics and the 2004 WNBA Champion Seattle Storm tip it off in award-winning Key Arena. And the PAC Ten's Washington Huskies football team takes the field on crisp fall Saturdays at Husky Stadium overlooking Lake Washington.

For the Kids
Active, involved communities are part of the fabric that makes this area ideal for raising families. With quality public and private schools, a wealth of top-rated healthcare facilities, and a low incidence of crime, the Seattle area offers quality of life that's hard to beat. Highlights include:

•	The Seattle Public Library is among the most active in the nation. Its flagship Central Library, designed by maverick Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, received Time Magazine’s top architecture award for 2004. And the New York Times has called it, “One of the most important buildings completed in the United States in more than a decade.”
•	Seattle, Eastside and King County park systems provide a diversity of recreational opportunities and organized activities for kids.
•	Among the many popular kid-friendly attractions are the Pacific Science Center, the Boeing IMAX Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, the Seattle Aquarium, the Museum of Flight, Children’s Museum, and the Woodland Park Zoo.