Come One, Come All, to the Benaroya Hall Open House!

By Leilani Polk 

Our first big makeover since opening in 1998 gets its big public reveal at the Benaroya Hall Open House, a free day-long festival celebrating our new and refreshed spaces and culminating in a thrilling concert that pairs the Seattle Symphony with members of The Head and The Heart, a Seattle-born band that sold out their performance with the orchestra in February. 

Come celebrate with us on Sunday, October 18, from 10am to 6:30pm. There’s something for everyone, with a diverse lineup of experiences and performances leading up to the 4pm headline event with the folk-rock band and orchestra. Here’s a breakdown of what’s happening in every part of the building during our Open House. 

S. MARK TAPER FOUNDATION AUDITORIUM

If you missed the Community Stages Fund Fifth Anniversary Party we held last season to celebrate the arts organizations that have won one of our venue-lending grants, we’ve invited Resounding Love Center for the Arts Inspirational Choir (and 2024/2025 CSF awardee) back to open the Taper festivities with their joyous serenades and soulfully booming harmonies. Then it’s a Pacific Northwest Romantasy Author Panel featuring Seattle area writers with titles out now: Taylor J. LaRue, who is celebrating the release of her debut novel, Steelborn; Tessonja Odette, whose fantasy romance, epic romantasy and fairytale retellings range from “cozy fae romcoms to dark and twisty fantasies,” including the first in her latest series, The Lies That Summon the Night; and Elizabeth Stephens, who has six different series (including USA Today’s bestselling Supers in the City) and several stand-alones of dark and diverse romance. The High Fae Housewives Podcast hosts the panel in partnership with Pioneer Square’s original romance bookstore, Beguiled Books. 

Next up is a set by the quirky, charming, husband-and-wife indie pop duo Chinese American Bear (pictured right), who’ve likened their sound to “somewhere between Melody’s Echo Chamber, The B-52’s, The Flaming Lips and a hypercolor cartoon.” They’ll be joined by a chamber group made up of Seattle Symphony musicians in what is sure to be a delightful prelude to The Head and the Heart’s headlining set. 

ILLSLEY BALL NORDSTROM RECITAL HALL 

Festivities in the Recital Hall open with a Tiny Tots performance by orchestra musicians followed by a National Geographic Live presentation: Wild Cats and Friends, with photographer Steve Winter. Then there’s a Video Game Composer Panel with Kazuma Jinnouchi (Halo 4, Halo 5: Guardians), Wilbert Roget II (Mortal Kombat 1, Call of Duty: WWII), Nadia Wheaton (Destiny 2: The Final Shape) and Danny Baranowsky (Rift of the NecroDancer), moderated by RPG game designer Dave Gross; and a fashion show presented by Mabel Brempong and accompanied by more of our musicians. 

Closing the Recital Hall stage is a set curated by Kevin Sur, whose Saturday morning Sounds of Survivance show on KEXP features Indigenous music artists from around the globe and in a variety of genres. 

OCTAVE 9: RAISBECK MUSIC CENTER 

In Benaroya Hall’s intimate, innovative performance venue, there’s an exploratory art space with music therapist Life on Music, Indigenous storytelling, a performance of Jessi Harvey’s Composing a Life: The Periodic Table (2025/2026 Community Stages Fund Octave 9 Residency awardee) with pianist Xiaohui Yang, and two digital exhibitions projected onto Octave 9’s room-size screens: Roy Franklin’s Song Drawings (Movement 1) and Future Arts’ Drops of Hope. Also presented in Octave 9: two short sets by the young recording artists of Totem Star, a King Street Station-based studio and nonprofit that helps these artists build life skills in communication, collaboration and critical thinking through their creative pursuits in music production and performance. 

NORCLIFFE FOUNDERS ROOM 

Try some of the food that is being served in the new Benaroya Hall during a Culinary Tasting Presentation and Q&A with Chef Ethan Stowell, who curated all of our new menus in collaboration with Sodexo Live!.  

THE DELTA AIR LINES FOUNDATION COMMUNITY SPACE 

Make a point to stop by this brand-new space, which we created expressly to serve and support our community. On the walls, you’ll find the Arte Noir show, Portals of Imagination, on display through December (click here to read more about the exhibit and space). We hold the Opening Reception for this inaugural art exhibition during the Open House, which finds Benaroya Hall resident partner Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra playing two sets of groovy tunes. Sporadically throughout the day, the digital screens in the space will play livestreams of Taper Auditorium programs. 

THE BOEING COMPANY GALLERY 

In the refreshed Boeing Company Gallery, you can relax and kick back in any of the new seating areas, get a cuppa joe or sample more of Chef Ethan Stowell’s Northwestern fare in the newly remodeled and named Marianna’s Café, and embark on building tours to learn more about the design of our new spaces and public art throughout the hall. 

SAMUEL & ALTHEA STROUM GRAND LOBBY

Take a moment to soak up the spectacular new Grand Lobby, where the most extensive changes of Benaroya Hall’s makeover are on full display. Sidle up to the new bar in Jane’s Overlook Lounge and have a drink. Then, visit booths of the organizations that we’ve partnered with for this event. Get flash ink from Mama Bird Tattoo on the Third Tier’s West Side. An all-day Quiet Space occupies the Third Tier’s East Side for anyone who needs a tranquil break from the festivities. After the Romantasy Panel in the Taper Auditorium, there will be an author signing and Beguiled Books pop-up shop, and for families, arts and crafts activities that include book bedazzling. On the Davis/Grinstein Promenade, DJ JAM from The Residency spins tunes all throughout the event as well as directly after The Head and The Heart concert, where we invite everyone to come boogie with us at a Dance Party that stretches to the festival’s conclusion.  

Free tickets for the Seattle Symphony’s concert with The Head and the Heart will be available in-person only at Benaroya Hall beginning at 9am on the day of the Open House. Limit two tickets per person while supplies last. Tickets are not required for any other Open House events or activities.  

The Benaroya Hall Open House is generously sponsored by 4Culture, BNY Mellon, Charter Hotel, CMIT Solutions, Delta Air Lines, KEXP, Seneca Group, Seyfarth Shaw LLP and Sodexo Live!