Cultural Excursions Organized by the MLA
The MLA has organized six cultural excursions that will take place during the 2020 MLA Annual Convention in Seattle. The excursions give registrants an opportunity to experience the city’s art, literature, history, culture, and cuisine.
Space is limited, and there is an additional fee for each excursion. To participate, select an excursion and payment option when you complete your convention registration form. Convention registrants may also sign up a limited number of guests per excursion for an additional fee (the fee is the same for convention registrants and guests); guests must be signed up and accompanied by a convention registrant to attend an excursion. Please see the descriptions below for more information.
We regret that we cannot provide refunds for cancellations received after 1 December 2019.
If you have already registered for the convention and wish to attend an excursion, log back in to your registration form and select the excursions you wish to add. Follow the prompts and submit your payment for the new items.
Seattle Central Library Thursday Morning Tour
- Thursday, 9 January 2020
- 9:00–10:30 a.m.
- $20 per person (includes a donation to the library)
- 1000 4th Avenue at Madison Street
The Central Library is the flagship of the Seattle Public Library system, located in a building designed by Rem Koolhaas.
Tour Details
Join Ann Ferguson, curator of the Seattle Collection, for a private tour through the Seattle Public Library–Central Library’s special collections and Seattle Room. Discover unique works on Northwest Pacific history, Native Americans, race relations, and Seattle history.
The curator will highlight treasures from the collection, selecting some pieces to investigate up close. You are then invited to continue exploring these special works on your own.
The tour ends at 10:30 a.m., but you are welcome to explore the special collections and Seattle Room as well as the rest of the library until it closes at 8:00 p.m.
The Seattle Public Library–Central Library is located about a half mile from the Washington State Convention Center. Visit the library’s Web site for more information.
Chihuly Garden and Glass Demonstration and Tour
- Thursday, 9 January 2020
- 9:30–11:00 a.m.
- $30 per person
- 305 Harrison Street, in the Seattle Center, across from the Space Needle
Chihuly Garden and Glass is an exhibition that provides a look at the inspiration and influences that inform the career of the artist Dale Chihuly. It includes eight galleries, the centerpiece glasshouse, and a lush garden.
Tour Details
Join us for a private tour and demonstration designed to provide an in-depth look at the process and technique of glassblowing. Before the exhibition opens to the public, guests are led through the galleries by a skilled glassblower and an exhibition host; the tour concludes with a forty-minute glassblowing demonstration. This experience is offered in the Garden’s Art Plaza at the mobile Community Hot Shop, a 1967 Airstream trailer fully transformed to a glassblowing studio—the only one of its kind in Seattle.
The tour ends at 11:00 a.m. You are welcome to continue exploring on your own until the exhibition closes at 8:00 p.m.
Chihuly Garden and Glass is located just over one mile from the Washington State Convention Center and is accessible by the Seattle Monorail, which runs between the Westlake Center and the Seattle Center. Visit the Chihuly Garden and Glass Web site for more information.
Taylor Shellfish Oyster and Wine Tasting
- Thursday, 9 January 2020
- 4:30–6:00 p.m.
- $40 per person
- 1521 Melrose Avenue, between Pike and Pine Streets
Taylor Shellfish Farms is a Washington-based, family-run business specializing in farm-to-table shellfish. They have been farming shellfish in Puget Sound and selling it locally since 1890.
Event Details
Local purveyor Taylor Shellfish Farms offers MLA attendees a relaxing oyster and wine tasting reception in the original Seattle location in nearby Capitol Hill, located only four blocks from the convention center. Guests will sample fresh oysters from Puget Sound with recommended wine pairings. Come for a refreshing sampling of seafood and wine, discover the benefits (and taste) of sustainable farming, and enjoy a chance to mingle with friends and colleagues in a relaxed setting.
The event ends at 6:00 p.m.
Taylor Shellfish on Melrose is located about four blocks from the Washington State Convention Center. Visit the Taylor Shellfish Web site for more information.
Chef Dinner and Talk at FareStart
- Thursday, 9 January 2020
- 6:00–8:00 p.m. (6:15 seated, dinner service starts; 7:00 graduation)
- $45 per person
- 700 Virginia Street and 7th Avenue
FareStart is a local nonprofit organization dedicated to providing real solutions to poverty, homelessness, and hunger through life skills, job training, and employment in the food service industry.
Event Details
Guest Chef Night has been called “Seattle’s best food lover’s event” and takes place every Thursday night with a guest chef from the region leading the three-course meal. FareStart students work with the chef to prepare the meal, and during the event graduates of the Adult Culinary Program share their journeys with diners.
Join us for a delicious three-course dinner, celebrate the achievements of the FareStart graduates, and know that your patronage is directly supporting the life-changing opportunities that FareStart provides. It is truly an evening of great food and better lives.
Attendees may purchase beverages on their own and may use the beverage receipt to make a donation to FareStart. Donation envelopes will also be available.
The event ends at 8:00 p.m.
FareStart Restaurant is located about a half mile from the Washington State Convention Center. Visit the FareStart Web site for more information.
Wing Luke Museum Private Tour
- Friday, 10 January
- 10:00–11:30 a.m.
- $25 per person
- 719 South King Street, between 7th and 8th Avenues
The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience is located in a 100-year-old building that was once a hotel in Seattle’s historic Chinatown-International District. Named for Wing Luke, former assistant attorney general for Washington and the first Asian American elected to public office in the Pacific Northwest, the museum is a place of engagement, inspiration, and leadership for Seattle’s Asian American community.
Event Details
Join the museum’s education guides for a private tour through the historic building and explore the letters, clothing, furniture, and other artifacts from life in the hotel. Learn about the various family associations that the building originally housed, how those associations helped anchor the communities and incorporate new immigrants, and what those associations look like today. The tour will then continue into the museum’s contemporary galleries, with an exploration of current Asian Pacific American art and culture. Find out about the museum’s oral history program, how it informs their exhibits, and how you can participate with your own stories.
The tour ends at 11:30 a.m., but you are welcome to continue exploring on your own until the museum closes at 5:00 p.m. Your ticket allows you to leave the museum and return later that same day.
The Wing Luke Museum of the American Experience is located 1.3 miles from the Washington State Convention Center and is accessible by taking the Link light rail to the International District/Chinatown station or the 512 bus down 5th Avenue to South Jackson Street.
Seattle Central Library Friday Morning Tour
- Friday, 10 January 2020
- 10:30 a.m.–12:00 noon
- $20 per person (includes a donation to the library)
- 1000 4th Avenue at Madison Street
The Central Library is the flagship of the Seattle Public Library system, located in a building designed by Rem Koolhaas.
Tour Details
Join Ann Ferguson, curator of the Seattle Collection, for a private tour through the Seattle Public Library–Central Library’s special collections and Seattle Room. Discover unique works on Northwest Pacific history, Native Americans, race relations, and Seattle history.
The curator will highlight treasures from the collection, selecting some pieces to investigate up close. You are then invited to continue exploring these special works on your own.
The tour ends at 12:00 noon, but you are welcome to explore the special collections and Seattle Room as well as the rest of the library until it closes at 6:00 p.m.
The Seattle Public Library–Central Library is located about a half mile from the Washington State Convention Center. Visit the library’s Web site for more information.