The Washington State Legislature wrapped its 2026 session Wednesday… right on schedule, somehow… after spending the last few weeks debating a $79 billion budget, a millionaires tax already headed for a legal fight, and the small matter of a House Majority Leader who fell asleep drunk during the hearings. Democracy in action. Olympia is done with us for now, and we can return to pretending it doesn't exist until something catches fire.

Meanwhile, Starbucks announced this week it's closing five more Seattle stores in early April, four of them union shops. The list includes the Seattle Center Armory location, a First Hill cafe packed daily with hospital workers, and a University District staple. Howard Schultz just announced he's leaving Seattle for Florida. The Reserve Roastery is already gone. The CEO commutes by private jet. And now they're telling baristas in their actual, literal hometown that the math doesn't pencil. It's a strange way to run a "Back to Starbucks" campaign… by leaving it.

The weekend is a better story. Kraken host the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Sunday in a game that actually means something. Balkan Night Northwest takes over a church in Montlake on Saturday. The Irish are at Seattle Center. And acrobats are still doing impossible things in a tent in Redmond.

High of 47 Saturday, 44 Sunday. Showers both days. Obviously.

Kraken vs. Florida Panthers This is not a low-stakes Sunday matinee. The Kraken host the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers at 5 PM at Climate Pledge Arena -- and with Seattle sitting at 27-20-9, there are actual playoff implications on the table. The Panthers aren't coasting either at 29-25-3. If you're going to yell at strangers in an enclosed space this weekend, this is the most justifiable venue for it. Tickets from around $86.

Balkan Night Northwest Saturday night at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Montlake, and if that sentence didn't hook you: three stages, six hours, nonstop music and dance from across the Balkans, with headliners Merita Halili and Raif Hyseni -- Albanian artists bringing decades of real musicianship to a room that'll already be moving when they hit the stage. Food from the Saint Demetrios Dance Program. Baked goods from Baked in Bosnia. The biggest Balkan music and dance event on the West Coast and Seattle acts like it's a secret. It isn't. $35 adult, $15 student/youth, free under 15. Starts at 6 PM.

Cirque du Soleil ECHO - Marymoor Park, Redmond | Through March 22 The Big Top in Redmond is winding down. If the acrobats under a tent have been on your "eventually" list, that window is closing -- this run ends March 22, making this one of the last weekends. Two hours and five minutes with intermission, featuring a giant puppet that reviewers keep describing as worth the price of admission on its own. All ages. $25 parking. Outside food not permitted but the on-site bar handles it fine.

Peaches at Showbox at the Market | Saturday, March 14 | 8:30 PM | 21+ Peaches is the Canadian electronic artist who has spent 25 years making deliberately uncomfortable, genre-obliterating music that offends exactly the people it's supposed to. She's been at it since before most of the opening acts were born and has never softened a single edge. The Showbox is the right room for it. If you're looking for an alternative to Irish bars on St. Patrick's weekend, this is a solid one.

Conor Byrne Pub (Ballard) | Saturday, March 14 | 8 PM "For Shane Again" - Silent City Productions' tribute to Shane MacGowan and The Pogues is back at Conor Byrne for its second run since MacGowan's death in 2023. Apparently the first one was enough of a night that people demanded a repeat. Conor Byrne is a real Ballard Irish pub, not a bar that happens to be green one week a year. For St. Patrick's week, this is the right room.

Mio Oh Mio (Pioneer Square) 419 Occidental Ave S, part of the Railspur complex. Renee Erickson's upscale Italian - black cod with saffron cream, steak tartare, bay leaf custard with burnt sugar. Dinner-forward, reservations recommended.

Un Po Tipsy Pizzeria (Pioneer Square) 100 S King St, also Railspur. NY-style slices $5-7.50 with toppings like kale and confit garlic, pinball machines, a stained-glass pizza window.

Riccio's Sausage Company (Pike Place Market) Took over the Uli's Famous Sausage space inside the Market. Calabrian and Italian sausages to go or in sandwich form, porchetta, meatball, mortadella on focaccia. Open now.

Irish Festival Seattle Seattle Center Armory | Saturday, March 14 | noon-6pm, Sun 10am-6pm | FREE Two days of Irish heritage programming inside the Armory. Step dancing, live Celtic music, genealogy workshops, films, kids' activities, and a 21+ Irish bar upstairs with a pub quiz hosted by the Seattle Gaels. This year also marks the 40th anniversary of the Seattle-Galway Sister City Association, which is apparently a thing we have and a good reason to show up.

Solstice Camerata Free Concert -- Town Hall Seattle | Saturday, March 14 | 7:30 PM | Free (RSVP required) Mozart, Florence Price, Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring, and Caroline Shaw - all free, in one of the better rooms in the city. Town Hall's Great Hall on Saturday night for nothing is genuinely one of Seattle's best kept secrets, and this program is worth dressing slightly better than you planned to.

Geoduck from Taylor Shellfish Farms The Pacific geoduck is the world's most architecturally alarming bivalve, lives up to 150 years, and Washington State produces most of the global supply. Taylor Shellfish out of Shelton will ship them to your door. Slice it thin, serve it raw, watch your dinner guests process what they're looking at. There is no more Seattle thing you can eat.

Kraken Official Hoodie If you are showing up to cheer for the Kraken you should look the part, and official gear is pricey! Grab this hoodie for $50 while supplies last!

Howard Schultz is moving to Florida. Five more Seattle Starbucks are closing. The legislature wrapped a session that included a man falling asleep drunk at the budget table. And yet… Balkan music is filling a church in Montlake on Saturday, the Kraken are playing for something that matters, and someone put acrobats in a tent in Redmond and people are going.

Seattle's fine. It always is. Send this to someone who needs to leave the house this weekend. We need all the marketing help we can get.

We'll be back Monday with whatever Seattle did while you weren't looking.

-- The Drizzle