A pairing of Northwest wines and the sounds of Beethoven will commence on September 9, 10, and 11 at Benaroya Hall. And concert tickets will start at only $9.

The Seattle Symphony's new Beethoven & Wine Festival will include wine tasting ($5 for four pours) in the Samuel & Althea Stroum Grand Lobby before each performance, featuring local wines from SageCliffe Cave B Estate Winery and other local vineyards.

Gerard Schwarz will lead Seattle Symphony in all three programs with each program featuring two Beethoven works, presented without intermission. The wine tasting begins at 6:30 p.m. each evening and the performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Visit Seattle Symphony for more information and to buy tickets.

Follow AboutSeattle on Twitter.

Join in a Seattle / Tacoma forum discussion.

Become a friend on Facebook.

Col Solare is an inspired red wine with dense and complex flavors and the 2005 vintage received 93 points from Wine Spectator. It is now available online with a limited time special offer:

Purchase a bottle of Col Solare and receive 50 percent off 2-day shipping for your entire order. This offer is valid through August 14, 2009. Use coupon code: COLSOLARE when ordering.

This wine is the product of their partnership with Marchese Piero Antinori and their shared goal to create Washington's best Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine.

The release of the 2006 Col Solare will be Wednesday, August 19, 2009. To be one of the first to taste it you can order tickets to the event.

Follow AboutSeattle on Twitter.

Join in a Seattle / Tacoma forum discussion.

Become a friend on Facebook.

Have you ever experienced a custom two-day fitness retreat? This is your chance to discover what it is like in the heart of Woodinville Wine Country about 20-minutes outside of Seattle.

Traci Barnum-Bartee and Willows Lodge are offering a custom athletic weekend of FlyFitness classes, life coaching sessions, yoga and wine tasting.

When: Saturday, September 19 through 20

Where: Willows Lodge

What: FlyGirl FitCation (a custom athletic weekend with Traci Barnum-Bartee, owner of Seattle-based fitness company FlyFitness and certified Aerobics and Fitness Association of America trainer).

Follow AboutSeattle on Twitter.

Join in a Seattle / Tacoma forum discussion.

Become a friend on Facebook.

On November 24, 2009, Kelly Clarkson will perform at Seattle's WaMu Theater for her upcoming North American tour.

Tickets will begin to go on sale on August 15. Visit Kelly Clarkson's site for sale dates for the Seattle show.

Clarkson is touring in support of her album "All I Ever Wanted." The first single from that album, "My Life Would Suck Without You," made a jump from number 97 to number 1 on the Billboard charts in its first week of release. The opening acts scheduled are The Veronicas and Parachute.

Follow AboutSeattle on Twitter.

Join in a Seattle / Tacoma forum discussion.

Become a friend on Facebook.

The first annual Kitsap Wine Festival will take place on Sunday, August 23 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Harborside Fountain Park near the ferry landing in Bremerton. The event will feature over 20 wineries including Thurston Wolfe Winery, Vin du Lac and Yellow Hawk Cellar. Tickets are $45 per person and can be purchased online at Kitsap Wine Festival.

Local artisan food producers like Amy’s Chocolates from Bremerton and Crimson Cove Smoked Specialties from Poulsbo will be showcased along with cuisine prepared by Chef Marsha Henry of Kitsap Conference Center and Chef Shawn Walker of Anthony’s at Sinclair Inlet.

Parking is provided at the lot adjacent to the ferry terminal. No car is needed for those arriving by ferry from downtown Seattle, as the event takes place immediately next to the ferry terminal along the marina.

A portion of ticket proceeds will benefit Harrison Medical Center Foundation.

Follow AboutSeattle on Twitter.

Join in a Seattle / Tacoma forum discussion.

Become a friend on Facebook.

If you haven't had the pleasure of contributing to the wall of gum in Pike Place Market you are missing out. Since 1993 locals and visitors have done some creative things before sticking their gum to the inches thick wall. Learn more about the wall of gum, watch a video of it and then go stick your gum on the wall.

Follow AboutSeattle on Twitter.

Join in a Seattle / Tacoma forum discussion.

Become a friend on Facebook.

Elements of the Soul is a new book filled with 15 short stories featuring ten talented authors and poets (Steven Thor Gunnin, Jennifer Walker, Rissa Watkins, Lindsay Maddox, George Kramer, Lucinda Gunnin, Jo Brielyn, M. Lori Motley, Susan Sosbe, Laurie Darroch-Meekis with foreward by Michelle L. Devon).

One of those short stories is by local author Lindsay Maddox. Her story titled Love and Loss was a first place winner in the Accentuate Writers Short Story Anthology Contest.

You can pre-order a copy of the 250-page, paperback book from Accentuate Services for $13 (includes shipping). When you order your copy, 10 percent of the net profit from the sale of each book will be donated to literacy programs.

Follow AboutSeattle on Twitter.

Join in a Seattle / Tacoma forum discussion.

Become a friend on Facebook.

Did you know Seattle has its own motorcycle stunt team? Cossacks Motorcycle Stunt Team performs stunts on vintage Harley's from the 1930s to 1940s.

And if you get a chance to see DockDogs in action it is sure fun to watch. The Seattle area is home to the Puget Sound DockDogs and boy can these dogs jump!

Acclaimed Seattle chef Tom Douglas, his daughter Loretta Douglas and Premera Blue Cross have teamed up to create Made from Scratch, a summer series of cooking classes for children ages 8-12.

If you have kids at home on summer break that are bored, you might want to enroll them in one of the last two classes available this summer:

1. Pizza – Saturday, July 25, 2009 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
A pizza class wouldn’t be complete without a visit to Serious Pie, where kids will see the stone-encased applewood burning pizza ovens and watch the chefs in action. Kids will learn about yeast and how to slice vegetables and pepperoni, in addition to making their own pizza dough, tomato sauce and pesto. The session will include lessons on why it’s important to think about using lean meats, vegetables and whole grain pizza crust, as well as side dishes to help add a healthy balance to this kid-favorite food.

2. Fruits, Vegetables and Ice Cream – Saturday, August 8, 2009 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
With the guiding philosophy that fruits and vegetables are “great as food, great as art,” kids will make food sculptures, toss salads, sauté vegetables and create their own dried chips, fruit popsicles, fresh pressed juices and fresh homemade ice cream. They’ll visit the Belltown P-Patch community garden, enjoy blind tastings of different fruits and vegetables, and learn how it’s easy and necessary to integrate them into meals.

All Made from Scratch classes are taught by the Tom Douglas Restaurants team of chefs at the Palace Kitchen. Each class is $30 per child including lunch and snacks and class size is limited to 20 children. To reserve a space, please contact Loretta Douglas at LorettaD@tomdouglas.com or call 206-448-2001.

Follow AboutSeattle on Twitter.

Join in a Seattle / Tacoma forum discussion.

Become a friend on Facebook.

If you follow Bill Wixey on Twitter you know he's facing challenges and clearing tough hurdles left and right.

For those that don't know, Seattle's own Bill Wixey (news anchor for Q13) just recently had to shave his head due to chemotherapy. And he blogs about his journey with cancer (Hodgkin's Lymphoma) like a champion.

It is times like these the community needs to come together and support one other. Check out his blog and encourage him and his family during this trying time.

And Bill, About.com's thoughts are with you and your family.

Follow AboutSeattle on Twitter.

Join in a Seattle / Tacoma forum discussion.

Become a friend on Facebook.