Get ready, because what’s probably the most star-studded block party in this neck of the woods– yes, the Capitol Hill Block Party — descends on Pike/Pine this weekend. The three-day musical festival boasts Lizzo and The Black Tones among its musical guests. Below, we help you find your way through the line-up maze. CHS reported on the 2019 lineup and the one of a kind festival’s treasured and challenged place in the neighborhood’s culture and arts scene.

Other, in some cases more cerebral events on this week’s to-do list: non-stop Mueller report readings, an animation movie about redlining, substation celebrations and last but not least: the first-ever Salish Sea Anti- Space Symposium (SSASS), plus another block party. Find more on the CHS Calendar.

THURSDAY, July 18: If you missed last week’s discussion on redlining in Seattle at NAAM, the local showing of the expertly animated short documentary Segregated By Design and following discussion (hosted by the Capitol Hill Renter Initiative) is another option to get a primer on the topic. The movie, based on the book The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein, explains the intentional segregation of cities across the country in the 20th century. 12th Avenue Arts, 6 – 7.30 PM (free) 

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Even if this occasion is the first time the name of William Elliott Whitmore is flowing through your synapses, we’d like to wager the sound of it — perhaps with the mention of “folk/Americana” — could be enough to evoke the picture of the quintessential farm-dwelling white-guy-with-a-hat-and-a-banjo. Accurate, yes, but Whitmore has a gripping voice best heard live. The same goes for his songs and banjo covers of Bad Religion’s Don’t Pray on Me, or ZZ Top’s Hot Blue and Righteous, and others. Highline, 8 PM 

FRIDAY, July 19 – SUNDAY, July 21: The Capitol Hill Block Party is this weekend, and before we say anything else, we’ll state the obvious: Yes, you have to see Lizzo, and yes, it will be worth it, whether you are there for the flute-playing-while-twerking, the hits, synths, sass, joy or all of the above. Electronic pop/rock duo Phantogram headlines the main stage  Friday night, and their Seattle concert is for now the only way to catch them touring across the US this summer. There’s one “but”: Local crowd favorite The Black Tones will be on stage at the same time at Neumos, and their short and sweet, sweaty rock ’n roll songs are to be savored live.  More must-sees include singer-songwriter Mitski and young indie-music break-out star Cuco, plus local favorites Pop Star Archie, Bear Axe, JusMoni, Tres Leches, and Whitney Mongé. Check out the whole line-up and satellite events here. Pike/Pine

FRIDAY, July 19 – SUNDAY, July 21: There’s no shortage of billionaires wanting to explore and colonize space these days. “What’s really more important, colonizing the Moon or housing people? Putting a Tesla in orbit or studying global climate change?” ask the organizers of the first-ever Salish Sea Anti-Space Symposium (SSASS). The arts and civics festival  says “no to space exploitation” and gives folks the chance to connect with some great artists and thinkers, including Judy R. Twedt (UW doctoral candidate who makes “infosonics” from climate data) Meghan Elizabeth Trainor (artist/“Witch Science on the Moon”) Elisa Chavez (poet/writer), and Emmett Montgomery (comedian/storyteller).

The festival also hosts its own “Block Party” with a food truck and live music line-up, which includes Daddy Daddy & Daddy, Arthur Anderson and a “lively musical reinterpretation of the Apollo 11 moon landing with child actors singing the famously flubbed lines of Neil Armstrong.” Those still standing on Sunday can hop on a “Highly Opinionated Tour” of The Museum of Flight. Find the whole program here. Pipsqueak Gallery, 173 16th Ave, various times 

FRIDAY, July 19 – SATURDAY, July 20: Just read the damn thing. You’re not going to get much more from me, Robert Mueller implied this spring during a rare public appearance that bookended  his days heading the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. Don’t feel like doing that?  Need to brush up on the report minutiae ahead of Mueller’s testimony next week? Interested in life-as-art? Head to Town Hall for a non-stop, 24-hour live reading of the report. Over 100 local actors, journalists, politicians, and community leaders will read the damn thing, out loud, redactions and footnotes included.Town Hall, 8 PM – 8 PM (Free) 

SUNDAY, July 21: Learning how to use the practice of meditation “to become more kind, more compassionate and more forgiving towards yourself, towards others and towards the world,” and, put plainly, some good old relaxation might be precisely what everyone in the neighborhood needs after/during a three-day music-and-party weekend. This 90 minute guided meditation-talk-discussion is guided by Rebel Saints Meditation Society co-founder Rachael Savage. 1423 10th Ave, 10.30 – 12 PM ($10 suggested donation)

The Central District Ice Cream Company is now resident on 13th Ave. Sunday, it will host a different take on National Ice Cream Day. We All Scream For Immigrant Rights will team up Central District Ice Cream, The Station, and the Intentionalist in a fundraiser for the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. Central District Ice Cream Company, 12 – 3 PM