Art and penguins make for a colorful Friday night

The monthly Greenwood-Phinney Art Up artwalk is Friday from 6-9 p.m., stretching the length of Phinney/Greenwood Avenues from 65th to 87th Streets. And the March of the Penguins is coming to an end, as the artfuly decorated birds will be auctioned off to benefit Woodland Park Zoo’s field conservation program.
Dozens of Seattle artists of all ages and artistic levels decorated each penguin in wildly different fashion. Check out the photo montage of the creations. Penguins on the March was inspired by Woodland Park Zoo’s new Humboldt penguin exhibit, which opened in May. These penguins have been migrating through Greenwood, Phinney Ridge, Ballard, Fremont and Wallingford since early June.

Photo by Ryan Hawk, Woodland Park Zoo.
The silent auction is at The Greenwood Collective, 8537 Greenwood Ave N, Suite 1, starting at 6 p.m., and features 30 penguins. Many of the artists will be there. Auctions close at 8 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. Winning bids will be announed at 9 p.m. (Cash, check and credit cards accepted.) Winning bidders can take their penguin home with them that night.
As an added bonus, any auction winner who bids a minimum o $1,000 will also receive a personalized ornamental anchovy, to be embedded into a shoal of schooling fish at the new west entry plaza near the zoo’s penguin exhibit next year.
Besides penguins, there’s a ton of art happening throughout the art walk. You can see collages by Julia Pearl at Alinga Bodywork, 7409 Greenwood Ave. N., and even get a relaxing foot scrub and arm/hand scrub for the discounted price of $20 (usually $30). Balderdash Books & Art at 8536 Greenwood Ave. N. will feature quilts by Elizabeth Lode.
Naked City Taphouse, 8564 Greenwood Ave. N. is hosting photographers John Moroney & Keith Bingman. Santoro’s Books, 7405 Greenwood Ave. N., is featuring the paintings of Pedro De Valdivia.
WA Wilderness Coalition, 305 N. 83rd St., has works from award-winning nature photographer John Cornforth. And if you’re hungry or thirsty, Gaspare Ristorante and Bar at 6705 Greenwood Ave. N. is offering a three-course Italian Meal for $22, plus $5 Mint Mojitos.
Check out a map of all participating businesses and a description of each artist and their work.