This is a pitch.
The coolest movie theater in Seattle is a cozy, old, hole-in-the-wall art house called the Grand Illusion, in the U District at the corner of 50th and the Ave. It's a completely independent, all-volunteer cinema, run by a bunch of people who love to watch and show films.
To help keep the wolf from the box office door, the Grand Illusion is throwing a benefit bash with a screening of "Casablanca" on Saturday, September 25. There will be drinks and music, and reports indicate Bogart himself plans to attend. (This I gotta see.) Admission is $25, but it's for a terrific cause, and you can't go wrong with "Casablanca" on a theater screen. Doors open at 5:30 for the first show, and 8:30 for the second. Showtimes are 6:30 and 9:30. The Movie Buzzard will be there for sure.
To find out more, go to grandillusioncinema.org.
A personal note: The late CBS newsman Harry Reasoner once said that you never forget the girl you first saw "Casablanca" with. He was right. Here's looking at you, kid.
