Bellevue residents have long struggled to find local arts and culture on the Eastside, forcing them to make a trek into the urban wilds of Seattle — but that time is over, insists local mom Dotty Richardson.
“There’s so much to do in Bellevue now, I can hardly believe it,” Dotty told Needling reporters through bites of a ranch salad. “I passed a sign yesterday for a concert in the park that looked really neat. I ran into the boys’ old art teacher there and she said she’s just had a gallery opening in the mall. She did these beautiful watercolors of lakes and rivers – almost like a Thomas Kincaid with something spilled on it! Very tasteful stuff.”
Dotty’s son thirteen-year-old son Nate—who she’s successfully sheltered from Seattle thus far—agreed with her assessment, citing a local board game cafe as “an awesome place to hang after school” and “way better than aftercare.”
Despite these local offerings, Dotty’s older son, Rob, 17, expressed doubts.
“Look, I’ve made it to the other side: Believe me, Bellevue is lame,” Rob muttered while attempting to kickflip. “Last month, I stayed at my friend Owen’s step dad’s condo in Seattle and it was so tight – not a chain restaurant, church activity or parking space in sight.”
But Dolly insists that Bellevue has everything the family needs.
“The only thing Seattle has on us is crime,” Dotty said while pulling on a cardigan. “It’s very urban over there. We have ethnic restaurants here too, you know, and a very good movie theater. It’s official: There’s no reason to ever leave Bellevue, boys. We have it all.”
By press time, Rob and Nate were jumping into a church friend’s car headed for Bellevue Square because, according to several sources who overhead them speeding away, “it’s Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday. Fun. Fun. Fun. Fun.”
