Another opening, another show. Two new rock venues — White River Amphitheatre in Auburn and the Concerts at Marymoor in Redmond — and the spectacular new opera house, McCaw Hall, provided the biggest range of concert choices audiences here have ever had.

McCaw Hall | White River Amphitheater | Marymoor Park

Um, are you sure that's a Ming? A Seattle Times investigation revealed that a Pioneer Square Chinese art gallery, Thesaurus Fine Arts, was selling fakes. The store closed the day the story came out, and the owner, charged with tax evasion in the United States, remains in China indefinitely.

The Art of Deception: A Seattle Times investigation

Enough already! OK, OK, Peter Jackson's a genius and we loved the movies as much as anyone, but if we have to read one more word about "The Lord of the Rings," we're going to grow hair on our feet. We won't even mention the title of that other movie that was way over-hyped — suffice to say, we wish we'd taken the blue pill.

Matrix Revolutions | Lord of the Rings | LOTR fans

Fun with readers. We may be the entertainment editors, but our readers entertained us this year with hundreds of witty entries for our digital-movie contest, our Oscar dress-design contest and our Peeps sculpture contest (Peepzilla lives!).

Fun with Peeps | Oscar dress-design gallery

Red ink rising. When ACT Theatre announced in February that it had to raise $1.5 million in a week to stave off permanent closure, it clearly signaled that the Seattle arts boom had gone bust. Other casualties: KCTS-TV hit troubled waters in April, and Bellevue Art Museum closed at the end of September.

ACT | Bellevue Art Museum | KCTS

Yuks with local celebrities. We watched the new "Alien" DVD with star Tom Skerritt; dissected "A Mighty Wind" with local folkies; and chatted with the reclusive Ann Wilson on her revitalized health and that of Heart.

Tom Skerritt on 'Alien' |

Burning Man. This just-below-the-radar art and free-spirit festival is hugely popular among Puget Sound-area computer and art folks, and this year we went to experience all the fringey fun in the Nevada desert.

Burning Man | Burning Man photo gallery

TV's guilty pleasures. The stuff we loved, or hated so much we loved: Andrew Firestone, the new "Bachelor"; Jessica Simpson, TV's dumbest blonde (or is she just playing one on TV?); and Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie down on the farm in "A Simple Life."

Andrew Firestone | Jessica Simpson | Local TV pet-peeves

Local literary lights. Local publisher Fantagraphics brought out out-there creations like "The Frank Book," and Northwest authors David Guterson, Ivan Doig, Jonathan Raban, Andrew Vacchs and Pete Dexter published long-awaited books. And don't forget local librarian Nancy Pearl, who released the definitive reading list, "Book Lust," and was immortalized as an action figure to the delight of readers nationwide.

Thanks for the memories. Some of the greatest entertainers of all time passed away this year. A short list, in no particular order, includes: Fred Rogers, Bob Hope, Katharine Hepburn, Gregory Peck, Johnny Cash, John Ritter, Gregory Hines, Nina Simone, Celia Cruz, Al Hirschfeld, Elia Kazan, Art Carney, Charles Bronson, George Plimpton, Nell Carter, David Brinkley, Elliott Smith, Barry White and Sam Phillips. Locally, the great arts and civic philanthropist Priscilla "Patsy" Bullitt Collins died in June.

Passages