Last week, when Besa Gordon talked about her trip to Portland, she mentioned Portland Trailblazers star Damian Lillard, aka Dame D.O.L.L.A as he was having a listening party for his album, DON D.O.L.L.A. On her show last Saturday, Gordon recapped the event to get you up to speed.

Saturday marked the 18th annual Big Day of Play put on by the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation. The annual event took place at Rainier Playfield and Mt. Baker Rowing Center and brought community organizations, families, vendors and more out to the park to get moving.

Last Wednesday, Zahilay fellow Council Member Rod Dembowski were at Judkins Park to present the CD Panthers Youth Football and Cheer Program with a check for $100,000 to go towards program in the name of the Keanna and D’Vonne Scholarship fund.

A young woman who wants to run free clinics for girls and people of Polynesian descent, a baseball player who designs clothes, a softball player who wants to become an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter, and more are among the latest to join the Seattle Mariners Hometown Nine.

Our Back2Besa crew was at the Empowering Youth and Families Outreach Summer Literacy Academy at Holly Park Community Church on Thursday, August 17th. The eight-week program focuses both on academic and social growth, providing students with an opportunity to fill in gaps, make up for academic loss, and get ahead for the upcoming school year.

“Entrepreneurship can be hard and sometimes you don’t think about taking care of yourself.” - Shae Frichette, Co-Owner and Winemaker at Frichette Winery.

With their 85-90 loss to the Chicago Sky in their second to last home game of the 2023 season, the Seattle Storm were officially eliminated from playoff contention. It’s the first since 2015 that the franchise will not make the playoffs, as a year of growth continues.

Behind homers from Teoscar Hernandez and Julio Rodriguez plus a stellar outing on the mound from Teoscar Hernandez, the Seattle Mariners completed a three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals. In doing so, Seattle also took sole possession of the top spot in the AL West.

Let’s talk about what’s on Back2BESA tonight! For starters we continue to celebrate the culture and check in at The Next 50 Hip Hop concert and celebration, plus we recap DAME DOLLA’s listening party that happened in Protland at the Roseland Theatre. We recap what happened at Doug Baldwin’s annual community BBQ,we highlight Seattle’s A 4 Apple Learning Centr for National Black Business Month, we bring you a new segment called the NW Connect as we highlight Our Legacy harvested which is based in Portland we have some really dope Youth Unfiltered segments as we relive Rise Above hosting sports fest over at the Seattle U Campus, we head over the Rainer Playfield for Big Day of Play, and we hight ligh

The Seattle Mariners completed a series win over the Kansas City Royals in big fashion, slamming a franchise record seven homers on their way to a 15-2 victory. Right fielder Teoscar Hernandez slammed two homers in the victory, including a grand slam.

For the first time since 2003, the Seattle Mariners are into this late part of the season atop the American League West, at least for now. A back and forth battle against the pesky Kansas City Royals saw the Mariners offense do just enough throughout the game to ensure that they’d take the series opener and get them the top spot in the division for the time being.

The Mariners are back in town and are the hottest they’ve been all year, but they’re not the only ones bringing the heat at T-Mobile Park. Besa Gordon checked in with Executive Chef Javier Rosa to hear about some new food offerings at Edgar’s Cantina that you should be sure to check out if you’re heading to the ballpark this week.

#FeelGoodFriday - Jay Martin Jr., host of The Drive Project Podcast on the Converge Media Network takes a moment to speak on the importance of living with an open heart and accepting the energy and inspiration that flows in from outside of ourselves.

Welcome to A 4 Apple Learning Center. Our Trae Holiday stopped by to chat with Co-Owner and Teacher Appollonia Washington (Miss Apple) for #NationalBlackBusinessMonth to hear about the work being done at the center as she seeks to inspire the next generation through early learning and literacy.

“What I wish people would know about my generation is that while we’re stubborn, we’re also fighters,” - Actor, Dancer and Spoken Word artist Harlem Yarbrough said.

The North American touring cast is led by Naomi Rodgers (Frozen) and Ari Groover (TINA Broadway, Head Over Heels, Holler If Ya Hear Me) who will evenly share the role of Tina Turner, each playing four (of eight) performances a week. Also starring are Roderick Lawrence as Ike Turner, Roz White as Zelma Bullock, Wydetta Carter as Gran Georgeanna and Sarah Bockel as Rhonda.

This year’s edition of Taking Black Pride brought Seattle’s Trans and Queer community together at Othello Park on August 19th with a focus on creating a family atmosphere. The theme of ‘Family Reunion’ ran through the entire event, as individuals celebrated and stood strong together.

The Seattle Mariners closed out a ten-game road trip with an 8-2 record, seeing their eight-game winning streak stop there, as a wacky, frustrating, and somewhat bizarre game resulted in a loss to the Chicago White Sox. Seattle couldn’t complete a sweep of Chicago, despite George Kirby’s solid outing, as the Mariners batters couldn’t get things going until too late.

Last weekend, Rise Above hosted their annual Sportsfest at the Redhawk Center on the Seattle U campus, which aims to uplift and celebrate native youth in sports. The event featured local and national celebrities and athletes, including former Sonic Vin Baker, who made his return to Seattle for the first time following his five-year stint with the team to give the keynote speech and inspire the youth.

“My pieces of advice would be to come in with humility, enjoy your passion, and be ready to work,” NBA Champion Channing Frye said.