Pesto the baby king penguin is a global superstar, Inland Northwest artists honored at Spokane Arts awards gala; plus, new music!

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MOVE OVER, MOO DENG

Baby animals are always a surefire way to ensure virality on the internet. Last week, the internet went wild over Moo Deng, a baby pygmy hippo from Thailand. This week, it's all about Pesto. And I'm not talking about pasta — I'm talking about the baby king penguin from Melbourne, Australia, who, at just 9 months old, already towers over his parents. The Melbourne Sea Life Aquarium says that as he loses his feathers, Pesto will slim down significantly but will most likely be one of the biggest penguins at the aquarium. (MADISON PEARSON)

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ACCOMPLISHED ARTISTS

On Saturday, Sept. 21, Spokane Arts hosted its annual arts awards gala, handing out awards in six categories that reflect the values of Spokane Arts: leadership, collaboration, imagination, inclusion, youth arts leadership and arts advocacy. The Leadership Award was handed to Spokane Falls Community College drama instructor Kemuel DeMoville. Spokane Sequential took home the Collaboration Award, while the Imagination Award went to the Live from Somewhere series. Sid Al-Thumali of the Wayward World Podcast won the Inclusion Award, and taking home the Youth Arts Award was the Youth Board of the Spokane Children's Theatre. The Arts Advocacy Award went to local playwright and actor Dahveed Bullis (pictured). In addition to those six main categories, the Karen Mobley Arts Impact Award went to Spokane painter Lila Girvin. (MADISON PEARSON)

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THIS WEEK'S PLAYLIST

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Noteworthy new music arriving in stores and online on Sept. 27:

SOPHIE, SOPHIE. After the beloved trans dance pop producer's tragic death in 2021, Sophie's brother and collaborator Benny Long gathered her unreleased tracks to put together this final posthumous album

ALAN SPARHAWK, WHITE ROSES, MY GOD. After losing his wife and bandmate Mimi Parker to cancer in 2022, Low's Alan Sparhawk sorts through the grief via experimental noise on his first proper solo album.

SERJ TANKIAN, FOUNDATIONS. The System of a Down singer's latest EP shows that he hasn't lost his knack for delivering biting criticism of political injustices. (SETH SOMMERFELD) ♦