You asked for it, you got it: Junction to close streets for trick-or-treating during new Harvest Festival

For years, after the West Seattle Junction Association trick-or-treating event, some would ask if it would be possible to close the streets to enhance safety and fun. Now – that’s finally going to happen. WSJA has just officially announced the new Harvest Festival, 10 am-2 pm October 28th. And trick-or-treating is just part of it. Here’s the official announcement:

The Junction Association is excited to introduce a new event – The Junction’s Harvest Festival. We are expanding the popular Trick-or-Treat in The Junction into something new for our neighborhood. The Harvest Festival will be an opportunity for West Seattle families to continue the Trick-or-Treat tradition while adding elements that appeal to a broader audience. Most importantly, WE’RE CLOSING THE STREETS!

A core element of the Harvest Festival will be celebrating the year-round West Seattle Farmers Market. In partnership with the Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance, over 40 local farmers will set up on California Ave to share their goods at the peak of harvest. Farmers will bring fresh seasonal produce including a surprising variety of apples, fruits, melons, and a collage of vegetables. The Farmers Market’s colors, smells, and vibrancy will be the heart of the Harvest Festival and will be open between 10am and 2pm.

Additionally, there will be a kids’ costume parade followed by Trick-or-Treating between Noon and 2pm. Details will follow as they develop. In an effort to bring more healthy options to Halloween events, The Junction is inviting schools, clubs, non-profits, churches, and even businesses to set up a Harvest Activity tent (art activities or a game). It’s free to set up an activity but it will be free for festivalgoers. Please email Susan Melrose, susan@wsjunction.org, if you’d like to provide a Harvest Activity to be approved by the committee.

The West Seattle neighborhood has enjoyed our Trick-or-Treat in The Junction for years. With more new families and interest in this event, it became necessary to close the streets and do something different. Please help spread the word that the event is moving from Saturday to Sunday. California Ave SW will be closed between Edmunds and Oregon, and Alaska St. will be closed between 44th and 42nd.

The Junction Association looks forward to creating a fun event for West Seattle.

31 Replies to "You asked for it, you got it: Junction to close streets for trick-or-treating during new Harvest Festival"

  • sam-c September 7, 2012 (3:02 pm)

    woo hoo!
    thank you WSJA for exploring other options based on feedback from previous years. reminds me to continually support our awesome local businesses!
    it sounds like it will be fun !

  • Katy September 7, 2012 (3:12 pm)

    Exciting. I’ll be taking my 2yo for sure!

  • west seattle mom September 7, 2012 (3:17 pm)

    Oh thank god!!

  • Trying! September 7, 2012 (3:19 pm)

    Great! I love seeing the kids and their costumes in the Junction, but I always cringed seeing little kids in masks wandering into the street. Very Scary! This is perfect. I know this Festival will draw a LARGE crowd. Farmers, be ready!

  • TOden September 7, 2012 (3:21 pm)

    YAY!!!! It was so hectic last year and with kids going every which way, it was scary a few times with kids and cars. Not to mention not all parents were keeping an eye on their children, let alone their safety. Cheers TO WSJA!!!

  • YY in Westwood September 7, 2012 (3:28 pm)

    EXCELLENT NEWS!!! We were considering not doing the Junction this year because of all the sidewalk chaos. Thank you WSJA!

  • TW September 7, 2012 (3:34 pm)

    Smart move. That was an accident waiting to happen last year.

  • kevin September 7, 2012 (3:37 pm)

    WOW! Glad to hear that someone was able to pull this of!

  • Gina September 7, 2012 (3:53 pm)

    A parade,the fruit and veggie market and activities will make this a real harvest festival. Much more enjoyable for the youngest ones than being crushed in a sea of humanity.

    Thank you to the Junction merchants for donating four hours of income and allowing this to happen.

  • Debbie September 7, 2012 (4:10 pm)

    Fantastic! Much more enjoyable for all ages. We skipped last year but I have now put this on my calendar.

  • jamie September 7, 2012 (4:13 pm)

    Oh this is FANTASTIC!! I forgot how close this event was!! Hmm now the brain starts to think what to come up with…..We’ve built the thomas train and did the taxi last yr. What for this year?? And ideas =)

  • miws September 7, 2012 (4:45 pm)

    This is a great idea!

    .

    Also, I understand why they’re calling it the “Harvest Festival”, but that name brings to mind Northwest Harvest.

    .

    I wonder if barrels could/will be put up to accept non-perishable food donations for West Seattle Food Bank?

    .

    Mike

  • Nitro September 7, 2012 (4:50 pm)

    Yay! Supporting the Farmers market AND safer junction truck or treating!?!? Double YEAH!

  • Westgirl September 7, 2012 (5:06 pm)

    Woohoo!! We had a great time last year, but it was a bit chaotic! I love raising my 2 year old in W.Seattle!

  • Traci September 7, 2012 (5:18 pm)

    I can’t wait! Thanks for putting this together, WSJA!

  • Barb Vadakin September 7, 2012 (5:45 pm)

    I know that this causes a net loss for the businesses but thank you for thinking of the community. I will continue to do as much business as I can in the Junction.

  • West Seattle person September 7, 2012 (6:35 pm)

    Theres got to be a way to have a real beer garden. One where all members of the family can share a picnic table with strangers, order beer and have fun…

  • anotherwsmom September 7, 2012 (8:33 pm)

    Thank you to all of the WSJA for the hard work on our community events. We love the junction, do our shopping there, and are looking forward to this! Mike, you make a good point. I’m going to put out some feelers.

  • nam September 7, 2012 (9:19 pm)

    @Gina: it is more like donating an entire day of income for the merchants. The street closure barricades go up well before the event starts and stay up hours after it ends. To everyone that appreciates the event, please make sure to show that by purchasing from the various merchants, including retailers as they lose out way more than the food establishments. And if you have kids that are nit of an age to eat candy, please bring them to show their cute costumes but do not take candy. The merchants each spend hundreds of dollars on candy in addition to losing 50-75% of their normal business. Candy should be taken in moderation for children of an age appropriate to eat it. It would also be nice if folks wanted to donate funds or candy in advance to the WS Junction Association so they could help supply the merchants to reduce total costs to these small businesses. Owning a small, local business is expensive with minimal profit. All of these expenses add up, even when for fun, good causes.

  • miws September 7, 2012 (10:07 pm)

    Thanks, anotherwsmom!

    .

    Mike

  • NW Momma September 7, 2012 (10:28 pm)

    This sounds great! Fun, festive environment rondo some shopping and with my non candy eating kiddo.

  • NW Momma September 7, 2012 (10:33 pm)

    Hey Nam- think of this as a long term investment. This type of thing builds a sense of community and loyality to the junction. We shop there all the time because it’s a great destination with fun stuff to do and good merchants that ive explored as a result. Consequently, I spend 15x more there than in the admiral junct, which I live 3 blocks away from.

  • Mike September 7, 2012 (11:38 pm)

    Great to know they’ll close the streets this year.
    .
    nam, a few things for you to think about. Thousands of locals will be out with their kids visiting stores they’d NEVER been to. $0.05 candy is easily the cheapest advertising EVER. You can’t advertise for cheaper. Consider this. I had never been to a few of the locations before last years trick-or-treating. I then spent well over $20 a few times at some new places I had not been to before trick-or-treating. So, $20 – $0.05 = $19.95 sale they would never have gotten before. The merchants should be loving this and dive all in to be the best and greatest one on the block. I still remember my neighbor who worked for Coca-Cola handing out the shorty cans of Coke for halloween. We had kids come from other neighborhoods just to go to their house. Pretty sure he got them for free from work, CHEAP advertising.

  • Jtm September 8, 2012 (5:58 am)

    Wow Nam, buzz kill. We patronize the Junction all year long, spending (more) money on unique items and gifts to support these local businesses who are run by great people. We make it a priority to do most of our Christmas shopping there, knowing the importance of small businesses. I’m very excited about this festival, but don’t worry, my kid is only one so we won’t be taking the expensive candy.

  • 44th Neighbor September 8, 2012 (6:49 am)

    Way to go Junction! I can’t wait to take my kiddo.

  • AIDM September 8, 2012 (7:31 am)

    Awesome! This is why the West Seattle Junction is so great. Thanks to all the businesses who were willing to make this accommodation for the safety of our kids.

  • nam September 8, 2012 (8:06 am)

    Sorry folks, not trying to be a buzz kill. Just trying to remind us all what it costs for a business association to do an event like this. The rents are very high and these small merchants end up spending hundreds of dollars on candy in addition to a dismal day of retail sales. Many small merchants rely on weekend sales to pay the rent. Losing an entire day of sales can really hurt a small merchant. While some food places fair okay on events like these, many small retailers really suffer. If you appreciate a community putting this event together, remember that the day of and make an extra effort to shop at the small businesses. And if you really support it, consider donating $5 to the WSJA so they can help supply some of the candy handed out. Hundreds of dollars from each biz equates to thousands of dollars of candy. Nothing in life is free. While a corporate conglomerate like Coca Cola can afford it, many of these small merchants cannot. A couple hundred bucks in candy and a loss of a weekend day of sales is a lot for them. Let’s remember that and make sure to support them via sales during the event so that we can keep them in biz and keep doing community events like this.

  • Heather September 8, 2012 (9:02 am)

    Oh how fun!!!

  • Hoping for Trick or Treaters! September 8, 2012 (3:40 pm)

    Bummer. I hope this doesn’t kill the community building on Halloween–I would love to see trick-or-treaters in my neighborhood. You know, at night. On a weeknight. Walking around at dark. Maybe even a non-politically correct costume or two.

    I’m so bummed childhood now comes bubble-wrapped in a “secure” environment. I hope parents don’t forget their hand sanitizer at Harvest Festival.

    • WSB September 8, 2012 (3:46 pm)

      The Junction trick-or-treat event has been mobbed for years. So have some WS neighborhoods, while others (like ours) have barely a trickle. If you have kids in the area, I’m sure you’ll see some!

  • george September 11, 2012 (12:12 am)

    Nam, you are so far off base, its ridiculous. I suppose the Summer Festival was a big bummer too. $$$ hundreds on candy??? Please. You are NOT required to hand out candy, as some do not. I suppose you also rant about snow closing down the Junction too.

    Two words: FOOD TRUCKS!

Sorry, comment time is over.